The Bedford Estates, London
Woburn Safari Park, the award winning family attraction in Bedfordshire is an integral part of the Woburn Estate, which also encompasses:
Woburn Abbey and Gardens
Woburn Abbey and Gardens are currently closed in order to undergo a large scale refurbishment programme and will re-open in 2025.
The Abbey has been the family home of the Earls and Dukes of Bedford for nearly 400 years and is currently the home of the 15th Duke and his family. The Abbey and its gardens are steeped in a vast amount of history. Whilst the collection of art and antiques is world class in terms of its quality and outstanding in terms of its variety, there is much more to Woburn Abbey than just the art that lives within it. The Russell family, their ancestors and descendants have, over many centuries created a fascinating cultural, social and diplomatic history with many an interesting and colourful story.
Set within 3,000 acres of beautiful Deer Park, the great house itself is full of unique history and is a remarkable record of 400 years of English history. This includes the story that led the 14th Duke to creating a charity called the Tavistock Trust.
The Abbey houses one of the most important private art collections in the world with over 250 works by artists including Gainsborough, Reynolds, Van Dyck and Cuyp.
Woburn Golf Club
Woburn Golf Club has three tournament-hosting courses with the Duke’s, Duchess’ and Marquess’ courses and it is the first golf venue to have all three courses featured in Golf Monthly Magazines Top 100 courses in the UK and Ireland.
Since hosting the Dunlop British Masters in 1979, more than fifty professional tournaments have been played over the three courses at Woburn. The role of honour reads like a who’s who of world golf; seven former winners are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame: Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman, Patty Sheehan, Lee Trevino, Karrie Webb, plus major winners Laura Davies and Ian Woosnam.
In 2005 the Seniors Open Amateur Championship was staged on the Duke’s and Duchess’ courses and in 2011 the English Amateur Championship was staged on the Duchess’ and Marquess’ courses. In 2014, Woburn was one of four venues used to host final qualifying rounds for The Open Championship.