Willen Lake

Operating , the activities area of the park (to the West of the South lake) includes of a number of leisure attractions including: • Watersports centre (new centre opened 2021) • High ropes course • Children's outdoor playground • Children's outdoor splash park • Inflatable aqua park • Outdoor fitness equipment • Health club (including hair and beauty salon) • Seasonal Funfair • Large events spaces • Observation wheel • Change Please Coffee Shop, a social enterprise • Premier Inn hotel, with bar open to non-residents. Since January 2010, Willen Lake has also been the location of the Milton Keynes parkrun, which currently starts just to the West of the lake, then follows the Grand Union canal to Great Holm, before making a complete loop of the South Lake and finishing by the Watersports Centre. == Geography ==

The lake is one of the largest purpose-built stormwater balancing lakes in the UK. The lake is designed to take surface run-off from Milton Keynes, the largest of a number designed to do so. The lake has capacity for an additional level increase of 1.3 metres, equivalent to a once in 200 years event. Unlike most of the rest of the UK, Milton Keynes has separate storm and foul sewers, so sewage pollution is not a significant problem. The lake is surrounded by a mixture of open parkland and woodland, which forms part of the wider Ouzel Valley Park. The lake is divided by an embankment and bridge carrying the A509 (H5 Portway), which runs between the east and west of the city, providing links to M1 Junction 14 (approximately to the north-east), and Central Milton Keynes and the A5 (approximately and to the south-west, respectively). Beside the North lake is the Peace Pagoda and Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist temple. == References ==