Bedfordshire is largely a county of lowland clay fields, over half the land down to cereal crops. But across this open arable landscape run broad ridges of different character, while winding rivers, principally the Great Ouse and its tributary the Ivel, cut shallow but fertile valleys through the countryside.
Historic market towns are scattered across the county and still provide focal points for their rural hinterlands. Many now have farmers’ markets, while traditional butchers, bakers and greengrocers often also sell local produce.
The county has a long-standing reputation for the quality of its wheat, still by far the most widely grown crop. In the 18th century the market at Bedford was praised for its “great quantities of the best wheat in England”, much of it sent by barge to Lynn for onward shipping to Holland.
Besides providing transport, Bedfordshire’s rivers were once valued as a source of power to mill the plentiful cereals. One water-mill, Holme Mills just outside Biggleswade, has been home since 1855 to Jordans Cereals, today producers of many well-known breakfast cereals and snacks.
The loamy and well-draining soils of the river flood plains provide ideal land for market gardening. Just a few of the Ivel valley’s smallholdings survive, but larger scale vegetable production is still important along the river. The wide range of locally grown vegetables includes the long established Brussels sprouts and the recently developed Supasweet onion.
The Greensand Ridge stretches across the county on either side of the Ivel. In sharp contrast to the rich alluvial valley, its light acidic soil is evident in tracts of heath land. The workable land allowed the creation of landscaped parks, once used as hunting grounds, now more often grazed by sheep. Deer are still reared at Woburn Abbey, providing excellent venison.
There’s more good grazing on the chalky Chiltern downs at the very south of the county, as well as on the more watery river pastures. Another ridge runs along the northern border with Northamptonshire. Here the thin soils have given rise to a more mixed pattern of farming, with arable and pasture side by side.
Laxton’s nursery in Bedford developed and gave its name to dozens of varieties of apples, pears, plums and strawberries. The Cistercian monks of Warden Abbey raised the large cooking pear known simply as a warden. Sometimes called “iron pears”, wardens are inedibly hard when raw but delicious when baked. They were much sold by street pedlars, crying “Smoking hot, piping hot. Who knows what I’ve got in my pot? Hot baked wardens. All hot! All hot! All hot!”
Fruit, meat and cereal come together in the Bedfordshire clanger, still baked for sale at Gunns Bakery in Sandy and Bigglesade. Originally a handy meal for field labourers, the clanger’s pastry crust is stuffed with savoury meat at one end and sweet jam at the other. A simple lunch of a clanger and a bottle of beer from one of the county’s breweries is hard to beat.
