Bowling and entertainment brand Lane7 has officially opened a new venue in Central Milton Keynes.

Located in the former basement of Debenhams within the shopping centre, the new venue offers a wide array of entertainment options, including bowling, roller skating, karaoke and more.

Guests can enjoy 14 bowling lanes—some of which celebrate strikes with smoke effects—alongside a roller skating rink, golf simulators, bumper cars, karaoke rooms, darts, shuffleboard, pool tables, arcades, beer pong, and ping pong.

The venue also introduces its ‘Playground’ concept, featuring an interactive gaming zone, and ‘The Red Room,’ made up of a private space equipped with exclusive bowling lanes, ping pong tables, and dartboards, ideal for private events and functions.

The grand opening ceremony was officiated by the Mayor of Milton Keynes, Cllr Marie Bradburn, who had the honour of bowling the inaugural ball down the lanes in an event held last week.

Simon Martin, General Manager at Midsummer Place, expressed his enthusiasm for the new addition, saying, “This is an exciting time for Midsummer Place and Central Milton Keynes as we welcome new retail and leisure experiences. The recent completion of The Boulevard has already transformed the look of the centre, and there is much more to reveal in the coming months.”

Gavin Hughes, Managing Director at Lane7, added, “This is the biggest, boldest, and most exciting Lane7 we’ve ever created. We’re all about pushing the boundaries of what a night out should be, and Milton Keynes is getting an entertainment playground like no other. Whether you’re coming for the bowling, the bumper cars, or just a killer cocktail, we guarantee there’s nothing else like it.”

The Mayor also said, “I was delighted to officially open Lane7 at Midsummer Place today. This exciting new venue brings a fantastic entertainment space to the heart of our city, offering a vibrant place for families, friends, and visitors to come together and enjoy. I was honoured to take the first bowl. I look forward to seeing Lane7 become a go-to destination for fun and socialising in Milton Keynes.”

Lane7 Milton Keynes is open daily from 11:00 AM to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and from 11:00 AM to 1:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Guests under 18 are welcome until 7:00 PM each evening. The venue offers a diverse food and drink menu, including hand-stretched sourdough pizzas, loaded hot dogs, and a wide selection of beers, ciders, and cocktails.

For more information or to book your next experience, visit www.lane7.com

Rail passengers have been advised to prepare for engineering works on the route between Milton Keynes and London at Easter.

Major upgrades are taking place on multiple points of the West Coast Main Line, with one noteworthy area including the outright closure of London Euston train station between Easter Saturday (19th April) and Easter Monday (21st April).

The closure means that no trains will be in operation between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston on these three days, with only a limited service running through to Euston on Good Friday (18th April).

Avanti West Coast have said their operations will see buses run between the station and Bedford, from where passengers can catch further trains to London.

Avanti will be running limited services from Milton Keynes to Manchester, Liverpool and Carlisle on the Saturday and Monday. The Liverpool service won’t run on the Sunday as engineering works closes the route between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

Passengers heading northwards are advised that on these three dates, further engineering works means no trains are running beyond Carlisle, with buses taking passengers onwards to Glasgow or Edinburgh.

London Northwestern Railway will be running limited services between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes Central, along with further services from Milton Keynes Central to Crewe and Birmingham New Street. As well as the Bedford to MK bus, there will also be limited buses in operation between Watford and Potters Bar to connect with services to Central London.

Network Rail’s head of Euston station operations, Amanda Webster-Uz said in a statement, “There’s a lot of great work happening over the Easter bank holiday to improve the reliability and safety of the railway for passengers and freight. We know some of this will be disruptive, but bank holidays remain the least busy time for carrying out complex upgrades.

“I’d like to urge passengers to plan ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk/spring and recommend those planning journeys to or from London Euston, travel either side of the Easter weekend to avoid longer journeys and some bus replacement services.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal road traffic collision on the A422 road between Buckingham and Milton Keynes.

The incident happened at around 3.50pm yesterday (20/3), when a blue Yamaha MT125 motorcycle was involved in a collision with a black Jeep Cherokee and a beige Skoda Yeti.

The motorcycle was travelling from Buckingham towards Milton Keynes, while the Jeep and Skoda were travelling in the opposite direction towards Buckingham.

Thames Valley Police confirmed that the rider of the motorcycle, a 39-year-old man, sadly died at the scene. His family are being supported by specially trained officers.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Edward Crofts, of the Roads Policing Joint Operations Unit, said, “Firstly, I would like to offer my deep condolences to the family of the motorcyclist, who died in this collision.

“We are appealing to anyone who saw this incident to please get in touch.

“We are also appealing to the rider of a black Yamaha 125 motorcycle, who was in the area at the time of collision, and may have information to assist our enquiries, to come forward.

“If you have dash-cam footage of the incident, the moments leading up to it or of the black Yamaha motorcycle, please contact us or upload it to our dedicated online portal.

“Anyone with information can call 101 or make an online report, via our website, quoting crime reference number 43250136550.

“We are also appealing to anyone who witnessed the theft a blue Yamaha MT125 motorcycle in School Lane, Buckingham between 3pm and 3.30pm on the same day to please get in touch.

“Anyone with information for this incident can call 101 or make an online report, quoting 43250136633.

“Alternatively, for 100% anonymity, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11 or report via their website.”

Red Bull took points but no podium from the Chinese Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen finishing 4th and team-mate Liam Lawson finishing 15th.

Verstappen ultimately finished where he qualified after 56 laps of the Shanghai International Circuit in the second Grand Prix of the 2025 F1 season, with a late move on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc seeing him get back up there after being overtaken early on.

Team-mate Lawson struggled, meanwhile, ultimately finishing outside the points after starting from the pit lane due to a late suspension change.

The results means that two races and one sprint of the 2025 F1 season, Verstappen sits second in the Driver’s Championship in his quest to win a fifth straight title. The Dutchman has 36 points, with him sat 8 behind early leader Lando Norris and one ahead of third place George Russell.

Meanwhile, Lawson is yet to take his first point of the year, having failed to finish the season opener or finish in the points in the two events in the Chinese Grand Prix.

After these opening exchanges, the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull Racing sit third in the Constructor’s Championship. They have 36 points, all of which scored by Verstappen, with the team one point ahead of fourth place Ferrari, 17 points behind second placed Mercedes and 42 behind early leaders McLaren.

Having qualified for the main Chinese Grand Prix in fourth, Verstappen had an awkward start as he was overtaken by the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc, with these even after contact between the two Ferraris that sliced away part of Leclerc’s front wing.

Verstappen spent most of the race behind the two Ferraris, with the Dutchman able to pass midfield cars after pitting into traffic but initially looking on course to take sixth.

In the latter stages, however, Verstappen was able to show stronger pace than the two Ferraris. Hamilton ultimately elected to make a second pit stop, with Verstappen able to zip away and negate any benefit Hamilton may have had with fresher tyres.

In the final laps, Verstappen also caught up with and passed Leclerc into turn one, and he duly had the pace to open up a gap to the Ferrari, although he ultimately didn’t have the pace or tyre life to close up on third place finisher George Russell in the Mercedes.

Meanwhile, Lawson opted to stop from the pit lane after qualifying in last position. The New Zealander was however unable to show pace to get back into the points despite his one-stop strategy, with the driver passed on track by eventual point scorer Ollie Bearman and unable to close up to Jack Doohan or Isack Hadjar, who finished in the two positions directly ahead.

Lawson crossed the line 16th, though he was classified 15th after Doohan was hit with a ten second time penalty for forcing Hadjar off the track. The Kiwi could yet be further classified 13th as the FIA are investigating Leclerc and Pierre Gasly for underweight cars, but this has as yet not been confirmed.

Red Bull will be chasing a first win of the 2025 season in the next race, which takes place in Japan in two weeks time.