Bedford

Buckle gives this beautiful, tranquil scene a slightly misty atmosphere, as if the memory is recalling some long forgotten location. The River Ouse flows gently under the town bridge, and the spire of St Paul's church near the town centre is visible above the trees. The county town of Bedford has existed since Saxon times and nowadays likes to be associated with John Bunyan, the humble and brave Christian pioneer who wrote Pilgrim's Progress and The Holy War. When he was alive, however, the town authorities persecuted and jailed him for 14 years for his refusal to submit to the dead religious traditions of his day. Bedford has two stations; i) Midland (ex MR) on the St Pancras to Sheffield main line and ii) St John's (ex LNWR) on the Cambridge to Bletchley line (closed between Cambridge and Bedford but will hopefully soon be reopened!).

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