Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Huntingdonshire Market Towns

I good a nice day recently around the former county of Huntingdonshire, which became part of Cambridgeshire in 1974.

Huntingdonshire District Council had arranged a day for Group Travel Organisers, in connection with their new publication “Huntingdonshire Market Towns”.

The council there are, quite rightly, keen on bringing visitors in. It was actually the second year running that I had been there on a council-run visit. They organised a splendid familiarisation day last Spring.

We had a talk, at a hotel in St. Ives, about the market towns around the former county – Huntingdon, Ramsey, St. Ives and St. Neots. Of these, Huntingdon, St. Ives and St. Neots all sit on the lovely (but not well enough known) River Great Ouse.

Other interesting towns on this river include Buckingham, Bedford, Ely and Kings Lynn.

After the talk, we were treated to a short Guided walk around St. Ives, and a visit to the rare mediaeval bridge chapel.

While in that part of the country, I had a look round the old county town, Huntingdon. This is where Oliver Cromwell was born, and where he and Samuel Pepys went to school.

In fact, the area is very much Cromwell Country. He also spent some time at St. Ives, and his house at the splendid little cathedral city of Ely is open to the public.

All in all, it was a good day, and Huntingdonshire District Council are to be congratulated for the proactive nature of their tourism promotion.