Lying to the west of Greater London on the A4 trunk road, the town and borough of Slough was formerly part of Buckinghamshire but now comes under the county of Berkshire. With a population of around 117,000 and an area of some thirteen square miles Slough lies north of the River Thames and the town of Windsor, with the tiny village of Eton and its famous college sandwiched between the two. Though its modern day appearance does not suggest any significant history, Slough was actually a settlement (albeit a small one) way back in the 13th century when it was variously known as Slo, Slowe, Sloo, Slow and Le Slowe. Growing later as a town mostly due to the stagecoach trade, Slough is now a large industrial town. Becoming a local government area only in 1863, Slough was incorportated into Berkshire in the 1974 reshuffle. Experiencing a typical south England climate, Slough averages 45mm of rain monthly and has its best weather in the period May to September.