BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire (ˈbʌkɪŋəmʃər,_-ʃɪər), abbreviated as Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It borders Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes (256,385). The county has an area of and a population of 808,666.
MiddlesexMiddlesex (ˈmɪdəlsɛks; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. Three rivers provide most of the county's boundaries; the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills forms the northern boundary with Hertfordshire.
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes (kiːnz ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms the northern boundary of the urban area; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).
London UndergroundThe London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, opening on 10 January 1863 as the world's first underground passenger railway. It is now part of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
StevenageStevenage (ˈstiːvənᵻdʒ ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage was designated the United Kingdom's first New Town under the New Towns Act. "Stevenage" may derive from Old English stiþen āc / stiðen āc / stithen ac (various Old English dialects cited here) meaning "(place at) the stiff oak".
WessexThe Kingdom of Wessex (ˈwɛsɪks; Ƿestseaxna rīċe ˈwestsæɑksnɑ ˈriːtʃe, Kingdom of the West Saxons) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in 927. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric of the Gewisse, but this may be a legend. The two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict.
HarlowHarlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper Stort Valley, which has been made navigable through other towns and features a canal section near its watermill. Old Harlow is a historic village founded by the early medieval age and most of its high street buildings are early Victorian and residential, mostly protected by one of the Conservation Areas in the district.
LutonLuton (ˈluːtən) is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2021 census, the Luton/Dunstable urban area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, had a population of 286,450. The town is situated on the River Lea, about north-north-west of London. It is north-west of Hertford, south of Bedford and south-east of Milton Keynes. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settlement on the river, from which Luton derives its name.
BerkhamstedBerkhamsted (ˈbɝːkəmstɛd ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town of Hemel Hempstead. Berkhamsted, along with the adjoining village of Northchurch, is encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The High Street is on a pre-Roman route known by its Saxon name: Akeman Street.
Regions of EnglandThe regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England. They were established in 1994 and follow the 1974–96 county borders. They are a continuation of the former 1940s standard regions which followed the 1889–1974 administrative county borders. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had partly devolved functions; they no longer fulfil this role, continuing to be used for limited statistical purposes.
