A day in Bedfordshire

At the start of the long weekend, the weather forecast was calling for heavy rain on Monday. By the time Monday rolled around it seemed the rain has stayed in the west. Making the most of the unexpected sunshine meant going to a county I’d not visited before: Bedfordshire.

In short, it’s small but nice.

We dusted off our English Heritage memberships for free entry to Wrest Park, a manor with fabulous gardens. It’s got a nice mix of open lawns, wooded areas, water features, out-buildings, statues, and flower beds. There were families picnicking, the sun was shining: very pleasant.

Afterwards we drove to the pretty village of Turvey to do one of the Ouse Valley Ramblers walks (detailed route in a large PDF here, if you’re interested). It wasn’t the most picturesque walk we’ve done, but it covered over 9km of farmland without seeing another soul (just rabbits, deer, and woodpeckers). Afterwards we stayed for a drink and dinner at The Three Cranes pub.