MK Cows
Milton Keynes Gifts and Souvenirs
Home of the "Mini Concrete Cows"

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About MK Cows

The concrete cows in Milton Keynes have always been somewhat of a fascination to visitors and commentators alike. Some people cannot believe that they exist and others find it hard to understand why they do. Whatever is said about them, there continues to be an interest that makes people smile.

MK Cows have been designing and making Milton Keynes souvenirs and customised gifts that centre around the concrete cow theme and other elements of Milton Keynes life that resonate with the people that live and work here.

For lots more examples of the MK Cows products see our Gallery.

How it all Started

During 2007 a local Milton Keynes scout group set about to make 100 smaller concrete cows to sell as a fund raising project for the 100 year anniversary of scouting. One of the parent scout leaders - local designer Mark Cain - designed, modelled, and cast these mini cow models and the young scouts helped paint them. When finished they had 100 mini concrete cows complete with scout necker scarves and individual number cards. The MK COWS website was created as a vehicle for selling the cows, advertising and various sponsors helped with the promotion of the project. The cows went on sale on 1st October and were a resounding success. The scouts sold all their cows and raised significant funds. Each cow is made from real concrete and this first 100 were sold from between £10 and £100 each.

The population of Milton Keynes have showed continued interest in these little cows and so we have continued the development of the Mini Concrete Cow brand and product range.

Hand Made Works of Art

Each Mini Concrete Cow continues to be made with real concrete and hand painted and they all come with a unique serial number. These are works of art and collector's pieces as well as being a bit of a curiosity.

One of the natural relationships we have made is with the local football club the MK Dons. Their mascots are cows and so it was easy to see the connection between the club and the MK COWS. During the production of the first 100 special scout edition cows a number were painted with the MK Dons logo painted on their backs. These were some of the most popular to be sold.

Of the first 100 cows, some have travelled far and wide ending up in Australia, USA and Scotland.

We are pleased to produce these concrete sculptures to represent, in a fun way, some of the feeling and excitement of Milton Keynes.

The Queen owns a Mini Concrete Cow

In this same spirit we were excited to produce a special edition mini concrete cow for the royal visit from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh when they visited to officially open the Stadium MK on Thursday 29 November 2007. This is cow number 101 and has the MK Dons logo painted on it's back.

More MK Cows Products

As time moved on there were more and more enquiries about the MK Cows products and requests for different souvenirs of Milton Keynes. We developed a larger range of the Mini Concrete Cows (3 sizes), as well as book end versions, trophies and many, many custom painted and corporate branded cows.

New Milton Keynes products continued to be designed and manufactured including clothing, coasters, postcards and posters. One of the most popular product continues to be the A2 poster of our classic road Map of Milton Keynes in the style of the London Underground Map.

A Family of Cow Owners

We have encouraged the owners of the Mini Concrete Cows to take a photograph and register on the website as a new member of the MK Cows Family. We are very excited to have over 180 registered Mini Concrete Cows in more than 12 countries. We look forward to even more being registered.

Milton Keynes Calendars

One of the anticipated and very popular MK Cows products have been a series of Milton Keynes calendars. These featured some fantastic photographs taken by local photographers to capture the spirit of the new city and bring pleasure to many households in Milton Keynes and abroad.

Moving Further Afield

In 2013 the original creator of MK Cows and the Mini Concrete Cows, Mark Cain, moved with his family to Auckland, New Zealand. The concrete cow production and day to day running of business was left in the very capable hands of his skilled MK Cows team members. But Mark continues to maintain close links with the business and still personally responds to all email enquiries, deals with all suppliers and stockists and keeps on the pulse with all things to do with Milton Keynes.

Over the recent years we have made a number of updates to the Map of Milton Keynes to keep in line with the actual physical changes of the city as well as developing some of the product packaging. Over the years some of the custom cow products have actually still been made by Mark and shipped over to the UK.

Destination Milton Keynes

MK Cows continues to support the efforts of the wonderful organisation - Destination Milton Keynes. We have been a member of this organisation for many years and love what they are doing to promote and support the people and businesses of Milton Keynes.

The Future

There are lots of exciting new developments on the horizon. New products, updated packaging that is more environmentally friendly and some great competitions and offers for the fans of MK Cows.


As this story continues we look forward to many exciting tales of the Milton Keynes Mini Concrete Cows.


(Updated 20 October 2021)

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