Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county of Eastern England, consisting partly of a good deal of the Fens and partly more traditional countryside merging into Essex and Suffolk.
It has always included the Isle of Ely, but now also includes the old county of Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough, which was once part of Northamptonshire.
The major city of course is Cambridge itself, the home of one of the two most famous universities in England (the other is Oxford).
The city is famous for its architecture as well as the quality of its learning, The Chapel of Kings College is one of the country’s best-loved buildings, and it is here at Christmas that the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols originated. The Bridge of Sighs, over the tranquil River Cam, links buildings of St. John’s College.
Ely is an absolute gem, with its wonderful cathedral including its oak Lantern. But Ely is not just worth visiting for its cathedral. Oliver Cromwell’s house is now a museum and Tourist Information Centre, and there is a delightful waterside area beside the River Great Ouse.
The former county of Huntingdonshire has a number of interesting towns. Huntingdon itself is associated with two famous politicians, Oliver Cromwell and John Major. St. Ives has a rare mediaeval chapel on a bridge. Hemingford Grey has a 12th century house, which is still lived in.
In the old Soke of Peterborough, the City of Peterborough itself has an impressive cathedral, and at nearby Helpston the peasant poet John Clare was born.