Bedford: nicer than you might think – and with hidden depths

What’s going for it? You might have thought of Bedford, if you’d thought of Bedford at all, as a perfectly respectable place. Good schools. Lovely parks. Smashing Victorian redbrick houses. Great train links. Surprisingly cosmopolitan (one of the most ethnically diverse towns in the country). Ooh, the Cecil Higgins Gallery, with its Edward Bawdens. That lovely waterfront. Great place to bring up kids. But Mabel Barltrop had other ideas. In 1919 she declared herself “daughter of God”, as you do, and with her pals in the Community of the Holy Ghost bought one of those redbrick terraces as a home for Christ when he materialised, perhaps outside Marks & Spencer. Mabel waited, and she waited. And waited. You can visit the museum of Mabel’s Panacea Society, in the terraces cupped round what they thought was the true location of the Garden of Eden. Bedford’s like that. Hidden depths. I haven’t even mentioned John Bunyan and all his visions.

The case against The town centre is suffering rather from high-street fatigue. It could do with a shot of energy.

Well connected? Trains: five or six an hour to London St Pancras (40-60 minutes) via Luton (plus airport) 15-23 minutes, and also via Thameslink on through London and the City. One or two an hour to Wellingborough (11-42 minutes) and then less frequently to Kettering. Driving: 15 minutes to the A1 and the M1; 30 minutes to Milton Keynes, 40 to Luton, 50 to Cambridge. Plans are afoot to open the “Varsity line” through Bedford, connecting Oxford and Cambridge; plus a new expressway road.

Schools Primaries: among many rated “good” by Ofsted, Castle Newnham, Priory, the Hills and St John Rigby Catholic are “outstanding”. Secondaries: Mark Rutherford, Castle Newnham, Goldington , Biddenham, Grange, Daubeney, Kempston Challenger are “good”, St Thomas More Catholic is “outstanding”.

Hang out at… The Embankment is an excellent pub, right on the promenade along the Ouse.

Where to buy Bedford has an extremely good line in Victorian houses and nice neighbourhoods. The Castle Road area, with its mix of 19th-century terraces and semis and its good local shops, is especially nice. Also the Poets area. But around Bedford Park and Park Avenue has the largest and more expensive Victorian homes. Putnoe Lane is Bedford’s Beverley Hills. Vast swathes of modern suburbs. Large detacheds and townhouses, £450,000-£1m. Detacheds and smaller townhouses, £240,000-£450,000. Semis, £200,000-£580,000. Terraces and cottages, £170,000-£420,000. Flats, £90,000-£350,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, £550-£800pcm; a three-bedroom house, £850-£1,300pcm.

Bargain of the week Two-bedroom flat in a Victorian townhouse in the Poets area; needs an update, £115,000, with sold.co.uk.

From the streets

Carol Scott “Try the cosmopolitan Castle Quarter of glorious houses and selection of shops.”

Dave Newman “Esquires is a brilliantly run live music venue.”

Live in Bedford? Join the debate below

Do you live in Winchester? Do you have a favourite haunt or a pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 19 February.