A county located in the East Midlands region of England, United Kingdom, Leicestershire is named after its large and populous city Leicester. In fact the urban sprawl of Leicester and its outlying towns and villages account for a large proportion of the counties population, with the only other sizeable towns being Loughborough (the second largest), Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray and Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Leicester’s urban areas are home to over 440,000, while the second largest Loughborough has only around 58,000. Market Harborough to the south-east of Leicester has a population of just 20,000 and Melton Mowbray (famous for its cheese and its pork pies) a little higher at 25,000, while Ashby-de-la-Zouch brings up the rear with just 12,000.