Homes to Rent and Buy in Clapham

Clapham sits just north-west of Bedford, close enough to feel like part of town but with its own high street and character. The A6 used to run right through it until the bypass opened in 2002, which made the village a lot calmer. It’s grown steadily, to more than 4,500 people at the 2011 census.

Its claim to fame is RAF Twinwood Farm on the western edge of the village, the airfield Glenn Miller left from on his last flight in 1944. It’s now home to a museum and the Twinwood Festival every summer.

The high street has shops and takeaways, and there are two pubs: the Horse and Groom, an old coaching inn whose garden runs down to the Great Ouse, and the Fox and Hounds on Milton Road. Ursula Taylor Church of England School is the village primary. There’s a village hall that hosts the annual show, King George V Field, and the Bedford and County Golf Club on Green Lane.

Several bus routes run through Clapham, including services into Bedford. It’s ideal if you want village life without being any distance from town.