Revealed: The results of Milton Keynes' concrete cows' much-needed makeover

The makeover of MK’s famous concrete cows at Bancroft is now complete and the Parks Trust has published photos of the spruced-up herd to celebrate.

All the old chipped and worn paint has been replaced and the Friesian cows now have fresh black and white coats.

For a while earlier this month, they even turned pure white. But this was only the primer coat, which was left for a while to dry.

Local artists Emma Wilde and Aaron Head were commissioned by The Parks Trust to carry out the revamp and they chose a matte finish for the cows.

The herd is one of more than 30 pieces of public art in MK’s parks but it is by far the most famous, putting the city on the map since Canadian artist Liz Leyh came up with the idea of concrete cows in 1978.

But the Bancroft herd is not the original one created by Liz. Those cows were made with base armatures of metal chicken wire, which wasstuffed with newspaper used to create the general shape. But after a while they were deemed too fragile to be on display and are now housed safely at MK Museum.

A second, much sturdier, set was created in the1980s by local artist Bill Billings out of concrete and wire mesh – and this is the set put out to graze at Bancroft.

Emma and Aaron closely followed the original markings during the makeover.

Emma said: “It has been lovely to work on a project so close to home. My parents moved to Milton Keynes in the 1970s so I have fond memories of visiting the concrete cows when I was younger.

"Whilst we were repainting them, it was great to chat to people passing by about how well loved they are and how much fun they bring - I hope that residents and visitors will enjoy their new look!”

This is the second transformative project this year to restore and conserve MK’s historic public art, following the Triceratops refurbishment at Peartree Bridge in May. You can discover more of the Public Art collection on the Parks Trust website here.