Flitwick
The commercial life of this busy town got up to steam with the arrival of the railway in the 19th Century. The smart Georgian Flitwick Manor (now a hotel) is a classic reminder of times past, and its central location paves the way for wonders waiting to be discovered nearby.
It’s hard not to fall in love with Woburn - so finely Georgian, so quintessentially English. Once home to a three day market, on both drovers’ and coaching routes, you just get the feeling that this place knows its business. Woburn holds its head up high, lovingly mindful of its heritage and thriving with gentler pleasures like restaurants and antique centres.
Top tip
Stop for afternoon tea, at its birthplace, Woburn Abbey
Shopping time
You’ll find all the shopping essentials in Flitwick, but you can’t beat Woburn for browse-ability. Lose yourself at the Goat Inn, the village’s oldest hostelry, now a specialist bookshop.
Amateurs and collectors will adore the splendid antique centres both at Woburn Abbey, and here in the former Town Hall. Woburn once boasted twenty seven inns - a handful survive like the thatched Royal Oak or impressive historic Inn at Woburn.
Things to do
Fancy spotting a damselfly or grey heron, or listening out for a Sedgewarbler? Flitwick Moor, Bedfordshire’s largest area of wetland, is a hidden gem. So to is Wrest Park in nearby Silsoe, though here the natural world has been disciplined by 19th Century folly into formal gardens of Versailles-esque proportions. Canals, vistas and pavilions combine with wooded walks and croquet lawns. John Bunyan, writer of Pilgrims Progress, is history’s famous local. Reputedly inspired at Jacobean Houghton House near Ampthill. Alas today the once fine mansion is but a shell.
Visit Woburn Abbey to experience history going fromstrength to strength: this monastic site, home to the Dukes of Bedford, is now one of England’s true treasure houses. How must it feel to have 21 Canalettos and walls thick with Gainsboroughs and Van Dyck paintings.
Pick up the free activity guide and let the children explore with you to share the wonder. Outside, beyond the gardens and deer park, there’s even more to make the eyes widen. Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, monkeys and many more are only a windscreen’s width away at Woburn Safari Park.
Don’t miss the five kids’ play areas, or the Wild Watch leisure area with its keeper demonstrations, birds of prey displays and penguin pool. Come nose to nose with squirrel monkeys at Rainbow Landing, the walk-in aviary where you can feed nectar to the colourful Lorikeets. Could you ask for a more memorable day out? Walk with the elephants through the wooded parkland, get your hands dirty in the rhino enclosure, head out with a ranger on an off-road patrol or get closer to the carnivores. Ask the team at this award winning park about their fantastic experience packages.
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