Shopping Centres
Bedford is a traditional market town, gaining
its charter from King Henry II in 1166 which confirmed the town’s
right to a merchant guild.
The pedestrianised area of Silver Street
connects High Street with the indoor shopping areas of the Harpur
and Howard Centres.
The Harpur Shopping Centre is the premier
shopping venue in the heart of Bedford with a varied cross section
of national retailers and a wide range of shops offering services
such as hairdressing and café facilities. The adjacent Howard
Centre offers a Shopmobility Scheme (tel (01234) 348000).
Services within the centres include ladies, gents and disabled
toilets along with baby changing facilities.
There is a 97 space basement car park
immediately below the Harpur Centre linking into the central mall
area, whilst a 450 space multi-storey car park feeds into the
Howard Centre. In addition across Horne Lane on the southern
side of the Shopping Centres is the street level car park,
Riverside Square.
The Centres are located in the heart of
Bedford and are within easy walking distance of the bus
station.
In addition to the main indoor shopping centres are two
indoor pedestrian arcades. The Arcade runs from High Street
to Harpur Street and is filled with a selection of traditional non
national shops.
Church Arcade runs from Harpur Street to
Church Square and has a number of small shops.
To find out more on the stores in Bedford, What's On, and car
parking visit Love
Bedford.