A travel journalist who lived in Bedfordshire for nearly five years has defended the county after a recent ranking placed it at the bottom of a list of England's 48 counties. The article, published in The Telegraph under the headline “England’s 48 counties, ranked and rated,” put Bedfordshire in last place with 258 points, compared with Berkshire’s 460.
The ranking noted that Bedfordshire has “no World Heritage Sites, National Parks, coastline, Michelin-starred restaurants, first-rate hotels, world-class sport, RHS gardens, Dark Sky Reserves, National Trails, Ramsar sites or cathedrals.” However, it conceded that “consolation is provided by nine cracking pubs, a National Landscape (the Chiltern Hills), one RSPB reserve (the Lodge, near the town of Sandy), 24 museums and galleries and a handful of National Trust and English Heritage properties.”
A Personal Defense of Bedfordshire
Natalie King, a travel journalist who wrote the piece, said she was surprised to see the county ranked so low. “As someone who lived in Bedfordshire for nearly five years, it came as a surprise that it’d be right at the bottom of this kind of list,” she wrote. She acknowledged that the county “feels a little like a no man’s land between London and Cambridge,” but argued that its lack of prestigious titles does not mean it is boring.
King highlighted her experiences living near RSPB The Lodge, which has about five miles of walking trails through woodlands, heathland, and long grasses. She also mentioned Dunstable Downs, the highest point in the county, which is popular for kite flying and offers sweeping views across the Chiltern Hills. The nearby Whipsnade White Lion, a chalk figure carved into a hillside, was a favorite for her children.
Country Estates and Quirky Attractions
The county also boasts several country estates and manor houses. King recalled driving through Woburn’s deer park, where she had to brake for skittish deer. Wrest Park, a 19th-century French chateau-style mansion and English Heritage site, has been used as a filming location for Bridgerton, and its formal gardens make visitors feel like they are in a period drama.
Bedfordshire’s towns and villages also offer charm. Ampthill is a market town with Georgian architecture, while Leighton Buzzard has canal-front walks and a heritage railway. Bedford itself, King admitted, is “a bit grey and utilitarian,” but has handy shopping. She also mentioned the Panacea Society, which believed the town was the site of the Garden of Eden, calling it “bonkers in a charming way.”
A Local Delicacy and a Final Verdict
King also praised the Bedfordshire clanger, a pastry with a suet dough that has a savoury filling at one end and a sweet filling at the other, calling it “one of those British foods that are both glorious and terrible.”
Concluding her defense, King wrote: “A place being ranked low, especially when it’s based on the number of World Heritage Sites and Michelin-starred restaurants, isn’t always the best representation of it. These honours don’t always guarantee a good time.” She invited readers to visit, joking that if they hate it, they can always escape to Hertfordshire or Cambridgeshire.
