Sundon

Upper Sundon is a village located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The village is the largest settlement in the wider Sundon civil parish, though Lower Sundon is presumed to be older, as the parish church (first built in the 13th Century) is located there. 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.Today, Upper Sundon houses most of the amenities located in the parish, including Sundon Lower School and a pub. Historically the village contained three pubs but two have since closed leaving The Red Lion as the only public house in Upper Sundon. The village is close to the large town of Luton, and is bordered on the west by the M1 motorway. The village has a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Sundon Chalk Quarry. The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes near the village.

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

Sundon Chalk Quarry is a 26.2-hectare (65-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Upper Sundon in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is privately owned but there is free public access.The quarry was established to provide chalk and marl for the Sundon cement works, which operated between 1899 and 1976. The site is part of a large complex of disused chalk quarries, and its varied habitats include fens, lakes, chalk grassland, scrub and woodland. Interesting chalkland plants found here include ploughman’s spikenard, wild liquorice and woolly thistle, and what is probably the largest colony of the Chiltern gentian in England.The quarry has one of the most important assemblages of insect species in Bedfordshire, including sixteen species of dragonfly and damselfly, and twenty-one of butterfly, including the uncommon Adonis blue. The odontids include the scarce blue-tailed damselfly and the ruddy darter dragonfly, both of which are scarce in Britain, and the emerald damselfly and the red-eyed damselfly, which are uncommon in Bedfordshire. There are a number of uncommon beetles including Apion astragali, the larvae of which feed solely on the wild licorice, itself a scarce plant in Britain. There are also amphibians, with the common frog, smooth newt and great crested newt regularly breeding here.The Chiltern Way passes through the site on a footpath from Church Road.

Sundon Park is a suburb of north Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Leagrave Park to the south, the Midland Main Line to the west, and Spinney Woods and the footpath from the woods to the edge of town to the east. The name is taken from the nearby villages of Upper Sundon and Lower Sundon, and the estate was originally built as a self-contained community serving the SKF ball bearing factory.

South West Bedfordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all constituencies of the UK Parliament, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The serving Member since 2001 is Conservative Andrew Selous, who succeeded Conservative David Madel. Selous has been re-elected five times: in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency will only be subject to minor boundary changes, but is to be renamed Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard - to be first contested at the next general election.

Lealands High School, formerly Sundon Park Comprehensive School, is a foundation school for 11 to 16 year olds located in Sundon Park, Luton. The school attracts students from Sundon Park and across Luton and Bedfordshire. It was judged good with outstanding behaviour and safety by Ofsted in 2013 and confirmed to continue being a good school overall in March 2017 following a short inspection by Ofsted. In 2014 the school was placed in the top 100 most improved secondary schools for GCSE results including English and maths over a sustained period. Main feeder schools include Sundon Park Juniors School, Leagrave Primary and Pirton Hill, although students join Lealands from primary schools across Luton and the surrounding areas.

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.

Toddington Services is a motorway service station on the M1 motorway between junctions 11A and 12, just north of Luton and Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It takes its name from the nearby village of Toddington. It is owned by Moto Hospitality.

Chalton is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, immediately north of the Luton/Dunstable conurbation and bounded to the east by the M1 motorway and the Midland Main Line railway line. A footpath, locally known as the "Bound Way", borders the village to the south and south west. This path now forms part of the Chiltern Way. The fields around Chalton below Carters hill are the source of the River Flit. Nearby places are Toddington (north west), Chalgrave (west), Houghton Regis (south west), and Sundon (east).

Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed church in Harlington, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 23 January 1961.

Tophill is a suburb of Luton, in the north-west of the town, centred on Toddington Road, in Bedfordshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Brickly Road to the south, the M1 to the west, and the Midland Main Line to the east.Tophill mostly consists of 1960s, 70s, and 80s suburban housing, and also includes the Toddington Road industrial estate and the Vauxhall Aftersales Warehouse.

Harlington railway station is located in Bedfordshire. It is named after the village of Harlington, on the outskirts of which it is located, but serves a wide rural area including the larger villages of Toddington and Barton-le-Clay.