London

London is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London, a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The conurbation also covers two English counties, the City of London and the county of Greater London, though historically it was split between the City, Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism, and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is one of the worlds leading financial centres and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement. London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe, and a 2014 report placed it first in the world university rankings. According to the report London also ranks first in the world in software, multimedia development and design, and shares first position in technology readiness. In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times. London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within Greater London. The Greater London Authority estimated its population to be 8.63 million in 2015, the largest of any municipality in the European Union, and accounting for 12.5 percent of the UK population. Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants according to the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is one of the most populous in Europe with 13,879,757 inhabitants, while the Greater London Authority states the population of the city-region as 22.7 million. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margarets Church; and the historic settlement of Greenwich. Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Library and 40 West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.

West Midlands

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2014 estimated population of 2,808,356, making it the second most populous county in England. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry, and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, and Walsall. The West Midlands County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986, since then the countys constituent metropolitan boroughs have been effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference. It forms the basis of county-wide bodies such as West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, and as a ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. The county is sometimes described as the "West Midlands metropolitan area" or the "West Midlands conurbation", although these have different, and less clearly defined, boundaries. The main conurbation, or urban area, does not include Coventry for example. The name "West Midlands" is also used for the much larger West Midlands region, which sometimes causes confusion, not surprising perhaps when geographically it is on the eastern side of the region, the western side comprising Shropshire and Herefordshire.

Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbrias largest settlement and county town is Carlisle and the only other major urban area is Barrow-in-Furness on the south-western tip of the county which has a population just slightly smaller than Carlisle. The county of Cumbria consists of six districts, and in 2008 had a population of just under half a million. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, with 73.4 people per km2 . Cumbria, the third-largest ceremonial county in England by area, is bounded to the north by the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders, to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by Lancashire, to the southeast by North Yorkshire, and to the east by County Durham and Northumberland. Cumbria is predominantly rural and contains the Lake District and Lake District National Park, considered one of Englands most outstanding areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for artists, writers, and musicians. A large area of the south east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Much of Cumbria is mountainous, and it contains every peak in England over 3,000 feet above sea level, with Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet being the highest point of England. An upland, coastal, and rural area, Cumbrias history is characterised by invasions, migration, and settlement, as well as battles and skirmishes between the English and the Scots. Historic sites in Cumbria include Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, and Hadrians Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Somerset

Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the River Severn, its coastline facing southeastern Wales. Its traditional northern border is the River Avon. Somersets county town is Taunton. Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. There is evidence of human occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. Agriculture is a major business in the county. Farming of sheep and cattle, including for wool and the countys famous cheeses, are traditional and contemporary, as is the more unusual cultivation of willow for basket weaving. Apple orchards were once plentiful, and Somerset is still known for the production of strong cider. Unemployment is lower than the national average; the largest employment sectors are retail, manufacturing, tourism, and health and social care. Population growth in the county is higher than the national average.

Cornwall

Cornwall is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of 536,000 and covers an area of 3,563 km2 . The administrative centre, and only city in Cornwall, is Truro, although the town of St Austell has the largest population. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and a large part of the Cornubian batholith is within Cornwall. This area was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, and later by Brythons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Wales and Brittany. There is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. Cornwall was the home of a division of the Dumnonii tribe – whose tribal centre was in the modern county of Devon – known as the Cornovii, separated from the Brythons of Wales after the Battle of Deorham, often coming into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex before King Athelstan in AD 936 set the boundary between English and Cornish at the high water mark of the eastern bank of the River Tamar. From the early Middle Ages, British language and culture was apparently shared by Brythons trading across both sides of the Channel, evidenced by the corresponding high medieval Breton kingdoms of Domnonée and Cornouaille and the Celtic Christianity common to both territories. Historically tin mining was important in the Cornish economy, becoming increasingly significant during the High Middle Ages and expanding greatly during the 19th century when rich copper mines were also in production. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline. Subsequently china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally, fishing and agriculture were the other important sectors of the economy. Railways led to a growth of tourism in the 20th century; however, Cornwalls economy struggled after the decline of the mining and fishing industries. The area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its long and varied coastline, its attractive villages, its many place-names derived from the Cornish language, and its very mild climate. Extensive stretches of Cornwalls coastline, and Bodmin Moor, are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cornwall is the traditional homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative assembly. On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people will be granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in South East England bordering on Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire . The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance motorsport companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms; the University of Oxford is also linked to the concentration of local biotechnology companies. The main centre of population is the city of Oxford. Other significant settlements are Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington and Chipping Norton to the north of Oxford; Carterton and Witney to the west; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford and Henley-on-Thames to the south. The highest point is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, reaching 261 metres . Oxfordshires county flower is the Snakes-head Fritillary.

Cheshire

Cheshire is a county in North West England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south and Wales to the west . Cheshires county town is Chester; the largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. The county covers 2,343 square kilometres and has a population of around 1 million. It is mostly rural, with a number of small towns and villages supporting the agricultural and other industries which produce Cheshire cheese, salt, chemicals and silk.

Devon

Devon is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, and Dorset to the east. The City of Exeter is the county town; seven other districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, and West Devon are under the jurisdiction of Devon County Council; Plymouth and Torbay are each a part of Devon but administered as unitary authorities. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, and Early Medieval was the homeland of the Dumnonii Brittonic Celts. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936. Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the countys bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns, and ports. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low population density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, its moorland extending across a large expanse of granite bedrock. To the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is more fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart, and the Otter. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism. The comparatively mild climate, coastline and landscape give rise to Devon as a destination for recreation and leisure in England, with visitors particularly attracted to the Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks; its coasts, including the resort towns along the south coast known collectively as the English Riviera, the Jurassic Coast, and North Devons UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; and the countryside including the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the south east of England, one of the home counties bordering Greater London. Surrey also borders Kent to the east, East Sussex to the south-east, West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west and south-west and Berkshire to the north-west. The county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames, administered as part of Greater London since 1965. The London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth, and parts of Lewisham and Bromley were in Surrey until 1889. The boroughs of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton and Richmond upon Thames south of the River Thames were part of Surrey until 1965, when they too were absorbed into Greater London. In the same year, the county gained its first area north of the Thames, Spelthorne, from defunct Middlesex. As a result of this gain, modern Surrey also borders on the London boroughs of Hounslow and Hillingdon. Today, administrative Surrey is divided into eleven districts: Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking. Services such as roads, mineral extraction licensing, education, strategic waste and recycling infrastructure, birth marriage and death registration and social and childrens services are administered by Surrey County Council.

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county located between West Midlands in England and Wales. It borders Powys and Wrexham in Wales to the west and north-west, Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south-east and Herefordshire to the south. Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a separate unitary authority since 1998 but continues to be included in the ceremonial county. The county's population and economy is centred on five towns: the county town of Shrewsbury, which is culturally and historically important and is located close to the centre of the county; Telford, a new town in the east which was constructed around a number of older towns, most notably Wellington, Dawley and Madeley, which is today the most populous; and Oswestry in the north-west, Bridgnorth just to the south of Telford, and Ludlow in the south. The county has many market towns, including Whitchurch in the north, Newport north-east of Telford and Market Drayton in the north-east of the county. The Ironbridge Gorge area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covering Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and a part of Madeley. There are, additionally, other notable historic industrial sites located around the county, such as at Shrewsbury, Broseley, Snailbeach and Highley as well as the Shropshire Union Canal. The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers about a quarter of the county, mainly in the south. Shropshire is one of England's most rural and sparsely populated counties, with a population density of 136/km2 . The Wrekin is one of the most famous natural landmarks in the county, though the highest hills are the Clee Hills, Stiperstones and the Long Mynd. Wenlock Edge is another significant geographical and geological landmark. In the low-lying northwest of the county overlapping the border with Wales is the Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve, one of the most important and best preserved bogs in Britain. The River Severn, Great Britain's longest river, runs through the county, exiting into Worcestershire via the Severn Valley. Shropshire is landlocked and with an area of 3,487 square kilometres is England's largest inland county. The county flower is the round-leaved sundew.

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a county in England. It is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of 8,654 square kilometres, making it the largest ceremonial county in England. The majority of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors lie within North Yorkshires boundaries, and around 40% of the county is covered by National Parks. The largest settlements in North Yorkshire, in terms of their council areas, are York, Middlesbrough, Harrogate and Scarborough; the county town is Northallerton with a population of 16,832.

Lancashire

Lancashire ]; archaically the County Palatine of Lancaster; abbreviated Lancs.) is a county in north west England. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, the countys administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles . People from the county are known as Lancastrians. The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam was included in the returns for Cheshire. When its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Cheshire. Lancashire emerged as a major commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester and Liverpool grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade and the birth of modern capitalism. The county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire. Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashires mill towns, particularly during wakes week. The county was subject to a significant boundary reform in 1974, that removed Liverpool and Manchester and most of their surrounding conurbations to form the metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The detached northern part of Lancashire in the Lake District, including the Furness Peninsula and Cartmel, was merged with Cumberland and Westmorland to form Cumbria. Lancashire lost 709 square miles of land to other counties, about two fifths of its original area, although it did gain some land from the West Riding of Yorkshire. Today it borders Cumbria to the north, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south and North and West Yorkshire to the east. The county has a coastline on the Irish Sea to the west.

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2 . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. Until 1930 the county town was Wilton but Wiltshire Council is now based at Trowbridge. Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere.

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the non-metropolitan county, which is governed by Dorset County Council, and the unitary authority areas of Poole and Bournemouth. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres, Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974 the countys border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density. The county has a long history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorsets indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the Saxons settled the area and made Dorset a shire in the 7th century. The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the 8th century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. Dorset has seen much civil unrest: during the English Civil War an uprising of vigilantes was crushed by Cromwells forces in a pitched battle near Shaftesbury; the Duke of Monmouths doomed rebellion began at Lyme Regis; and a group of farm labourers from Tolpuddle were instrumental in the formation of the trade union movement. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, and the large harbours of Portland and Poole were two of the main embarkation points. The former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating. Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges and low-lying clay valleys. Over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and three-quarters of its coastline is a World Heritage Site that features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline and tourism has become increasingly important to the economy. There are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport. The county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to one of Europes largest outdoor shows. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the principal setting of his novels, and William Barnes, whose poetry celebrates the ancient Dorset dialect.

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. West Yorkshire, which is landlocked, consists of five metropolitan boroughs and shares borders with the counties of Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire . West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts are now effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county, which covers an area of 2,029 square kilometres, continues to exist in law, and as a geographic frame of reference. Since 1 April 2014 West Yorkshire has been a combined authority area, with the local authorities pooling together some functions over transport and regeneration as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. West Yorkshire includes the West Yorkshire Urban Area, which is the most built-up and biggest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire.

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.7 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972; and designated a City Region on 1 April 2011. Greater Manchester spans 493 square miles, which roughly covers the territory of the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, the second most populous urban area in the UK. It is landlocked and borders Cheshire, Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and Merseyside . There is a mix of high-density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but land use is mostly urban — the product of concentric urbanisation and industrialisation which occurred mostly during the 19th century when the region flourished as the global centre of the cotton industry. It has a focused central business district, formed by Manchester city centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford, but Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has at least one major town centre and outlying suburbs. For the 12 years following 1974 the county had a two-tier system of local government; district councils shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts effectively became unitary authority areas. However, the metropolitan county has continued to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county, has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Several county-wide services were co-ordinated through the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities up until April 2011, when the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was established as the strategic county-wide authority for Greater Manchester, taking on functions and responsibilities for economic development, regeneration and transport. A further devolution of powers to Greater Manchester is set to take place upon the election of the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester scheduled for 2017. Before the creation of the metropolitan county, the name SELNEC was used for the area, taken from the initials of "South East Lancashire North East Cheshire". Greater Manchester is an amalgamation of 70 former local government districts from the former administrative counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, the West Riding of Yorkshire and eight independent county boroughs. Since deindustrialisation in the mid-20th century, Greater Manchester has emerged as an exporter of media and digital content, guitar and dance music, and association football.

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the former capital city of England. Hampshire is the most populous ceremonial county in the United Kingdom with almost half of the countys population living within the South Hampshire conurbation which includes the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth. The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1,547,000. Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. It is bordered by Dorset to the west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, and West Sussex to the east. The southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent, facing the Isle of Wight. Hampshire is the largest county in South East England and remains the third largest shire county in the United Kingdom despite losing more land than any other English county in all contemporary boundary changes. At its greatest size in 1890, Hampshire was the fifth largest county in England. It now has an overall area of 3,700 square kilometres, and measures about 86 kilometres east–west and 76 kilometres north–south. Hampshires tourist attractions include many seaside resorts and two national parks: the New Forest and the South Downs . Hampshire has a long maritime history and two of Europes largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of such writers as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, as well as the birthplace of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is an East Anglian county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The city of Cambridge is the county town. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of the counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and Huntingdon and Peterborough, which had been created in 1965 from the historic counties of Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, the Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough. It contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen.

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent to the north and east, Surrey to the north west and West Sussex to the west, and to the south by the English Channel.

Kent

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west. The county town is Maidstone. Canterbury Cathedral in Kent has been the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England, since the conversion of England to Christianity by Saint Augustine in the sixth century. Between London and the Strait of Dover, which separates it from mainland Europe, Kent has seen both diplomacy and conflict, ranging from the Leeds Castle peace talks of 1978 and 2004 to the Battle of Britain in World War II. England relied on the countys ports to provide warships through much of its history; the Cinque Ports in the 12th–14th centuries and Chatham Dockyard in the 16th–20th centuries were of particular importance. France can be seen clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county and in the series of valleys in between and to the south are most of the countys 26 castles. Because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as "The Garden of England". Haulage, logistics and tourism are major industries throughout the county; major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing and scientific research. Coal mining has also played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: the North Downs and The Weald.

Berkshire

Berkshire is a county of south east England, located to the west of London. It has also been known as the Royal County of Berkshire since at least the 19th century because of the presence of Windsor Castle and was recognised as such by the Queen in 1957 and letters patent issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is both a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998, except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading. In 1974, significant alterations were made to the county's administrative boundaries, although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire, and the separate administration of Reading ended. Since 1998 Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire Greater London Surrey Wiltshire and Hampshire .

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool. Merseyside, which was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, takes its name from the River Mersey. Merseyside spans 249 square miles of land which border Lancashire, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire; the Irish Sea is to the west. North Wales is across the Dee Estuary. There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Merseyside, but overwhelmingly the land use is urban. It has a focused central business district, formed by Liverpool City Centre, but Merseyside is also a polycentric county with five metropolitan districts, each of which has at least one major town centre and outlying suburbs. The Liverpool Urban Area is the fifth most populous conurbation in England, and dominates the geographic centre of the county, while the smaller Birkenhead Urban Area dominates the Wirral Peninsula in the south. For the 12 years following 1974 the county had a two-tier system of local government; district councils shared power with the Merseyside County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts are now effectively unitary authority areas. However, the metropolitan county continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference, and several county-wide services are co-ordinated by authorities and joint-boards, such as Merseytravel, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the Merseyside Police; as a ceremonial county, Merseyside has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Merseyside is joined by the neighbouring borough of Halton to form the Liverpool City Region, which utilises The Mersey Partnership as a development agency. Merseyside is an amalgamation of 22 former local government districts from the former administrative counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and six autonomous county boroughs centred on Birkenhead, Bootle, Liverpool, Southport, St Helens, and Wallasey.

Norfolk

Norfolk is a county in the East of England. It borders Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea and to the north-west The Wash. The county town is Norwich. With an area of 2,074 square miles and a population of 859,400, Norfolk is a largely rural county with a population density of 401 per square mile. Forty per cent of the county’s population live in four major built up areas: Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn and Thetford . The Broads is a network of rivers and lakes on the countys east coast, extending south into Suffolk. The area is a National Park and is protected by the Broads Authority.

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire (/ˈlɪŋkənʃər; abbreviated Lincs) is a historical county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the northwest, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders Northamptonshire in the south for just 20 yards (18 m), England's shortest county boundary. The county town is Lincoln, where the county council has its headquarters. The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire is composed of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire and the area covered by the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Therefore, part of the ceremonial county is in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and part is in the East Midlands region. The county is the second-largest of the English ceremonial counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in land use. The county is fifth-largest of the two-tier counties, as the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are not included. The county can be broken down into a number of geographical sub-regions including: the Lincolnshire Fens (south-east Lincolnshire), the Carrs (similar to the Fens but in north Lincolnshire), the rolling Chalk hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds, the industrial Humber Estuary and North Sea coast around Grimsby and Scunthorpe, and in the south-west of the county, the Kesteven Uplands, comprising limestone hills in the district of South Kesteven.

Northumberland

Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Scotland to the north. To the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is located in Morpeth . The northernmost point of Northumberland and England is located at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself. Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844. Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles. The county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre.

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury. When considered as a ceremonial county, Gloucestershire borders the preserved county of Gwent in Wales to the west, and in England the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire to the north west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south and Bristol and Somerset to the south west. Ceremonially, it includes the area covered by the South Gloucestershire unitary authority.

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.34 million . It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. South Yorkshire was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the east side of the Pennines, South Yorkshire is landlocked, and borders Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire . The Sheffield Urban Area is the tenth most populous conurbation in the UK, and dominates the western half of South Yorkshire with over half of the countys population living within it. The entirety of South Yorkshire lies within the Sheffield City Region. South Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts are now effectively unitary authority areas; however, the metropolitan county, which is some 1,552 square kilometres, continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference. As a ceremonial county, South Yorkshire has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. South Yorkshire was created from 32 local government districts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, with small areas from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Essex

Essex is a county in south-east England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. Essex occupies the eastern part of the ancient Kingdom of Essex, which united with the other Anglian and Saxon kingdoms to make England a single nation state. As well as rural areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury and the borough of Southend-on-Sea. The name Essex originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) name Ēastseaxe ("East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons who had come from the continent and settled in Britain (cf. Middlesex, Sussex and Wessex) during the Heptarchy. Originally recorded in AD 527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex (which probably included Surrey) and most of what later became Hertfordshire. Its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea.Colchester in the north-east of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating from before the Roman conquest, when it was known as Camulodunum and was sufficiently well-developed to have its own mint. In AD 824, following the Battle of Ellandun, the kingdoms of the East Saxons, the South Saxons and the Jutes of Kent were absorbed into the kingdom of the West Saxons, uniting Saxland under King Alfred's grandfather Ecgberht. Before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England. After the Norman conquest, Essex became a county. During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the entire county in a period to 1204, when the area "north of the Stanestreet" was disafforested. Gradually, the areas subject to forest law diminished, but at various times they included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar and Waltham.

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority and county in South West England with an estimated population of 437,500 in 2014. People from the city are known as Bristolians. It is Englands sixth and the United Kingdoms eighth most populous city, and the second most populous city in Southern England after London. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built in the area around the confluence of the Rivers Frome and Avon, and it became known as Brycgstow around the beginning of the 11th century. Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was part of Gloucestershire until 1373, when it became a county. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts. Bristol was eclipsed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, with the historic cities of Bath and Gloucester to the southeast and northeast, respectively. The city has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary . Bristols prosperity has been linked with the sea since its earliest days. Around 1500, it was the base for voyages of exploration to the New World: on a ship out of Bristol, John Cabot was the first European, since the Vikings 500 years earlier, to land in North America in 1497; and William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America, in 1499. The Port of Bristol was originally in the city centre before commercial shipping moved from Bristol Harbour to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth. Royal Portbury Dock is on the western edge of the city. Its economy has recently depended on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, and the city-centre docks have been redeveloped as centres of heritage and culture. The city has two universities and a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues. In 2005, Bristol was named by the UK government one of Englands six science cities. It is connected with the surrounding region and the rest of the country by road and rail, including the M5 and M4 . Bristol, which was named Englands first cycling city in 2008, won the European Green Capital Award in 2015.

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering East Sussex to the east, Hampshire to the west and Surrey to the north, and to the south the English Channel. Chichester in the southwest is the county town and only city in West Sussex, with the largest towns being Crawley, Worthing and Horsham. West Sussex has a range of scenery, including Wealden, Downland and coastal. The highest point of the county is Blackdown, at 280 metres . It has a number of stately homes including Goodwood, Petworth House and Uppark and also castles such as Arundel Castle and Bramber Castle. Over half the county is protected countryside, offering walking, cycling and other recreational opportunities.

East Yorkshire

East Yorkshires landscape consists of a crescent of low chalk hills, the Yorkshire Wolds, surrounded by the low lying fertile plains of Holderness and the Vale of York. The Humber Estuary and North Sea mark its southern and eastern limits. Archaeological investigations have revealed artefacts and structures from all historical periods since the last ice age. There are few large settlements and no industrial centres. The area is administered from the ancient market and ecclesiastical town of Beverley. Christianity is the religion with the largest following in the area and there is a higher than average percentage of retired people living there.The economy is mainly based on agriculture and this, along with tourism, has contributed to the rural and seaside character of the Riding. These aspects are also reflected in the places of interest to visitors and major landmarks, which include historic buildings, nature reserves and the Wolds Way long-distance footpath. The open and maritime aspects and lack of major urban developments have also led to the county being allocated relatively high targets for the generation of energy from renewable sources.Major sporting and entertainment venues are concentrated in Kingston upon Hull, while the seaside and market towns support semi-professional and amateur sports clubs and provide seasonal entertainment for visitors. Bishop Burton is the site of an agricultural college, and Hull provides the regions only university. On the southern border, close to Hull, the Humber Bridge spans the Humber Estuary to enable the A15 to link Hessle with Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire.When the last glacial period ended, the hunter gatherers of the Palaeolithic period followed the animal herds across the land between continental Europe and Britain. Then, as conditions continued to improve and vegetation became more able to support a greater diversity of animals, the annual range of seasonal movement by Mesolithic communities decreased, and people became more fixed to particular localities. Until about 6,000 BC, Mesolithic people appear to have exploited their environment as they found it. As communities came to rely on a smaller territorial range and as population levels increased, attempts began to be made to modify or control the natural world. In the Great Wold Valley pollen samples of Mesolithic date, indicate that the forest cover in the area was being disturbed and altered by man, and that open grasslands were being created.

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The southern extremity of the Pennine range of hills extends into the north of the county. The county contains part of the National Forest, and borders on Greater Manchester to the northwest, West Yorkshire to the north, South Yorkshire to the northeast, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the southeast, Staffordshire to the west and southwest and Cheshire also to the west. Kinder Scout, at 636 metres, is the highest point in the county, whilst Trent Meadows, where the River Trent leaves Derbyshire, is its lowest point at 27 metres .:1 The River Derwent is the countys longest river at 66 miles, and runs roughly north to south through the county. In 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms as the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain. The city of Derby is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. The non-metropolitan county contains 30 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. There is a large amount of sparsely populated agricultural upland: 75% of the population live in 25% of the area.

Suffolk

Suffolk is an East Anglian county of historic origin in England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Felixstowe, one of the largest container ports in Europe. The county is low-lying with very few hills, and is largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a county in southern England, bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. Four towns have between 50,000 and 100,000 residents: Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford and St Albans. The county town, Hertford, once the main market town for the medieval agricultural county ranks 13th in population today deriving its name from a hart and a ford used as the components of the countys coat of arms and flag. Elevations are high for the region in the north and west. These reach over 240m in the western projection around Tring which is in the Chilterns. The countys borders are approximately the watersheds of the Colne and Lea, which flow southwards each accompanied by a canal. Hertfordshire is at the edge of the London Basin and most of its undeveloped land is agricultural and protected as Metropolitan Green Belt. The volume of intact medieval and Tudor buildings surpasses London, in places in well-preserved conservation areas, especially in St Albans which includes some remains of Verulamium, the town where in the third century AD an early recorded British martyrdom took place. Saint Alban, a Romano-British soldier, took the place of a Christian priest and was beheaded on Holywell Hill. His martyrs cross of a yellow saltire on a blue background is reflected in the flag and coat of arms of Hertfordshire. The countys landmarks span many centuries, ranging from the six Hills, next to the New Town of Stevenage built by inhabitants during the Roman Britain centuries, to Leavesden Film Studios. Leavesden filmed much of the UK-based $7.7 Bn box office Harry Potter film series and has the countrys studio tour. The largest sector of the economy of the county is services and it has a large proportion of residents who are City of London commuters. Ten railway lines and three motorways pass through or reach into the county. In 2013, the county had a population of 1,140,700 living in an area of 634 square miles .

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, Staffordshire to the west, and Derbyshire to the north-west. The border with Warwickshire is Watling Street . The county has a population of just under 1 million with over half the population living in Leicesters built-up area.

County Durham

County Durham, archaically known as the County Palatine of Durham or Bishopric of Durham, is a county and unitary district in North East England. The county town is Durham, a cathedral city. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is Darlington, which is a borough administratively independent from County Durham, as are the countys two other boroughs of Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees. The ceremonial county borders Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire; the borough of Stockton-on-Tees is unique in England in being divided between two ceremonial counties, with the part of the borough north of the River Tees being in Durham and the part south of the Tees being in North Yorkshire. Historically, the county of Durham included the southern area of the modern county of Tyne and Wear, including Gateshead and the city of Sunderland, but excluded the former Startforth Rural District around Romaldkirk and Cotherstone from the North Riding of Yorkshire. It bordered Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland and the North Riding of Yorkshire. The county has a mixture of mining and farming heritage, as well as a heavy railway industry, particularly in the southeast of the county in Darlington, Shildon and Stockton. Its economy was historically based on coal and iron mining. It is an area of regeneration and promoted as a tourist destination; in the centre of the city of Durham, Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral are UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site.

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditional county town is Nottingham, though the county council is based in West Bridgford in the borough of Rushcliffe, at a site facing Nottingham over the River Trent. The districts of Nottinghamshire are Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Rushcliffe. The City of Nottingham was administratively part of Nottinghamshire between 1974 and 1998 but is now a unitary authority, remaining part of Nottinghamshire for ceremonial purposes. In 2011 the county was estimated to have a population of 785,800. Over half of the population of the county live in the Greater Nottingham conurbation . The conurbation has a population of about 650,000, though less than half live within the city boundaries.

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south and Shropshire to the west. The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority. Lichfield also has city status, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek and Tamworth. Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich and Smethwick were historic Staffordshire towns until local government reorganisation created the West Midlands county in 1974. Apart from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire is divided into the districts of Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, and Tamworth.

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare, George Eliot, Aleister Crowley. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks. The county is divided into five districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon. The current county boundaries were set in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. The historic county boundaries also included Coventry and Solihull, as well as much of Birmingham. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region.

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic English county in the West Midlands. It is a ceremonial county and a unitary non-metropolitan county and district, also named in legislation as the County of Herefordshire and governed by Herefordshire Council. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh preserved counties of Gwent to the south-west and Powys to the west. The Welsh unitary county covering the part of Gwent next to Herefordshire is Monmouthshire. Hereford is a cathedral city and is the county town; with a population of approximately 55,800 inhabitants it is also the largest settlement. The county is one of the most rural and sparsely populated in England, with a population density of 82/km² . The land use is predominantly agricultural and the county is well known for its fruit and cider production, and the Hereford cattle breed.

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe. The area under the control of Buckinghamshire County Council, or shire county, is divided into four districts—Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe. The Borough of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority and forms part of the county for various functions such as Lord Lieutenant but does not come under county council control. The ceremonial county, the area including Milton Keynes borough, borders Greater London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire . Sections of the county closer to London are part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, which limits development. It is the location of the nationally important Pinewood Studios and Dorney Lake, which held the rowing events at the 2012 Summer Olympics. It is also well known for the new town of Milton Keynes and the Chiltern Hills area of outstanding natural beauty.

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a county in the West Midlands of England. Between 1974 and 1998, it was merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire as Hereford and Worcester. The cathedral city of Worcester is the largest settlement and administrative seat of the county. Towns in the county include Redditch, Bromsgrove, Stourport-on-Severn, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster and Malvern. The north-east of Worcestershire includes part of the industrial West Midlands; the rest of the county is largely rural. Administratively the county is divided into six districts: Worcester, Redditch, Wychavon, Malvern Hills, Wyre Forest and Bromsgrove.

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 629,000. The county is administered by Northamptonshire County Council and seven non-metropolitan district councils. Covering an area of 2,364 square kilometres, Northamptonshire is landlocked between eight other counties: Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east, Buckinghamshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the south-west and Lincolnshire to the north-east – Englands shortest county boundary at 19 metres . Northamptonshire is the southern most county in the East Midlands region. Apart from the county town of Northampton, other large population centres include Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden and Daventry. Northamptonshires county flower is the cowslip.

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is a ceremonial county and a historic county, but not an administrative county, as it is divided into three unitary authorities: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton. Bedfordshire is bordered by Cambridgeshire to the northeast, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the southeast. It is the fourteenth most densely populated county of England, with over half the population of the county living in the two largest built-up areas: Luton and the county town, Bedford . The highest elevation point is 243 metres on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns. The traditional nickname for people from Bedfordshire is "Clangers", deriving from a local dish comprising a suet crust pastry filled with meat in one end and jam in the other.

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight /ˈaɪl əv ˈwaɪt/, is a county and the largest and second most populous island of England. It is located in the English Channel, about 4 mi off the coast of Hampshire and is separated from mainland Great Britain by the Solent. The island has several resorts which have been holiday destinations since Victorian times. The history of the Isle of Wight includes a brief period of time as an independent kingdom in the 15th century. Until 1995, like Jersey and Guernsey, the island had a Governor. Home to the poets Swinburne and Tennyson and to Queen Victoria, who built her much-loved summer residence and final home Osborne House at East Cowes, the island has a maritime and industrial tradition including boat building, sail making, the manufacture of flying boats, the worlds first hovercraft, and the testing and development of Britains space rockets. The Isle hosts annual festivals including the Bestival and the Isle of Wight Festival, which, in 1970, was the largest rock music event ever held. The island has well-conserved wildlife and some of the richest cliffs and quarries for dinosaur fossils in Europe. The Isle of Wight was part of the County of Southampton until 1890, when it became an independent administrative county. Until 1974 it continued to share its Lord Lieutenant with Hampshire, when it was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan ceremonial county which gave it its own Lord Lieutenant and was recognised as a postal county. The quickest public transport link to the mainland is to and from Southsea by hovercraft, while five ferry services shuttle across the Solent.

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in North East region of England around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. It consists of the five metropolitan boroughs of South Tyneside, North Tyneside, City of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and City of Sunderland. It is bounded on the east by the North Sea, and has borders with Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south. Prior to the 1974 reforms, the territory now covered by the county of Tyne and Wear straddled the border between the counties of Northumberland and Durham, the border being marked by the river Tyne; that territory also included five county boroughs. Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts are now unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county.

Rutland

Rutland is a landlocked county in the East Midlands of England, bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest length north to south is only 18 miles and its greatest breadth east to west is 17 miles . It has the smallest population of any normal unitary authority in mainland England and only the City of London is smaller in terms of area. It is 348th of the 354 districts in population. It is the smallest historic county in England and the fourth smallest in the UK as a whole. Because of this, the Latin motto Multum in Parvo or "much in little" was adopted by the county council in 1950. Among modern ceremonial counties the Isle of Wight, City of London and City of Bristol are smaller. The former County of London, in existence 1889 to 1965, also had a smaller area. The only towns in Rutland are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham. At the centre of the county is the large artificial reservoir, Rutland Water, which is an important nature reserve serving as an overwintering site for wildfowl and a breeding site for ospreys. Rutlands older cottages are built from limestone or ironstone and many have roofs of Collyweston stone slate or thatch.

Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is the southernmost location in England and the United Kingdom, as well as the most westerly in England. The population of all the islands at the 2011 census was 2,203. Scilly forms part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a separate local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council and today is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. The adjective "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy, along with agriculture — particularly the growing of cut flowers.

Manchester

HM Prison Manchester (commonly known as Strangeways) is a high-security male prison in Manchester, England, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. It is a local prison, holding prisoners remanded into custody from courts in the Manchester area and Category A prisoners (those whose escape would be highly dangerous). Strangeways was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1868 alongside the now destroyed Manchester Assize Courts. The prison is known for its prominent ventilation tower and imposing panopticon prison layout. HM Prison Manchester was known as Strangeways, after the area in which it is located, until it was rebuilt following a major riot in 1990 and is still commonly referred to as such.

Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north-west, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east. The area is characterised by more than 110 square kilometres of mixed woodland, one of the surviving ancient woodlands in England. A large area was reserved for royal hunting before 1066, and remained as the second largest crown forest in England, the largest being New Forest. Although the name is used loosely to refer to the part of Gloucestershire between the Severn and Wye, the Forest of Dean proper has covered a much smaller area since medieval times. In 1327 it was defined to cover only the royal demesne and parts of parishes within the hundred of St Briavels, and after 1668 comprised the royal demesne only. The Forest proper is within the civil parishes of West Dean, Lydbrook, Cinderford, Ruspidge, and Drybrook, together with a strip of land in the parish of English Bicknor. Traditionally the main sources of work have been forestry – including charcoal production - iron working and coal mining. Archaeological studies have dated the earliest use of coal to Roman times for domestic heating and industrial processes such as the preparation of iron ore. The area gives its name to the local government district, Forest of Dean, and a parliamentary constituency, both of which cover wider areas than the historic Forest. The administrative centre of the local authority is Coleford, one of the main towns in the historic Forest area, together with Cinderford and Lydney.

Outer Trial Bank

The Outer Trial Bank is a circular artificial island in the Wash, East Anglia, England. It is one of two islands constructed during the 1970s for a governmental water resources scheme.

Borough of Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area and borough in the Tees Valley region situated in the North East of England, with a population of 191,600 shown in the 2011 census. The borough of Stockton-on-Tees consists of the market town of Stockton, and the smaller outlying settlements of Billingham and Thornaby-on-Tees, including Ingleby Barwick . Durham Tees Valley Airport is also partly within the borough. The Stockton-on-Tees borough accounts for the largest number of residents within the Teesside and Hartlepool urban area.

Hants