Bedford Castle leads what is near Kempston
Of the 7 places to visit in and around Kempston, 4 are museums or galleries. All of them lie outside Kempston. The trip to Bletchley Park is 21 km.
Leading the list near Kempston
Then come 4 museums and a theme park, behind Bedford Castle.
CastleBedford Castle1.4 km outside town, to the northeastTheme parkTheme parkUniversal United Kingdom Resort700 m outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Higgins1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumJohn Bunyan museum1.4 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumMoot Hall400 m outside town, to the east
MuseumPanacea Museum1.5 km outside town, to the northeastEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Where each one is
To the northeast lie most of the 7 nearby.
The dashed line is Kempston’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
What is on offer
Count 4 museums or galleries and 2 zoos, theme parks or other days out.
Green: inside Kempston. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
Each place in turn
Everything here is within 5 km of its edge, 7 places in all.
Close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
21 listed buildings are on Kempston’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Kempston →
The wider area
Head 21 km out for Bletchley Park, the best known of 12.
MuseumBletchley Park21 km southwestHistoric houseHistoric houseWoburn Abbey16 km southwest
CastleKimbolton Castle21 km north
Historic house · English HeritageHoughton House8.1 km south
Historic house · English HeritageWrest Park13 km southeast
MuseumNatural History Museum at Tring38 km south · 134K visitors a year (2022)
Historic houseAlthorp39 km northwest
ZooWhipsnade Zoo30 km south
CathedralNorthampton Cathedral31 km northwestMuseumMuseumThe Shuttleworth Collection12 km east
Historic houseColworth House14 km north
Historic houseMentmore Towers31 km southwestPlaces well known beyond Kempston (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Planning a visit to Kempston
What is there to see near Kempston?
No attraction is mapped inside Kempston itself. Within 5 km of it are Bedford Castle, Universal United Kingdom Resort, The Higgins and John Bunyan museum.
Does Kempston have a museum?
4 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Kempston: The Higgins, John Bunyan museum, Moot Hall and Panacea Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Kempston?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Houghton House (English Heritage), 8.1 km south.
What are the best-known days out near Kempston?
Within 40 km: Bletchley Park (21 km), Woburn Abbey (16 km), Kimbolton Castle (21 km), Houghton House (8.1 km).
Where are Kempston’s historic buildings listed?
Kempston has 21 listed buildings. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Kempston when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Bedford Castle: Matthew Paris, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- The Higgins: Simon Speed, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Bunyan museum: Simon Speed, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Moot Hall: Shritwod at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Panacea Museum: Paul Harrop, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bletchley Park: DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kimbolton Castle: Graham Taylor, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Houghton House: APB-CMX at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wrest Park: Nigel Cox, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Natural History Museum at Tring: Rob Farrow. Rob Farrow, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Althorp: Andrew Walker (walker44), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Whipsnade Zoo: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Northampton Cathedral: JohnArmagh, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Colworth House: Lecomte99 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mentmore Towers: The original uploader was Swanker at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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