Bedford - Where is it?

[Bletchleyite]

There was a hamlet called Milton Keynes IIRC and in the early 70's we spent a lot of time caravanning around there, staying around Newport Pagnell. No matter how many broke codes in a farm outbuilding there, it's wanton destruction of lovely countryside, and the above post of all the history around proves it!! Good bus service though.

I get the impression you've just gone to the centre. Seriously, explore the rest including the "hidden gem" old villages and Bletchley Park and rethink.

The bus service, by the way, is rather rubbish except on a few key corridors.

 

[IanD]

No matter how many broke codes in a farm outbuilding there, it's wanton destruction of lovely countryside, and the above post of all the history around proves it!!

What do you think all the other built up areas were before they became built up?

Good bus service though.

As if we needed any more evidence that you know nothing about Milton Keynes.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As if we needed any more evidence that you know nothing about Milton Keynes.

Quite. It's a common misapprehension of people who have been to CMK (Central Milton Keynes) only during a weekday during the day and seen a lot of buses (it initially fooled me until I looked at a timetable). Unfortunately the layout of MK means you need more than "a lot of buses" to serve it with any decent frequency. Though admittedly it is better than it was circa 2001 when I moved there - at least the breadvans have gone in favour of proper buses.

 

[Bromley boy]

I get the impression you've just gone to the centre. Seriously, explore the rest including the "hidden gem" old villages and Bletchley Park and rethink.

The bus service, by the way, is rather rubbish except on a few key corridors.

MK also has much to offer the roundabout enthusiast, if there is such a thing.

 

[GusB]

MK also has much to offer the roundabout enthusiast, if there is such a thing.

Indeed there is - The Roundabout Appreciation Society.

http://www.roundaboutsofbritain.com/

 

[Bromley boy]

Indeed there is - The Roundabout Appreciation Society.

http://www.roundaboutsofbritain.com/

Wow. Each to their own, I guess.

That makes liking trains seem positively cool, in comparison!

 

[Howardh]

Well considering Corbyn is into manhole covers....wonder if the authorities have found page after page of incriminating evidence of iron grids downloaded onto his laptop, the little fox....

 

[Butts]

Well I lived in Bedford in 1985-7 - probably before a lot of contributors were even a twinkle in their parents eyes.

Sounds like not much has changed in the past 30 years - still a dump.

Seriously at that time it had a lot of Italians, Irish and Afro-Carribeans.

I also worked in Milton Keynes - The Point (if it is still there) was one of the first multiscreen cinemas in the UK.

I also used to have to go into London which was easy to access with the old Capitalcard.

 

[anti-pacer]

I like, and have spent many a time at Willen Lake. CMK was a regular shopping destination of mine when I lived in Banbury.

Also, we had someone's work leaving party at the Pink Flamingo(??) in MK. He thought he was well popular as he filled a coach. The reason he filled a coach was it was a night out away from Banbury, and cost £10 including coach, entry and the first drink. We also held a leaving party for him AFTER he left as we were all so glad he'd gone back to Manchester!

The funny thing was I ended up as his lodger 3 years later when I moved up to Manchester. He wasn't as bad then!

 

[DarloRich]

I thought you were a proud northerner?!

Correct - although I prefer that a slagging be accurate!

 

[overthewater]

Doesn't it get its telly from Anglia?

 

[anti-pacer]

Doesn't it get its telly from Anglia?

It does, strangely. Mind you, Lincolnshire and half of Notts/Derbys get theirs from Yorkshire, and most of North Yorkshire get theirs from the North East.

TV regions aren't always the best examples of geographical regions.

 

[eMeS]

I learnt the other night that much of "Starwars" was filmed in the old Cardington air-ship sheds, ~4 miles from Bedford centre - will that do?

 

[Bevan Price]

It does, strangely. Mind you, Lincolnshire and half of Notts/Derbys get theirs from Yorkshire, and most of North Yorkshire get theirs from the North East.

TV regions aren't always the best examples of geographical regions.

Nor are lines drawn on maps by so-called experts in Whitehall.....

 

[anti-pacer]

Nor are lines drawn on maps by so-called experts in Whitehall.....

Granted, or Glossop wouldn't be officially in the East Midlands, when it's clearly in the North West.

 

[Bromley boy]

Correct - although I prefer that a slagging be accurate!

Aha “Home village” means home away from Darlington... (which is most definitely oop- north).

Words like “slagging” mark you out as someone who calls a spade a spade in true northern fashion.

Bloody good stuff, keep it up!

 

[anti-pacer]

Aha “Home village” means home away from Darlington... (which is most definitely oop- north).

Words like “slagging” mark you out as someone who calls a spade a spade in true northern fashion.

Bloody good stuff, keep it up!

They eat using spades where DarloRich comes from!

I'M JOKING! I can't comment anyway, living in Shakey Wakey!

 

[12CSVT]

I'd say Bedford is in the South East, and has been established as a London commuter town ever since electrification reached Bedford in 1983.

For some strange reason, Royal Mail categorise it with the 'land of the concrete cows' by giving it an MK postcode

 

[adrock1976]

I'd say Bedford is in the South East, and has been established as a London commuter town ever since electrification reached Bedford in 1983.

For some strange reason, Royal Mail categorise it with the 'land of the concrete cows' by giving it an MK postcode

On the subject of postcodes, MK, along with CV (codes centred around Coventry), NN (centred around Northampton/shire), and LE (centred around Leicester/shire) are classed as part of South Midlands. The mail centre for those postcodes is based at Coventry, in Warwickshire/West Midlands Metropolitan County.

 

[muddythefish]

Geographically Cheshire is probably the midlands given how far north (Or south) it is but I would say it is Northern. Its biggest town is Warrington and I don't think many would refer to it as being in the Midlands.

Warrington, like Widnes, Manchester, Liverpool, Southport, Barrow etc will always be in Lancashire to older Lancashire folk.

 

[muddythefish]

How can Bedford be in the South Midlands and Northampton in the East Midlands when Northampton is about 30Km west of Bedford? Bedford is in Eastern England these days, - it's only 10Km due west of Sandy which is never considered anywhere but the East. The fact that the MML passes through Bedford doesn't make it in the Midlands.

Some people question this source but here you are

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Midlands

 

[muddythefish]

The only people who believe the North starts at Watford Gap are people who deny the existence of two very large regions that man up the Midlands.

It's all relative. For Newcastle people, Manchester is "down south",

 

[judethegreat]

In Scotland one goes "down to England".. "Up north" generally means north of Inverness..

 

[judethegreat]

Was there (Bedford) for a couple of years as a kid (overlapping with Butts' couple of years) and hated it. Purely personal stuff though nowt to do with the town. Never thought about it then but it is kinda no man's land.. I like that. Another reason to add to the list of why I'm quite fond of the place/memory now

I like aswell the reminder that it's in the North Sea watershed; similarly mentions of Glossop remind that Derbyshire is split into separate watersheds, as are other counties and "regions". Maybe this should be how we define regions, if we're gonna have regions at all that is...

 

[judethegreat]

Well, technically, it did. Milton Keynes village has existed since about the 11th century.

MK village and MK city are two completely different things though. If they were the same then the village would be the centre, or atleast next to it, not in effect a suberb of the city a few miles away. Well ok, just started thinking of Swindon and many other places with an "old town", but they usually are next to each other..

What's your opinion on why the name Milton Keynes was chosen for the new city? I go with the economists' names one (out of the options I've ever heard anyway..)

 

[judethegreat]

explore the rest including the "hidden gem" old villages

To be fair, he said he did - before they had housing estates, a grid pattern road network and a city centre built in between all of them...

 

[judethegreat]

The bus service, by the way, is rather rubbish except on a few key corridors.

Perhaps it were good in the early 70s when he visited, they just haven't extended it with the new development...??

 

[AM9]

Some people question this source but here you are

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Midlands

I'm not sure whether you are agreeing with me but the quoted article says: "The South Midlands is a notional area of England", in other words it's unofficial. The article suggests that this notional aras includes "the western portion of the East of England (Bedfordshire)" which clearly puts Bedford and its surrounding county in Eastern England which is a legally established administrative area.
Personally I don't think it makes any difference what description a place has outside the immediate established village/town/city that it maybe. Geographically though there is a inconsistency saying that Northampton in Eastern England whereas Bedford which is 30kM east and 12kM southi is claimed to be in the Midlands.

 

[Bletchleyite]

MK village and MK city are two completely different things though. If they were the same then the village would be the centre, or atleast next to it, not in effect a suberb of the city a few miles away. Well ok, just started thinking of Swindon and many other places with an "old town", but they usually are next to each other..

What's your opinion on why the name Milton Keynes was chosen for the new city? I go with the economists' names one (out of the options I've ever heard anyway..)

The reason the village is called that is because it is "Middleton of the Lord Cahaignes". (Middleton is just the town in the middle; Lord Cahaignes was a big landowner).

The reason the New City was named as it was was that they wanted to name it after one of the contituent villages but felt that it shouldn't be Bletchley, Newport Pagnell, Wolverton or Stony Stratford because that would allow a large existing place to dominate. So they chose MK Village which wasn't as big or significant.

It's got nothing to do with John Maynard Keynes, there are plenty of references about confirming this if you read a book on it.

 

[AlterEgo]

MK village and MK city are two completely different things though. If they were the same then the village would be the centre, or atleast next to it, not in effect a suberb of the city a few miles away. Well ok, just started thinking of Swindon and many other places with an "old town", but they usually are next to each other..

What's your opinion on why the name Milton Keynes was chosen for the new city? I go with the economists' names one (out of the options I've ever heard anyway..)

Milton Keynes was the name chosen for the new city partly because the village near to the centre of the old development was called Milton Keynes. There are a number of villages it could have been named after though - MK is basically a dozen or more old villages and hamlets woven together with a grid road and infilled with development - Milton Keynes probably sounds the most City-like.

Milton Keynes is a very old place which was originally called Middletone Caynes after the de Cahaines family (interestingly there is some discussion as to whether JM Keynes the economist is part of the same dynasty, completely by coincidence).

MK is a wonderful place to live and work. If you come here for the shopping centre and don’t look twice at the history of the place then you’re missing out.