Thousands of people brighten up life in Milton Keynes by painting rocks and hiding them

Thousands of people will be adding to the fun this Easter by painting rocks and hiding all over the city for people to find.

The rock artists even have their own social media page, the Love Rocks-MK Facebook group , and there are more than 6,100 members.

Currently many have adopted an Easter theme, painting rocks with bunnies and chicks and hiding them in parks, streets and even shopping centres in the hope they will be found.

This month the group is gearing up for a mammoth ‘love rocks’ session to celebrate the city’s official #LoveMK Day on Tuesday April 27.

Organised by Destination Milton Keynes (DMK), this is the biggest one-day social media celebration of all things Milton Keynes. People are encouragd to paint, bake, sew or create the hashtag in any way they wish and take a photo of it.

Love Rocks MK has already hidden an array of painted ‘Love MK’ rocks to hide at the city’s most visited landmarks, including the concrete cows, Bradwell Windmill, Willen Lake and the Xscape building.

The aim of rock painting generally is to bring a smile to the faces of people who find them, says the group.

Their spokesman said: “If you’re lucky enough to be a finder, you may keep your treasure or re-hide it for someone else to find."

They ask finders to post on the Facebook page, with a photo of their rock and details of where they found it.

“It's very exciting to know who found your rock and it’s great to see them travel!” said the spokesman.

Anyone of any age can join the fun and paint their own rocks, she said.

"The general preference seems to be base coat, for better coverage, emulsion or acrylic paint and Posca type paint pens or sharpie pens (or similar)... When it's dry, coat with something like spray varnish or yacht varnish to weather seal it.

"But please don't feel restricted or the need to buy kit to start, use whatever you have (nail varnish felt tips, etc). This is supposed to be free fun!”

The best rocks and pebbles, say group experts, can be found in fields or also bought from discount stores or garden centres.

"Please do not take from beaches - it’s actually illegal to remove stones from the UK sea shorelines,” said the spokesman.

She added: “No artistic talent is required....we have some wonderful artists and we all love to see them but anything will make the finder smile, whether it's basic or a masterpiece.

“Remember to write Love Rocks MK on the back. If there's room you could put ‘keep or re hide me’... If you want to add initials, you can.”

Love Rocks MK also encourages all members and finders to pick up any litter they see while they are out hunting or hiding.

The spokesman said: "This group is full of supportive friendly people, and the group is growing bigger and spreading further across the MK area every day... Thank you for being ace rockers - happy hunting!”