The Riddy

Beeston is a hamlet of about 530 acres (2.1 km2) in the town of Sandy in the Wixamtree hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about a half a mile south of Sandy, north of Biggleswade and east of Bedford. Beeston appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it shown as having a mill: "Bistone: Roland, Norman and Pirot from Eudo FitzHubert; William Speke; Thurstan the Chamberlain; Godmund; Alwin from the King. Mill." The medieval period saw the construction of the Great North Road, the post road connecting London to Edinburgh, which ran through Beeston. In the 1930s the Ministry of Transport upgraded the Great North Road to a trunk road and it became the A1 in 1923. Subsequent upgrades during the 1960s saw this section of the road become a dual carriageway which effectively split the hamlet and isolated the larger part of Beeston from Sandy, pedestrian access being limited to a footbridge. Plans are afoot to reposition the road to bypass Beeston/Sandy but no date for this work has been set. Historically the main occupation of the residents of Beeston was market gardening, farming and straw plaiting (woman & girls) for the hat industry.Beeston is in the Anglican Parish of St Swithun, Sandy. It has a Wesleyan (Methodist) Chapel built 1865 with seating for 300. A former chapel on Beeston Green is now a private home. The major feature of Beeston is the 13-acre (53,000 m2) village green bounded by many of the older residences.

Sandy is a town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It lies 8 miles (13 km) to the east of Bedford, 18 miles (29 km) to the south west of Cambridge and 43 miles (69 km) north of Central London. It had a population of 12,171 at the 2021 census. The town takes its name from a low range of sandy hills on the eastern side of the town, which form part of the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. The main part of the built-up area lies between the hills to the east and the River Ivel to the west. The A1 road skirts the western edge of the town. Sandy railway station is on the Great Northern route between London and Peterborough, with the railway running along the eastern edge of the built-up area. The parish also includes the hamlet of Beeston, which straddles the A1 to the south-west of the town. The headquarters of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is at The Lodge at Sandy Warren in the hills to the east of the town, where it has been based since 1961.

Sandy Secondary School (formerly Sandy Upper School) is a coeducational secondary school, located in Sandy, Bedfordshire, England.The school educates 11-16 year-olds, mainly from the town of Sandy, Great Barford, Potton and the surrounding villages. In addition, the school offers further education for 16–18 year-olds through its sixth form department.

Girtford Halt was a short-lived railway halt on the Varsity Line which served the Girtford area of Sandy in Bedfordshire, England. It was opened by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1938, but closed to passenger traffic two years later in 1940. The line itself closed in 1968, and the site of the railway station has been obliterated by a roundabout.

Sandy railway station serves the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the East Coast Main Line, about 44 miles (71 km) from London King's Cross. Sandy is managed by Great Northern but all train services are operated by Thameslink. Sandy station was originally built in 1850 for the Great Northern Railway; the London and North Western Railway opened an adjacent station in 1862. The stations were later merged into one, which has since undergone many changes. The present station has two large platforms and 4 main rail lines, a pair of "up and down" slow lines used by stopping services and a pair of "up and down" fast lines used by high speed services passing through. A fifth line extends off the "up" slow line which links into the remaining sidings and original bay platforms. There is also a sixth line off the "down" slow line that links to a siding beside Platform 1.

Hatch is a hamlet in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is located a little over a mile south-west of the market town of Sandy, and forms part of the Northill civil parish. Budna and Thorncote Green are located just to the west.

Potton Brook rises east of Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, and flows southwest and then south through Potton and the John O'Gaunt Golf Club and into Sutton, Bedfordshire. Potton Brook curves west and northwest, and joins the River Ivel northeast of Lower Caldecote. Potton Brook flows along the West Boundary of the Henry Smith playing fields in Potton. On West side of the playing fields is the smaller Horse Brook which flows into Potton Brook.

Upper Caldecote is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England about 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,218.It is part of Northill civil parish. Most of Upper Caldecote is situated directly to the west of the A1 road, with facilities including Caldecote CE Academy (a lower school), a post office, Anglican church, Methodist chapel, antiques shop, garage, G&M Growers, cricket club, football pitches and changing rooms, tennis courts, netball court, children's park and two newsagents. The Anglican church of All Saints was built in 1867–8, in yellow brick with red brick banding and dressings, to designs of Arthur Blomfield.

Warren Villas was a nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The former site is situated by the River Ivel to the south of the town of Sandy in the county of Bedfordshire.

Thorncote Green (often known only as Thorncote) is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement is located to the north of the village of Northill, and practically next to Budna. Thorncote Green lies near to the border between Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Bedford.

Budna is a hamlet in the civil parish of Northill, in Bedfordshire, England. Budna is located to the north of the village of Northill, and near to Thorncote Green and Hatch. Budna lies on the border between Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Bedford.

Blunham was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.