To want to live near Bedford?

[Oceanglaze]

DH and I may have to move from South London to the Bedford area for work.

We know the area a little bit but it's a huge change for us and I've always said my no.1 criteria is to try and find somewhere relatively pretty near the water with some nice dog-walking spots and countryside nearby.

Really interested to hear people's experiences of Bedford as a place to live or whether there are other towns and villages nearby we should consider?

The big appeal of Bedford town itself is that it's one of the few places I know of as having a river running through it and it pitches itself a market town, but are there other more picturesque locations we should be looking at?

Radius-wise we prefer to stay south of Bedford, more towards the Hitchin/Letchworth side of things.

Bedford isn't an especially pretty place, but it has facilities. Depends where you need access to really - whether you want to go down the A1M or the M1, as Bedford is in the middle.

Nice enough areas around the A1M side include Sandy, Biggleswade, Potton, Stotfold, Shefford, then down to Baldock etc, but the ones mentioned previously are more rural. Stotfold has a restored water mill and nice countryside.

What other considerations do you have OP - access to trains, schools, shops etc? Would you prefer town or village?

Bedford has some nice streets but overall is a bit run down in places and doesn't feel especially vibrant (if that's what you want) but it's fine and relatively good value for money given it's location. Some of the towns and villages further south have lovely commons and rivers - eg Langford has the river Ivel, Stotfold as mentioned by a PP, Henlow has lakes, Arlesey has the common with the river running through it (as does Biggleswade). Would you like village life or prefer a town? Some of the Bedfordshire villages are beautiful and undiscovered gems (places like Old Warden).

Picturesque rural villages to the SE of Bedford would be Southill, Old Warden, Haynes, Gravenhurst, Shillington, Northill, Ickwell.

Great Barford is east of Bedford and on the river, there's also Willington, Cople, Moggerhanger and Blunham that side.

Nearer Hitchin and Letchworth are Clifton, Henlow and Langford.

I grew up in Bedfordshire, in one of the second cluster of places that @PartTimeLegend mentioned. I’d personally be looking Ampthill/ Maulden way. Or, if you’d rather be A1 side rather than M1, out towards Old Warden.

One of the few places that has a river running through it?? I think most places do.

Towns are in short supply in between Bedford and Hitchin/Letchworth.

You have a choice of one - Shefford, with Biggleswade and Sandy further east on the A1. Everywhere else is a village unless you go further west to Ampthill and Flitwick.

doesn't old warden get very busy wth events at the aerodrome.
could find yourself boxed in at weekends, with traffic queuing along narrow lanes, and people parking on verges, blocking access and sight-lines at junctions.
i wouldn't like that kind of thing.
someone i know complained the secondary schools near bedford or biggleswade were not very inspiring or aspirational.

@Maireas

One of the few places that has a river running through it?? I think most places do.

The OP is talking about that particular locality and is asking for recommendations from people who know the district.

Are you familiar with the area?

Kempston?

Move to Clifton. Very posh village!

@alexdgr8

doesn't old warden get very busy wth events at the aerodrome. could find yourself boxed in at weekends, with traffic queuing along narrow lanes, and people parking on verges, blocking access and sight-lines at junctions. i wouldn't like that kind of thing. someone i know complained the secondary schools near bedford or biggleswade were not very inspiring or aspirational.

Bedford itself is stuffed with private schools. I don't know what the state schools are like.

Central Bedfordshire is still the lower/middle/upper school system, although that will be changing in due course to primary/secondary I believe. The upper schools in the area are big, have massive catchments, and a lot of pupils travel in by bus in from the villages.

@isshelpv

Move to Clifton. Very posh village!

lol

Well I grew up there but been away for 30 years. My family are there and all seem happy with life there - including my well travelled and Uber cool brother who spent 20 years in London before going home.
Not familiar with the villages and am sure you’re already aware that the Castle quarter is the place to be if it’s Bedford town. Near the parks, period properties and close to station and river.
I don’t love Bedford. It’s just so flat and characterless. There are worse places though.
If I went back I’d be trying for Bedford Park/kimbolton rd (aka ‘poets’ area).

I don't know Bedford particularly well, but there are some nice surrounding places, as pp have said. How far away could you go? I used to live in Stevenage, which I really liked. The river is the River Beane if you like rivers and river walks.

Not Kempston! Unless it’s massively changed…

@PartTimeLegend Why's that funny?

@Oceanglaze We made the move from London and now live just outside Bedford.

My reflections are that Bedford isn't somewhere I'd want to live personally. It's no thriving market town but as someone earlier said, there are some facilities. That being said, there are more better out of town shopping centres (Biggleswade or I go to MK usually). I also wouldn't bother with the trainline through Bedford but would use the Peterborough line through London (via Biggleswade, Sandy, Hitchin).

St Neots is a much nicer place to locate yourself in or near, and is on the river Great Ouse. You might also look - budget dependent - at the Offords or Godmanchester.

Are you looking at schooling or is that not a consideration?

I know you mentioned living near the river. You might look at places like Willington, Great Barford or Blunham to be close to good walks by the riverside itself. Or Roxton? These are all quite small villages so what's available re: takeaways/deliveries/post offices/shops is limited. A car will be essential.

Sandy & Biggleswade are bigger options on the river Ivel. However not particularly pretty or attractive as a place to live (crime etc) and only basically focussed around the stations and many hairdressers.

Clophill/Ampthill/Flitwick way may be a better pick but not sure there's any river there and a bit of a drive to Bedford (which unfortunately has constant ongoing roadworks causing major headaches for all!).

Feel free to ask anymore questions.

We also moved from London to outside Bedford (many years ago now).

Bedford itself has some nice bits, particular around the embankment and Bedford Park, but has its run down parts, as other places do. The High Street is naff, and a number of the shops have closed (made worse by COVID), so I normally go to Milton Keynes to shop. It has some beautiful parks and we’ve found it to be very family friendly.

The villages around Bedford are generally very nice, and if you were to consider north Bedford, the train station is accessible and a short journey to St Pancras.

The state schools in Bedfordshire tend to have lower results than others in the country, but saying that, my DD goes to a really wonderful state primary. We are not quite sure what to do for secondary, as our options are not so good, but there are a lot of private schools in Bedford itself.

Definitely avoid Kempston!

I live 6 miles outside bedford. .to the south. Bedford is ok.I wouldn't want to live there.,The town centre is run down and not goid for shopping. However as others say.,The embankment by the river is nice and is Priory Marina...Both would be good for water sports, walking. In my experience the hospital is good. There are lots of lovely villages, within easy reach of bedford. shefford is a large village, with a river, halfway between bedford and hitchin. ampthill is lovely in my view.nice little town centre, great park. bedfordshire is a nice place to live, maybe not bedford itself shopping is either mk or I like watford.

@Maireas
Stevenage? Bloody hell. OP, ignore.

I quite liked the village of harold when I visited.
And I love the name too

I was delighted to move away from Bedford. Some of the other places mentioned I would also avoid: Sandy (tracts of new build around a minute village centre); Stevenage (mid-century planning disaster); MK (oh my god).

Very nice town if you're inclined to more culture and facilities etc is Hitchin, but getting pricey. St Neots a good 2nd choice of town, although further north - less expensive. Biggleswade, Shefford and Letchworth are gentrifying and getting more/better facilities but still quite small. Potton has a really nice community feel, and some good restaurants, although limited by size and no station or secondary school (and you probably don't want your kids going to Sandy Upper).

Pretty villages with pubs and village shops with lovely countryside and often river walks near Bedford include Turvey, Newton Blossomville, Great Barford, Kimbolton, Old Warden.

Good luck OP!

We’ve got family friends in Ampthill and Hitchin; they’re both lovely. I don’t think Bedford has much going for it.

Me experience of Bedford is that it's a shithole. No easy would I live there. There has to be something else further afield?