Furzton is one of those Milton Keynes districts that people drive past for years without ever turning into. It has no high street, no station and no landmark you would put on a postcard. What it has is a 70-acre lake, a school, a GP surgery and a Tesco Express within walking distance of most front doors, and Central Milton Keynes two miles up the road.
That combination explains why it sells. Furzton is a 1980s and 1990s housing district in south-west Milton Keynes, roughly two miles south of the centre and just north of Bletchley, and the lake covers about half of it.
This guide is written for two people: the visitor working out whether Furzton is worth a day or a weekend, and the mover working out whether it is worth a mortgage. It covers what the area is actually like, and then the numbers, checked in September 2026, that decide it.
Where is Furzton?
Furzton sits in the south-west quarter of Milton Keynes, inside the MK4 postcode district. V4 Watling Street runs along its eastern edge, and like every MK district it is bounded by grid roads rather than cut through by them, so the traffic goes round rather than past your window.
Its neighbours are Shenley Lodge, Shenley Brook End and Emerson Valley. Westcroft District Centre, with the nearest big supermarket, is a short drive west. Bletchley is immediately south-east.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Postcode district | MK4 |
| Civil parish | Shenley Brook End and Tattenhoe. |
| Local authority | Milton Keynes City Council. |
| Built | South Furzton early to mid 1980s; North Furzton 1990 to 2004. |
| Defining feature | Furzton Lake, 70 acres (28 hectares). |
| Distance to Central MK | About 2 miles. |
| Nearest stations | Bletchley and Milton Keynes Central, both 2 to 3 miles. |
| Police | Thames Valley Police. |
| Dialling code | 01908 |
How Furzton was built, and why it matters
Furzton went up in two distinct phases, and you can still see the join.
South Furzton was built in the early to mid 1980s, with its local shops following after 1984. North Furzton, including the local centre on Dulverton Drive, was built between 1990 and 2004. South Furzton’s housing is a little tighter and a little cheaper; North Furzton has more of the larger detached stock.
The lake was not an afterthought. Milton Keynes sits on flat clay with very little natural fall, so the new city was planned with a chain of balancing lakes built in from the start: somewhere for storm water to sit instead of running straight into the River Great Ouse. Furzton Lake is fed by Loughton Brook, and the brook’s flood plain forms a linear park about 200 metres wide running west to east through the district.
Two consequences follow, and they are the whole argument for living here:
- Roughly half the district is water and park, which cannot be built on later.
- The park is linear, so it threads between the housing rather than sitting at one end of it. Most of Furzton is a few minutes’ walk from open water.
Two smaller details give the place its character. The Church of the Servant King on Dulverton Drive is an ecumenical church that opened in September 1992 and shares its building with the Ridgeway Community Centre. And the street names are a West Country roll call: Dulverton, Lynmouth, Shirwell, Muddiford, Challacombe. Once you notice it you cannot stop.
What Furzton is actually like
Quiet, green, and built around the car and the bike rather than the bus.
The housing is the standard MK mix of closes and crescents, from starter flats and terraces up to substantial detached family homes, linked by footpaths and redways rather than pavements along main roads. There is no high street, and nothing you would call nightlife. The nearest pubs are at the lake and in the neighbouring districts.
What residents actually notice day to day:
- The lake circuit. About 1.2 miles on a flat, fully surfaced path. Twenty-five minutes at a normal walking pace, and it is the reason Furzton has an unusually high density of dog walkers and runners.
- The redways. Milton Keynes has over 200 miles of traffic-free walking and cycling path, and Furzton plugs straight into it. You can ride to Howe Park Wood, Bletchley, Caldecotte or Central MK without crossing a grid road at grade.
- Everything on one road. Dulverton Drive carries the Tesco Express, the GP surgery, the infant school, the fish bar and the church. It is a small local centre rather than a district centre, but it covers the weekday basics.
- Very little through traffic. The grid takes it. This is the single biggest quality-of-life difference between MK districts and most suburbs of a similar age elsewhere.
The honest counterweight: if you want to walk to a bar, a cinema or an office, Furzton is the wrong district. It is a place you drive or cycle out of.
House prices in Furzton
Over the last 12 months the average sold price in Furzton was £356,915, according to Zoopla’s Land Registry data. That puts it about 5% above the Milton Keynes average of £339,436.
| Property type | Furzton average | Milton Keynes average |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £515,417 | £517,926 |
| Terraced | £259,344 | £277,477 |
| Semi-detached | £247,054 | £320,435 |
| Flat | £138,500 | £168,717 |
| All types | £356,915 | £339,436 |
Average sold price, Furzton (last 12 months)
Flat █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ £138,500
Semi-detached █████████░░░░░░░░░░░ £247,054
Terraced ██████████░░░░░░░░░░ £259,344
Detached ████████████████████ £515,417
Two things to read carefully before you use these figures:
- The overall average is pulled up by the detached stock. Furzton’s detached homes sell in line with the city average, but they make up a bigger share of what changes hands here, which is what lifts the headline number above the MK average.
- The semi-detached figure looks wrong, and effectively is. £247,054 against a city average of £320,435 is not a Furzton discount, it is a small sample. In a district this size only a handful of semis sell in a year, and one or two unusual sales move the average a long way. Treat it as noise, not as a buying signal.
Land Registry data also lags by up to three months, so these are a guide rather than a valuation. If you are buying, get a local agent to price the specific street.
Renting in Furzton
The rental market here is thin. A search of Furzton listings on Rightmove in September 2026 returned 11 properties in total, which is worth knowing if you need to move on a fixed date.
| Home | Typical asking rent |
|---|---|
| 1-bed flat or house | £1,050 to £1,100 pcm |
| 2-bed house | £1,275 to £1,350 pcm |
| 3-bed house | £1,450 to £1,500 pcm |
| 4-bed detached | Around £2,500 pcm |
Asking rents are not achieved rents, and a market this small changes week to week. If nothing suitable is listed when you look, widen the search to Emerson Valley, Shenley Lodge and Shenley Brook End, which sit within the same school catchments and the same redway network.
Council tax 2026/27
Furzton is in the Shenley Brook End and Tattenhoe parish, so the bill includes a parish precept on top of the city council, police and fire charges. The parish council funds play areas, allotments, community centres and sports grounds, litter and dog bins, landscaping and community grants.
| Band | Annual charge 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| A | £1,566.83 |
| B | £1,827.99 |
| C | £2,089.12 |
| D | £2,350.27 |
| E | £2,872.54 |
| F | £3,394.83 |
| G | £3,917.11 |
| H | £4,700.54 |
For context, the average Band D charge across Milton Keynes in 2026/27 is £2,372.21, so Furzton sits slightly below the city average despite the parish precept. It is a small difference, but it goes the right way.
Schools and catchments
This is usually the deciding factor for families, and Furzton’s arrangement is more complicated than most.
| Stage | Catchment school | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (4 to 7) | Merebrook Infant School, Dulverton Drive | Catchment covers Furzton plus some Emerson Valley roads. PAN 60 |
| Infant, south-east corner | Cold Harbour C of E School | Shares the south-eastern part of Furzton, up to Loughton Brook. PAN 30 |
| Junior (7 to 11) | Emerson Valley School | Catchment is Emerson Valley and Furzton, with the south-east corner shared. PAN 120 |
| Secondary | Shenley Brook End School and Lord Grey Academy | Both named as Furzton’s catchment secondaries. Not all of Furzton is in Lord Grey’s catchment |
On inspection outcomes, as at September 2026:
- Shenley Brook End School was judged Good at its inspection in March 2024.
- Lord Grey Academy was judged Good overall in May 2022 and was inspected again in June 2026, with the report published that July.
- Merebrook Infant School converted to academy status in December 2024 and has not yet been inspected under its new number. Its predecessor school was judged Good in April 2017, which is now an old judgement.
- Emerson Valley School was judged Good in October 2022 under its predecessor number, before academy conversion.
Two practical warnings. Catchment does not guarantee a place, particularly at Merebrook with a PAN of 60. And the south-east corner of Furzton, towards Loughton Brook, genuinely does feed different schools from the rest of the district, so check the specific address, not the district, with Milton Keynes City Council before you exchange.
Everyday services
| Service | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tesco Express | 41 Dulverton Drive, MK4 1EN | The day-to-day shop, with a Costa machine |
| Furzton Medical Centre | 67 Dulverton Drive, MK4 1EW | Listed by the NHS as accepting new patients at the time of writing |
| North Furzton Fish Bar | 51 Dulverton Drive | Friday night sorted |
| Church of the Servant King | Dulverton Drive | Ecumenical church and Ridgeway Community Centre |
| Morrisons, Westcroft | About 1.5 miles west | The big weekly shop |
| Central Milton Keynes | 2 miles north | Everything else, including thecentre:mk |
Getting around
By car. The obvious choice, and the one most households here make. The grid puts most of the city inside 10 to 15 minutes, and the A421 Standing Way runs east towards M1 junction 13.
By train. Furzton has no station of its own. Two serve it, both 2 to 3 miles away by road:
| Station | Fastest to Euston | Typical | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Keynes Central | 35 minutes | About 46 minutes | Up to 7 trains an hour, 148 a day |
| Bletchley | 37 minutes | About 52 minutes | Up to 4 trains an hour, 78 a day |
Bletchley is the nearer of the two from most Furzton addresses and is often the better bet for a season ticket once you price parking at MK Central. First departures are around 04:32 from Central and 04:37 from Bletchley, which matters if you are commuting into London for an early start.
East West Rail. Bletchley is the hub for the Oxford to Milton Keynes route, and this is the single biggest variable in Furzton’s medium-term value. As at June 2026: Chiltern Railways was named operator in March 2025, the new driver depot at Bletchley is complete, 44 trainee drivers have been recruited and Winslow station is in testing, and the route appears in the December 2026 timetable. But there is still no confirmed start date for passenger services. Government has also committed £17 million, with £5 million from Milton Keynes City Council, for an eastern entrance at Bletchley station giving direct town centre access. If Oxford or Cambridge connectivity is part of your reason for moving, check the current position rather than relying on the timetable.
By bus. This is Furzton’s weak point. Arriva’s circular LOOP service calls at Furzton Local Centre and Furzton Roundabout West, but it runs roughly every 60 to 125 minutes depending on the time of day. It is usable for a planned trip into the centre and not usable as a commute. Plan on a car or a bike.
By bike and on foot. The redway network is the real transport story here. Bridges and underpasses mean you can reach Howe Park Wood, Bletchley, Caldecotte Lake and Central Milton Keynes without crossing a grid road on the level, which is why cycling to work in MK is genuinely normal rather than heroic.
Broadband
Better than most people expect from 1980s housing stock. In the MK4 postcode district, gigabit-capable connections reach 98.4% of premises and superfast broadband (30 Mbit/s or faster) reaches 99.4%, with effectively no premises falling below the 10 Mbit/s Universal Service Obligation. For anyone working from home or running a household of streamers, MK4 is not a compromise. Check the individual address before you commit, as coverage is measured at postcode level.
Is Furzton safe?
There is no published crime rate for Furzton on its own, so treat anyone who quotes you one with suspicion. At city level, Milton Keynes recorded around 59.7 crimes per 1,000 people in 2026, which is marginally above the Buckinghamshire average of 58.9 but below the South East regional rate and about 17% below the national rate for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In practice Furzton is a quiet residential district with low through-traffic, which is usually reflected in the local picture. For a specific street, the free Thames Valley Police neighbourhood data on police.uk is the source worth reading, not a commercial estimate.
Visiting Furzton: what to do
Furzton Lake
The reason anyone comes here. A 1.2-mile surfaced circuit, two islands with a heron colony on the smaller one, an 18-hole dinosaur adventure golf course, a lakeside Italian restaurant, a playground and four car parks, three of which are free. It is managed by The Parks Trust, the charity that holds a 999-year lease on the city’s green space.
The one thing that catches visitors out is parking: the main Shirwell Crescent car park is free for two hours and charged after that, and two of the car parks have height barriers at 1.8 and 1.9 metres. Our full guide to Furzton Lake’s walks, car parks and 2026 parking charges covers every entrance, the tariffs, the accessible routes and the wildlife worth looking for.
Howe Park Wood
A mile away, and a completely different experience. Ancient woodland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, with a visitor centre, café, free parking and hard-surfaced paths suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. A lake circuit plus a woodland loop is an easy, cheap half day.
Eating and drinking
| Place | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| The Italian Sul Lago | Lakeside Italian, own free car park | On Furzton Lake |
| Furzton Lake (Hungry Horse) | Family pub on the water | Shirwell Crescent, MK4 1GA |
| North Furzton Fish Bar | Fish and chips | 51 Dulverton Drive |
| Old Beams | Pub, about 0.6 miles | Paxton Crescent, Shenley Lodge |
| Burnt Oak | Pub, about 0.6 miles | Egerton Gate, Shenley Brook End |
| Clocktower | Pub, about 0.7 miles | White Horse Drive, Emerson Valley |
Using Furzton as a base
Furzton’s position is its best argument for visitors as well as residents. Most of the city is inside 15 minutes.
| Destination | Approx. distance | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Howe Park Wood | 1 mile | Ancient woodland, café |
| Central Milton Keynes | 2 miles | thecentre:mk, theatre, restaurants |
| Stadium MK | 2 miles | Football and concerts |
| Bletchley Park | 2.5 miles | The codebreaking museum |
| Xscape | 2.5 miles | Indoor ski slope, cinema, climbing |
| Milton Keynes Central | 2.5 miles | Trains to London Euston |
| Caldecotte Lake | 3 miles | Bigger lake, pub, sailing |
| Willen Lake | 5 miles | Watersports, the city’s busiest lake |
For the full picture, from the concrete cows to Gulliver’s Land and the National Bowl, see our local’s guide to things to do in Milton Keynes.
Who Furzton suits, and who it doesn’t
| Good fit | Poor fit |
|---|---|
| Families who want a school, GP and lake within walking distance | Anyone who wants bars, restaurants or a cinema on foot |
| Commuters using Bletchley or Milton Keynes Central | Anyone planning to live without a car or a bike |
| Runners, cyclists and dog owners | Buyers who want new-build stock and a warranty |
| Home workers who need reliable gigabit broadband | People who want to walk to a city-centre office |
| Contractors and project teams who need parking, space and quiet | Anyone relying on buses to get to work |
If walking to the station and the offices matters more than space and greenery, the central boulevards are the better match. If you want new-build, look at Whitehouse, Fairfields or Tattenhoe Park instead.
Try Furzton before you commit to it
The only reliable way to judge a neighbourhood is to live in it for a few weeks. Do the school run in the rain, do the commute at 07:15, do the Saturday shop at Westcroft. A weekend viewing tells you almost nothing about any of that.
A furnished short stay makes that possible without a tenancy. A serviced apartment or house is normally let on a licence to occupy rather than an assured shorthold tenancy, which is why you can take one for three weeks instead of twelve months, with bills, broadband and cleaning included and no deposit cycle to unwind when you find the house you actually want.
It is also the sensible option if you are relocating for work and your employer is paying, or if you are on a project in the area and need parking for a van and a kitchen for a crew. Our guide to serviced apartment rates and parking in Milton Keynes sets out what the city costs per night in 2026 and how the rate falls as the stay lengthens.
Guests House has serviced accommodation in Furzton and across Milton Keynes, all with parking, full kitchens, laundry and self check-in.
FAQs
Where is Furzton in Milton Keynes?
South-west Milton Keynes, about two miles south of Central Milton Keynes and immediately north of Bletchley, in the MK4 postcode district.
Is Furzton a nice place to live?
For families, commuters and anyone who walks, runs or cycles, yes. It is quiet and green, with a lake, an infant school and a GP surgery within walking distance of most homes. It is a poor fit if you want nightlife, or if you need to get around by bus.
How much are houses in Furzton?
The average sold price over the last 12 months was £356,915, ranging from £138,500 for flats to £515,417 for detached homes.
How much is rent in Furzton?
Around £1,050 to £1,100 a month for a 1-bed, £1,275 to £1,350 for a 2-bed house and £1,450 to £1,500 for a 3-bed, based on September 2026 asking rents. The market is small, with only about a dozen listings at any one time.
How much is council tax in Furzton?
£2,350.27 a year for Band D in 2026/27, including the Shenley Brook End and Tattenhoe parish precept. That is slightly below the Milton Keynes average Band D charge of £2,372.21.
Which schools serve Furzton?
Merebrook Infant School and, for the south-eastern corner, Cold Harbour C of E School, then Emerson Valley School for juniors. The catchment secondaries are Shenley Brook End School and Lord Grey Academy, though not all of Furzton falls within Lord Grey’s catchment.
Is there a train station in Furzton?
No. Bletchley and Milton Keynes Central are both two to three miles away by road.
How long is the train to London from Furzton?
From 35 minutes from Milton Keynes Central and 37 minutes from Bletchley to London Euston, with typical journeys around 46 and 52 minutes respectively.
Are the buses any good in Furzton?
Not really. The Arriva LOOP calls at Furzton Local Centre but runs roughly every 60 to 125 minutes. Most households here rely on a car or a bike.
Is there a supermarket in Furzton?
A Tesco Express on Dulverton Drive covers day-to-day shopping. For a full shop, Morrisons at Westcroft District Centre is about 1.5 miles west.
What is there to do in Furzton?
Furzton Lake is the main draw, with a 1.2-mile circuit, dinosaur adventure golf, a lakeside restaurant and a pub. Howe Park Wood is a mile away, and Central Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park and Xscape are all within 2.5 miles.
Can you stay in Furzton short term?
Yes. Serviced houses and apartments with parking can be booked by the night, the week or the month, which is the practical way to test the area before buying or renting.
