Bedford to Stewartby
We
start off the tour at the stations of Bedford and Bedford
St Johns, which, as their names suggest, serve the town of
Bedford. Bedford is the County Town of Bedfordshire. Originally
thought to exist in the Middle Ages, and achieving its Borough
Charter in 1166, Bedford owed much of its initial growth to its
status as a market town, but also because of it being a crossing
point of the River Great Ouse (in fact one crossing, Beda’s
Ford, is thought to have given rise to the name of the town). While
it still retains the twice-weekly market, its specialities and
claims to fame have much expanded in time, with independent schools
and sporting achievement currently being Bedford’s forte. By
crossing the river on the service, you may see this in action, with
the river frequently being used by rowers from one of the two
rowing clubs in the town.
Perhaps the town’s biggest claim to fame is that
it is the birthplace of John Bunyan, author of A Pilgrims Progress,
thought to be the second most read book in the western world. John
Howard is another famous resident, who began the campaign for
prison reform with his report The State of Prisons published in
1777. In more modern times, the town is home to Paula Radcliffe,
champion marathon runner, and is the birthplace of late comedian
Ronnie Barker.
Bedford is now a busy, bustling large town, and is the economic
and social centre of northern Bedfordshire. Its many leisure
facilities include theatres, a cinema, an international athletics
track, and a professional rugby club, so there is always something
to do. Bedford’s role as the County Town is likely to be
strengthened, with significant housing and employment growth
planned for the Bedford area over the next 20 years, as well as a
significant redevelopment of both the town centre and the train
station also in the pipeline.
After
passing under the Bedford Southern Bypass, the train then pulls
into Kempston Hardwick station. This station was notorious
some years ago as the least-used station in Britain, mainly due to
its very rural nature. But with significant employment developments
near to the station in recent years, patronage has jumped. Shortly
after leaving the station, a clear area of land to the south east
of the railway signifies the site of the old Coronation Brickworks.
The Marston Vale has a strong history of manufacturing bricks, and
at one time the Coronation Brickworks was the largest brickworks in
the world. In fact, if you have a house built in the mid-20th
Century, and made out of London Bricks, chances are those bricks
came from one of the many brickworks scattered across the Marston
Vale.
A little further down the track the train passes the Forders
Freight Sidings, and the old signal box marking their entrance.
These sidings have seen significant increases in activity recently,
which bodes well for the future of the line. Shortly afterwards,
the train then passes through the yards of the Marston Vale’s
last remaining brickworks at Stewartby, which closed recently.
Passengers can view up-close the last 4 chimneystacks, visible from
many parts of the Marston Vale.
The train then pulls into Stewartby station.
Formerly known as Wootton Pillinge, Stewartby owes not just its
name, but its very existence to the Stewart family. Owning the then
London Brick Company, the Stewarts believed that good working and
living conditions for the employees of their brickworks was
essential. Their dream was to create settlements with all amenities
included, with large houses with all the things that we take for
granted today, such as electricity to every home, and good
sewerage. Stewartby, which rose from a few farms and a handful of
buildings in 1926, was born (although it was not actually named
Stewartby until 1935). The results of this can be seen today, with
brick buildings prevailing in a well-planned and picturesque
village.
In the future, one of the areas most exciting leisure developments
is planned to be built at Stewartby. The National Institute into
the Research of Aquatic Habitats (or NIRAH) is planning to build a
massive freshwater aquarium, with associated educational, research,
and leisure facilities, on the edge of Stewartby. We are very
excited by this development, and hope to encourage people to travel
by train to the site once constructed.
Follow
this link to find out about the route →
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