www.historic-ireland.com
Central and South Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire, England
Gliding at Dunstable Downs
Toddington Manor
Central and South Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire has always had strong royal connections. Houghton Regis was a royal manor of Edward the Confessor and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
In the 12th century, Henry I split his manor to form the town of Dunstable at the ancient crossroads of Watling Street and Icknield Way. Henry built a palace and founded an Augustinian priory. Five centuries later, the priory was the location for the divorce proceedings between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
The other main settlement is Leighton Buzzard and is also mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was a thriving market town even then, a tradition that continues in the attractive Georgian High Street, with its 15th century market cross. The 13th century parish church is one of the finest in the country. The top tourist attraction is the narrow gauge railway, which runs miniature steam trains along a five-mile route into the countryside. Cruises and day trips can also be taken along the Grand Union canal.
The rest of South Bedfordshire consists mainly of carefully protected rolling countryside, much of it recognized as an Area of Outstanding Beauty. Within the rural area lie many attractive villages. Nowhere in South Bedfordshire is more than a short ride away from glorious countryside.
Dunstable Downs offer 130 acres of public access in The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with circular walks, picnic area, visitor centre and spectacular views. Hang-gliders use the Downs and visitors can also watch traditional gliders taking off and landing at the London Gliding Club below.
Stockgrove Country Park is situated between the villages of Heath and Reach and Great Brickhill and comprise of woods and parkland, an ornamental lake and picnic area. Sundon Hills Country Park, Sharpenhoe Clappers and Totternhoe Knolls are also popular countryside areas.
Set in 600 acres of beautiful parkland, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park is home to 2,500 animals and is one of Europe’s largest conservation centres. Other animal collections can be seen at Woodside Animal Farm, whilst Mead Open Farm with its wide range of established farm animals is not far away.
For more Information please contact:
Priory House
33 High Street South
Dunstable
Beds
LU6 3RZ
Web: www.southbeds.gov.uk
Email: tic@dunstable.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1582 890270
Where to stay and things to do in Bedfordshire
Hotels | Bed and Breakfast | Pubs and Inns | Self Catering | Places to Visit | Antiques and Collectables | Museums and Art Galleries | Arts, Crafts and Fairs | Gardens | Castles | Cathedrals | National Parks | Railways | Wildlife | Weddings and Honeymoons | Apartments | Conferences, Seminars and Corporate Events | World Heritage Sites | Abbeys and Priories | Nature Reserves | Health Spas | Haunted Places | Churches | Theatres | Restaurants | Animal Sanctuaries | More Bedfordshire Information
UK Heritage links
Cadw | Heritage Britain | Historic Houses Association | richmond | The Churches Preservation Trust | The National Trust | The National Trust for Scotland | tunbridge |
England Heritage links
Bath |
Bath |
Bedfordshire |
Bedford |
Central and South Bedfordshire |
Mid Bedfordshire |
Berkshire |
Historic Royal Windsor |
Reading |
Buckinghamshire |
Aylesbury Vale |
The Chilterns |
Wycombe District |
Cambridgeshire |
Cambridge |
Ely, Cambridgeshire |
Peterborough |
Cheshire |
County of Cheshire |
South East Cheshire |
Vale Royal |
Cornwall |
County of Cornwall |
Historic Restormel -
The Daphne Du Maurier Festival |
North Cornwall |
Cumbria |
Carlisle |
Ulverston and Low Furness
The Lake District Peninsulas |
Derbyshire |
Amber Valley |
County of Derbyshire |
Historic Derby |
Devon |
Clovelly |
Historic Exeter |
Dorset |
Historic Christchurch |
Historic Purbeck |
Durham County |
Derwentside |
Easington |
Sedgefield |
Teesdale |
Wear Valley |
Essex |
County of Essex |
Historic Chelmsford |
Saffron Walden |
The District of Braintree |
Gloucestershire |
Cheltenham |
Cotswolds and Severn Vale |
Gloucester |
Stroud |
The Gloucestershire Cotswolds |
Hampshire |
East Hampshire |
New Forest |
Portsmouth |
Test Valley |
Hertfordshire |
Hertford |
St Albans |
Kent |
Chatham Historic Dockyard |
Historic Rochester |
Kent, England’s oldest county |
Maidstone |
Royal Tunbridge Wells |
Lancashire |
Wyre |
Leicestershire |
Historic Leicestershire |
Historic Melton Mowbray |
Lincolnshire |
Boston |
East Lindsey |
East Lindsey |
Hotels and Attractions in
Historic West Lindsey |
Lincoln |
Merseyside |
Liverpool, Merseyside, European Capital of Culture 2008 |
Norfolk |
South Norfolk |
Northamptonshire |
Corby |
East Northamptonshire |
Historic Kettering |
Northampton |
Northumberland |
Berwick-upon-Tweed |
Chillingham Castle |
Historic Alnwick |
Historic Northumberland |
Nottinghamshire |
Newark and Sherwood |
Oxfordshire |
Henley and South Oxfordshire |
Historic North Oxfordshire |
The Oxfordshire Cotswolds |
Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire |
Wallingford |
Somerset |
Exmoor and West Somerset |
Frome |
Taunton Deane and the Heart of Somerset |
Staffordshire |
Cannock Chase |
County of Staffordshire |
Stafford |
Suffolk |
Historic Suffolk Coast |
Surrey |
County of Surrey |
Historic Guildford |
Richmond upon Thames |
Sussex |
Ancient Rye |
Chichester |
Historic 1066 Country |
Historic Mid Sussex |
West Sussex |
Warwickshire |
Rugby |
Warwickshire |
Wiltshire |
Heart of Wiltshire |
Historic North Wiltshire |
Historic Salisbury and Stonehenge |
Swindon |
Wiltshire |
Worcestershire |
Bromsgrove |
Historic Worcestershire |
Worcester |
Wychavon |
Yorkshire |
Experience Wakefield |
Harrogate |
North York Moors National Park |
Scotland Heritage links
Fife | The Kingdom of Fife | Perth and Kinross | County of Perthshire |
Wales Heritage links
Cardiff |
Cardiff |
Conwy |
Historic Conwy, Llandudno and Colwyn Bay |
Gwynedd |
Gwynedd and Snowdonia |
Portmeirion |
Merthyr Tydfil |
Merthyr Tydfil |
Powys |
Mid Wales |
Swansea |
Swansea |
Torfaen |
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
A UK World Heritage Site |
The Channel Islands and The Isle of Man Heritage links
Channel Islands | Guernsey | Historic Jersey | The Isle of Man | The Isle of Man |
County Information
England
| Bath | Bedfordshire | Berkshire | Birmingham | Bristol | Buckinghamshire | Cambridge | Cambridgeshire | Cheshire | Cleveland | Cornwall | Cumbria | Derbyshire | Devon | Dorset | Durham County | Essex | Gloucestershire | Hampshire | Herefordshire | Hertfordshire | Isle of Wight | Kent | Lancashire | Leicestershire | Lincolnshire | Liverpool | London | Manchester | Merseyside | Norfolk | Northamptonshire | Northumberland | Nottinghamshire | Oxford | Oxfordshire | Rutland | Shropshire | Somerset | Staffordshire | Suffolk | Surrey | Sussex | Tyne and Wear | Warwickshire | West Midlands | Wiltshire | Worcestershire | York | Yorkshire |
Scotland
Aberdeenshire | Angus | Argyll, Mull, Bute | Ayrshire | Dumfries and Galloway | Dunbartonshire | Dundee | Edinburgh | Falkirk | Fife | Glasgow | Highlands and Islands | Isle of Arran | Kincardineshire | Lanarkshire | Lothian | Moray | Orkney Islands | Perth and Kinross | Renfrewshire | Scottish Borders | Shetland Islands | Stirlingshire |
Wales
Anglesey (Isle of) | Bridgend | Caerphilly | Cardiff | Carmarthenshire | Ceredigion | Conwy | Denbighshire | Flintshire | Gwent | Gwynedd | Merthyr Tydfil | Monmouthshire | Neath Port Talbot | Newport | Pembrokeshire | Powys | Rhondda | Swansea | Torfaen | Vale of Glamorgan | Wrexham |
Northern Ireland
Antrim | Belfast | Down | Fermanagh | Londonderry | Tyrone |
Ireland
Cavan | Clare | Cork | Donegal | Dublin | Galway | Kerry | Kildare | Kilkenny | Leitrim | Limerick | Mayo | Meath | Sligo | Tipperary | Waterford | Westmeath | Wexford | Wicklow |
The Channel Islands and The Isle of Man
