Oakley railway station (Bedfordshire)

Lincroft Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in Oakley in the English county of Bedfordshire.It was established as a secondary modern school in the early 1960s on land that was part of Oakley Grange. In the early 1970s it became a middle school educating pupils aged 9 to 13. In February 2011 the school converted to academy status and adopted its present name. In 2017 it became a secondary school educating pupils aged 11 to 16. Today the school forms part of the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust which includes 25 schools.

Oakley is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about four miles northwest of Bedford along the River Great Ouse. It has a population of 2,493 and is near the villages of Bromham, Milton Ernest, Clapham, Radwell and Felmersham.

Milton Ernest is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Bedford itself. It had a population of 754 in 2001. This had risen to 761 according to the 2011 census. The village is situated on the east bank of the River Great Ouse, and is the site of Milton Ernest Hall, which was used as the United States Eighth Air Force's support command headquarters in the Second World War.The village is named in the Domesday Book in the hundred of Stodden. The entry reads: "Middletone / Mildentone: Miles Crispin and William Basset from Hugh de Beauchamp; Thorgils from Nigel d'Aubigny; Reginald from Walter of Flanders; Ivo, Hugh de Grandmesnil's steward from Adelaide, Hugh de Grandmesnil's wife; a beadle from the king. Mill."All Saints' Church was built between the 12th and 15th centuries.Possible variations in spelling may include "Milton Harneys", in 1396, & "Midelton Erneys", in 1430. The first half of the name means "Middle Farm". The second half of the name is derived from the name of the main manor of the village and was added in the 13th century to distinguish it from Bedfordshire's other Milton (Bryant). Milton Ernest has a small voluntary controlled village school, closely linked to the church, that has between 60 and 65 pupils drawn from this and surrounding villages. The secondary school for the area is Sharnbrook Academy, in the village of Sharnbrook, located around 3 miles (4.8 km) away. On 15 December 1944, Glenn Miller took off from RAF Twinwood Farm, in neighbouring Clapham, on his last, ill-fated flight, and was last seen in public in the Queen's Head Hotel in Milton Ernest before he disappeared. A plaque at Milton Ernest Hall honours Major Glenn Miller and members of the United States Eighth Air Force, it reads "In memory of all the personnel who served in World War II at Milton Ernest Hall headquarters USAAF Eight Air Force Service Command Station 608 1943-1946, also Major Glenn Miller & the band of the Allied Expeditionary Force who were stationed here from July to December 1944". The controversial Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre is located in the parish. Milton Ernest is also home to the UK's first indoor skydiving and indoor surfing facilities. However both have now ceased operations. A book entitled "The Importance of Milton Ernest" was published by David Newman and details the above and much more of Milton Ernest history and prominence

Milton Ernest Hall is a large grade I listed country house in the village of Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire, England. It now serves as a nursing home. It was built in 1853–58 for Benjamin Helps Starey on the site of a decaying earlier house by church architect William Butterfield, whose sister Ann was married to Starey. Constructed in limestone in a Gothic Revival style, the main block is L-shaped with projecting gables and a high, steep roof containing several dormer windows. The property passed then through several hands before being sold in 1906 to Lord Ampthill. During the First World War the hall became the home of two of the sons of King George V. After the war it was restored to the Starey family. During the Second World War the hall was used as a base for Special Operations Executive, a small grass landing strip being laid in the grounds. In 1944 it became the United States Eighth Air Force's support command headquarters. A plaque at the Hall honours the members of the United States Eighth Air Force (including Major Glenn Miller) who were stationed there. The plaque reads: IN MEMORY OF ALL THE PERSONNEL WHO SERVED IN WORLD WAR II AT MILTON ERNEST HALL HEADQUARTERS USAAF EIGHTH AIR FORCE SERVICE COMMAND STATION 608 1943-1946, ALSO MAJOR GLENN MILLER & THE BAND OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE WHO WERE STATIONED HERE FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 1944 After the US Air Force vacated the Hall, it remained empty until 1968, when Ludwik Dobrzański (he died in 1940) purchased the property along with the surrounding grounds for £15,000. The family lived at the Hall until it was sold in 1971. In 1984 the hall was converted to a nursing home. In the fields adjoining is a grade II listed brick and tile hexagonal dove-cote.

Browns Wood is a six hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Clapham in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council.The wood was planted by the Duke of Bedford in the middle of the eighteenth century. It is ancient semi-natural woodland of beech, larch and poplar. Ground flora include wood anemone and nettle leaved bellflower, and there are birds such as great spotted woodpeckers and song thrushes.There is access from Twinwood Road.

Clapham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 3,643 as at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,560 at the 2011 Census.

Church of St Owen is a Grade I listed church in Bromham, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.The church is a 17th-century building and stands in a parkland setting. There is an alabaster tomb and a triple brass in the chancel.

Church of All Saints is an Anglican church in the parish of Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire, England. It is part of the Benefice of Milton Ernest, Pavenham, and Thurleigh, in the Diocese of St. Albans under the Church of England.

Bromham Lake is a 10.9 hectare Local Nature Reserve east of Bromham in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council.The lake was formed when the site was used for the extraction of sand, gravel and limestone between 1969 and 1975, and an Iron Age house was found during the extraction. In the 1980s the site was restored to become a nature reserve. The lake is important for aquatic birds such as terns and coot, and plants such as water crowfoot and reedmace. A wild flower meadow provides a habitat for butterflies. There is also woodland, grassland and a limestone cliff.There is access from Lower Farm Road.

Bromham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, situated around 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Bedford town centre.

Church of St Thomas of Canterbury (also Clapham Parish Church, or Thomas à Becket) is a parish church and Grade I listed building in Clapham, Bedfordshire, England. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964. Though the church can be traced back before A.D. 1000, there is no record of the original patron saint, Thomas Becket having been so well accepted. The church is built in the Anglo-Saxon style, possibly early 10th century. There are narrow semi-circular-headed windows. The upper story is Early Norman. The parapet is 17th century. The remainder of the church was entirely rebuilt in 1861, by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It features a chancel, nave, and two aisles. The tower, which dates to the 11th or 12th century, measures 26 metres (85 ft) in height.

Biddenham Pit is a gravel pit and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 0.41 hectares in size located in Biddenham, Bedfordshire. The pit was notified to Bedford Borough Council and Bedfordshire County Council under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) in 1988, and is also a Geological Conservation Review site. The site is owned by Persimmon Homes and Kier Homes, with management advice given by Natural England.The pit provides an intact and visually inspectable terrace gravel, both silty and clayey, which has been laid down by the River Great Ouse. Several features of scientific interest have been identified in the deposits - interglacial mollusca and mammalian remains have been found, possible microfossil material as well as evidence of a prolific Paleolithic industry in the lowest layers of the gravel. Its last official inspection by a Natural England staff member found the whole site and more specifically the gravel feature inside it to be in a 'Favourable' condition.There is access by a footpath from Malcote Close.