 The village and most of the populated part of Elstow parish are located inside Bedford's southern bypass, with the hamlet of Harrowden lying just to the south-east of that road.Elstow is now, effectively, a suburb of Bedford with the old village now almost surrounded by 20th-century housing.But the original village – now a conservation area – remains intact, with some 13th- 17th-century buildings and a village green.