Places to see in ( Dunstable - UK )
Places to see in ( Dunstable - UK )
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. Dunstable lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the largest settlement in Central Bedfordshire and third largest in Bedfordshire behind Luton and Bedford.
Dunstable's first railway opened in 1848. It was a branch joining the West Coast Main Line at Leighton Buzzard. A second line linking Dunstable with Hatfield via Luton opened in 1858. Passenger services to Dunstable were withdrawn in 1965, but the line between Dunstable and Luton.
Shops were concentrated along High Street North/South (Watling Street) and in 1966 the Quadrant Shopping Centre opened. By the 1980s, Dunstable town centre was a successful shopping centre featuring major retailers including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, Bejam/Iceland, Boots, Halfords, Co-op department store, Argos, Woolworths, Burton and many independent specialist shops including Moore's of Dunstable. These attracted shoppers from outlying villages resulting in a thriving retail town centre larger than would be supportable by Dunstable residents alone. So much so that in 1985 the Eleanor's Cross retail area was developed to cater mainly for smaller shops.
The A5 trunk road lies at the heart of Dunstable's transport infrastructure, directing movement north and south. This movement is additionally complemented by the M1 motorway which is located east of the town in Luton. Dunstable is served by two main operators, Arriva and Centrebus. Arriva runs the interurban services to Luton (direct and via Houghton Regis), Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury, but other routes have been steadily taken over from Arriva by Centrebus in recent years, which now provides services to St Albans, Harpenden, Luton (direct and via Caddington), Toddington and Milton Keynes. Centrebus also operates three local services within Dunstable to Beecroft/Weatherby, Downside and the Langdale Road estate. Many bus services are financially supported by Central Bedfordshire Council.
Construction of the Luton Dunstable Busway between Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Luton and Luton Airport was completed in September 2013. Much of the busway runs along the lines of the old railway which has been converted into a guided busway and dedicated roadway. Buses travel on ordinary roads around Dunstable, Houghton Regis and at the airport, but benefit from fast transit (up to 50MPH) with few stops on the busway itself between these centres. Dunstable was once served by the Dunstable Branch Lines to Leighton Buzzard and to Luton from Dunstable Town railway station. There have been a number of campaigns for the re-establishment of a passenger railway, but these have been superseded by the Luton Dunstable Busway, which uses the former rail route (see Bus Transport above). Dunstable is one of the largest towns south of the Midlands conurbations without its own rail service. But as part of the small Luton-Dunstable conurbation it is 3 mi (5 km) from Leagrave station.
Within the town centre is the Grove Theatre, Priory House Heritage Centre and the Priory Church where Henry VIII formalised his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. At the heart of the town sits the Quadrant Shopping Centre, whilst across High Street North a secondary shopping community named the Eleanor's Cross Shopping Precinct hosts a modern statue commemorating the original cross. Nearby Luton has the Waulud's Bank prehistoric henge and Luton Museum & Art Gallery.
Dunstable Downs, a chalky escarpment outside the town, is a popular site for kite flying, paragliding and hang gliding, while the London Gliding Club provides a base for conventional gliding and other air activities at the bottom of the Downs. Further into the countryside are the open-range Whipsnade Zoo, a garden laid out in the form of a cathedral at Whipsnade Tree Cathedral and the Totternhoe Knolls motte-and-bailey castle.
( Dunstable - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Dunstable . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Dunstable - UK
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