Though it was still early for our train, we left Costa and started back to the station.

The Arcade

We passed through this attractive shopping arcade, called simply The Arcade and dated 1905.

Bedford Station

Bedford Station will not win any prizes for beauty but it does at least serve its purpose. The station originally opened in 1859 but the current building dates from 1978.

Waiting…

On reaching the platform, we had an hour to wait for our train as we had tickets for the 17:40 train only. A member of the station staff took pity on us and tried to have us transferred to an earlier train. He was unsuccessful but we were grateful for his kindness.

Church of St Paul

While I would not describe Bedford as a handsome town, it has a few buildings of beauty and/or interest. I snapped the above and the following two more or less at random on our passage through the streets on our way to the station.

Aboard the train

The train arrived at last and we went aboard.

Sunset from the train
Photo by Tigger

Tigger took this photo of the sunset through the train window.

Arriving at St Pancras

The train stopped only twice en route (at Luton and Luton Parkway for the airport, if you are interested!) and we were soon pulling into St Pancras. It was Tigger who first noticed the anomaly.

The upper level

The anomaly was that our train arrived at the upper level of St Pancras instead of the “downstairs” lower level from which we had departed. Not that it mattered: one level is as good as another in your home station!

Aboard the 214

At the bus stop, it seemed that we had 17 minutes to wait for our bus but, just as we were resigning ourselves to this, a 214 turned up! It was crowded but we were lucky enough to find seats after the next stop. Within minutes we reached our home destination, bringing today’s expedition to a conclusion.

We left the house just after 8 am on this dull, wet morning. If we had not already bought the train tickets we might well mot have gone.

Aboard a 205

We caught a 205 bus to King’s Cross.

Approaching King’s Cross Station

The roads were already fairly busy. We left the bus and crossed to King’s Cross Station.

Entering St Pancras Station

Our destination, though, was its sister station, St Pancras, the more beautiful of the pair.

Coffee and croissants
Photo by Tigger

We went to EL&N for a coffee and croissant breakfast.

To the “downstairs” platforms

As train time approached, we made for the platforms for Bedford. These are the platforms for the south (e.g. Brighton) snd are at the lower level. Tigger has the tickets in electronic form on her phone and buzzes us through the gates. We’re so modern! 🙂

Our train arrived

Our train arrived and…

Aboard the train
Photo to Tigger

…we went aboard.

A view from the train

The view from the train alternates between open land and built-up areas. The town of Bedford gives its name to its county, Bedfordshire.

Arriving

The train was late (do trains in the UK ever arrive on time?) but we arrived at last.

A street called All Hallows

We walked to the central shopping area.

Costa

We stopped off at Costa for coffee.

Carousel

Outside was a children’s carousel. This is an old form of entertainment that somehow keeps its appeal in modern times.

The sun shone

As we left, the sun put in a welcome appearance.

The bus station

We walked to the bus station and boarded a number 9B bus.

Aboard the 9B bus

And off we go to see some big old buildings.

Cardington Airship Hangars

We had come to see the Cardington Airship Sheds (usually known as the Airship Hangars) where the first British airships were built. They were fouded in 1919.

Hangar, close up

This close-up may give an impression of how massive they are.

Flat landscape

The land around here is very flat (and windy!) which is probably what you need when building and launching airships.

Waiting for the bus back

We then had to wait for the bus back on this open road. Fortunately, the bus was on time. (Is this a record?)

The Nazar

Back in town, we went for lunch to the Nazar Turkish restaurant. Disappointingly, they didn’t have lentil soup.

Bedford Market

Opposite was the market with its monument to prison reformer John Howard.

We next visited the Panacea Museum which records the times and activities of the Panacea Society. This was a group of women believing in the prophecies of one of their members, predicting the return of the Messiah and the coming of the Millennium. It would be boring to give a complete account of it here but you can read about it easily online. There follow a few random views of the exhibition.

Edwardian period ladies’ fashions

The kitchen range

Joanna Southcott’s box of prophesies

Joanna Southcott’s box of prophesies was to be opened by Church of England bishops when the time was right,

The bishops’ sitting room

As the bishops would have to spend the night on site, bedrooms and sitting and dining rooms were prepared.

Airships at the Higgins

We also visited the museum The Higgins Bedford. It was hosting a special exhibition about the building of airships entitled Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity, It included a rather whimsical film which I don’t think did the subject any favours.

A quieter street

Leaving the museum, we walked along one of the quieter streets.

Costa again

We returned to Costa to await train time, where I will leave us for now and pick up the story later if there is anything to tell.