Growing up in the 1980s: 19 old pictures showing what it was like to be part of Milton Keynes during that era

Today we take a look back at the ‘good old days’ of the 1980s, when the city was still growing and new and exciting things seem to be constantly happening.

Our photos come from the city’s Living Archive collection. Some of these were donated by members of the public while many others came from old newspapers at the time, including the MK Citizen and our former sister paper the Milton Keynes Gazette.

In the 1980s the new shopping centre was still the place to be, with people saying they were going ‘up city’ to vist the shops, The Point or the plethora of pubs and clubs.

Milton Keynes Hospital was very much a talking point after it officially opened in 1984, as was the famous ‘red balloon’ advert of that year, urging people to come and live in the new city.

The local landscape, formerly fields and farmland, continued to change almost daily as new estates sprang up and new schools and local centres opened.

Take a flick through our gallery of photos and see what you can remember.