Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

The editors: James & Alex

Xscape, Milton Keynes

Posted by Alex Turnbull, Tuesday, 12th December 2006

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Is that a mountainous Trimaxion Drone Ship1 hovering above Buckinghamshire, England? Sadly not – this is actually the Milton Keynes Xscape, one of three leisure centres in the UK which contain, well – mountains.

Xscapes are centered around a real-snow indoor ski slope, and this particular one is also designed to look like a snow-covered hill. It’s also the location of a 16 screen cinema, shops, a climbing wall, bowling lanes, bars, a fitness center, and somewhere round here’s there’s also an indoor skydiving centre! Very, very cool.

1) Whaddya mean you’ve never heard of a Trimaxion Drone Ship? Sheesh! It’s the spaceship from The Flight of the Navigator!

17 Responses to 'Xscape, Milton Keynes'

  1. Gesh says:

    Hey, you guys, what is this place, just to the east. Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    • Brian says:

      @ Gesh

      I this I saw this on Top Gear not long ago, the one when they drove the semi trucks (or Lorries as you call them in the UK?)

  2. RJ says:

    Gesh, that looks like some sort of car testing facility?

  3. Alex says:

    When I visited Milton Keynes Wikipedia back in 2000, I actually wasn’t sure when I’d got there. The urban area has around 20 million trees, making it hard to tell when you’re arrived! However, Xscape is visible from over 8 miles away, which presumably helps identify where the city centre is…

  4. Alex says:

    Some sort of driving school perhaps? Very interesting though.

  5. CeMe says:

    OK, but what is this thing inside that facility: Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth ?

    Is that some sort of long wavelength radar reflector?

  6. Barry says:

    Just looks like a skid pan to me.

  7. CeMe says:

    I did’t mean the circle, otherwise I would have centered it in my link (hint: zoom further in ;-) What I meant is the croissant-shaped structure in the NE of that circle.

  8. a. cobb says:

    it’s just some fancy archetecture. I’m more curious about the long building just ESE of it. it looks too thin to be a garage….

  9. CeMe says:

    Maybe a crash test acceleration “tunnel”?

  10. Chris says:

    If someone wants to find the actual ship from FOTN, it’s somewhere around Placemark: here / Google Earth.

  11. Phillip says:

    I think I figured it out… The ship is located in the boneyard at the Disney-MGM Studios backlot. Here’s the map: http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/mgmmap.html I could only find one image of the ship in its current (as far as I know) location: http://static.flickr.com/22/34979178_daa4677ed6_m.jpg That puts the ship to be somewhere in this area. Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth Unfortunately, the better quality imagery stops just north of the pointy wizard’s hat.

  12. Goldie says:

    I like near Milton Keynes, and actually Xscape can be seen for over 15 miles! There is a huge tv screen of the front which plays various sports videos. The sky diving centre is at the very back (the smallest end), its not actually part of the Xscape building but its connected through a walk way. Due to the shape of the building, there can be high force gale winds at the very front! And the slope is real snow may I add! Yes there are hundreds of trees and tons of concrete but it is a new city. Milton Keynes has new plans to build a scuba diving centre or a marina thing for people to go obviously go scuba diving!

  13. Goldie says:

    the long thing you talk about ESE of the building is what we call a path :S sorry to break your hopes. this picture is years old possibly 3-4 years out of date, everywhere around the building is now grass, and obviously the sky diving building is on the back now

  14. Vince says:

    Wow! Inever imagined to see this on here. I live in Bedford which is 20 miles away from Milton Keynes and I have been to Excape many times. Its an awesome place. Lots of cool stuff inside. There is even a night club along the side of it that i go to which is very good. I knew it was a big place but never realised how big until I saw this!

  15. meme says:

    yep, it sure is cool. now to anyone whos ever been and went shopping in the shopping bit, do u no what that shops is called? blue lagoon or something? pleseplease reply cos i saw a really nice pair of boots from there