Ampthill
Ampthill is an attractive old coaching town in Bedfordshire, 8 miles from Bedford.
There are Georgian houses and inns, 17th century almshouses and picturesque cottages.
Ampthill Park House was built for Lord Ashburnham in 1694, near the site of Ampthill Castle, which is marked by a cross with an inscription written by Horace Walpole. Catherine of Aragon stayed at he castle at the time of her divorce from Henry VIII.
Ampthill Park was landscaped in the 18th century by Capability Brown, and covers 300 acres.
The ruins of Houghton House, designed by Inigo Jones, stand a little outside the town. This is widely believed to be John Bunyan`s model for House Beautiful in "The Pilgrim`s Progress".