Bedfordshire is the smallest of the 'shire counties' and has no cities. The busiest towns in the county are the market towns of Bedford, Luton, Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable. The name Bedfordshire is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Bedas Ford or the river crossing of Beda.
The county covers just 480 square miles of central to southern England gently undulating in a series of hills and valleys across the plain of the Ouse to the Chiltern Hills where most of the land is rich clay through a belt of sandy hills stretching from Woburn to Sandy to a higher ridge of chalk downs in the south of the county, where the highest point of 801 feet is reached.
The north of Bedfordshire is mainly agricultural and the south around the town of Luton mostly industrial. Bedfordshires main attractions are Whipsnade Wild Animal Park near Dunstable and Woburn Abbey - the home of the Duke of Bedford.
Ampthill Arlesey Aspley Guise Astwick Barton-le-Clay Battlesden Bedford Biddenham Biggleswade Billington Bletsoe Blunham Bolnhurst Bromham Caddington Cardington Carlton Chellington Chiltern Green Clapham Clifton Clophill Cockayne Hatley Cold Brayfield Colmworth Cople Covington Cranfield Dunstable Easton Eaton Bray Edworth Elstow Eversholt Everton Farndish Flitton Flitwick Gravenhurst Great Barford Harlington Harrold Haynes Heath and Reach Henlow Hockliffe Houghton Conquest Houghton Regis Kempston Kensworth Keysoe Kingsbourne Green Knotting Langford Leagrave Leighton Buzzard Lewsey Lidlington Linslade Little Barford Little Staughton Lower Shelton Luton Marston Moretaine Maulden Melchbourne Meppershall Millbrook Milton Bryant Milton Ernest Northill Oakley Odell Old Warden Pavenham Pertenhall Podington Potsgrove Potton Pulloxhill Ridgmont Riseley Roxton Salford Sandy Sharnbrook Shefford Shillington Silsoe Souldrop Southill Stagsden Stanbridge Steppingley Stevington Stondon Stopsley Streatley Studham Sundon Sutton Swineshead Tebworth Tempsford Thurleigh Toddington Totternhoe Turvey Upper Dean Upper Sundon Westoning Whipsnade Wilden Willington Wilshamstead Woburn Woburn Sands Wootton Wymington Yelden
