Bedfordshire County
(Historic)

Map Reference: 52.17418, -0.47114

Bedfordshire is an inland county in the south-eastern Midlands of England. Outside of the main towns of Bedford and Luton, the county comprises rich agricultural land, rolling rural scenery and pretty villages. The southern end of the county is swept by the chalk ridge of the Chiltern Hills. Bedford, the county town, sits in the centre of the shire on the banks of the Great Ouse. The nearby village of Elstow, birthplace of John Bunyan, has a 15th-century Moot Hall. Aside from Bedford, the main towns of Bedfordshire lie in its far south. Luton lies in a break in the Chiltern Hills. Houghton Regis is a former village which was expanded as a London overspill estate. The market town of Dunstable stands where two ancient routes (Watling Street and the Icknield Way) cross. Dunstable Downs are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chiltern Hills. Leighton Buzzard is a traditional market town on the River Ouzel at the edge of the Chiltern Hills. Outside these towns, southern Bedfordshire is primarily rural. Woburn Abbey, the seat of the Duke of Bedford, is a grand mansion with historic landscaped gardens. East of Bedford lie the market towns of Biggleswade and Sandy, both on the River Ivel. North of Bedford, the county is almost entirely rural.