Visit Luton Places

Welcome to Visit Luton Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Luton

  

Luton Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Luton

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Luton history

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Luton is believed to have been founded by the Anglo-Saxons sometime in the 6th century. Domesday Book records Luton as Loitone and also as Lintone. In 1121 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester started work on St Mary’s Church in the centre of the town. Vauxhall Motors opened the largest car plant in the United Kingdom in Luton, during the Second World War, it built Churchill tanks as part of the war effort.

Luton culture & places

Architecture

The town contains 92 listed buildings . The town is home to a total of 92 buildings . It has been listed as a tourist attraction for more than 100 years .

Leisure and entertainment

Luton International Carnival is the largest one-day carnival in Europe . Crowds can reach 150,000 on each occasion . Luton is home to the UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA)

Theatre and performing arts

Luton is home to the Library Theatre, a 238-seat theatre located on the 3rd floor of the town’s Central Library . The Hat Factory is a combined arts venue in the centre of Luton . Originally as its name suggests, this arts centre was in fact a real hat factory .

Media

BBC Three Counties Radio broadcasts from Dunstable to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire . Heart 97.6 a formerly independent local station, broadcast from Milton Keynes . Diverse FM began broadcasts in April 2007 having been awarded a community radio licence from Ofcom .

Local attractions

Dunstable Downs Leagrave Park Leighton Buzzard Light Railway The Hat Factory Luton Hoo Someries Castle Stockwood Discovery Centre . Waulud’s Bank Whipsnade Tree Cathedral Whipsed Tree Cathedral . Woburn Safari Park Woodside Farm and Wildfowl Park .

Luton economy & business

Employment

Of the town’s working population (classified 16–74 years of age by the Office for National Statistics), 63% are employed . This figure includes students, the self-employed and those who are in part-time employment . 11% are retired, 8% look after the family or take care of the home .

Luton toponymy

Luton’s earliest recorded name is Lygea-Byrig, meaning ‘a river in an open field’ and Byrid means ‘a town’ The name shown as gradually converting to Luton over the centuries with Lvton being used in the charter of Charles I.

Luton geography / climate

Luton is 34 miles north of London and 39 miles southwest of Cambridge. The town is the largest town in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire followed by Bedford. The source of the River Lea, part of the Thames Valley drainage basin, is in the Leagrave area of the town. The Great Bramingham Wood is classified as ancient woodland.

Climate

Luton has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, with generally light precipitation throughout the year . The weather is very changeable from day to day and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream makes the region mild for its latitude . The average total annual rainfall is 698 mm (27.5 in) with rain falling on 117 days of the year. The local climate around Luton is different from much of South East England due to its position in the Chiltern Hills .

You can visit Luton places with Walkfo Luton to hear history at Luton’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Luton has 63 places to visit in our interactive Luton map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Luton, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Luton places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Luton & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 63 audio facts unique to Luton places in an interactive Luton map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Luton Places Map
63 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Luton historic spots	Luton tourist destinations	Luton plaques	Luton geographic features
Walkfo Luton tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Luton

  

Best Luton places to visit

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Luton has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Luton’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Luton’s information audio spots:

Crawley Green Crawley Green is a suburb in East Luton near to London Luton Airport . The area is roughly bounded by the Midland Main Line to the west and Vauxhall Way to the east .

Stopsley The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Vauxhall Way and Turners Road North to the south . Bradgers Hill to the west, Cannon Lane, Stapleford Road and Brays Road to the east .

Round Green Round Green is a suburb in the north-east of Luton . It is roughly bounded by Bradgers Hill to the north, People’s Park, Richmond Hill and Turners Road South to the south .

High Town, Luton High Town is a hilly inner-city area of Luton adjacent to Luton railway station . The area is roughly bounded by Richmond Hill and the northern edge of People’s Park/Pope’s Meadow to the north, the A6 to the west, and Hitchin Road to the east .

Luton power station Luton power station supplied electricity to the Borough of Luton from 1901 to 1969 . It was redeveloped after the First World War to meet the increased demand for electricity . The power station was operated by the Luton Corporation until the nationalisation of the British electricity industry in 1948 .

Radio LaB Radio LaB is now a full-time radio station with a community licence . It is managed by students at the Luton town centre campus of the University of Bedfordshire in Luton, Bedfordshire .

Barnfield, Luton Barnfield is a suburb of Luton, England . The area is roughly bounded by Old Bedford Road/Cromer Way roundabout to the north, Wardown Park and Wardown Crescent to the south, the A6 to the west .

Biscot Biscot is an area of Luton close to the town centre. The area is roughly bounded by Montrose Avenue to the north, the Midland Main Line to the west and the A6.

Dunstable Road Dunstable Road, also known as Bury Park, was a football ground in Luton, England. It was the home ground of Luton Town between 1897 and 1905.

BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC’s local radio station serving Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Grove Park in Dunstable. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 128,000 listeners.

Visit Luton plaques