Universal Studios Great Britain
Universal Studios Great Britain is a planned 700-acre (3 km2) theme park and resort complex in Bedfordshire, England. The park is set to be the eighth Universal Studios Resort, and the first in the United Kingdom. History Before the development of the UK park, Universal Destinations & Experiences had twice attempted to establish a resort in Europe. The first, a planned park in Sénart, France, was cancelled due to the underperformance of Euro Disneyland. The second was the 1998 acquisition of PortAventura and later development of Universal Mediterranea in Salou, Spain, which the company sold in 2004. In August 2023, Comcast acquired construction and development company Cloud Wing UK, including of land in Bedfordshire, approximately 45 minutes north of London. In September 2023, the company registered the domain names ''UniversalStudiosGreatBritain.com'' and ''UniversalGreatBritain.com''. The plans were officially announced on 19 December 2023, and between April and May ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kempston Hardwick
Kempston Hardwick is a small hamlet on the edge of the town of Kempston in Bedfordshire, England. Historically it was one of the hamlets or "ends" scattered across the parish of Kempston. It is served by Kempston Hardwick railway station on the Marston Vale Line, which was one of the least-used stations in the UK railway network. History Hardwick Preceptory was a priory of the Knights Hospitaller from 1279 to 1489. The first mention of this property occurs in 1279. In 1287, and 1330, the Prior claimed to hold a view of frankpledge from four tenants in Kempston. In 1338, this estate comprised a messuage with a garden worth 4s. per annum, a dovehouse valued at 3s. 4d., a water-mill 26s. 8d., 370 acres of land worth £6 3s. 4d., 32 acres meadow worth 44s., 8 acres of pasture worth 8s., and pasture for 200 oxen worth 20s. After the Dissolution, the property, called the manor of Hardwick, was bestowed upon Sir Richard Longe in 1540. Kempston Hardwick was part of the ancient parish of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kempston Hardwick Railway Station
Kempston Hardwick railway station serves the village of Kempston Hardwick in Bedfordshire, England. It should not be confused with the nearby town of Kempston. The station has two platforms next to a half-barrier level crossing. Kempston Hardwick is the least used station in Bedfordshire. However, in 2023 Universal Studios announced that it had bought a huge patch of land next to the station where it plans to build its first UK theme park. On 9 April 2025, the Government announced that it had approved the plan and, subject to detailed planning approvals, construction is expected to start in 2026. The project will transform the area, with a completely rebuilt railway station to replace the current one. Services All services at Kempston Hardwick are operated by London Northwestern Railway. The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between and which runs on weekdays and Saturdays only using DMUs. There is no Sunday service. Community Rail Partne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wixams Railway Station
Wixams railway station is a railway station in construction on the Midland Main Line serving the Wixams new town development in Bedfordshire, England. The station will be situated between Bedford and Flitwick. The station was due to be completed in 2015, but Network Rail withdrew their promise of funding. In 2017, Gallagher Estates applied for funding from the government for the station. In July 2017, it was reported the site would be located further north as part of the East West Rail project. In January 2019, East West Railway Company revealed 5 options for a potential Bedford-Cambridge route, with 3 of the options proposing a new station at Bedford South close to Wixams. However in January 2020, the preferred route was announced which does not include a Bedford South station. In January 2022 Bedford Borough Council announced that it has chosen a preferred design for the new station with completion of the station slated for 2024. By August 2024, preparation work for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bedford Independent
The ''Bedford Independent'' is a free hyperlocal online newspaper based in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The publication covers the Borough of Bedford and some villages on the border with Central Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It is owned and operated independently by Progress Publishing Ltd. History The ''Bedford Independent'' was launched on social media on 13 August 2018 initially only publishing articles on Facebook. Reaching "in excess of 250,000" people on social media, it launched a dedicated news website on 28 November 2019 and also launched a presence on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Initially, the ''Bedford Independent'' also published a short print version of their most read stories each month in their sister publication ''The Bedford Clanger'', but printing ended during the COVID-19 pandemic and ''The Bedford Clanger'' was moved online as part of the ''Bedford Independent's'' main website. The publication is run by Paul Hutchinson, former Chilter ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal CityWalk
Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Destinations & Experiences. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the theme parks. CityWalk can also be found at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan, and Universal Beijing Resort in Beijing, China. CityWalk Hollywood and CityWalk Orlando have some common tenants, but their respective architectural styles are quite different. Where CityWalk Hollywood incorporates a classic modern blend of Hollywood, CityWalk Orlando is almost entirely modern in appearance. Universal CityWalk Hollywood CityWalk is separate from Universal Studios Hollywood although it does serve as an entrance from the parking lot to Universal Studios. Inspiration came from the Horton Plaza according to Jon Jerde, the architecture of CityWa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway station, St Pancras station via , / and . Express passenger services on the line are operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR). The line is electrified between St Pancras and Wigston, south of Leicester railway station, Leicester, and the section south of Bedford forms a branch of the northern half of the Thameslink, Thameslink network, with a semi-fast service to Brighton railway station, Brighton and other suburban services. A northern part of the route, between Derby and Chesterfield, also forms part of the Cross Country Route operated by CrossCountry. Tracks from Nottingham to Leeds railway station, Leeds via Barnsley Interchange, Barnsley and Sheffield are shared with Northern Trains, Northern. East Midlands Railway also operates regio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road. The main line acts as a 'spine' for several diverging branches, serving destinations such as Cambridge, , , and , all with direct services to London. In addition, a few ECML services extend beyond Edinburgh to serve other Scottish destinations, such as , , , or . The line was built during the 1840s by three railway companies, the North British Railway, the North Eastern Railway, and the Great Northern Railway. In 1923, the Railways Act 1921 led to their amalgamation to form the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the line became its primary route. The LNER competed with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) for long-distance passenger traffic between London and Scotlan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for approx. and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of . The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marston Vale Line
The Marston Vale line is the line between and in England, a surviving remnant of the former Varsity Line between and , most of which was closed in the late 1960s. The line is sponsored by the Marston Vale community rail partnership. The line is to be adopted and upgraded as part of East West Rail, a project underway to re-establish the OxfordCambridge route. History The line was authorised by the ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. xliii), and opened in 1846 by the London and Birmingham Railway, though the L&B merged with the Grand Junction Railway to become the London and North Western Railway whilst construction was ongoing – the LNWR ran it from its opening."Bedford Railway" 'Disused Stations Site Record''; Retrieved 7 September 2016 The line later became part of the cross-country [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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East West Rail
East West Rail (or the East West Main Line, EWML) is a strategic aim to establish a new main line railway between East Anglia and Oxfordshire. The immediate plan is to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keynes (at Bletchley) and Bedford, largely using the trackbed of the former Varsity Line. Thus it provides a potential route between any or all of the Great Western, Cotswold, Chiltern, West Coast, Midland, East Coast, West Anglia and Great Eastern main lines, avoiding London. The government approved the western section (between Oxford and Bedford) in November 2011. The eastern section (east of Cambridge), the new BedfordCambridge route and the OxfordBedford improvements are categorised as a nationally significant infrastructure project. The line was initially promoted (as the East West Rail Link) by the East-West Rail Consortium, a consortium of local authorities and interested bodies along the route. (That consortium is no ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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A421 Road
The A421 is an important road for east/west journeys across south central England. Together with the A428, the A43 and A34, it forms the route from Cambridge through Milton Keynes to Oxford. The section between the A1 (near St Neots) and the A5 (in Milton Keynes) is a national primary route. Route The road begins at the A1, just south of St Neots (and the junction with the A428 from Cambridge), at the Black Cat roundabout. The road bypasses both Great Barford and Bedford to the south to reach the M1 at junction 13. From there, it swings up through the southern part of Milton Keynes, doubling as the local grid road H8 Standing Way. During this time it crosses the A5 (and connects to it via a short spur which is part of the V6 Grafton Street). Continuing westwards, as the route approaches Buckingham the road passes close by to the 14th century Thornborough Bridge, the only surviving mediaeval bridge in Buckinghamshire which was bypassed by the new bridge in 1974. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |