Luton town guide
Luton Town Football Club are known as the Hatters reflecting Luton's beginning as an industrial centre devoted to the manufacture of hats. In later times the town of Luton was renowned as the home of Vauxhall Motors. Vauxhall moved their car production from South London (Vauxhall) to a new factory in Kimpton Road Luton in 1905. Sadly car production in Luton is a thing of the past.
Luton sits squarely in the industrialised South of Bedfordshire, although it is not far to go to the delightful countryside of Hertfordshire and the Chiltern Hills.
Close to Luton on the Dunstable Downs the London Gliding Club have their station. To sit and watch those superb and silent master of the air against a backdrop of the downs and the north Bedfordshire is a splendid treat.
Whilst on the subject of flying, Biggleswade in north Bedfordshire is home to the Shuttleworth Collection of vintage flying machines. Many of these are the sole surviving examples of the type and most are airworthy and flown for display.
The area has even more connections with the history of flight in the shape of the old Airship hangers at Cardington just to the south of Bedford. These huge sheds dominate the landscape for miles around and represent high engineering achievement of their day.
Also not far from Luton is Woburn Abbey home of the Dukes of Woburn. This one of the best known and visited stately homes of England notable for its porcelain, silver and fine art collections, which also houses in its grounds Woburn Safari Park.
For those interested in wildlife and even closer to Luton is Whipsnade Zoo, visible for many miles around is the chalk figure of lion, cut into the hillside below the Zoo.
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