Bedfordshire
Locator map for the English administrative region of Bedfordshire.
County of south central England (since April 1997 Luton has been a separate unitary authority).
Area
1,192 sq km/460 sq mi
Towns and cities
Bedford (administrative headquarters), Dunstable
Physical
the Great Ouse River and its tributary, the Ivel; the county is low lying with the Chiltern Hills in the southwest
Features
Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, near Dunstable (200 ha/494 acres), belonging to the London Zoological Society; Woburn Abbey(18th century), seat of the duke of Bedford; Cranfield Institute of Technology
Agriculture
cereals (especially wheat and barley); vegetables
Industries
agricultural machinery; cement manufacture (using local chalk); clay; electrical goods; gravel; motor vehicles and parts; packaging; sand; brickworks at Stewartby
Population
(2001) 381,600
Famous people
John Bunyan, John Howard, Joseph Paxton
Topography Bedfordshire is bounded on the northeast by Cambridgeshire; on the northwest by Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes; on the west by Buckinghamshire; and on the southeast by Luton and Hertfordshire. The Great Ouse, flowing through the centre of the county to the east, is navigable to Little Barford. |
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