THE county of Bedfordshire isn’t on most people’s travel list just at yet – but with Universal’s arrival in a matter of years, its popularity is set to rise rapidly.
Sun Travel spoke to one local who said tourists should start visiting now to see what Bedfordshire has to offer – including pretty Cotswolds looking villages to it’s own “Little Italy”.
Lydia is a Bedfordshire local – and says there’s plenty to offer aside from the new theme park[/caption]
Bedford is the capital of the Bedfordshire county[/caption]
Lydia Pettet has lived in Bedford for almost all of her life, having a brief interlude in London and Leeds, but she promptly returned to her home county.
Now, she’s made it her mission to get others to love Bedfordshire just as much as she does – her social media account lydeatsfood is even dedicated to showing the ‘Best of Bedfordshire’.
Bedfordshire is in the East of England, probably known mostly for the towns of Bedford, Luton, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard – and the fact that it’s set to be the home of the UK’s first Universal.
While there’s a lot of excitement around the new theme park, Lydia revealed that over the years there has been a lot of negativity around Bedfordshire.
Talking to Sun Travel, Lydia said: “The biggest misconception about Bedfordshire is that there’s nothing here, that there’s no reason to visit and we have dying towns.
“But actually that couldn’t be further from the truth. A lot of people also believe that Bedfordshire is all Luton, but there’s so much more to it.”
On the outskirts
In fact there are a number of villages in Bedfordshire that have even been compared to the Cotswolds.
The Telegraph even said “Bedfordshire has a secret equivalent to the covetable villages of the Cotswolds” – so they’re worth a visit.
Lydia explained: “I am a North Bedfordshire girl at heart and we have plenty of beautiful villages from Harrold to, Carlton and Sharnbrook.”
Not only do they have the classic chocolate-box houses, but also great pubs too – Lydia suggested The Oakley Arms in Harrold.
Harrold is a village that has been compared to the Coltswolds[/caption]
Woburn in North Hertfordshire has historic brick houses[/caption]
Lydia added: “You can have a really nice weekend away at one of these villages – the Cotswolds has been a tourist spot forever, so the villages around here don’t have as much going on, but they all still have so much to offer.”
Eating out
Something that Lydia told us is that Bedford in particular has a very strong Italian heritage.
It even earned itself the nickname of “Little Italy” – and it’s all thanks to the brickworks, the site where Universal is being built.
In the 1950s, Italians were recruited to work at the brickworks, and Lydia explained that many never left the county.
She added that if you ever run into a Bedford local, they are likely to have Italian heritage – that goes for Lydia too whose Nan hailed from Italy.
She added: “If you come to Bedford, expect incredible Italian food. One of my favourites is A Casa Di Anna, which is run by a lovely couple called Stefano and Anna.
“We’ve got Santaniello Pizzeria which is one of, if not the oldest restaurant still open in Bedford.
“It’s menu is very limited – it’s actually been the same for my entire life. Inside it’s got the classic plastic gingham table cloths and you can’t go wrong with the breadsticks, a margherita and finish off with a shot of Limoncello.
“Other modern Italian restaurants include The Higgins Pantry, which is inside the Higgins Museum. Or La Terrazza which is more date night, girls night vibes.”
An enormous sharing roast is found at Herd in Bedford[/caption]
Chaat Haus serves delicious Indian street food[/caption]
Beer and roast dinners
Something else that needs to be tried in Bedfordshire is a beer at Brewpoint by Wells & Co.
Formerly Charles and Wells, the brewery set up shop in Bedford back in 1876.
Lydia told us: “I love going there with my friends, it’s where I go for drinks, especially at Christmas.
“You can do tastings at Brewpoint and tour of the brewery and you can eat there too from brunch to dinner.”
You can’t go to Bedfordshire without trying a roast dinner, and Lydia has committed to travelling across the county to find the best.
She added: “On my hunt for the best roast of Bedfordshire, I’ve found quite a few, but one I have to mention is Herd.
“It is a burger restaurant, but they do a roast and a big sharing roast.”
On its website, Herd serves the ‘mega roast platter’ which comes with chicken, beef, lamb chops and pork along with all the trimmings, bottomless roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.
Another spot that Lydia’s visited is the Italian restaurant Nonna’s in Woburn Sands, which serves a range of dinners like Mega Roast – and it’s served on a chopping board.
Two more of Lydia’s favourite eateries is Fuego, a new tapas restaurant in Bedford and Chaat Haus which serves Indian street food.
Take a break
It’s not just food, there are places to relax and explore too – you’ll find that Bedfordshire has its own Center Parcs in Woburn Forest.
Visitors can book a break at Center Parcs, or like Lydia, spend a day there at the spa.
Called the Aqua Sana, visitors can book a day trip to the spa which has six different areas, pools, saunas and treatments.
Other recommendations from Lydia include the Y Spa in Boston Lakes, and Champneys in Henlow.
Some experiences in Bedfordshire don’t have to cost a penny – if you plan your visit right.
Lydia said: “Bedford has the River Festival in summer – it’s the biggest free festival in the country after Notting Hill Carnival, next year it’s on between 18-19 July.
“It has live music and races down the river in boats. There’s lots of food, lots of gift stalls and they have a community stage with dance schools and choirs.
“Then we have the Bedford Italian festival which is held every year and Summer Sessions in Bedford Park.”
The Bedfordshire Clanger is one of the county’s specialties[/caption]
The ‘chocolate toothpaste’ dessert is a Bedfordshire classic[/caption]
Bedfordshire Specialties
Bedfordshire even has its own traditions, and there are two food specialities Lydia encourages visitors to try.
She said: “The first one is the Bedfordshire Clanger – it’s similar to a pasty, but one half is savoury and one half is sweet.
“Historically, workers would eat it out in the fields, and have their main and dessert in one – so on one side would be stewed meat and on the other, stewed apples.
“You can buy them from Gunns Bakery in Sandy, and I’m hoping more will sell it when Universal arrives.
“Another speciality is called chocolate toothpaste which is an old school dessert, made from shortcrust pastry with a chocolate filling with a swirl of whipped cream on top.
“Every cafe in Bedford sells them – so I’d encourage every tourist to try one.”
Keep up with where Lydia goes to next in Bedfordshire on her social media account, lydeatsfood.
For more on Universal, here’s everything we know about the theme park coming to UK – from TWO new train stations to 500-room hotel.
And in the neighbouring county, the UK’s oldest ‘new town’ is home to award-winning free attraction and is just 20 minutes from London.
Lydia is a Bedfordshire local and loves discovering local food spots[/caption]
