Smithcombe, Sharpenhoe and Sundon Hills

Sharpenhoe is a small village in Bedfordshire, England, at the foot of the hills known as the Sharpenhoe Clappers, which are within the Chilterns AONB. Smithcombe, Sharpenhoe and Sundon Hills are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and most of it is a National Trust property. It is in the civil parish of Streatley. Woburn Abbey had interests in Sharpenhoe.

Streatley is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.

Church of St Margaret is a Grade I listed church in Streatley, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 3 February 1967.

Barton Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, England. The club are currently members of the Southern League Division One Central and play at Sharpenhoe Road. They are affiliated to the Bedfordshire Football Association.

Barton-Le-Clay Airfield (Barton In The Clay Aerodrome) was first established in 1935 to the west of the village, on farmland owned by the nearby Brook End Green Farm. Its first residents were the newly formed Luton Aircraft Limited and The Dunstable Sailplane Company, both companies co-owned by W.L. Manuel and C.H. Latimer-Needham. Before the mid-1960s Barton-Le-Clay was called Barton In The Clay but the name was changed to the current form by the Parish Council of the time. All references and documentation prior to this date will be in the original village name. Luton Aircraft commenced construction of its two first aircraft under the management of W.L. Manuel, the Luton Buzzard and the Luton Minor. They were completed ready for flight on 12 December 1935 and 11 July 1936 respectively. In late 1936 the company moved from Barton-Le-Clay to new premises named The Phoenix Works on Oxford Rd, Gerrards Cross, after a fire substantially damaged the workshop building and contents. The Dunstable Sailplane Company had started life just a year before, building and repairing gliders in the village of Hockliffe south west of Barton-Le-Clay. Most of the company's clients were from the recently formed and nearby London Gliding Club, from whose hangars Manuel had previously been working. Marendaz Aircraft came to Barton-Le-Clay airfield in 1937, formed by D.M.K. Marendaz in 1936 from the remains of Marendaz Special Cars Ltd at the Cornwallis Works, Maidenhead to manufacture aircraft. Production of the company's first aircraft had been severely damaged in a fire and the work to rebuild was priority after the move. The Marendaz Mk3 was registered as G-AFGG on 23 March 1938; a second aircraft called the Marendaz Trainer was registered as G-AFZX on 31 October 1939.The Bedford School of Flying was granted licence on 1 January 1938 and the Flying school formed on 14 January 1938, training of a large number of CAG members (as many as 500). The airfield's day-to-day management was handled by International Aircraft & Engineering Ltd which, like the Bedford School of Flying, was owned by D.M.K. Marendaz and Dorothy Summers. The School operated until 1940. On 22 July 1940 No 24 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) was established at Luton and Barton-le-clay was assigned as a Relief Training Ground as the main Luton airfield became more congested. When the EFTS relocated, Luton airfield became the home of No 5 Ferry Pool, an all-women group of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), who also used Barton-le-Clay as its Relief Training Ground. No.5 Ferry Pool had relocated from the Hatfield de Havilland Aircraft Company factory site and later moved operations to Haddenham, Buckinghamshire (RAF Thame), in 1943 though they retained use of the Barton-Le-Clay airfield, transporting student pilots by bus each day until the ATA disbanded at the end of November 1945. Barton-le-Clay airfield returned to civil use post 1945, with the grass airstrip being returned to agriculture and the buildings being occupied for industrial use. The airfield has an active research group which documents its findings on the Barton-Le-Clay Community Website.

Lower Sundon is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was established before 1066. The manor of Sundon is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The manor was held by the de Clare, Badlesmere and Scrope families until the mid 16th century, when it passed to the Cheyne family. In 1716 it was sold to William Clayton, 1st Baron Sundon. It later passed to the Page-Turner family.The St Mary the Virgin Church was first built in Lower Sundon in the 13th Century. It is a Grade I listed building. The Victorian vicarage is Grade II listed, and features very fine latticed windows.Today, Lower Sundon lies in the wider Sundon civil parish, and is close to the large town of Luton.

Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire Borough in Bedfordshire, England, bordering Hertfordshire. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Church of St Nicholas is a Grade I listed church in Barton le Clay, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 3 February 1967.

Barton Hills are situated southeast of the village of Barton-le-Clay in the English county of Bedfordshire. They are part of the Chilterns and hiking routes are marked on maps at the entrance to the hills. From the foot of the hillside, a spring (Barton Springs) marks the start of a chalk stream river. During the summer, Dartmoor ponies roam the hills.

Keech Hospice Care is a hospice in Luton, England. It provides care specifically for terminally ill children in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes, but also focuses on older terminally ill patients in Luton and South Bedfordshire. It has been commended for its work and has also seen notable fund raising events in the past.In October 2009 after almost ten years as being known as "Keech Cottage Children's Hospice", along with its sister and main hospice "The Pasque Charity", it became known as Keech Hospice Care.

Pulloxhill Marsh is a 5.1-hectare (13-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pulloxhill in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1985 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council.This marsh in a small valley has a wide variety of plant species, including some rare in the country, such as sharpflowered rush and blunt-flowered rush. It also has springs, neutral grassland in higher areas and mature hedgerows.The site is private land closed to the public, but it can be viewed from Church Road.

Pulloxhill Grange was a priory in Bedfordshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.In 1535, Dunstable Priory received from Woburn Abbey 5s. for land it held in Pulloxhill. In 1291, the value of the abbey's estates in Pulloxhill was £7 2s. 5d. In 1330, the abbey claimed sac and soc in Pulloxhill. In 1547, after the Dissolution of the monasteries, Pulloxhill Grange, was granted to Sir William Pagett.