The ever-expanding London commuter belt has meant increasing prosperity for Bedford, which means a whirlwind of activities and facilities for visitors.
Bedford Centre
Bedford offers something special, with undercover shopping malls, winding back streets filled with treasures and a great deal of history and character. A number of interesting state-of-the-art buildings and structures have recently been built, including the iconic Butterfly Bridge opened by Prince Charles in 1998.
Galleries and Museums
Bedford's numerous galleries and museums include the recently transformed Higgins Bedford Art Gallery and Museum. With increased temporary exhibition space, it also boasts three cultural venues on one site: the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford Museum and Bedford Gallery.
The John Bunyan museum tells the story of John Bunyan (1628 -1688), the renowned author, pastor and preacher. Visitors are able to take a walk through Bunyan's life, hear Bunyan tell his story and ‘visit' him in prison. The Pilgrim's Progress, his most famous work, has been translated into over 200 languages, and many examples can be viewed here.
Outdoors
Bedford Park is a Victorian urban park containing traditional English features such as a cricket pavilion and bandstand. Within the park the Robinson pool is open for outdoor swimming, and two children's playgrounds and a café are open during the summer.
With over 20 golf courses in 477 square miles, clearly Bedfordshire is keen on golfing, and three of its most popular courses are in the town of Bedford itself.
Activities
At Bodyflight, not too far away, you can experience the world's largest and best indoor skydiving wind tunnel. All ages can enjoy the fun and exciting sport of Bodyflying in the safety of a vertical wind tunnel.
At Woburn Safari Park enjoy the experience of being just a windscreen's width away from rhinos, giraffes, lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys and much more, plus the action-packed Wild World Leisure Area. With eight daily animal demonstrations and shows, parrots flying down to feed from your hands, animal encounters and Sea lion Cove, you're guaranteed a great day out.
Thurleigh Farm Centre is a working farm and children's activity centre offering an action-packed fun day out for all the family. Indoor play, bungee trampolines, trampolines, mini quad bikes, pedal carts, and fire engine rides are all available here.
Entertainment
Bedford contains plenty of restaurants, bars, clubs and entertainment to enjoy, but it also has a distinctly large Italian community, who have opened up a wealth of Italian restaurants, bars, and delis in the area.
For whatever you like doing, whether it's walking or visiting galleries, eating out or indoor skydiving, our Bedford hotels can accommodate you, so book your trip today!
