Kempston is a large civil parish on the western edge of Bedford in Bedfordshire, which grew from an agricultural village into a mix of suburban neighbourhoods and light industrial areas across the 19th and 20th centuries. It still retains pockets of older village character alongside more modern housing and estates, reflecting its gradual spread from a group of hamlets into a sizeable local community.
Today Kempston functions partly as a commuter area for Bedford and beyond, with good road links and easy access to the rail network, while supporting its own shops, businesses and community groups. Local life is marked by sports clubs, churches and village greens, and the parish’s layered history gives a varied streetscape and a sense of continuity between past and present.
Postcode districts covering Kempston
Most populated places nearby
- Milton Keynes 12.1 miles19.5 km
- Northampton 18.1 miles29.1 km
- Luton 15.5 miles25 km
- Bedford 2.1 miles3.4 km
- Stevenage 19.7 miles31.8 km
- Aylesbury 24.6 miles39.6 km
- Kettering 21.4 miles34.5 km
- Kettering Town 21.3 miles34.3 km
- Dunstable 16 miles25.8 km
- Wellingborough 15.6 miles25.1 km
- Bletchley 13.4 miles21.6 km
- Bletchley and Fenny Stratford 12.9 miles20.7 km
Neighbouring places
- Kempston Built-up area 0.2 miles0.4 km
- Kempston Central & East Ward 0.2 miles0.4 km
- Kempston North Ward 0.5 miles0.8 km
- Kempston South Ward 0.5 miles0.9 km
- Kempston West Ward 0.6 miles1 km
- Great Denham Built-up area 0.8 miles1.4 km
- Queens Park Ward 1.4 miles2.3 km
- Box End Built-up area 1.5 miles2.4 km
- Cauldwell Ward 1.5 miles2.4 km
- Elstow Parish 1.6 miles2.6 km
- Greyfriars Ward 1.7 miles2.7 km
- Biddenham Parish 1.8 miles2.9 km
Example postcodes in Kempston
MK42 7BJ, MK42 8JA, MK42 8JN, MK42 8PJ, MK43 8RB, MK42 8WA, MK42 7LY, MK42 8NW, MK42 8SZ … See all
Transport links
- Luton Airport 17.6 miles28.3 km
- Stansted Airport 35.1 miles56.4 km
- Bedford St Johns Railway Station 1.6 miles2.5 km
- Bedford Railway Station 1.6 miles2.5 km
Hotels near Kempston Ad
- Holiday Inn Express Bedford 3 1.1 miles1.8 km
- Verve Hotel 4 1.9 miles3 km
- D'parys 2.2 miles3.6 km
- Woodland Manor Hotel 3 3 miles4.9 km
- The Kingfisher Pub and Hotel 4 3 miles4.8 km
- Bedford Swan Hotel and Thermal Spa 4 1.9 miles3.1 km
- The White Hart 4 5.9 miles9.5 km
- Cranfield Management Development Centre 6 miles9.7 km
- Mitchell Hall 6.1 miles9.8 km
- Mercure Bedford Centre Hotel 4 1.8 miles2.9 km
Schools in Kempston
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Camestone School Primary
- Daubeney Academy Secondary
- Grange Academy Special
- Kempston Academy Secondary
- Kempston Rural Primary School Primary
- Ridgeway School Special
- Springfield Primary School Primary
- St John's School Special
Local points of interest
- Moot Hall Museum 1.3 miles2 km
- Redbourne College College 6.7 miles10.8 km
- Flitwick Moor Nature reserve 8 miles12.8 km
- Silsoe College - Cranfield University College 8.3 miles13.3 km
- Wrest House Estate 8.4 miles13.5 km
- Santa Pod Raceway Recreation 9.2 miles14.8 km
- Woburn Abbey Estate 10.1 miles16.3 km
- Toddington library Library 11.7 miles18.8 km
- Theatre MK Theatre 11.8 miles18.9 km
- Milton Keynes Xscape Shopping centre 11.8 miles19.1 km
- Linford Wood Forest 12.1 miles19.5 km
- Midsummer Place Shopping centre 12.2 miles19.6 km