The town of Bedford is divided into 10 wards:

Brickhill, Castle, Cauldwell, De Parys, Goldington, Harpur, Kingsbrook, Newnham, Putnoe and Queens Park.

The town of Kempston is adjacent to Bedford, as are the villages of Elstow, Renhold and Ravensden. Wixams is a new town which is being developed to the south of Bedford. Villages in the Borough of Bedford with populations of more than 2,000 as of 2005 were:

Biddenham, Bromham, Clapham, Elstow, Oakley, Sharnbrook, Shortstown, Wilstead, and Wootton.

There are also many smaller villages in the borough. The villages in the borough are popular with commuters to Bedford, and also with people who commute to Milton Keynes, London and towns in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.

Nearby small towns include Ampthill, Biggleswade, Flitwick, and Sandy, all of which are in Central Bedfordshire as well as Rushden and St Neots in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire respectively. The nearest towns and cities with larger populations than Bedford are Northampton to the north west, Cambridge to the east, Milton Keynes to the south west, and Luton to the south, all of which have urban area populations of 150,000 or more.

The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford is housed in the recreated Victorian home of the Higgins family of Victorian brewers and in a modern extension. The museum has local history collections, while the galleries have notable collections of watercolours, prints and drawings, ceramics, glass and lace.

The Panacea Museum tells the story of the Panacea Society, a religious community formed in the early twentieth century.

The Bedford Corn Exchange is the largest entertainment venue in the town and plays host to a variety of performances, meetings, conferences, concerts and private functions. The venue has been host to many great entertainers such as Glenn Miller and Bob Hope.

Every two years, an event called the “Bedford River Festival” is held near the river in Bedford during early July. The event lasts for two days and regularly attracts about 250,000 visitors. The event includes sports, funfairs and live music. It is the second-largest regular outdoor event in the United Kingdom, beaten in numbers only by the Notting Hill Carnival. The Bedford Regatta each May is Britain’s largest one-day river rowing regatta.

For more ideas on things to see and do in Bedford see:
http://www.lovebedford.co.uk/whatson/

Set along the southern end of the great River Ouse, Bedford is often overlooked as an area of outstanding natural beauty, including stately homes and gardens, offering plenty of opportunities for woodland walks and Sunday strolls along the riverbank.

With vast improvements made to the town centre, including a £3m high street renovation project, Bedford is fast gaining traction as a desirable and up and coming area. Historically, the town was a large brick producer with many families drawn to the area to fill employment shortages at the time. As such the area is surprisingly cosmopolitan in feel and benefits from an interesting mix of cultures with many Italians, Poles, Indians and Bangladeshi calling Bedford home.

Perhaps the town’s biggest selling point, however, is its reputation as the ultimate commuter town. Its close proximity to London (little under an hour away by train) combines all the pleasures of rural countryside living while also providing easy access to the bustle of the big smoke. Train connections to the capital run every half hour and are provided by the Thameslink and services to the East Midlands are operated by East Midlands Trains.

Young professionals and families are attracted in particular by the prospect of all-round greater space. With larger sized riverside homes and apartments at far more affordable prices than London widely available, Bedford offers substantially better value for money, while also not being too far away from good amenities and excellent local schools.