Bedfordshire

County of south central England (since April 1997 Luton has been a separate unitary authority).

Area
1,192 sq km/460 sq mi

Towns and cities
Bedford (administrative headquarters), Dunstable

Physical
the Great Ouse River and its tributary, the Ivel; the county is low lying with the Chiltern Hills in the southwest

Features
Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, near Dunstable (200 ha/494 acres), belonging to the London Zoological Society; Woburn Abbey(18th century), seat of the duke of Bedford; Cranfield Institute of Technology

Agriculture
cereals (especially wheat and barley); vegetables

Industries
agricultural machinery; cement manufacture (using local chalk); clay; electrical goods; gravel; motor vehicles and parts; packaging; sand; brickworks at Stewartby

Population
(2001) 381,600

Famous people
John Bunyan, John Howard, Joseph Paxton