Cambridgeshire is a historic county in the East Anglia region of England, part of the United Kingdom.
Cities and towns
Cities
- 1 Cambridge – picturesque university city and Cambridgeshire's traditional county town
- 2 Ely – the cathedral city in the Fens
- 3 Peterborough – growing industrial centre and cathedral city
Towns
- 4 Chatteris
- 5 Huntingdon – home of Oliver Cromwell
- 6 March
- 7 Ramsey
- 8 St Ives
- 9 St Neots
- 10 Wisbech
- 11 Duxford – location of the aircraft collection of the Imperial War Museum and air shows
- 12 Fordham
- 13 Fowlmere
- 14 Shingay-cum-Wendy
Understand
For centuries much of the north east of the region was inaccessible marshland, until a programme of drainage assisted by Dutch engineers transformed the Fens into the country's most fertile farmland, leaving the landscape criss-crossed by canals and dotted with windmills.
The major population centres today remain concentrated in the south and west of Cambridgeshire, with the north and east of the region remains a bleak, empty landscape.
Talk
Cambridgeshire residents speak in the standard form of English common across South East England, and there should be little difficulty for English speakers in understanding them. Contrary to popular belief, most locals do not speak in the distinctive upper-class accents common amongst Cambridge University students.
Get in
By train
St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough sit on the East Coast Main line between London and the north. Express trains stop at Peterborough only. Cambridge is served by a separate line.
Cross country services serve Peterborough, the county's main rail junction
By car
The M11 from London terminates at Cambridge.
Get around
The region is well linked by rural bus services.
See
The region's chief attraction is the splendid architecture and attractive riverfront of the historic city of Cambridge. Further afield, attractions include:
Do
- Punting on the River Cam in Cambridge
Eat
Cambridgeshire isn't known for its food specialities. Traditional English roasts are served in attractive country pubs throughout the region. Cambridge offers the widest range of restaurants to choose from, whilst Peterborough is the place to head for Italian.
Drink
The regions small towns and villages offer a particularly fine range of country pubs, many of which serve a good range of real ales. Most of the "local" beer served in the region comes from the Charles Wells brewery in Bedfordshire and Greene King brewery in Suffolk - you will see these names on pub signs everywhere in the region.
Stay safe
Cambridgeshire is a quiet and fairly prosperous region presenting relatively few hazards to the traveller. See the England section for more general safety tips.