Bedford is in Bedfordshire county in the East Anglia region of England. It is the county town and the transport, social, cultural and administrative centre of the shire-county of Bedfordshire

Understand

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Once on the frontier between the Anglo-Saxons and Danes, it has a charter dating back more than 900 years. It is an important shopping centre, and there are also many pubs and bars. There are a number of good ethnic restaurants, reflecting the town's substantial Italian, Indian, Pakistani, and Polish communities. Bedford has also been heralded for having the widest range of ethnic diversity, boasting one of the few Eskimos in Britain. The Embankment along the River Ouse running through the centre of town is an attractive place for a walk, and once a year is given over to a traditional Regatta. On the picturesque town bridge is a memorial to John Bunyan, the author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress', who was imprisoned there. John Bunyan also lived in Bedford for most of his life, writing The Pilgrim's Progress here, and his life can be seen at the John Bunyan Museum in the town, where a statue dedicated to him can also be seen. There is a large and attractive park with tennis courts, and other niceties north of the town centre (Bedford Park).

Get in

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By train

Bedford is on the Thameslink / Midland Mainline railway line. Travel to/from London St. Pancras takes about 40 minutes by Midland Mainline and just over an hour if you take the Thameslink train to/from Kings Cross Thameslink. Thameslink trains are slow, rickety, electric, noisy, and commonly filled with drunkards. But the Midland Mainline trains only stop at a couple of stations between Bedford & London and are filled with yuppies, so you'll have to make your choice and stick with it.

There is also a minor railway line going west to Bletchley (near Milton Keynes). Bedford's second train station (Bedford St. John's) is only used by Bletchley trains, whereas all trains going to/from Bedford end up in Bedford Central station sooner or later.

The Midland Mainline goes north to Nottingham and beyond.

By bus

Bedford has a reasonably large bus station located in the centre of town. Long distance bus connectivity is therefore good.The bus station and train station are only about 200m apart, so it's quite easy if you need to make a change here.

Bedford is on the X5 bus route between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge. Buses generally leave every half hour.

By road

Bedford lies directly between the M1 and A1 motorways.

Get around

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The local bus services around Bedford are terrible, being both infrequent and expensive. Just about everything you'd want to see is within easy walking distance of the high street, however (at most 30 minutes if you're slow), so there's little need for anything more than your feet in good weather.

There's a reasonable but underused shuttle bus leaving the central train station, and the bus service to surrounding villages is excellent.

There are very few provisions for cyclists, though the town centre is pedestrianised. The one...