Cambridgeshire

Map of the Cambridgeshire Area

Cambridgeshire is situated in the East of the UK and is bordered by Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk. The county is noted as the location of some of the earliest Neolithic settlements in England. It spans 524,935 (source: link) acres and has a population of over 185,500 (source: link). Cambridgeshire was formed through several unifications spanning from the 1880's to1974 when it was extended to include the Peterborough and Huntingdon districts. It is the site of many important archaeological finds from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

The geography of the county is low-lying and most of it formerly consisted of fen and marshland. However, with civilized development during the 17th century, the county is now covered by wide canals which drained the land causing it to be fertile. There are many notable hills in the region which are mainly boulder clay on top of chalk and the south of the county is made up of wooded areas. Due to the fact that the river channels are mostly man made the rivers flow very slowly and the district is famed for its waterways as most of the towns can be reached by boat.

England's lowest physical point is located in Holme Fen which is at 2.75m below sea level. The main economic activity is agriculture and the district is one of the main sugar-beet and cereal producers in the UK. The industries also include fruit and vegetable growing, dairy farming and sheep rearing.

There are several RAF bases in the Huntington and St Ives areas and both Ely and Peterborough have cathedrals which cause them to be places of tourist interest. Ely was founded in 673 as a cathedral city by the Saxons although the original settlements could have dated back to the Iron Age. There are also monasteries at Ramnsey and Thorney which were established before the Norman Conquest and examples of medieval architecture can by found in the county's many churches and bridges.

Oliver Cromwell, John Major and Henry Royce were all from Cambridgeshire. It was also the home of the poet Rupert Brooke who mentions several Cambridge towns in his poetry. There is a museum for the prominent poet in Granchester. The county is famed for its university (Cambridge University) which is renowned the world-over for its graduates and highly respected degree programmes.