Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire | |||
Location Map ( geo) | |||
| |||
Primary Destinations | |||
Bedford • Dunstable • Luton • Luton Airport | |||
Other Important Destinations | |||
Leighton Buzzard | |||
Current Highway Authorities | |||
Bedford • Central Bedfordshire • Luton | |||
Borders | |||
Buckinghamshire • Cambridgeshire • Hertfordshire • Huntingdonshire • Northamptonshire | |||
National Highways Roads | |||
M1 • A1 • A5 • A421 • A428 | |||
Bedfordshire is a traditional county in eastern England. The like-named county council was abolished in 2009 and so the county is now split into three Unitary Authorities: Bedford, Luton and Central Bedfordshire.
Geography & Economy
The county is one of England's smallest and one of only a couple that are doubly landlocked. It stretches from the Chilterns to the drainage basin of the River Great Ouse and as such the northern half of the county is relatively flat. Luton and Bedford are the largest towns whilst the rest of the county is largely rural.
At one time Bedfordshire was known for its brickworks but is now perhaps better known for Toddington services, the HQ of Moto, and Luton Airport. Cardington, just to the south of Bedford, was at one time the country's leading airship works and airfield; the huge hangars used for the R100 and R101 still exist. Tourist attractions in the county include Whipsnade Zoo, Woburn Abbey and the Shuttleworth Collection of historic aircraft, which includes the world's oldest aeroplane still airworthy.
Roads
Bedfordshire contains a good network of Class I roads but only had a handful of rural Class II roads for much of the last few decades as many of the Class II roads were elevated to Class I roads as they linked to M1 junctions and became more important. With the exception of the A418, which was downgraded to Class II and III in the 1990s, the excess Class I roads were not downgraded until the 2010s: after the administrative structure changed.
Owing to the county's proximity to London many drivers heading north have to pass through Bedfordshire and so may well be travelling to, rather than through. The majority of roads either radiate from London or the county town of Bedford; the A507, which crosses the county east-west, is the main exception.
Non-trunk roads within the county are maintained by the three districts: Bedford covers the northern third and Central Bedfordshire most of the rest, with Luton only covering that town. National Highways maintains the three major north-south routes of A5, M1 and A1, together with the A421/A428, which links the latter two before continuing east to the A14 in Cambridgeshire. Bedfordshire's A1 was one of the earlier sections to be upgraded and so is of poor quality; the road here has a number of urban sections and as many as four at-grade roundabouts, including the inadequate Black Cat Roundabout with the A421; plans are in place to upgrade this junction but it will take a few years. Non-trunk dual-carriageways are few, although one example is the A1081 leading from the M1 to Luton Airport; the westernmost section of this road was a motorway spur until it was downgraded in 2015.
Route | From | To | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|
M1 | Staples Corner, Middlesex | Hook Moor, Yorkshire | 200 miles | View |
M100 | South Mimms | Pelaw | 256 miles | View |
A1 | London | Edinburgh | 396 miles | View |
A5 | London | Holyhead | 252 miles | View |
A6 | Luton | Carlisle | 299 miles | View |
A418 | Wheatley | Linslade | 25.3 miles | View |
A421 | Barleymow Roundabout, Brackley | Black Cat Roundabout, Roxton | 44.4 miles | View |
A422 | Spetchley, Worcester | Bromham | 84.5 miles | View |
A428 | Coventry | Cambridge | 79.3 miles | View |
A505 | Leighton Buzzard | Great Abington | 49.2 miles | View |
A506 | Hockliffe | Northampton | 27 miles | View |
A507 | Brogborough | Buntingford | 31.4 miles | View |
A600 | Hitchin | Bedford | 18.2 miles | View |
A603 | Bedford | Cambridge | 29.9 miles | View |
A1020 | Eaton Socon | St Neots | 0.6 miles | View |
A1081 | High Barnet | Luton Airport | 20.5 miles | View |
A4012 | Leighton Buzzard | Hockliffe | 4.8 miles | View |
A4146 | Hemel Hempstead | Milton Keynes | 16.7 miles | View |
A4160 | Aston Clinton | Dunstable | 11.3 miles | View |
A4280 | Bedford | Renhold | 4.0 miles | View |
A5065 | Leagrave | Luton | 2.8 miles | View |
A5120 | Toddington Interchange | Ampthill bypass | 4.5 miles | View |
A5130 | Woburn | Kingston, Milton Keynes | 4.0 miles | View |
A5134 | Elstow | Cardington | 1.9 miles | View |
A5140 | Bedford | Goldington | 1.7 miles | View |
A5141 | Progress Park | Bedford Modern School | 2.9 miles | View |
A5142 | High Street South | Church Street | 0.4 miles | View |
A5160 | Dunstable | Bourne Bridge | 39 miles | View |
A5183 | Elstree | Dunstable | 21.8 miles | View |
A5228 | Dunstable Road | Vauxhall Way | 3.1 miles | View |
A5229 | Bury Park | High Town | 0.3 miles | View |
A5505 | M1 J11A | Dunstable Town Centre | View | |
A6001 | Holme Green | Biggleswade | 2.3 miles | View |
A6002 | Bedford | Chawston | 8.4 miles | View |
A6129 | Hatfield (N) | Welwyn Garden City | 1.5 miles | View |
A6172 | Tavistock Street | Goldington Road | 1.8 miles | View |
B440 | Hemel Hempstead | Leighton Buzzard | 12.4 miles | View |
B486 | Boxmoor | Leighton Buzzard | 15.6 miles | View |
B488 | Tring | Linslade | 9.9 miles | View |
B489 | Buckland | Dunstable | 10.6 miles | View |
B528 | Hockliffe | Woburn | 4.6 miles | View |
B530 | Fancott | Kempston | 14.0 miles | View |
B531 | Bedford | Marsh Leys | 2.5 miles | View |
B556 | Dunstable | Ampthill | 10.9 miles | View |
B557 | Fenny Stratford | Bedford | 15.9 miles | View |
B558 | Station Road | Apsley Hill | 0.5 miles | View |
B559 | Church End | Husborne Crawley | 0.5 miles | View |
B560 | Kempston | Stagsden | 3.1 miles | View |
B561 | Kempston | Bromham | 3.3 miles | View |
B562 | Cardington Road, Bedford | Eastcotts | 0.4 miles | View |
B563 | Cauldwell Street | Clapham Road | 1.2 miles | View |
B564 | Prebend Street | High Street | 0.4 miles | View |
B579 | Luton | Toddington | 6.3 miles | View |
B645 | Rushden | Eaton Ford | 17.7 miles | View |
B653 | Luton | Stanborough | 10.7 miles | View |
B654 | New Bedford Road | Church Street | 0.5 miles | View |
B655 | Barton-le-Clay | Hitchin | 7.5 miles | View |
B658 | Chicksands | Biggleswade By Pass | 5.9 miles | View |
B659 | Henlow Camp | Biggleswade | 6.3 miles | View |
B659 | Fenlake | Eastcotts | 0.4 miles | View |
B660 | Bedford | Ramsey St Mary's | 34.7 miles | View |
B1040 | Biggleswade | Crowland | 50.5 miles | View |
B1041 | High Street | Drove Road | 0.3 miles | View |
B1042 | Sandy | Wimpole Lodge | 11.5 miles | View |
B1048 | Crosshall | Eaton Ford | 0.9 miles | View |
B1428 | Eaton Socon | St Neots By Pass | 3.7 miles | View |
B4506 | Northchurch | Whipsnade | 7.3 miles | View |
B4540 | Whipsnade (W) | Luton | 7.8 miles | View |
B4541 | Whipsnade | Dunstable | 2.2 miles | View |
B5120 | Dunstable | Toddington | 5.1 miles | View |
B5379 | Market Place | St Loves Street | 0.4 miles | View |
B5704 | Hockliffe | Ridgmont station | 7.5 miles | View |
B5790 | Chalton | Houghton Regis | 0.6 miles | View |
B6425 | Wardown Park, Luton | Round Green | 1.0 mile | View |
C204 | Toddington | Fancott | 0.9 miles | View |
T1 | London | Scrabster | View | |
T11 | London | Holyhead | View | |
T12 | London | Inverness | View | |
T45 | Ipswich | Weedon | View |
Key
Turnpikes
Junctions
Bridges, Tunnels, and other Crossings