Bedfordshire is a rural county, rich in treasures from the past. Many are well known- the Georgian splendour of Woburn and the Elizabethan manor at Campton are two. But there is also an abundance of smaller places which lie almost unnoticed where curiosities of history and folklore wait only for the observer to discover them and the story they tell. Dennis Bidwell seeks and finds the unusual. In Discovering Bedfordshire's Past he invites the reader to step quietly into history, down country roads and lanes, to the villages and small market towns, where ancient dwellings reveal the lives and deeds of a bygone age. Discover a lonely barn on a wartime airfield where secret agents were briefed before their hazardous flights. See the towering church steeple from where a man fell, and lived to tell the tale. Or, perhaps, relax by the Great Ouse which once brought Viking long ships into the heart of our county, There is plenty to see in Bedfordshire and many tales to be gleaned of places which conjure up a vision of generations long past from Tudor gentry to Victorian tycoons. Whether you are out and about, or in the comfortable armchair, this book is the perfect companion.