Short Walks in Bedfordshire
Descriptions - Videos - Proper parking instructions
Houghton Hall Park
Description and Walk
Houghton Hall was commissioned as a private estate in 1700 by Alice Brandreth, it was part of a much larger land holding of one Henry Brandreth who once owned all of what is now Houghton Regis.
Now in public ownership with 42 acres of parkland and woodland, Houghton Hall Park was awarded Heritage and Lottery grants as part of the Renaissance and Renewal Project to rejuvenate the area into a public space. The work was completed in October 2017.
Houghton Hall Park now presents as a path running around the periphery of a number of large fields. Some are mowed and others are left to grow, presumably in order to support small wildlife: butterflies and such.
The park is popular with dog walkers (see our video), picnickers, joggers and those just out to stretch their legs.
Houghton Hall Park includes an impressive visitor centre with café, wooded areas, as well as the fields, plus a formal garden, part of which produces plants for the kitchen - or 'fruit and veg' as I like to call them. It’s well worth a visit, and justifies the management’s claim to be a hidden gem.
Short Video of Houghton Hall Park
Note: The video is best viewed by clicking on the 'full screen' symbol that appears at the bottom-right of the video box once the video is playing. To exit full-screen hit your escape key or click on the symbol at the bottom-right again.
Parking
Parking address: Houghton Hall Park, Park Road North, Houghton Regis, Dunstable LU5 5FU. The park's website warns against using the postcode in your satnav - it evidently misdirects somehow. Instead use the name of the town and road.
The car park is pretty large, but the Houghton Hall Park website says that there are only 39 spaces – presumably because the others are allocated during the week.
Parking is free, but during weekdays you must display a ticket as evidence that you are not overstaying your welcome. Your welcome seems to extend to about three hours. At weekends no ticket is needed.
If you cannot get into the car park, you could try nearby Moore Crescent, which gets used for sports parking at weekends (Sunday football games). There is a sign on Moore Crescent for ‘Woodland Walk’ which will lead you into the park.
Google Map
Entrance is in Park Road North.
Plenty of free parking, but display a ticket on weekdays.
Place/s to Eat
The visitor centre has its own cafeteria with indoor and outdoor seating. The cafe was closed when we last visited, but according to the online menu they do an all-day breakfast, which is very wise of them. They also do baked potatoes, beverages and cakes.
PDF with details
The pdf, below, contains address and parking location details similar to the ones on this page. Print out the pdf file if you want something to carry with you. Pdf opens in a new tab.
