Cambridge, ENG - Postcode - GL2 7AL - Post Codes & Zip Codes List

Description of Cambridge, England

Cambridge, England, is home to a renowned university and serves as the county seat for its namesake county. It's around 89 kilometers (55 miles) north of London, on the banks of the River Cam. A total of 145,700 people called Cambridge, England home as of the 2021 United Kingdom census. Cambridge developed into a major marketplace throughout the Roman and Viking periods, but the area had already been inhabited by the Bronze Age. Although the city was granted its first charters in the 12th century, it was not recognized as a modern city until 1951.

The University of Cambridge, located in Cambridge, was established in 1209 and is regularly ranked as one of the top universities in the world. King's College Chapel, Cavendish Laboratory, and the Cambridge University Library, one of the largest legal deposit libraries in the world, are all on campus. Several universities, the steeple of Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, and the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital make up the bulk of Cambridge's skyline. Cambridge is also home to the flagship campus of Anglia Ruskin University, which was founded by merging the Cambridge School of Art with the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology.

Cambridge sits at the center of the high-tech Silicon Fen, which is home to many universities and sectors like software and biotechnology. About twice as many people in this labor force have some sort of post-secondary education as do in the rest of the country (about 40 percent). One of the greatest concentrations of biomedical research facilities in the world, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is home to a hotel and the relocated Royal Papworth Hospital, as well as the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

Parker's Piece was the site of the first ever football match involving two teams from different countries. Cambridge hosts the yearly Cambridge Beer Festival on Jesus Green and the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival on Midsummer Common. Nearby highways include the M11 and A14, making the city easily accessible. Cambridge station is less than an hour from London King's Cross railway station.

Geographical Description of Cambridge

Cambridge is situated around 55 miles (89 km) north-by-east of London and 95 miles (152 km) east of Birmingham. The settlement sits on relatively flat ground between 6 and 24 meters (20 and 79 feet) above sea level, just to the south of the Fens. The town was thus originally surrounded by low-lying marshes that have been drained as the town has expanded.

The underlying geology of Cambridge comprises of gault clay and Chalk Marl, known locally as Cambridge Greensand, partly topped with terrace gravel. A layer of phosphatic nodules (coprolites) under the marl was mined in the 19th century for fertiliser; this became a major industry in the county, and its profits yielded buildings such as the Corn Exchange, Fulbourn Hospital and St. John's Chapel until the Quarries Act 1894 and competition from America ended production.

The River Cam flows through the city from the settlement of Grantchester, to the southwest. It is bordered by water meadows within the city such as Sheep's Green as well as residential development. Like other cities, modern-day Cambridge contains several suburbs and regions of high-density housing. The city centre of Cambridge is largely commercial, historic buildings, and extensive green areas such as Jesus Green, Parker's Piece and Midsummer Common. The majority of the downtown area is now pedestrian-only.

Population growth has seen new housing projects in the 21st century, with estates such as the CB1 and Accordia schemes near the station, and developments such as Great Kneighton, originally known as Clay Farm, and Trumpington Meadows currently under construction in the south of the city. Other notable new neighborhoods in the city include Darwin Green (previously NIAB), University-led neighborhoods in West Cambridge and North West Cambridge, and the Cambridge Waterfront (Eddington).

An Air Quality Management Area has been established in the central business district of Cambridge and adjoining neighborhoods of Chesterton, Petersfield, West Cambridge, Newnham, and Abbey due to dangerously high amounts of nitrogen dioxide in the air.

Economical Description of Cambridge

Since its early days, Cambridge has been a significant regional trading station thanks to its river connection to the surrounding agricultural regions and its good road connections to London to the south. Cambridge's river trade was given special status by King Henry I, who awarded the city a monopoly on it. Merchants from all over the country would travel to the town's market to trade at the annual fairs, such as the Stourbridge Fair and the Midsummer Fair. The river "is often so packed of [commercial] boats that the navigation thereof is blocked for some time," according to a 1748 account. For instance, every Monday, farmers from the North East, especially Norfolk, would ship 2,000 firkins of butter up the river to the town, where it would be unloaded and sent on its way by road to London. Cambridge's role as a market town decreased due to shifting retail distribution patterns and the rise of railroads.

Today, Cambridge's economy is diversified, with particular strengths in R&D, software consultancy, high-value engineering, the creative industries, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. The city's economy benefits from tourism to the tune of over £750 million annually thanks to its designation as one of the "most beautiful cities in the world" by Forbes in 2010. The view from The Backs was named one of the 10 greatest in England by National Trust head Simon Jenkins.

Because of the abundance of high-tech companies and technological incubators that have established themselves on scientific parks in and around Cambridge, the area is frequently referred to as Silicon Fen, a play on Silicon Valley. University campuses control or lease a large portion of these properties, and the enterprises headquartered there often began as spinoffs from the universities. Trinity College is the owner of the Cambridge Science Park, Europe's largest commercial R&D center, while St. John's University is the landlord of the St. John's Innovation Centre. Among the many technological enterprises out there are Abcam, CSR, ARM Limited, CamSemi, Jagex, and Sinclair. In addition to its major Microsoft UK site in Reading, the company also maintains a presence in West Cambridge at its Microsoft Research UK offices, which are accessible through Station Road.

W. G. Pye, a researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory, started the company Pye Ltd in 1898 to serve Cambridge University. The company eventually grew to specialize in wireless telegraphy equipment, radios, televisions, and even defense electronics. Sepura, a maker of TETRA radio equipment, is one of Pye Ltd's many spin-offs. Marshall Aerospace, in the city's eastern outskirts, is yet another large enterprise. In order to maintain communication amongst companies, Cambridge created the Cambridge Network.

Gloucestershire

In southwestern England is the county of Gloucestershire, important administratively, geographically, and historically. It is near the Welsh border, at the mouth of the Severn estuary. There are some differences in the areas covered by the administrative, geographic, and historic counties. Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Stroud, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, and the county seat of Gloucester are the six districts that make up the administrative county.

South Gloucestershire, a unitary district, and the surrounding areas are all included in the county's geographical scope. It's important to note that the historic county does not include all of the geographic county. A small portion of the county, west of Westonbirt, extends into Wiltshire, another medieval county, along the county's eastern boundary. Daylesford, Evenlode, Aston Magna, Blockley, Paxford, Cutsdean, Teddington, Chaceley, Staunton, and Redmarley D'Abitot are all located in the northern and northeastern regions of the geographic county, though historically they are part of Worcestershire. The parishes of Hinton, Childwickham, Ashton-under-Hill, and Kemerton in the Wychavon district of the administrative county of Worcestershire; the historical center of Bristol and the rest of the city north of the River Avon (Lower, or Bristol, Avon); and a region south of the River Avon (Upper, or Warwickshire, Avon), including the parishes of Welford and Upper Aylesbury.

From north to south, the River Severn flows through Worcestershire and into Gloucestershire at Tewkesbury. The low-lying Vale of Gloucester is spanned by the Severn, which is tidal below Gloucester and ranges in width from 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 km). The eastern side of the vale is sharply defined by the Cotswold escarpment, while the western edge is bounded by the high land of the Forest of Dean. The rolling hills of the Cotswolds may be found to the east, tapering out towards the Vale of Oxford.

Several tumuli (burial mounds) attest to the presence of prehistoric peoples in the region. Roman settlements such as Gloucester and Cirencester, as well as a plethora of villas and military camps, can be found in this historic county. Soon after the Romans left, the local Britons—the forefathers of the Welsh—were overrun by the Saxon Hwicca tribe, and their territory included into the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. The county of Gloucestershire served as a battleground throughout the Middle Ages. Berkeley, St. Briavels, Bristol, and Gloucester are along a line of imposing Norman castles that attest to the proximity of the Welsh. Many of the conflicts for the English throne between Stephen and Matilda's soldiers took place in this county between 1135 and 1154. From the middle of the 14th century through the late 18th century, the indigenous sheep in the Cotswold area fed a thriving woolen textile industry. Bristol, a major port and a center for the textile industry, thrived at the same time. The Forest of Dean was once home to a thriving iron and coal mining industry, but the final mine shut down in 1965.

The majority of land is currently devoted to farming, yet less people than ever work in the industry because to technology. Rather than sheep and wool, the Cotswolds now raise cattle and arable crops

like wheat and barley. Apple, pear, and plum orchards are significant in the northeastern part of the county. The distance between Lydney and Cinderford in the Forest of Dean is still heavily forested.

Commercial and manufacturing hubs with light engineering and electrical sectors, Gloucester and the historic spa town of Cheltenham are the key employment centers in the county. Stroud, once a major hub for the woolen industry, is now home to a variety of other industries, including the plastics and scientific instruments sectors.

England, UK Description

England is the UK's largest constituent unit, occupying more than half of the island. Despite its political, economic, and cultural legacy, England is no longer a governmental or political unit. 

With its rich soil and crisscrossing network of rivers and streams, England has been and remains a thriving agricultural economy. England became the epicenter of the global Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s, quickly rising to the top of the global industrialization rankings. Manufacturing industries in Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool turned raw materials into finished goods for export. London, the country's capital, became one of the world's most important cities, a hub for a global political economy. The London metropolitan area continues to be Europe's financial center and a hotbed of innovation, particularly in the fields of popular culture.

At the same time, the UK is a place with a very developed tourism industry. The culture and scenery of the UK attract a lot of tourists to come for vacation all year round. If you also want to travel to the UK or have been there and want to leave some traces of your visit, you can try to customize Custom Keyrings with a UK theme, such as the British flag, Buckingham Palace, etc.  Customized keychains can be carried with you and retain beautiful travel memories.

One of the most fundamental features of the English language is its diversity within a limited compass. Even England's most remote regions are accessible by car or train within a day's drive or train ride of London. Many English people identify with the regions or shires from which they are descended—for example, Yorkshire, the West Country, or the Midlands—and maintain strong ties to those regions even if they live in other parts of the country. Some differences exist, but many more, especially as England transitioned from a rural to an urban society, began to fade after 1945. The country's island location has shaped the English character, which values social harmony, social harmony, and good manners that ensure orderly relations in a densely populated landscape, among other characteristics.

During the dismantling of Britain's vast overseas empire in the mid-20th century, England suffered an identity crisis, and much attention has been paid to discussions of "Englishness"—that is, what it means to be English in a country that now has large immigrant populations from many former colonies and is far more cosmopolitan than insular. Although influenced by other cultures, English culture is distinct and difficult to define. The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell, a self-described "revolutionary patriot" who chronicled politics and society in the 1930s and 1940s, makes this observation. 

Geographical Description of England

Except for Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire in the east, England's topography is low-lying but rarely flat. The area has many rolling hillsides, with the highest elevations in the north, north-west, and southwest. Intricate underlying structures have resulted in intricate patterns in the landscape. The oldest sedimentary rocks and some igneous rocks (found in isolated granite hills) are found in Cornwall and Devon, while the most recent alluvial soils are found in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. Both the sandstone and limestone bands that separate these two regions date from prehistoric times when large sections of central and southern England were submerged under warm seas. Geological forces lifted and folded some of these rocks, forming northern England's spine. Scafell Pike, England's highest point, stands at 3,210 feet (978 metres) and is part of the world's highest mountain range. The northern mountains are mostly slate, while the southern mountains are mostly lava flows. Mountain ranges have developed from the North Downs at 965 feet (294 meters) to the Cotswolds at 1,083 feet (330 meters).

The Chiltern Hills, North Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds, and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds were rounded into distinctive plateaus with west-facing escarpments during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). A land bridge connecting Britain to the rest of Europe was engulfed as the last glacial sheet melted. The retreating glaciers left behind gravel, sand, and glacial mud, further altering the land surface. Rain, rivers, and tides, as well as subsidence, have shaped the hills and coastline of eastern England. Limestone, gritstone, and carboniferous strata plateaus are associated with major coalfields, some visible as surface outcrops.

A great example of England's geologic complexity is its cliff structure. The chalk cliffs of Dover are made up of a series of sedimentary rocks of varying ages that start at Land's End in the far southwest and end at the Isle of Wight. The English coastline is dotted with cliffs, bays, and river estuaries that add to the overall beauty of the landscape. 

England's weather is as varied as its topography. The average temperature in England, like other temperate maritime zones, is moderate, ranging from around 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) in January to 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) in July in the Thames river valley (32 degrees Celsius). Tacitus, the Roman historian, described it as "unpleasant" with "frequent rains and mists but no extreme cold." However, the higher elevations of England receive snow for roughly 50 days out of the year. In fact, the northwest and southwest of England are particularly "wet". These areas receive less than 30 inches (750 mm) of rain per year and are frequently subject to severe drought. Rainfall averages only 20 inches in parts of the southeast (500 mm). The weather has influenced English art and literature not only seasonally but also day-to-day and even hour-to-hour. The bumbershoot's moniker as the stereotypical English gentleman's walking stick is not accidental.

The Economy of England

In the 18th and 19th centuries, England's economy was primarily agricultural until the Industrial Revolution transformed it into a highly urbanized and industrialized region as a result of the Industrial Revolution. A result of the close proximity of coal and iron ore deposits, heavy industries (iron and steel, textiles, and shipbuilding) sprang up in the north-eastern counties, and they continue to thrive today. During the 1930s, the Great Depression and foreign competition both contributed to a decline in manufactured goods production and an increase in unemployment in the industrial north, which contributed to the Great Depression. Residents of these northern counties who were out of work were forced to relocate south to London and its environs. Because of urbanization and industrialization, the southeast has become dominated by industries such as automotive, chemical, electrical, and machine tool manufacturing. Despite the fact that population growth and urbanization significantly reduced farmland in England during the twentieth century, the geographical counties of Cornwall, Devon, Kent, Lincolnshire, Somerset, and North Yorkshire have retained a significant proportion of their agricultural land.

Another period of industrial decline occurred in the late twentieth century, during which coal mining was virtually phased out and job losses in industries such as iron and steel production, shipbuilding, and textile manufacturing were particularly severe. The decline of these industries had a disproportionately negative impact on the economies of the north and the Midlands, while the economies of the south remained relatively prosperous. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the service sector had taken over as the dominant sector of the English economy, with banking and other financial services, retail, distribution, media and entertainment, education, health care, and hotels and restaurants among the leading sectors.