November 28: Bedfordshire Day

Today is Bedfordshire Day. Why today? Because it is likely to have been the birthdate of one of the county's famous residents, John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress. While there's no record of his birthdate, he was baptised on the 30^th, leading people to conclude he was probably born two days before. The date for Bedfordshire Day was agreed in 2015 after a public vote organised by the Friends of Bedfordshire Society.

1. The county town is Bedford, and the name means Beda's river crossing.
2. In an alphabetical list of current English counties, Bedfordshire comes first.
3. Bedfordshire has an unusual dish called the clanger, which, in the 19^th century was a staple for farm workers out in the fields. It's basically a suet pastry which has meat, Potatoes and vegetables at one end and jam or fruit at the other – a complete meal in one pastry. “Clangers” has become a nickname for people who live in Bedfordshire.
4. Famous “clangers” include, as well as John Bunyan, Victoria Pendleton, Paula Radcliffe, John Le Mesurier, Ronnie Barker and Carol Vorderman.
5. Half the population of Bedfordshire lives in either Bedford or Luton.
6. RAF Twinwood Farm, a disused World War II airfield in Bedfordshire, is the place from which Glenn Miller set off on his fateful final flight after entertaining American troops in December 1944. The control tower of the airfield is now a museum dedicated to Glenn Miller. Also on an aviation theme, Shuttleworth near Biggleswade is home to the Shuttleworth Collection, a collection of over 50 aircraft charting the history of aviation. You'll also find the Cardington airship sheds, originally used for the building of airships during the first world war. Nowadays, they make films in them. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Batman Begins were made here. You might even catch a glimpse of Take That, who use it as a rehearsal space. Oh, and there's a modern airship building company located there, too.
7. Other historical industries in Bedfordshire include brick making in the 1950s, which is the reason why 10% of the population are of Italian descent – the London Brick Company recruited workers from Puglia, Campania, Calabria and Sicily. In the 1700s, Luton was famous for hat making, which is why the local Football team is nicknamed “The Hatters”. Biggleswade is the birthplace of the tractor, invented by Dan Albone in 1902. Finally, perhaps the strangest industry in the county - Leighton Buzzard exports sand to Saudi Arabia.
8. Tourist attractions include the Shuttleworth Collection, Houghton House, Woburn Abbey, Woburn Safari Park and the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There's a museum in Bedford dedicated to John Bunyan and a full size replica of Captain Cook‘s ship, Endeavour, in Stondon Transport Museum near Henlow.
9. The highest point is 243 metres (797 ft) on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns.
10. There are Hamlets in Bedfordshire called California and Ireland.

See also

Buckinghamshire 
Cornwall 
Devon 
Dorset 
Lancashire
Northamptonshire
Oxfordshire
Shropshire 
Somerset 
Sussex  
Yorkshire 

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