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Geologically, the county can be divided into distinct
parts. In the north is a maze of rolling pastures and
farms in the glinting valley of the majestic River Great
Ouse, a wide waterway joined by numerous tributaries.
Here are sublime water meadows lined with willow, alder
and hordes of canny fishermen.
The area was left virtually undisturbed by the Romans
and their subsequent followers, though the Vikings
navigated the Ouse and built a harbour and docks at
Willington.
Deposits of yellow-brown clay create the perfect
underbody for cow-munching grasslands. These farm-laden
northern reaches are characterised by quietly-spoken
villages with thatched houses, traditional village
greens and ageing, stone-spired churches. Roxton boasts
rush-roofed chapel while Bushmead has the remains of
royal stables and an Augustinian priory. The picturesque
village of Cardington has become a centre for hot-air
ballooning and is still dominated by hangars used to
build the ill-fated R101 airship.
The area’s most famous historical figure was the
nonconformist preacher John Bunyan (1628-1688) who was
born at Harrowden, near Bedford, and began the
allegorical ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ while incarcerated in
Bedford jail during a period of severe religious
persecution.
A slab marks the site of the prison but the town has
other Bunyan memorials, including a museum, a statue in
front of St Peter’s Church and a famous meeting house.
Instead of clay and hot air, the south of the county is
a place of chalk, boasting the stunning Chiltern Hills
and glider-filled Dunstable Downs. This is essentially
an area of farms and market gardens growing a
constellation of fruit and vegetables.
Fruit growing came of age here in the 19th century with
the coming of the Victorian plant pioneer Thomas Laxton.
The redoubtable Mr Laxton and his descendants developed
many varieties of apples (‘Lord Lambourne’, ‘Laxton’s
Superb’) as well as plums, pears, gooseberries,
raspberries, currants and strawberries.
There are a number of great houses in the county but the
most prominent is 18th century Woburn Abbey, which lies
atop a sandstone ridge. The ancestral seat of the Dukes
of Bedford, it was originally a medieval abbey and
contains paintings by the likes of Canaletto and
Rembrandt.
The surrounding 3,000-acre Woburn Park was used by the
11th Duke to save the rare Pére David's deer from
extinction in the 20th century. Other species of deer
have since been drafted in. After the Second World
War the 13th Duke was the first aristo to open his
stately pile to the public before he invented Woburn
Safari Park - the largest drive-through wildlife reserve
in Britain.
Nearby stands Abbot's Oak. It was from this noble tree
that the Abbot of Woburn was hanged on the orders of
Henry VIII in 1537.
Another memorable house is Luton Hoo, south east of
Luton. Built by Robert Adam in the 18th century, it was
landscaped by the great ‘Capability’ Brown.
Most of Bedfordshire’s population is concentrated in the
towns of Luton and Bedford; the former, a unitary
authority, is only part of the ceremonial county of
Bedfordshire while the latter is the county town.
Bedford has a fine five-arched 19th century bridge over
the River Great Ouse and a number of old churches. St
Paul's, for example, dates to the 12th century and has a
15th century pulpit from which John Wesley preached.
Curiously, the county has seen few battles or major
upheavals in modern times and beyond the main centres of
commerce and development has retained a quaint, rustic
air.
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