Spying has been called 'the second oldest profession'. In peace and war nations want to find out the others' secrets, and since ancient times, good intelligence has been crucial both on the battlefield and in the more remote planning. The British Intelligence Service was formally established in 1909. Its role was two fold; to discover the plans of potential enemies, thereby robbing them of the important element of surprise; and to dupe the same potential enemies about British intentions. During the Second World War the Intelligence services had expanded to meet many threats and the development of technology became an ever more important tool.

Accompanied by Colonel Simon Doughty we look at some of the work of the Intelligence services in that war. We will be staying in Bedford, in a part of England surrounded by places associated with Britain's WW2 secret war effort. At the Military Intelligence Museum at Chicksands we follow the development of British military intelligence, including the importance of aerial imagery and the "Y" Service intercept stations – vital for acquiring the German Enigma coded messages. We explore the surrounding countryside, spending a full day at Bletchley Park, the war-time home of the Government Code & Cypher School – so important that the code-breaking conducted there probably shortened the war by two years. Finally, by kind permission of The Duke of Bedford, we enjoy a private tour of the magnificent Woburn Abbey, with its long history – including its important role during WW2.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Friday): We gather at midday at our hotel in Bedford. Following a briefing and lunch break, we depart by coach for a guided tour of the Military Intelligence Museum at Chicksands, Hertfordshire. In the evening, an introductory lecture, dinner and overnight (3 nights).
Day 2: We visit sites associated with the intelligence war, demonstrating just how important this part of England was during the WW2 – safely away but not too far from London. For example, Bedford, home of 'the Spy School' where cryptographers were trained; the sites of the famous 'Y' Stations, gathering German signals for decoding; and RAF Tempsford, where many SOE agents, including Tommy Yeo-Thomas ('The White Rabbit'), flew to France. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Bletchley Park, including an introductory talk, a guided tour and a visit to the famous Huts where codebreaking took place. After a group lunch in Bletchley Manor, we tour the museum followed by a fully-working demonstration of the re-constructed Colossus computer used to break German codes during the Battle of Normandy in 1944. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: We visit Woburn Abbey, the main headquarters of the Political Warfare Executive during WW2, for a private tour. Following lunch, we return by coach to Bedford.