Train ride to Bedford
On Saturday 28th August six of us met up at Bletchley station to take the small shuttle train to Bedford. You can drive to Bedford in about 25 minutes and the train takes 40 minutes, but it chugs through all the small villages on a little picturesque line and several of us had never been that way before. We arrived at Bedford St John's station (closer to the town centre than the main Midland station) just before noon and, thanks to other people's sense of direction being better than mine, made our way over the town bridge to the High Street.
The last member of the group was waiting to join us outside Nando's, where we enjoyed an early leisurely lunch. Then, since the weather was fine, we spent an hour strolling along the Embankment - easily the most attractive part of Bedford. We admired the beautifully manicured flowerbeds, and had to keep ducking out of the way of a bridal party that had come to have their photos taken by the river. We watched in awe as a flight of swans noisily took off en masse from the water. Back at the town bridge, we headed for the station, only to discover en route that we'd just missed a train and it was nearly an hour until the next one. Just time to stop off at the King's Head for a quick drink to kill the time!
Our return journey was equally enjoyable, and we were back at Bletchley station just after 5pm. Everyone seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves doing something slightly different. I'd been intending to ride that train for ages, and it was fun making an event out of it and doing it with Mensan friends!
Jo Sidebottom