Biggleswade

Biggleswade spent a century making tractors, caravans, lingerie and insulation for Concorde, then knocked the factories down and named the cul-de-sacs after them. The brewery is an Asda now, the old cinema is a close called Empire Way, and the Great North Road was rerouted round the edge of town in 1961 so the lorries could stop pretending to visit. What survived is the train to London and the biggest common in Bedfordshire, still run by the Fen Reeves of Biggleswade Common, which is the most medieval sentence a commuter will ever hear about their dog walk.