East of England

Counties: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Suffolk.

Main cities and town: Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea, Ipswich, Cambridge, Colchester and Chelmsford.

East of England has one of the driest climates in the UK and the lowest elevation range. The region used to be called East Anglia (the name of which derives from the East Angles).

Bedfordshire

The county consists of three districts: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. The county town is Bedford.
The Chiltern Hills, the chalk ridge, is the area on which the southern end of the county is located.
Bedfordshire has some traditional dishes. The "Bedfordshire clanger" is one of them that has a suet crust pastry filled with meat in one end and some fruits in the other. Another local type of food is Chocolate Toothpaste, a chocolate tart.
There are many beautiful parks in the county, but some of the most notable places of interest include the Cardington airship sheds which were originally built for construction of large airships during World War I. When the main purpose of the buildings lost its meaning, the place started to be used for many other ones (e.g. it is believed it was used as films sets for "Charlie and Chocolate Factory" and "Batman Begins").

St Paul's Church

Another notable place in Bedfordshire is St Paul's Church in Bedford, the largest Anglican church in the country. It played a historical role during the Second World War, because the church was the home for BBC's daily worship.

Cambridgeshire

Cambridge (abbreviated Cambs) consists of six districts: City of Peterborough, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridge, City of Cambridge.
The county's one of the most notable sites is Flag Fen in Fengate, which represents one of the earliest-known Neolithic permanent settlements in the UK.
But still the most famous place of the county is undoubtedly the University of Cambridge. It is the fourth-oldest surviving university. The universities of Cambridge and Oxford share a lot in common. That's why they are both sometimes referred to as Oxbridge.
The territory of Cambridgeshire is very low-lying. Holme Fen, the UK's lowest point, is here.
Other places of interest include Buckden Towers, Elton Hall, Ely Cathedral, Hereward Way (links the Viking Way at Oakham with Peddars Way near Thetford), Kettle's Yard (an art gallery and a house), Kimbolton Castle, Oliver Cromwell's House, Ramsey Abbey, etc.

University of Cambridge

But still the most famous place of the county is undoubtedly the University of Cambridge. It is the fourth-oldest surviving university. The universities of Cambridge and Oxford share a lot in common. That's why they are both sometimes referred to as Oxbridge.
The territory of Cambridgeshire is very low-lying. Holme Fen, the UK's lowest point, is here.
Other places of interest include Buckden Towers, Elton Hall, Ely Cathedral, Hereward Way (links the Viking Way at Oakham with Peddars Way near Thetford), Kettle's Yard (an art gallery and a house), Kimbolton Castle, Oliver Cromwell's House, Ramsey Abbey, etc.

Essex

The name of the county has its root in the Anglo-Saxon name meaning "East Saxons". The kingdom of the East Saxons consisted not only of Sussex, but also included Middlesex (with the City of London), a large territory of Hertfordshire and some parts of Surrey.
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex and its only city.

There are many important buildings in Essex that are of different epochs, starting from the 7th century Saxon church of St Peter-on-the-Wall to the Southend Pier that is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest pleasure pier in the world.
There is a historic market town called Great Dunmow which is famous for its ancient custom "Flitch Trials" during which married couples try to convince a jury in their love to each other. The couple that wins is gifted a flitch of bacon. The tradition takes place every four years. Other landmarks of the county include Audley End House, Stansted Mountfitchet (a village), Waltham Abbey Church, etc.

Southend Pier,

Southend-on-Sea

Hertfordshire

The name of the county is derived from the Anglo-Saxon heort ford, meaning deer crossing (of a watercourse). That's why deer appear in many county emblems.
Major settlements of Hertfordshire are located in the central, northern and southern areas- Watford, Harpenden, Kings Langley, Potters Bar, Stevenage, Hatfield, etc.
A good example of a historical settlement is the City of St. Albans that has its famous cathedral and abbey from the Norman period.
Hitchin is another historic centre which has a lot of buildings from Tudor and Stuart era.
Hertfordshire has many notable attractions: Ashridge (a county estate situated in the Chiltern Hills), Berkhamsted Castle (a Norman castle), Leavesden Film Studios (Making of Harry Potter studio tour), Royston Cave and many other things.
The county has appeared for quite a lot of time in literature (e.g. Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice is set mainly in Hertfordshire; in Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest in which the county is the place where Jack Worthing's country house is located; George Orwell's Animal Farm is based in this county and the author himself lived there in 1936-1940).

Located in the town of Royston, the county of Hertfordshire, this place is as notable as Stonehenge! What is interesting is that nobody still knows how, when and by whom it was constructed. The Royston Cave is surrounded by so many mysteries! It attracts many tourists from different places. The carvings on the walls which represent both Christian and pagan symbols look amazing, besides the other ones that are unexplained to this day. Click on the button below to know more about this mysterious site!

Royston Cave

Norfolk

The county town of Norfolk is Norwich, its only city.
The county's area is mostly rural and the population level is not very high.
The region was controlled by the Angles in the 5th century and the territory soon became known as the "north folk" and the "south folk" (Norfolk and Suffolk).
The University of East Anglia is situated in the county town Norwich. Other major and notable towns include King's Lynn, the port-town, and Great Yarmouth, the seaside resort. Cromer and Holkham are the towns that represent some of finest British beaches.

Sandringham House is a popular tourist destination in Norfolk. It is Queen Elizabeth II's residence.
Moreover, the county has a large number of amusement parks, zoos and theatres: Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, the Sea Life Sanctuary in Hunstanton, the Theatre Royal in Norwich, the princess Theatre, etc.

Sandringham House

Suffolk

The county town of Suffolk is Ipswich. Other major towns are Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Felixstowe.

Suffolk is particularly famous for "Suffolk Pink" - villages and towns of the county have historic houses and cottages in pink colour, which ranges from light-pink to deep brick color. It is believed that Suffolk Pink appeared in the 14th century when local dyers created these shades. One of the examples of Suffolk Pink are the cottages in front of St Mary's Church in the village of Cavendish.

Suffolk Pink

The town of Newmarket is known by all horseracing fans as it is the headquarters of British horseracing. There are largest training yards in the whole country.
Suffolk has been mentioned in many literary works (e.g. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Unnatural Causes by P.D. James, some of the children's books by Arthur Ransome take place in the county, and some others).
The county is also the birthplace of two England's best regarded painters - Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable.
Other notable places: Ickworth House, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Rendlesham Forest, Aldeburgh (a North Sea coastal English town), etc.

landmarks

- The castle was built in the late 12th century by Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex.

- The place is famous for being the final home of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who was placed here in 1534 for refusing to deny her marriage. Then her health got worse and she died in 1536.

- From 1615 until 1950, the castle served as the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester and then it became Kimbolton School (and keeps so to this day).

Kimbolton House

- The house was built between 1795 and 1829 near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

- It is considered to be one of England's most unusual houses because of its architecture.

- For many centuries the house had been the residence of the Marquess of Bristol until it was sold to the National Trust in 1998.

- Nowadays, the East Wing of the house is run as the Ickworth Hotel. Other parts are used for different conferences and events.

Ickworth House

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P.S. all the drawings were made by me