Top 15 Attractions in Bedford, Bedfordshire: Must-Do Activities

Bedfordshire’s county town is a verdant settlement along the River Great Ouse. This waterway, along with its Victorian Embankment, gardens, and Suspension Bridge, adds an air of sophistication to the town’s centre. For cultural and aviation history, the Higgins Art Gallery & Museum and the Shuttleworth Collection stand out as premier institutions in their respective fields.

Bedford has a notable history of Christian dissenters; John Bunyan, the Puritan and author of the Pilgrim’s Progress, was born here in the 17th century and subsequently established his church in the town centre. Following World War II, Bedford became home to a significant Italian community, with census data indicating that nearly one-third of the population has Italian heritage.

1. Higgins Art Gallery & Museum

In the early 2010s, Bedford’s esteemed town museum and art gallery underwent a multimillion-pound refurbishment, integrating three formerly separate buildings. Established in 1949 by local brewer Cecil Higgins, the museum showcases his collections of glass, ceramics, and other applied arts.

Design remains central to the institution, featuring nationally recognised collections, including works by Victorian Gothic Revival designer William Burges and twentieth-century artist Edward Bawden. Visitors can admire five centuries of design, encompassing Irish cut glass, Meissen and Nymphenburg porcelain, and decorative artefacts that chronicle Bedford’s history and the broader county.

2. John Bunyan Museum

John Bunyan (1628-1688), born in Harrowden near Bedford, was an author and Puritan preacher most renowned for his work, Pilgrim’s Progress, published in 1678. Regarded as one of the first novels in the English language, it is a well-known Christian allegory.

Bunyan’s career flourished during the Puritan Interregnum but faced persecution during the Restoration, resulting in a 12-year imprisonment. The John Bunyan Museum is located on the site of a barn where he conducted services, adjacent to the Bunyan Meeting Free Church established in 1849. The museum features a third edition of Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan’s flute and iron violin, a stoneware jug from his incarceration, and displays that recreate 17th-century life in Bedford.

3. Shuttleworth Collection

This museum, located a few minutes from Bedford at the Old Warden Aerodrome, offers a glimpse into the early days of aviation. Originally founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, who tragically died in 1940 during an RAF training exercise, it contains five Edwardian aircraft from the pre-First World War era. The oldest of these is the Blériot XI from 1909, making it the world’s oldest operational aeroplane.

In addition to a First World War-era Briston F.2 Fighter, it houses the only airworthy de Havilland DH.88 Comet globally. The collection also features an array of early automobiles and motorcycles, with notable examples including a 1902 Baby Peugeot and an 1899 Benz International dogcart. Weather permitting, visitors can witness these Edwardian flying machines take to the skies during airshows from May to October.

4. Bedford Park

As one of three parks in Bedford that hold the esteemed Green Flag status, Bedford Park is the town’s largest urban green space. Developed in the 19th century to accommodate Bedford’s growth northward, the park showcases expansive lawns, formal gardens, mature trees, and a cricket pitch with preserved Victorian characteristics, including a bandstand adorned with a copper roof and a mock-Tudor cricket pavilion.

The park is particularly vibrant in the spring and summer months when daffodils, crocuses, and wood anemones bloom in succession. Visitors can enjoy an ornamental lake and engage in various recreational activities, including football, basketball, tennis, and swimming at Robinson Pool, Bedford’s primary public swimming facility.

5. St Paul’s Church

St Paul’s Church stands as the most prominent monument in Bedford, having been constructed at the start of the 13th century. Over the past 800 years, it has undergone numerous modifications. A Christian place of worship has likely existed at this site since the 8th century, during the reign of the Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia.

During World War II, St Paul’s Church hosted the BBC’s daily worship broadcasts, along with the National Day of Prayer in 1941. Notably, John Bunyan preached here in 1656. In the 19th century, significant alterations occurred to the church’s architecture, preserving only the nave, with highlights including a rood screen crafted by George Frederick Bodley and the altar designed by the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts.

6. River Great Ouse Embankment

The riverside in Bedford exhibits a distinctive character, prominently shaped by the balustraded embankment constructed by the Victorians during the river’s widening. Visitors can traverse the path along the north bank in the town centre, moving east and passing the War Memorial Garden established after World War I.

This picturesque pathway is embellished with traditional gaslights, while in the summer, swans and rowers skim the water’s surface. The Bedford Rowing Club and Viking Kayak Club have produced several Olympians and orchestrate events during the summer months along the river. Notable nearby structures include the Suspension Bridge (1888) and the Ouse Bridge (1808), with the modern Butterfly Bridge (1997) designed by WilkinsonEyre, creators of the notable Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

7. Russell Park

Adjacent to the Embankment, Russell Park provides a serene environment for visitors, opened shortly after the completion of the Suspension Bridge. The park features children’s playgrounds, football pitches, tennis courts, and a putting green for golfing enthusiasts.

Additionally, it includes formal flower beds and herbaceous gardens. The kiosk café, opened in 2012, has quickly gained popularity within the community, offering fair trade coffee, herbal teas, frappuccinos, paninis, sandwiches, and homemade cakes.

8. Bedford Castle

Located on the Embankment in the town centre, the remnants of Bedford Castle stand as a testament to its storied past as a fortification erected following the Norman Conquest. Commissioned by Henry I in 1100, this structure was embroiled in conflicts during the Anarchy of 1135-1153 and later during the First Barons’ War in the 1210s.

The castle served as the seat of the High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire, one of whom, Falkes de Breauté, endured an eight-week siege in 1224 due to a dispute with Henry III, resulting in the castle’s eventual destruction. Still, exciting remnants such as lime kilns and the great hall’s foundations remain, preserved as an archaeological park since the 2000s.

9. Priory Country Park

This Green Flag park is situated along a loop of the River Great Ouse, bordered to the north by the river’s navigation route. Remnants of its industrial past can be seen at the old Cardington Lock. Until the 1970s, this mosaic of meadows, woodlands, and lakes functioned as a site for gravel extraction, a far cry from its current peaceful state.

Encompassing approximately 300 acres, the park centres around Priory Lake, a popular destination for fishing and various water sports such as sailing. It also serves as a picturesque venue for walking and cycling. The previous visitor centre by the water has been transformed into a café, the Cloverdale Retreat, featuring a terrace with scenic views over the lake.

10. Panacea Museum

Located near the Higgins, the Panacea Museum resides in the former headquarters of the Panacea Society within a grand Victorian house known as “Castleside.” Established in 1919 and adhering to the teachings of the “prophet” Joanna Southcott (1750-1814), the society believed that Bedford was the site of the Garden of Eden and anticipated the apocalypse.

After the group’s dissolution, a charitable trust was founded, leading to the museum’s opening in 2013. Operated Thursday through Sunday, it showcases preserved Victorian and early 20th-century interiors, including the wood-panelled meeting room and a kitchen featuring a historic wood-burning stove. Exhibitions highlight the society’s obsession with the Book of Revelations and their national campaigns urging ecclesiastical authorities to unveil Southcott’s sealed “box of prophecies.”

11. Herrings Green Activity Farm

Situated in the countryside just a ten-minute drive from Bedford, this open farm showcases an extensive array of birds of prey. Home to about 200 birds, including owls, eagles, and falcons, the farm offers structured activities that allow visitors to handle them and observe their flight.

Children can engage in farm activities such as milking cows, grooming horses, and interacting with rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, and chicks. Additionally, there are opportunities to meet alpacas and shire horses, along with tractor rides and a “Critter Encounter” featuring a selection of creepy crawlies and reptiles.

12. St Peter’s Church

St Peter’s Church has served as a place of worship for over a millennium and was historically affiliated with the Augustinian Merton Priory in Surrey. Although it underwent significant alterations in the 19th century, numerous captivating remnants of its ancient origins persist.

The tower reveals its Saxon roots, displaying an arch and doorway predating the Norman Conquest. Additionally, the south porch contains a Norman Romanesque doorway that has been relocated from another church. Inside the chancel, the font, priest’s door, and windows date back to the 1200s and 1300s.

13. Mowsbury Park

Situated in the northern region where Bedford’s suburbs merge with open countryside, Mowsbury Park serves as a recreational space for both children and adults. The park features three play areas as well as an impressive number of sports pitches, more than any other park in the town.

Adjacent to the park is the Mowsbury Golf Club, boasting an 18-hole course nestled within rolling parkland. The entrance on Wentworth Drive is home to the Four Seasons Café, known for its homemade cakes and milkshakes, alongside hearty meals.

14. Forest of Marston Vale

The area southwest of Bedford has historical significance as a brick-making region, and since the decline of this industry, nature has reclaimed the landscape. The old clay pits have transformed into lakes, and initiatives have encouraged landowners to promote tree planting.

This expansive forest features the Millennium Country Park, inaugurated in 2000, comprising several lakes, a wetland ecosystem, and expanding woodlands. At the Forest Centre, visitors can rent bicycles to explore an eight-kilometre track or join the long-distance National Route 51.

15. Summerfields Miniature Railways

Located midway between Bedford and the nearby town of Hitchin, Summerfields features three miniature railways operated by the Bedford Model Engineering Society, established in 1948 and relocated to its current site in 1993 on a former fruit farm.

Former barns have been repurposed as wagon sheds, and a miniature station named “Haynes End” has been created. The society holds “Running Days” throughout the summer, with the first train departing Haynes End at 10:30 and the last service at 15:45. Each railway operates on a different gauge, and the trains are powered by steam, diesel, or electric locomotives.