Woburn
According to a well respected National Newspaper, Woburn is one of the best places to live in the UK. Though the town has not always been as popular as it is now, it has been around for a very long time. So long in fact that Woburn is mentioned in the 1086 Doomsday Book. In 1086 Woburn was nothing more than a tiny hamlet accommodating around 969 people. The name Woburn is of Saxon origins and simply means ‘crooked stream’. The name of the town is probably more familiar for its associations with nearby Woburn Abbey which was founded in 1145 by a group of Cistercian monks. Over the centuries the town has been razed to the ground by fire on three occasions, the prevalence of thatched roofs being the main reasons for the fires spreading so quickly after a chimney caught the first time, whilst the second time the town was burned to the ground by cavaliers during the English Civil War. The third fire happened in 1724 and again destroyed much of the town; when it was rebuilt the building was very much Georgian in style, which is what you can see today.
Things to See and Do
Woburn is not far from the M1 corridor which makes it a great place to stay if you want to explore areas like Milton Keynes or travel into the centre of London. The town itself is a tourist attraction in its own right, but there are plenty of places nearby that you can explore too. Aside from the obvious places such as Woburn Abbey and Woburn Safari Park there is also the heritage centre, Georgian centre and the local history museum to discover. The town also boasts a heated outdoor swimming pool which is very popular during the summer months, and the monthly farmers market that takes place here on the third Sunday of every month sees people arriving in the town from miles around. There are also plenty of independent shops and stores as well as some unique specialist shops in the town and plenty of good quality bars and restaurants.
Places to Visit
Woburn Safari Park makes for a great day out for all of the family. Drive around the animal enclosures and forget that you are deep in the heart of the Bedfordshire countryside and not on a wildlife safari on the other side of the world. There are more than eighty different animal species to encounter on your visit, the majority of which roam the three hundred acres of beautiful parkland in which the park is set. Even if the British weather lets you down there are still plenty of activities taking place indoors including talks about the different animals and animal demonstrations. This is not only a fun day out it is also an educational experience and everyone should leave the park knowing something about the animals that they didn’t know when they arrived.
Woburn Abbey on the other hand has four hundred years of history behind it and contains many works of art by masters from times past. Tours of the house let you see and feel how it was to live here, and you will also learn more about how the British love of afternoon tea began.
