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Biggleswade

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Biggleswade is a market town in Bedfordshire.

[edit] Get in

Biggleswade Station
Biggleswade Station

[edit] By train

The station is in Station Road, close to the town centre, and linked to the Dells Lane area by a footbridge.

  • There is a staffed ticket office with limited opening hours. Alternatively a 24 hour ticket machine is located next to the footbridge.
  • Note that access to all platforms is via the footbridge with steps only - there is no level access to any platform.
  • Biggleswade is on the East Coast Mainline, served by First Capital Connect services between London King's Cross and Peterborough.
  • Important stops include: Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Hitchin, Sandy, St Neots & Huntingdon.
  • The journey to King's Cross takes approximately 30 minutes on the peak-hour express trains, 40 on a fast train, 50 on a semi-fast.
  • Standard service pattern (Mon-Sat) is one fast and one semi-fast train per hour.
  • There is an ATM/cashpoint outside of the ticket office
  • A small café is available to the right of the main station building (limited opening hours)
  • Paid for car parking is available outside the station main building, and also in the former goods yard (adjacent to the concrete block distribution depot). Tickets are obtained from machines. There is also a smaller free car park further along the same access road in the former goods yard.

[edit] By bus

There is a small bus station on the Market Square.

Regular bus services, and on-demand bus services were recently slashed by Stagecoach and other operators. [1]

  • Regular services operated by Stagecoach Bedford:
    • M3 Biggleswade - Sandy - Moggerhanger - Bedford (half-hourly)
    • M4 Biggleswade - Ickwell - Cople - Cardington - Bedford (hourly)
  • Regular services operated by Centrebus:
    • 171 Biggleswade - Henlow - Hitchin (hourly)
  • Regular services operated by Chiltern Travel:
    • E1 Biggleswade - Potton - Gamlingay (every 2 hours)
    • E2 Biggleswade - Potton - Everton - Sandy (every 2 hours)
    • E4 Biggleswade - Eyeworth - Wrestlingworth (hourly)
    • E6 Biggleswade - Upper Caldicote - Old Warden (loop, every 2 hours)
  • Regular services operated by Grant Palmer:
    • 200 Biggleswade - Shefford - Clophill - Maulden or Ampthill (every 2 hours)

[edit] By road

  • Biggleswade is situated on the A1, about 10 miles after the end of the Southern Section of the A1(M). It is therefore well connected to London, the M25, Hertfordshire, Peterborough and the North. The A14 passes North of Biggleswade, linking the A1 to East Anglia and the Midlands.
  • Smaller roads additionally link the town to Bedford and Cambridge.

[edit] By bike

  • The A1 is not a very cycle-friendly road; other, smaller roads in the area are far more so.
  • There are several bridle paths linking Biggleswade to surrounding towns, which are passable for mountain and hybrid bikes.
  • The National Cycle Network Route 51 is due to be extended from Biggleswade to Sandy and Hitchin, using some of these bridle paths and minor roads.
  • The old Sandy-Bedford railway line nearby is now a dedicated cycle route (National Cycle Network Route 51).

[edit] Get around

Biggleswade is a small town, and many places can be reached on foot. There are, however, some outlying trading estates and superstores.

[edit] By bus

  • There are two hourly, daytime, local services, operated by Herberts Travel:
    • 185 Town Centre to Holme Court Avenue.
    • 187 Town Centre to Stratton Way.

[edit] By car

  • The town centre can get congested, but there are large car parks at Asda (in Church Street), and in Rose Lane. Smaller car parks are located in St Andrew's Street, opposite the Library/Fire Station in Chestnut Avenue, and for Aldi customers, in Bonds Lane. There is also time-restricted parking on the Market Square (except Saturdays when the Market is in town) and in the area around Station Road and Back Street.

[edit] By bike

  • There is a cycle route running North-South through the town, mostly off road, and following the railway line.
  • The town centre has plenty bike racks.

[edit][add listing] See

The River Ivel in Biggleswade
The River Ivel in Biggleswade
  • Biggleswade has an attractive market square in the centre of the town, which hosts a lively general market on Saturday, and occasional weekday farmers' markets.
  • The River Ivel runs along the West side of the town, and has a mix of industrial, residential and rural views, some attractive, some less so. You can gain access by the Mill, and up by Sainsbury's, at the Northern A1 roundabout.
  • St Andrew's Church is an attractive building on Shortmead St, set in a pleasant churchyard.
  • The Local History Society has applied 'Green Plaques' to many buildings in the Town Centre with a short description of historical interest. Of particular note is the plaque in Shortmead Street denoting where Dan Albone, the inventor of the world's first practical motorised agricultural tractor ('The Ivel'), lived and had his workshop.

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

  • There are several shops (local and chains) in the town centre, as well as the Saturday and farmers' markets.
  • Asda, Church Street, Biggleswade, SG18, ☎ 01767 605100, [3]. 8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 7.30am-10pm Sat, 10am-4pm Sun. Supermarket on the old brewery site, in the town centre.  edit
  • Sainsbury's, Bells Brook, Biggleswade, SG18 0NA, ☎ 01767 317587, [4]. Out near the A1 Northern roundabout, with a petrol station. 8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 7.30am-10pm Sat, 10am-4pm Sat.  edit
  • There is a trading estate on London Road, with a number of national chain shops, including Matalan, Halfords, Homebase, Laura Ashley (Home), Bensons, Argos Extra, Brantano, Carpets for Less etc.
  • Jordans Cereals, Holme Mills, Biggleswade, SG18 9JY, ☎ 0800 587 8901, [5]. Jordans are based in Biggleswade, and have a pleasant factory shop at Holme Mills, adjacent to the River Ivel between Biggleswade and Broom (the 200 bus service passes the door).  edit

[edit][add listing] Eat

[edit] Restaurants

  • raj bengal indian 61 hitchin st,biggleswade 01767318555Il Carafino, 28 Palace Street, Biggleswade, SG18 8DP, ☎ 01767 310390, [6]. 6.30pm-10.30pm, plus lunch Wed-Sun. Locally renowned - always book in advance. £19.95 set menu.  edit
  • Ask, 36 High Street, Biggleswade, SG18 0JL, ☎ 01767 313232, [7]. Impressive building on the edge of the Market Square. Nice pizzas, service could be a little quicker. £6-8 for a pizza.  edit
  • Peking Diner, 30 Market Square, Biggleswade, SG18 8AQ, ☎ 01767 313510. Chinese restaurant upstairs in the middle of the Market Square.  edit
  • Biggles Tandoori, 4-6 Shortmead Street, Biggleswade, SG18 0AP, ☎ 01767 600122. Just round from the High Street.  edit
  • The Viceroy, 51 Sun Street, Biggleswade, SG18 0BY, ☎ 01767 312110. Another Indian restaurant, slightly further out of town, on Sun Street.  edit

[edit] Cafés

  • Surfin Café, 3-4 Market House, Biggleswade, SG18 8AQ, ☎ 0870 760 5019 (), [8]. 7.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm Sat, 9am-4pm Sun. A very popular local meeting place, in the middle of the Market Square. They also provide a coffee lounge at The Old Maltings, in Church Street (adjacent to ASDA).  edit

[edit] Takeaways

  • Beego's Sandwich Bar, 32 High Street, Biggleswade, SG18 0JL, ☎ 01767 314749. For the best sandwiches and baked potatoes in town!  edit

[edit] Pub-Restaurants

  • The Hare and Hounds, Old Warden, Biggleswade, SG18 9HQ, ☎ 01767 627225, [9]. Just outside of Biggleswade in Old Warden, a wonderful pub-restaurant, serving home-cooked food. Named best dining pub in Bedfordshire in 2006.  edit

[edit][add listing] Drink

There are several pubs throughout the town, particularly around the High Street and Market Square.

For a more sophisticated drinking experience, the bar of the Stratton House Hotel is the best place in Biggleswade. The New Inn on the Market Square is frequented by those only just old enough to drink, while real ale aficionados head for The Rose, on the corner of the High Street and Rose Lane.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

There's only a couple of hotels in the town itself: there are, however, more motel-style places out by the A1, and some country B&Bs in the area.

[edit] Get out

  • The Shuttleworth Collection, Shuttleworth (Old Warden) Aerodrome, Nr. Biggleswade, SG18 9EP, ☎ 01767 627927 (, fax: 01767 627949), [12]. 10am-5pm Summer, 10am-4pm Winter. An eccentric assortment of an airfield with antique aircraft (including some used in the film 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying machines) and vintage transport, a Swiss Garden, a bird of prey centre and a play area. Just outside Biggleswade, in the delightful village of Old Warden. £10 (£20 for all attractions).  edit
  • RSPB Sandy, off Potton Road, Sandy, ☎ 01767 680551 (), [13]. 9am to sunset or 9pm. This lodge is the HQ of the RSPB and has a wonderful reserve to visit, even if you're not especially into birds. Sandy is a few miles North of Biggleswade. You can walk, take the train or the bus. £3.  edit
  • Moggerhanger House and Park, Park Road, Moggerhanger, Beds, MK44 3RW, [14]. A Grade 1 listed Georgian Country House by Sir John Soane with gardens originally laid out by Humphrey Repton, now a Christian Conference Centre. Cafe and Bistro open to the public - guided tours of the house (formerly home of the Governor of the Bank of England)available  edit
  • Cambridge is 25 miles away.

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