Leighton Buzzard (/ˈleɪtən ˈbʌzərd/ ⓘ LAY-tən BUZ-ərd) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border.

It is 36 miles (58 km) northwest of Central London and linked to the capital by the Grand Union Canal and the West Coast Main Line.

The built-up area extends on either side of the River Ouzel (here about 2 metres wide) to include its historically separate neighbour Linslade,[2] and is administered by Leighton-Linslade Town Council.

[4] Another version is that having two communities called ‘Leighton’ and seeking some means of differentiating them the Dean added the name of his local Prebendary or representative to that of the town.

A further variation may be seen in a legal record of 1424, where "William Dagenale of Leytun Busherd, Beds" appears as a defendant.

[6] Leighton Buzzard developed into a thriving market town supported by good road, canal and, later, rail links to the agricultural hinterland and London.

[14] The Office for National Statistics uses the name Leighton Buzzard for the whole built-up area, including Linslade.

[16] Over time the farm developed into the Ascott House estate located less than 2 miles (3 km) from the town.

In the late 19th century, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild used the now demolished Leighton House and its stabling, on the High Street, as a hunting box.

The town has a strong history of dissenters and is home to one of the oldest Friends meeting houses in the region.

[20][21][22] Downer had trained under Eva Luckes at The London Hospital between 1895 and 1897,[23] and then worked on the Private Nursing Staff for one year,[24] before her appointment as Matron in Leighton Buzzard.

60 Group RAF, which controlled the air defence radar network across Britain, operated from Oxenden House (now demolished) off Plantation Road.

The robbers were held at the Old Police Station on Wing Road Linslade while waiting to be seen by the local magistrate after being captured a month after the robbery.

[28] Part of Billington parish was transferred in 2003 to Leighton-Linslade, and the revised census result including this area was 32,753.

[29] At the 2011 census, the population of the Leighton-Linslade built-up area was recorded by the Office for National Statistics as 37,469,[2] and was estimated to have reached 43,203 in 2020.

[32] It is also expanding eastwards, with several developments forming the Eastern Leighton Linslade Urban Extension Scheme.

[33] The town is home to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, a narrow-gauge heritage railway, one of England's longest at just under 3 miles (4.8 km) long and oldest narrow-gauge lines, with an extensive collection of locomotives and rolling stock.

The National Trust-operated country home Ascott House is located 2 miles (3 km) from the town in neighbouring Buckinghamshire.

Z&S and Red Rose also operate bus services into Leighton Buzzard which serve local estates and surrounding villages.

Connells Group, the estate agents' chains, have their head offices in the town, as do the UK operations of Tupperware and Grundfos.

The town is, or has at one time been, the home to various other industries including B/E Aerospace (Aircraft Interiors), Polyformes, Lipton Tea which has now closed down, Gossard clothing, and Lancer Boss (forklifts, etc.).