Varsity LineThe Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, and additional connections were made to nearby lines to improve it, but was not greatly used for its intended purpose. After the war, the line was again scheduled to be developed as a strategic route, but that scheme was never fully implemented either.
LutonLuton (ˈluːtən) is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census, the Luton/Dunstable urban area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, had a population of 286,450. The town is situated on the River Lea, about north-north-west of London. It is north-west of Hertford, south of Bedford and south-east of Milton Keynes. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settlement on the river, from which Luton derives its name.
East of EnglandThe East of England is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region. The population of the East of England region in 2018 was 6.24 million. Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge are the region's most populous settlements.
DunstableDunstable (ˈdʌnstəbəl ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fourth largest town in Bedfordshire and along with Houghton Regis forms the westernmost part of the Luton/Dunstable urban area. In Roman times there was a minor settlement called Durocobrivis in the area now occupied by modern-day Dunstable.
TowcesterTowcester (ˈtoustər ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. Until April 2021, it was the administrative centre of the South Northamptonshire district, but has since formed part of West Northamptonshire. Towcester is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. It was the Roman town of Lactodurum, located on Watling Street, today’s A5. In Saxon times, this was the frontier between the kingdom of Wessex and the Danelaw.
Bedford railway stationBedford railway station (formerly Bedford Midland Road and historically referred to on some signage as Bedford Midland) is the larger of two railway stations in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to the East Midlands and the terminus of the Marston Vale line from Bletchley through Bedford St Johns. The original station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 on its line to the Great Northern at Hitchin.
NorthamptonNorthampton (nɔːrˈθæmptən) is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, situated on the River Nene, approximately north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. It is the historic county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; the population of its urban area was recorded as 245,899 in the 2021 census. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates to the Bronze Age, Romans and Anglo-Saxons.
R101R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry–appointed team and was effectively in competition with the government-funded but privately designed and built R100. When built, it was the world's largest flying craft at in length, and it was not surpassed by another hydrogen-filled rigid airship until the LZ 129 Hindenburg was launched seven years later.
CorbyCorby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It is located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 56,810, while the borough, which was abolished in 2021, had a population of 75,571 in 2021. Figures released in March 2010 revealed that Corby had the fastest growing population in both Northamptonshire and the whole of England.
BletchleyBletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley. Bletchley is best known for Bletchley Park, the headquarters of Britain's World War II codebreaking organisation, and now a major tourist attraction. The National Museum of Computing is also located on the Park. History of Milton Keynes and Bletchley railway station The town name is Anglo-Saxon and means Blæcca's clearing.
