Latest news

Kents Hill Park Introduces Allergen Emergency Kits

Kents Hill Park Launches Inclusive Christmas Party Packages with Low & No Alcohol Options

Kents Hill Park Unveils Modern Restaurant Refurbishment with a Focus on Sustainability and Customer Feedback

The Venues Collection Achieves Significant Milestones in Future First Charter Goals for 2024

Kents Hill Park, part of The Venues Collection is proud to announce that it has already achieved many of its ambitious 2024 Future First Charter goals, demonstrating the Group’s strong commitment to sustainability and environmental leadersh

Church Youth Conference Ideas & Planning

When planning a conference, it’s important to take into account who your audience is. Planning a conference for young people is very different to planning a conference for adults so our event coordinators are here to talk you through some o

Christmas Party packages on sale now for 2024 at Kents Hill Park

2024 Christmas Party packages at Kents Hill Park, Milton Keynes, are now on sale. The team of Christmas planners are on hand to discuss private parties with anyone looking to book a unique party experience this festive season.

Kents Hill Park becomes the first UK venue to remove dairy from all dessert menus

Kents Hill Park, part of The Venues Collection has become the first UK venue to remove dairy from all dessert menus. This groundbreaking move is expected to save over 42 tonnes of CO2 on event menus alone in 2024.

Kents Hill Park launches ‘Meetings for Change Plus’ event packages for healthy planet, mind and body

Kents Hill Park has launched the ‘Meetings for Change Plus’ event packages, empowering organisers with options that are not only good for the planet but good for the mind and body too.

10 Innovative Church Conference Ideas for Every Occasion

Hosting a successful church conference goes beyond the traditional format. To truly engage and foster community growth, incorporating a diverse range of church event ideas is essential. In this article, we’ll explore unique concepts for chu

7 Fantastic Christmas Party Ideas in Milton Keynes

With the festive season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning your work Christmas party. If you’re in Milton Keynes or the surrounding areas, you’re in luck! Milton Keynes offers many exciting Christmas party ide

How to Choose the Right Meeting Room Style

Meetings bear substantial significance for a multitude of reasons. They assume a pivotal role in strengthening team connections and providing allocated moments for communication – an irreplaceable asset in any business or professional setti

How To Choose The Right Retreat Venue: A Guide for Religious, Spiritual and Wellness Gatherings

Are you looking for a venue for a retreat you’re organising? Organising a religious, spiritual or wellness retreat can be a difficult task if you’ve never done it before. Choosing the right venue is a crucial step that can greatly impact th

The Venues Collection achieve Green Tourism ‘Green Meetings’ Standard

The Venues Collection can announce that all their UK conference & training venues have achieved the ‘silver’ level in the Green Tourism ‘Green Meetings’ Standard – the world’s largest sustainable certification programme.

Why Milton Keynes is the Perfect Central Location for Conferences

Milton Keynes is a vibrant and modern city in the heart of England, making it a popular destination for conferences and events. Its central location, excellent transport links, and networking opportunities make it the perfect choice for bus

Tips for Planning a Successful Team Training Day

Team training days are an essential aspect of professional growth and development . As an organisation or team leader, it is your responsibility to provide opportunities for your team members to acquire new skills and knowledge. A team trai

Tips for Organising a Charity Event

Organising a charity event is a fantastic way of raising money for your chosen charity as well as getting the message out to the public. Organising a charity event can be a scary prospect, and even the most experienced event planners will c

Planning A Team Away Day

A team away day can be one of the most motivating days for your team, but only if it is planned and carried out in the right way. They are becoming increasingly popular within business teams, so what is the best way to carry this out?

12 Team Away Day Ideas

When considering what makes a good team building away day you need to know what the goal is for the day plus what your team enjoy. A lot of teams enjoy team-building activities so whether you’re an office of sports fanatics or you’re lookin

Are Sustainable Events the Future?

Sustainable Events are the future and event organizers need to be prepared! Knowing where to start with sustainable event management is no easy task. At Kents Hill Park, we’ve been offering sustainable events for some time now so we’re here

Serviced Offices vs Conventional Offices

Finding the perfect office space for your business is essential to the productivity and mental health of your team, from serviced offices to conventional offices, or even virtual offices. Conventional offices have many benefits, allowing yo

5 Memorable Anniversary Party Ideas to Celebrate your Love

After you tie the knot, the years of marriage fly by even quicker as you enter new chapters of your life together. Whilst you might not choose to celebrate every anniversary with extravagance, make the ones you do choose to celebrate count!

Consider a Business Meeting Venue in Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire has originally developed as a Greater London, Buckinghamshire. Milton Keynes boasts a vibrant town centre and has to offer plenty of local amenities to suit everyone, from big-city commuters to local commute

How to Organise a Gala Dinner

Gala Dinners are usually considered as a formal sit-down meal that serves a purpose, such as a ceremony, celebration or charity event. A Gala Dinner is often organised by a non-profit organisation with the intention of bringing a group of i

The Venues Collection Executive Chef selected for Aspirational Culinary Apprenticeship Programme

The Venues Collection’s Executive Chef Sam Morgan has been selected to take part in a groundbreaking culinary programme in collaboration with esteemed chef Marcus Wareing.

Sam Morgan: Why Buying British Matters

Sam Morgan is Executive Chef at The Venues Collection

Five Food Trends

Kerry Pearce, Head Chef at The Venues Collection’s Kents Hill Park shares the five food trends influencing what and how we will be eating over the next year:

A Meeting Checklist Might Fail | How to Make Sure Yours Doesn’t

People often seem to think it’s a great idea to put together a meeting checklist beforehand so that they’re well and truly prepared for whatever the meeting throws their way. A lot of the time, creating a checklist can be a fantastic way to

The Venues Collection Launches Apprenticeship Charter

The Venues Collection, a nationwide provider of training and conference facilities, has launched an Apprenticeship Charter to help and reassure businesses when selecting appropriate accommodation for their apprentices whilst completing thei

The Venue Collection launches Future First Charter

The Venues Collection has launched its Future First Charter, a framework to shape and deliver the Group’s social purpose initiatives and targets. The Charter is built around three key pillars; People Pledge, Food Focus and Enriching Environ

How To Run a Meeting | How To Run an Effective Meeting Tips

Whether you’re a meeting-planning professional or a little bit of a note-taking novice, knowing how to run a meeting, or even how to run an effective meeting, can be a daunting prospect indeed.

Outdoor Meetings: The Future of Business Meetups

Stepping outside, breathing in the fresh air, and organising outdoor meetings are all the rage right now. The idea of hosting more outdoor meetings seems to be catching like wildfire, and it seems to be bringing a lot of questions. To help

Strawberries, Seasonal Ingredient for July

Summer means Wimbledon and therefore strawberries! This delicious recipe is easy to make and is the perfect dessert to share with family and friends.

14 Enjoyable Unusual Team Building Activities For Employees

If you’re on the hunt for some unusual team building activities, then you’ve landed on the right page! Examples of unusual team building activities are a dragons den, circus classes, camping, office olympics and more! In this article, we’re

Cherries, Seasonal Ingredient for June

Cherry season in the UK is short but one worth looking out for. This recipe is great to match with dark chocolate and hazelnuts for some indulgence. If you have a bumper crop of cherries, why not freeze them or infuse them into some alcohol

Asparagus, Seasonal Ingredient for May

Asparagus makes a great accompaniment to lots of dishes and cooks up in minutes! Try our delicious warm asparagus salad recipe from the comfort of your own at home.

As Seen In Conference News: Outdoor Events

Recently published in Aprils addition of Conference News , Jo Austin, Sales Director for The Venues Collection discusses the importance of outdoor events:

Hybrid Events – What Is A Hybrid Event?

Within the event industry, hybrid events are increasingly popular but what is a hybrid event? Should I hold a hybrid conference and how do I plan a hybrid event?

Kents Hill Park: Back to Business, A Case Study

Kents Hill Park is located in Milton Keynes, with excellent transport links to the rest of the country, making it easy for delegates to attend training, conferences and meetings. The purpose-built facility is one of the largest dedicated tr

Top 5 Creative Corporate Event Ideas

When planning corporate events, it’s crucial to find unique ideas that cater to your specific team’s preferences. Basic team bonding activities and conferences may lead to a disconnect within the group. To solidify workplace relationships a

Rhubarb, Seasonal Ingredient for April

Did you know rhubarb is botanically a vegetable but is treated as a fruit despite its sour taste? Try our delicious rhubarb recipe from the comfort of your own at home.

Celeriac, Seasonal Ingredient for March

Celeriac can often be overlooked because of its knobbly, odd-shape but its subtle celery-like flavour with nutty overtones is delicious. Try our celeriac recipes from the comfort of your own at home.

Kale, Seasonal Ingredient for February

Kale contains a wide range of nutrients that can help prevent various health conditions, it tastes great too! We’ve put together two of our favourite kale recipes, a Caesar salad and a versatile pesto , for you to create in the comfort of y

The Best Techniques for Mandatory Training

Being aware of a variety of essential training methods for employees, and fully understanding the benefits and downfalls of each one individually, is critical when it comes to avoiding unnecessary costs that often come hand in hand with tra

Virtual Events by The Venues Collection

Lime Venue Portfolio and The Venues Collection are partnering to offer customers a virtual and hybrid event concept available through selected venues within their portfolios. ‘Your Virtual Events’ launches today and will provide specialist

5 ‘Cool’ Ice Breakers for Virtual Meetings

In today’s digital world, working from home is the new norm. This can make introductions awkward. This article aims to discuss the very best ice breakers for virtual meetings so you don’t have to panic about any uncomfortable Zoom meet and

Benefits Of Serviced Offices – What Is A Serviced Office?

In this article, we will explore the numerous benefits of serviced offices and delve into the concept of what a serviced office truly is. The evolving landscape of work has rendered traditional office spaces and fixed working hours obsolete

#IAM TVC – Bringing people together safely

The Venues Collection is a brand where our people feel valued, respected, supported, cared for and happy. Our people and our culture are what defines us, what delivers great experiences, what continually improves what we do and what sets us

Hot Desking Advantages and Disadvantages

Hot desking is currently a buzzword in the business community. As more companies are determined to demonstrate to employees and the outside world that they are flexible and modern, hot desking is gaining popularity.

Pros and Cons of Face to Face Meetings

In the business world, meetings are commonplace, they can range from a 5-minute internal chat with the team to a large scale client management meeting. These are a chance to catch up, exchange ideas and explore possibilities and opportuniti

Work from home motivation to boost focus

The Mash Sessions Interview Joanne Barratt MD of TVC

Leading psychologists have predicted that working from home will not end anytime soon and the ‘traditional office’ will soon die out. However, with the need to still meet face-to-face, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly, can businesses s

Party Ideas For Work

Show your appreciation with our range of party ideas for work including office party ideas, work Christmas party ideas and virtual office party ideas.

Virtual team building activities to boost engagement

In the current situation, staying at home is important to stay safe. This has had a big impact on everyone’s way of life and how we enjoy things. Technology has always been prevalent for work, socialising and entertainment, but the online w

Stop Food Waste Day 2020

Our venue may be temporarily closed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we are still committed to fighting food waste, even at home. Slight changes to our habits can significantly reduce food waste and by using every aspect of each ingredien

7 Fun Office Games for Employees

If you’re looking for fun office games, then you have come to the right place! This article aims to give you the very best team building games for the office as well as quick fun office games, fun office games for employees and even the bes

Ice-Breaker Questions for Adults

Ice-breakers sometimes earn a groan but they don’t have to. It’s a good idea to get to know the people you’re going to be working with or seeing and ice-breakers are good for building trust. These funny icebreaker questions for adults work

5 minute team building activities

Having a sense of community within any team is vital. In terms of sports, the team share the common goal of wanting to win. Each member invests time and commitment within the team, so everyone is harmonious and plays to the best of their ab

Yarnfield Park sets up Market Stall to sell fruit and veg to community

11 Employee Engagement Activities That Work

In the workplace, it can be the case that members of staff aren’t fully involved with the company’s vision or are struggling to feel more involved. Though this is not ideal for any company culture, there is no need to despair, as there are

Benefits of staff training

Staff training can seem like a lot of money and time being taken up but a good series of training sessions will help to improve the motivation of your staff and in turn improve the likelihood of them staying and recommending you as an emplo

‘Business as Usual’ for Kents Hill Park

Countrywide Plc, Babcock and Milton Keynes University Hospital are amongst the first companies returning to Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes this week as the conference centre reopens for business.

The Venues Collection Exhibiting at International Confex 2020

International Confex is just around the corner and The Venues Collection are delighted to announce they will be exhibiting at the shows Associations Village Green on 25 th and 26 th February 2020 . Hiscox Event insurance are sponsoring the

Kents Hill Park will reopen for business from Sunday 1 March 2020

Kents Hill Park will reopen for business from Sunday 1 March 2020 and we are looking forward to welcoming back our many loyal clients and customers to our venue.

Coronavirus: Milton Keynes Information

Around 150 British Citizens are being flown from Wuhan City in China, the epicentre of the current outbreak of Novel Coronavirus, back to the United Kingdom on Sunday 9 February.

5 Habits That Will Ruin Your Meeting And How To Fix Them

If you work in any sort of office the likelihood is you attend meetings. Whether they are few and far between or a regular occurrence, you need to get them right otherwise they become a waste of time. Meetings can be very beneficial for tea

11 of The Best Conference Gift Ideas

If you attend a conference , you always research speakers and prepare which areas you want to visit. Another favourite part of conference attending is the freebies that you receive throughout the days. Mugs and pens branded with relevant co

Cheap and Cheerful Christmas Table Gift Ideas

If you’re having friends and family over to yours this year for their Christmas dinner, having table gifts for them can be a nice touch. Not only does it show the sign of a good host, but is also a keepsake so they’ll have something to reme

Improving employee engagement during meetings

Meetings are commonplace in the workplace and not all of them are successful. We’ve all been in an unengaging meeting where nothing really gets done. Avoid this with our guide on how to engage employees during meetings.

DIY Christmas Centrepiece Ideas

Updated: September 2023

Funny Gifts for the Boss for Secret Santa

Secret Santa is a great idea for a big office. It means everyone gets something to unwrap, without breaking the bank. If you get someone you don’t know particularly well, it can be frustrating trying to work out what they’d actually like.

Benefits of Hosting an Offsite Meeting

Holding a company offsite meeting offers numerous benefits such as enhancing productivity, problem solving skills, company culture, team building and utilising the meeting venue’s facilities. Discover our top reasons to host your meeting of

Why Is Team Building So Important?

Team building activities are sometimes overlooked and not taken seriously in business. What some may not understand is how much positive impact they can have. Team building activities have many benefits, as well as giving employees a much-n

Team Building Activities For Your Coworkers

There are a variety of reasons why team building is a great idea. It builds trust among employees and encourages them to open up to each other. This can have a positive impact in the office as employees may feel more able to bounce ideas of

Helpful Tips for Throwing an Event

Throwing an event is exciting. It can be really rewarding to see something you’ve planned go well. We’ve put together a guide with handy tips on how to throw an event.

7 Tell-Tale Signs You Need to Get a New Meeting strategy

Hosting or giving a meeting can be stressful. There’s a lot of aspects to get right so you want to make it good. It’s easy to see if a meeting has been successful or a flop. If you are hosting meetings that aren’t going well but you don’t k

6 Ways to Ruin Your Conference: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Conferences offer valuable opportunities for networking, learning, and inspiration. However, there are several ways to ruin your meetings and certain missteps that can turn your conference experience into a disappointment. In this guide, we

Food Story – Interview with Tony Maude, Head Chef and a top recipe give away

Here at The Venues Collection, we know food is one of the most important choices when selecting a venue and to set the scene, we sat down with Tony Maude, the Head Chef at our venue of the month – Kents Hill Park. To spice things up even mo

Are meetings effective?

In the workplace meetings are common. But the question is, are they effective? We’ve all sat in a stuffy room to attend a meeting that seems to go on forever. Hopefully, we’ve also experienced meetings where ideas flow and everyone comes aw

How to Plan the Perfect Team Building Event

Team building events are great for strengthening relationships, boosting morale, and overall, having an enjoyable day. According to Team Stage , 75% of staff say team work and collaboration are crucial to corporate success, highlighting the

Essential checklist for planning a conference or an event

So, you’ve been asked to plan a conference or event. This can be daunting but also very rewarding. Whether it’s a charity event or conference with your company, we’ve put together a checklist to have a successful day.

How to Organise a Successful Conference: Structuring Your Event for Success

When it comes to organising a conference, having a well-structured framework in place can make all the difference in ensuring a smooth and successful event. While overplanning can sometimes be counterproductive, setting up a basic structure

What to look for in a function room

Choosing a function room can be difficult. With so much choice out there it’s easy for it to become a daunting decision, especially with so many different things to think about. Depending on the event you’re having there are several ameniti

5 ways to make your anniversary party really special

Wedding Anniversaries are a great celebration of the love you share with your partner, whether it be marriage or a relationship. If it’s a significant number or you just feel like celebrating, a wedding anniversary party brings all your lov

8 Things That Make a Great Meeting Venue

Meetings can go one of two ways. We’ve all experienced the feeling of sitting in pure boredom, in a stuffy room, staring out of the window, willing for it to end. Equally everyone, hopefully, has attended a meeting which gave real insight a

How to decorate your Christmas party venue

The work Christmas party has become a mainstay of British comedy, but most real-life work parties are a chance for colleagues who like each other to chat, eat, and maybe have a few drinks or dance. Whether your team is large or small, you’l

10 Ways to Ensure You Make an Impact in Meetings

In the corporate world, meetings are the lifeblood of effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making. Whether you’re hosting a meeting with management or facilitating an important client presentation, the effectiveness of your

Kents Hill Park hosts Milton Keynes’ Landmark LGBTQ+

This year, to educate and celebrate diversity in the workplace, global events management company Events Together are producing This Is Us. This one-day conference will be held in Milton Keynes on 4th October 2018, and will tackle a number o

Christmas Party Nights

Christmas is a fantastic time of year. All the food, music and festivities get everyone in the mood for celebration. If you’re looking for somewhere to have a night of festive fun, look no further than Kents Hill Park. Our venue is flexible

Gin Corner

Since 2010 Gin has had a massive revival. In particular the British Gin industry which had a record breaking year in 2015 with sales nearing £1bn. The value of gin sold in supermarkets reached £400 million while on- trade sales also did par

Costa Arrives At Kents Hill Park

We are delighted to announce the newest member to the Kents Hill Park family: Our Costa Coffee machine. Situated in our main lounge, you and your delegates can treat yourself to an Americano, Cappuccino or even a Latte at any time of the da