The South East England Portal
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Major towns and cities in the regions include Brighton and Hove, Guildford, Portsmouth, Milton Keynes, Reading, Oxford, Slough and Southampton.
South East England is the third largest region of England, with an area of 19,096 km2 (7,373 sq mi), and is also the most populous with a total population of over eight and a half million (2011). The region contains seven legally chartered cities: Brighton and Hove, Canterbury, Chichester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester. The region's close proximity to London and connections to several national motorways have led to South East England becoming a prosperous economic hub with the largest economy of any region in the UK, after London. The region is home to Gatwick Airport, the UK's second-busiest airport, and Heathrow Airport (the UK's busiest airport) is located adjacent to the region's boundary with Greater London. The coastline along the English Channel provides numerous ferry crossings to mainland Europe.
The region is known for its countryside, which includes the North Downs and the Chiltern Hills as well as two national parks: the New Forest and the South Downs. The River Thames flows through the region and its basin is known as the Thames Valley. It is also the location of a number of internationally known places of interest, such as HMS Victory in Portsmouth, Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, Thorpe Park and RHS Wisley in Surrey, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Windsor Castle in Berkshire, Leeds Castle, the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, Brighton Palace Pier, and Hammerwood Park in East Sussex, and Wakehurst Place in West Sussex. The region has many universities; the University of Oxford is the oldest in the English-speaking world, and ranked among the best in the world.
South East England is host to various sporting events, including the annual Henley Royal Regatta, Royal Ascot and The Derby, and sporting venues include Wentworth Golf Club and Brands Hatch. Some of the events of the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in the south east, including the rowing at Eton Dorney and part of the cycling road race in the Surrey Hills.
In medieval times, South East England was the precursor to the modern state of England, evolving from the Kingdom of Wessex. Winchester was the capital of England after unification of the various states, although Winchester stopped being the administrative capital of England some time in the 13th century as its influence waned while the City of London dominated commerce. The last monarch to be crowned at Winchester was Richard II in 1377, although the last monarch to be crowned by the Bishop of Winchester was Queen Mary I in 1553. (Full article...)
Selected article
Oxford (/ˈɒksfərd/) is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2017, its population was estimated at 152,450. It is 56 miles (90 km) northwest of London, 64 miles (103 km) southeast of Birmingham, and 61 miles (98 km) northeast of Bristol.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and has buildings in every style of English architecture from late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. (Full article...)
Selected pictures
View of the Vale of Holmesdale and Winterfold Forest from Newlands Corner, near Clandon and Albury, east of Guildford (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Leith Hill Tower, peak of the Greensand Ridge (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Panoramic view of Blenheim Palace (from Portal:Oxfordshire/Selected pictures)
- Credit: 9mal_Kluger
View of Beachy Head near EastbourneMore about Beachy Head...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Michael RoweDover Castle is situated at Dover, Kent and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history.More about Dover Castle...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Michael HaslamHowletts Wild Animal Park was set up as a private zoo in 1958 by John Aspinall in Canterbury, Kent.More about Howletts Wild Animal Park...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Waterfall at Virginia Water on the north-western (Berkshire) border (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Seven reservoirs. View of four in Spelthorne with small lakes of lower elevation, from aggregate extraction, in the south of the borough to the right. Beyond three reservoirs in Elmbridge. The flattest areas of the far north of the county. Staines road and rail bridges span the Thames into Runnymede in the right of the photograph. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
The River Wey in Guildford, Surrey (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
A view of Newbury, Berkshire and its surroundings (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
Reading Festival in 2007 (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
Windsor Castle Upper Ward Quadrangle (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
Autumn at Denbies Vineyard looking across the Mole Gap to Box Hill, the steepest slopes of the North Downs (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: O1iveDover is a major channel port in the English county of KentMore about Dover...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Great Fosters restaurant/hotel, Runnymede (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Almaasandersno
Panoramic view of the English Channel from Newhaven.More about Newhaven.... (from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
Large red damselfly in Swinley Forest, Berkshire (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
- Credit: LuckyStarrHops are a flower used primarily as a flavouring and stability agent in beer. The principal production centres for the UK are in Kent.More about Hops...
(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Pineferous forest of the sandy Bagshot Formation spanning parts of four boroughs towards the north-west and in the far west of the county, with defensive positions for historic army training near Deepcut and Pirbright (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Baryonic BeingChartwell, located two miles south of Westerham, Kent, England, was the home of Sir Winston Churchill.More about Chartwell...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: C.HoyleEastwell Park was a British stately home at Ashford, Kent, that for a time served as a royal residence.More about Eastwell Park...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Aerial view of Oxford city centre (from Portal:Oxfordshire/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Marco SinibaldiAround AD 50 the Romans built a lighthouse which still stands to its full height in the grounds of Dover Castle.More about Dover...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
The town of Dorking and its section of the Vale of Holmesdale from Box Hill in the North Downs, with more heavily wooded Greensand Hills beyond. These sets of hills make up the Surrey Hills AONB. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Craig BassRamsgate Harbour constructed between 1749 and 1850, has the unique distinction of being the only Royal Harbour in the United Kingdom.More about Port Ramsgate...
(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Ian Dunster
Looking up at the East Hill Cliff Railway in Hastings, the steepest funicular railway in the country.More about East Hill Cliff Railway...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
- Credit: O1iveSt Mary in Castro (or St Mary de Castro) is the church at Dover Castle.More about St Mary in Castro...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Oxford skyline from the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (from Portal:Oxfordshire/Selected pictures)
Epsom Downs, a racecourse which hosts The Derby annually. One of four in the county. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Typical interior of old pub-restaurant, semi-rural example near Reigate in the east of the county (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: XtrememachineukThe Channel Tunnel is a 31 mile long rail tunnel beneath the English Channel connecting England to France.More about the Channel Tunnel...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Oxford skyline from the University Church of St Mary the Virgin (from Portal:Oxfordshire/Selected pictures)
One of the several golf courses in Woking's borough in the mid/north-west of the county (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Donnington Castle in Berkshire (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
Remains of the undercroft of the lay brothers' refectory at Waverley Abbey, near Farnham, main town of the Borough of Waverley (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Oliver DixonThe Pilgrims' Way is the route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent.More about the Pilgrims' Way...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Painshill Park in Cobham has follies on natural, but landscaped slopes by part of the Mole disguised as ornamental lakes and the Great Cedar thought to be the largest Cedar of Lebanon in Europe. In the mid-north of the county. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
McLaren Technology Centre, Woking (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: O1iveBrockhill Country Park is dominated by a large grassy valley, bisected by the Brockhill Stream as it makes its way to the Royal Military Canal at Hythe.More about Brockhill Country Park...
(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: C HoyleBrockhill Country Park is dominated by a large grassy valley, bisected by the Brockhill Stream as it makes its way to the Royal Military Canal at Hythe.More about Brockhill Country Park...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Michael WilmoreThe Kent & East Sussex Railway was opened by Colonel H.F. Stephens, the railway engineer, in 1900. At its fullest extent, it ran nearly 22 miles[35km] from Robertsbridge on the Tonbridge to Hastings main line to Headcorn on the main line between Tonbridge and Ashford, Kent.More about the Kent & East Sussex Railway...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Guildford Cathedral (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Michael Wilmore
View of Steam Train on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.More about the Kent & East Sussex Railway...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park in the north-west of the county (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Paddy BriggsSt Lawrence Ground is the home of Kent County Cricket Club and is notable as a first-class cricket ground that has a tree within the boundary.More about St Lawrence Ground...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, as viewed from the tower of the Church of St Mary the Virgin. (from Portal:Oxfordshire/Selected pictures)
Lawns at RHS Garden, Wisley, north-east of Guildford (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Cupcakekid
View of the Long Man of Wilmington in the South DownsMore about The Long Man of Wilmington...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Tony HobbsScotney Castle is a country house with gardens in the valley of the River Bewl in Kent, England.More about Scotney Castle...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
River Lambourn flowing through Eastbury, Berkshire (from Portal:Berkshire/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Cas Liber. Leeds Castle dates back to 1119, though a manor house stood on the same site from the 9th century.More about Leeds Castle...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Mydogategodshat
View of Battle Abbey in Battle.More about Battle Abbey...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Adam MillerThe Swale refers to the strip of water separating North Kent from the Isle of Sheppey.More about The Swale...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit:Hassocks5489
Image of Preston Park in BrightonMore about Preston Park...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
The County Flag of West Sussex, as avaliable from West Sussex County Council (from Portal:West Sussex)
The lower end of the Staines-upon-Thames reach of the Thames, showing typical trees of the next reach and Penton Hook Island, a small nature reserve. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: James ArmitageHever Castle, in Kent, England (in the village of Hever), was the seat of the Boleyn family, later bestowed to Anne of Cleves following her divorce from King Henry VIII of England.More about Hever...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: PireotisRochester is a large town in Kent, England, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London.More about Rochester...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: StephenDawsonThe Channel Tunnel terminal at Cheriton near Folkestone in Kent, from the Pilgrims' Way on the escarpment on the southern edge of Cheriton Hill, part of the North Downs.More about the Channel Tunnel...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Sdwelch1031Rochester is a large town in Kent, England, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London. Construction of Rochester Cathedral, shown, began in about 1080.More about Rochester...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Hans MusilCanterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site.More about Canterbury Cathedral...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Georgian hotel/restaurant typical of many larger Surrey villages and its oldest towns. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Michael RoweCanterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.More about Canterbury...
(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Dave Bushell.A Eurostar on High Speed 1 going through the Medway TownsMore about Eurostar...(from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Sandpiper
View of Fairlight Glen, part of Hastings Country Park.More about Fairlight Glen...(from Portal:East Sussex/Selected pictures)
- Credit: Lancevortex (from Portal:Kent/Selected pictures)
Walton Bridge built in the 2010s is a landmark of the northerly Spelthorne and Elmbridge boroughs (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
A 1959 view of South Street in Dorking, Surrey. (from Portal:Surrey/Selected pictures)
Selected biography
Deborah Patricia Watling (2 January 1948 – 21 July 2017) was an English actress who portrayed the role of Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series Doctor Who from 1967 to 1968. Beginning her career as a child actress, making her debut as a regular in The Invisible Man (1958-1959), Watling is also well known for starring in the films Take Me High (1973) with Cliff Richard and That'll Be the Day (1973) with David Essex as well as playing Julie Robertson in The Newcomers (1969) and Norma Baker in Danger UXB (1979) on television. (Full article...)
On This Day in South East England
26 July:
1803: The Surrey Iron Railway opened. It was the world's first public railway.
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