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Leisure and culture

Sports and Recreation Facilities

A Sporting Borough

Leisure and recreation are well catered for in the Borough; Bedford Borough Council invested more than £10 million in sports and leisure projects at the beginning of the 1990's. Bedford Athletic Stadiumis the top athletics venue in the region, attracting national and international athletes.

The stadium and its top-quality indoor facilities give the Borough's sporting community access to a wide range of track and field sports. This is backed up by the Borough Council's Champion Coaching initiative, which gives keen children the chance to train properly with a qualified coach. They are then directed onto the club network so that they are constantly encouraged to keep up their interest.

Facilities like the Athletic Stadiumand the new Hockey Centre at Biddenham on the outskirts of Bedford, have significantly increased the availability of quality facilities to sportspeople of all abilities and ages in the Borough.

There are three swimming pools in the Borough, including the impressive Oasis Beach Pool with its giant water slides and wave generators, housed in a space age pyramid.

The town is also served by first-class private and council-run golf courses and squash clubs; several football teams; and a nationally recognised rugby union team which has produced some of the greatest players in the game, among them Budge Rogers, England's most capped player at one stage.

With a river as lovely and as accessible as the Great Ouse, it is not surprising that Bedford has a long and glorious rowing tradition. The Bedford Regatta has been held every year since 1850 - except during the war - and Bedford has produced many Olympic oarsmen.

Bedford Rowing Club founded in 1886, (although there are records of club activity on the Great Ouse long before then), has recorded the highest number of wins in regattas in recent years. Bedfordshire Schools Rowing Association has supplied members to both university and national crews.  Star Rowing Club is another successful Rowing Club based in Bedford.

Cricket also has a great tradition in the area. The legendary Jack Hobbs was once on the ground staff at Bedford School, and among the famous players to have played on Bedford Town's ground at Goldington Bury in recent years are Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Geoff Boycott and Graeme Hick.

If you enjoy horse riding, there are several facilities nearby. Tennis, putting and bowls are available in most public parks in the town.

Bedford really comes into its own with water sports like wind surfing, jet biking, water skiing and parakiting, all within easy distance.

Bedford's very own Priory Marina has 200 moorings, a sailing lake, chandlery and restaurant.

This is part of Priory Country Park, 200 acres of natural lakes, grass and woodland where you can enjoy watersports as well as peaceful walks in a carefully managed conservation environment.

The canoe slalom in the country park is the only one of its kind in the region.

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