USEFUL INFORMATION & LINKS

DOGS AT TIDDENFOOT

The Friends of Tiddenfoot Waterside Park is administered by a Committee made up as follows:

OFFICERS

LET PEOPLE SEE THE BEST IN YOUR DOG

There are two bins for disposal of dog waste, and we encourage all visitors to be responsible in picking it up and disposing of it. It is an offence not to do so, and patrolling Rangers and Dog Wardens are able to issue fines (currently £75) for owners who do not pick up. Don’t just leave the poop bag on the ground or in the bushes – that’s almost as bad as not picking it up!

Remember that some people feel uncomfortable if even the friendliest pet approaches them. A bad experience can leave them, especially children, frightened of dogs for the rest of their lives. Don’t let your dog approach other people or their dogs without their permission.

KEEP WILDLIFE SAFE

Even well-behaved, friendly dogs scare wild animals, and their paws damage plants. Don’t allow your dog to chase wildlife. Animals are distressed even if not hurt, and your dog may be injured.

KEEP YOUR DOG SAFE AND WELL

Keep your dog on the lead in and near the car park, and when near the canal and lake in icy conditions.
Follow hazard advice notices.
Do not leave your dog in your car in hot weather.

KEEP YOUR DOG SAFE AND WELL

To reduce the chance of losing your dog:

Never let it run out of your sight.
Train it to come back to your call or whistle.
Make sure it is wearing a collar and tag with your name and current contact details on it – the law requires this.
Have your dog microchipped and registered with the Kennel Club Petlog. Your vet can tell you about this service.
Carry a picture of your dog to show people what to look for if it does go missing.

If you lose your dog at Tiddenfoot please use th details below to contact the Ranger on 01525 237760. It is advised to also contact the local council Dog Warden on 08458 496113.

REMEMBER: THE REPUTATION OF ALL DOG OWNERS DEPENDS ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF EACH ONE.

HISTORY OF TIDDENFOOT

“Tiddenfoot” is more than a name – it is a link with the past. People have lived and travelled across this landscape for thousands of years. One of the most important prehistoric routes running from west to east was The Thiodweg or Theedway, which crossed the River Ouzel just south of the Park.

About 2,000 years ago, in Roman times, the Theedway became part of the route by which salt was brought south from Droitwich in the Midlands. A thousand years later the crossing was known as Yttingaford, possibly after a person or group of people living nearby. In the year 906AD, King Edward the Elder signed a peace treaty with the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia here, near a spot adjacent to our park, now maintained by Leighton-Linslade Town Council as the "Peace Meadow". Over time the Theedway fell into disuse and much of its route is now only marked by hedgerows and parish and county boundaries. The crossing point of Yttingaford now lies beneath the A4146 bypass, but the name lives on as Tiddenfoot.

Travel further back in time and Tiddenfoot was at the Cretaceous seaside. While dinosaurs roamed dry land about 115 million years ago, this part of Bedfordshire lay at the edge of a shallow sea. The sands and mud of that ancient seaside are now the Lower Greensand, the rock that forms the Greensand Ridge running from Buckinghamshire through Bedfordshire to Cambridgeshire. The sands of the Lower Greensand gave the area around Leighton Buzzard its heaths, and the sand industry quarries such as Tiddenfoot and Grovebury.

Originally sand was transported by horse and cart, but this damaged the roads. After the Grand Union Canal opened in 1800 shipping on narrowboats was cheaper and faster, and the railways were even better. But by the 1920s Tiddenfoot’s sand again left by road; sand from Grovebury was loaded into skip wagons on a narrow-gauge railway that took the sand over the River Ouzel to a wharf on the east bank of the canal. Remnants of the wharf and track can still be seen today.

THE GREAT FLOODS OF 1954

In December 1954 Leighton Buzzard (in Bedfordshire, as now) and Linslade (then in Buckinghamshire) were badly affected by unexpectedly heavy rainfall, causing extensive flooding. The Tiddenfoot sand quarry was the scene of a 30-foot waterfall which helped relieve some of the surrounding area from the worst effects of flooding.

The Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette recorded the events, and you can view their front-page report in the Downloads section of this page. We express our thanks to Luton News and Dunstable Gazette for permission to reproduce the article.