Steve's World Blog Information and articles on cities, towns and villages around the world.

A beautiful rural county to the north-west of London, Buckinghamshire is one of the traditional ‘Home Counties’ of south-eastern England. The county town of Buckinghamshire (normally just referred to as Bucks) is Aylesbury, situated fairly centrally within the county. Aylesbury however was not always the county town, this honour fell to Buckingham itself, which gave Buckinghamshire its name and was the primary town from 888 until replaced by Aylesbury during the 16^th century. The name of the town and the county derives from that of a wealthy landowner named Bucca, and literally means “Bucca’s Home”. Buckinghamshire was originally a sub-division of the Kingdom of Mercia between the 6^th and 12^th centuries, though there were of course settlers here long before this, with many Roman remains being found throughout the region, for instance in High Wycombe where there was a Roman Villa in the 2^nd century AD. The county features a mix of historic and modern towns, the most modern being the huge city of Milton Keynes, which is now a unitary authority separate from the control of Bucks County Council. Milton Keynes was originally just a small village, and the name was taken by the new town (so declared in 1967) which swallowed a number of towns and villages in the area such as Bletchley, Wolverton, Stoney Stratford and Newport Pagnell. The south of the county has some very affluent towns, many of which have become commuter towns for those working in London. In the extreme south, Marlow sits attractively on the banks of the River Thames, and is a popular tourist spot as well as a pretty town, barely spoilt by development, historically it was mentioned in the Domesday Book, and was later given by William the Conqueror to his Queen Mathilda. Other affluent towns in this part of Buckinghamshire include Beaconsfield, Amersham and Chesham. Beaconsfield is very pretty, and during the times of Queen Victoria became notable as the seat of PM Benjamin Disraeli. Beaconsfield sits close to the M40 motorway, making it a desirable though expensive commuter town. Beaconsfield is also notable as the burial place of some famous people including G K Chesterton and poet Edmund Waller. Amersham and Chesham sit together to the north of Beaconsfield, both are attractive towns with perhaps Amersham taking the edge, especially the area of the Old Town which has changed little over the centuries. Amersham has two separate areas the Old Town and Amersham on the Hill (locally called Top Amersham) where the railway station is situated. Both Chesham and Amersham are joined to Central London by the underground network, making them very popular with commuters. Chesham is situated in the Chess Valley and has had human settlement since 8,000 BC, historically it was known for its religious unrest and saw a number of burnings in the 16^th century including that of Thomas Harding for being a heretic and a Lollard. Overall Bucks is a pretty rural county with few large towns and only one city (Milton Keynes) it comprises mostly small, pretty villages and attractive market towns, the rolling, green Chiltern Hills add to the attraction.

Visit a dedicated Aylesbury website here: http://www.my-aylesbury.co.uk

View a map of Buckinghamshire here: http://www.my-towns.co.uk/buckinghamshire-map.html

More maps here: http://www.buckinghamshire-maps.co.uk