Wixams

Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Elstow was one of sixteen UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Filling Factories. It was a medium-sized filling factory, (Filling Factory No. 16), which filled and packed munitions. It was located south of the town of Bedford, between the villages of Elstow and Wilstead in Bedfordshire. It was bounded on the northeast by the A6 and on the west by a railway line. Hostels were built nearby to accommodate the workers who were mostly female. It was built with the Ministry of Works acting as Agents; building work started in November 1940 and was completed by August 1941. It was managed as an "Agency Factory" by J. Lyons on behalf of the Ministry of Supply as, by then, the Ministry of Supply was overstretched as regards recruiting and managing the workers needed to staff these munitions factories. It had 250 buildings and the site does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps made during wartime or in the postwar period.

Wixams Academy is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Wixams in the English county of Bedfordshire.The school was constructed by Willmott Dixon and opened in 2017. It is sponsored by Bedford College Academies Trust and serves the new town development of Wixams as well as Wilstead and other nearby villages. Wixams Academy offers GCSEs and BTECs as programmes of study for pupils. The school was due to launch a sixth form in 2022, however in April 2019 it was announced that the school was no longer planning to offer this provision. However the school then confirmed a sixth form would open as originally planned in September 2022.

Wixams railway station is a planned railway station that is due to be built on the Midland Main Line for the Wixams new town development in Bedfordshire, England. It is proposed that the station be between Bedford and Flitwick. The station was due to be completed in 2015, but Network Rail withdrew their promise of funding. In 2017, Gallagher Estates applied for funding from the government for the station.In July 2017, it was reported the site would be located further north as part of the East West Rail project.In January 2019, East West Railway Company revealed 5 options for a potential Bedford-Cambridge route, with 3 of the options proposing a new station at Bedford South close to Wixams. However in January 2020, the preferred route was announced which does not include a Bedford South station.In January 2022 Bedford Borough Council announced that it has chosen a preferred design for the new station. This design will now be put forward as a planning application, with completion of the station expected in 2024.

Elstow is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Bedford town centre.

Kempston Hardwick is a small village on the edge of the town of Kempston in Bedfordshire, England. Historically it was one of the hamlets or "ends" scattered across the parish of Kempston. It is served by Kempston Hardwick railway station on the Marston Vale Line, which was one of the least-used stations in the UK railway network.For many years Kempston Hardwick was technically part of Kempston town. This is a consequence of the division of the old larger Kempston parish in 1896 into Kempston town and Kempston Rural. However, modern boundary changes have meant that Kempston Hardwick is now part of the rural parish of Stewartby (where the 2011 Census population was included).

The Forest of Marston Vale is an evolving community forest in Marston Vale, which runs south west from the towns of Bedford and Kempston in Bedfordshire, England towards the M1 motorway. It is operated by a registered charity called the Forest of Marston Vale Trust. The vale is traditionally a brickmaking area, but brickmaking industry has been running down since the 1970s. It has left a large amount of spoiled countryside containing several large empty pits some of which have now been converted into lakes. The Forest of Marston Vale is one of twelve of community forest projects in the United Kingdom. It was initiated by the Countryside Agency and the Forestry Commission, in partnership with Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire District Council, and Bedford Borough Council. The total area covered is 61 square miles (158 km2), but most of this land is in private ownership. There are incentives for landowners to plant trees, and the target for community forests in general is to reach 30% tree cover. The principal public open space in the Forest is Marston Vale is the Millennium Country Park which covers 2.5 km2 (1 mile2) and was opened in 2000. The park features several lakes including the large Stewartby Lake and extensive wetlands. There is a visitor centre called the Forest Centre, which has a Lakeside Cafe, shop, toilets and bike rental. According to the official website the park attracts around a quarter of a million visitors a year. There are plans to create a larger park of over 3 square miles (7.8 km2) to the east of Bedford, which will be called Bedford River Valley Park. On 26 January 2018, the UK Environmental Agency granted a permit to Covanta Energy Limited to operate what will be the UK's largest waste incinerator, next to the Forest. The effect of this development remains to be seen.

Houghton Conquest is a village and civil parish located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The parish also includes the hamlet of How End.

Kempston & Elstow Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the Bedfordshire town of Kempston in England. Opened in 1905, it was closed temporarily during both world wars and did not reopen after 1941, being officially closed in 1949.

Church of All Saints is a Grade I listed church in Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 23 January 1961. The parish church, dedicated to All Saints, was built during the 14th century. There are also several monuments. Houghton Conquest's rectory was united with that of Houghton-Gildable in 1637, in the archdeaconry of Bedford, and diocese of Lincoln. It was under the patronage of the Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge.On 4 October 2018 it was reported that the entire lead roof had been stolen.

Elstow Abbey was a monastery for Benedictine nuns in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. It was founded c.1075 by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, a niece of William the Conqueror, and therefore is classed as a royal foundation.

The National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats (commonly abbreviated as NIRAH) was a planned freshwater public aquarium in Stewartby, Bedfordshire. Originally sited at a 100 hectare (250 acre) location, with an expected cost of £350 million, the project failed to meet its planned completion date in 2012. The site of the aquarium was sold in 2015, with an expected loss of £4 million.

Daubeney Academy (formerly Daubeney Middle School) is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England. It was established in 1972 and is part of the Chiltern Learning Trust.