SANDY, BEDFORDSHIRE

'Sandy' is a small market town in northern Bedfordshire, England. It is located between Cambridge and Bedford, and on the A1 road from London to Edinburgh. The area is dominated by a range of hills known as the Sand Hills. The River Ivel runs through Sandy. The dedication of the Anglican church is to St Swithun.
Sandy is probably best known today as the headquarters of the RSPB. The Society moved to The Lodge, on the outskirts of the town in 1961. The Shuttleworth Collection is also nearby, around 2 miles south west of Sandy.

Contents

History

Government

Transport

Twinned towns

External links

History

An archaeological dig in May 2006 revealed that the town's ancestors may date back further than 250 BC.[1]
Sandy was originally a Roman settlement and was probably an important trading centre and staging post in the Roman era. An ancient hill fort, now heavily wooded and known as ''Caesar's Camp'', still overlooks the town.
Sandy is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is referred to as "Sandeia" (''Sandeia: Eudo FitzHubert. 2 mills''). This is a derivation from the Old English "Sandieg", meaning a sand-island.

Government

Sandy is governed by three tiers of local government: the town council, the district council of Mid Bedfordshire and the county council of Bedfordshire. It is within the Parliamentary constituency of North East Bedfordshire.

Transport

Sandy is situated on the A1 which hugs the western edge of the town. The A603 leads west towards Bedford; the B1042 leads east towards Potton and Cambridge. There are a number of bus routes, principally the M3 from Hitchin to Bedford and the more local East Beds Dart services which serve the Biggleswade and Sandy area.
Sandy has a railway station which is on the East Coast Main Line. Services north to Peterborough and south to London King's Cross are provided by First Capital Connect.
There used to be a railway line from Bedford to Cambridge which passed through Sandy and Potton. The East West Rail Consortium aims to recreate a modified version of this by reinstating the Bedford to Sandy section and utilizing the existing track to Hitchin and then onto Cambridge.

Twinned towns

Sandy has been twinned with the town of Malaunay in France since 1982, as a result of which the Sandy Twinning Association was also established. The Association has recently developed links with the town of Skarszewy in Poland.

External links

★ Community

★ Town council

★ Sandy Weather

★ Sandy Twinning Association