Southern England, The South and The South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with an distinct identity from that of the rest of England. The special cultural, political and economic characteristics of "the South" are, however, not universally agreed upon, nor are its geographical limits and stereotypes of the South mask the cultural, physical and historical differences within this region. For government purposes Southern England is divided in South West England, South East England, Greater London, and the East of England.
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The term "southern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England, leading to confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas.
As in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or their city. Thus, residents of Essex would be unlikely to feel much affinity with those from across in Oxfordshire. Similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of the south-west and those of the south-east.
The South is characterised by being generally flat except for a notable hill range known as the Chiltern Hills. "Southern England" by Peter Friend in the Collins New Naturalists series provides a comprehensive resource: http://www.newnaturalists.com
The sport of rugby experienced a schism in 1895 with many teams based in Yorkshire and surrounding areas breaking from the Rugby Football Union and forming their own League. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of professional payments, and "broken time" or injury payments. Until recent times, there has been a perception that 'league' was the code of rugby played in the north, whilst 'union' was the code played in the south.
In most definitions Southern England includes all the counties on/near the English Channel. In terms of the current ceremonial counties:
Several of these counties are, however, commonly reckoned as part of the West Country, which in some usages may be treated as mutually exclusive with Southern England.
The exact northern extent likewise varies. In the west it can include Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire, though these are sometimes considered part of the Midlands. The counties between the Midlands and London (Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire) may sometimes be considered part of Southern England, as may Essex and the counties of East Anglia (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk).
On a maximal definition, the northern boundary thus approximately corresponds to an imaginary line drawn from the Severn Estuary to the Wash (or, expressed in terms of towns, from Gloucester to King's Lynn).
The South-East of England [1] is one of the most-visited regions of England and the United Kingdom, being situated around the English capital city of London and located closest to the Continent. Together with London, the South-East represents the main economic powerhouse of the country and is one of the most densely-populated of the English regions. The region holds much of interest to the traveller, from varied landscapes to historical towns and cities.
The South England region consists of the following counties (from top left):
| Oxfordshire | |
| Buckinghamshire | |
| Berkshire | |
| Hampshire | |
| Surrey | |
| West Sussex | |
| East Sussex | |
| Kent | |
| Isle of Wight |
South-East England has a number of major towns and cities of interest to the traveller, the following are nine of particular interest:
Note that although geographically within this region, London is actually a region in its own right.
The South of England is well serviced by air by virtue of sharing London's international and domestic airports and also Southampton International Airport
The Eurostar [3] runs
from mainland Europe to Folkestone, Ashford
and St. Pancras Station in London.
Serices to and from the rest of the UK are good; with trains from
the North through Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire and
from the West (and Wales) to Berkshire and the South Coast.
London is never too far way
The South's major passenger ports are Dover (Boulogne and Calais), Portsmouth (Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre, St. Malo and Santander), Southampton (services to the Isle of Wight) and Newhaven (Dieppe).
There are taxi firms everywhere (many are by booking only - find the phone number of the local company and phone ahead).
Every town has a bus service, although these are - confusingly - privatised and you will need to make sure you contact the right company for information. This does mean that when you get away from the bigger towns bus services very often tend to be limited or non existent.
The South-East has a very dense and usually easy-to-navigate road network. The M2, M3, M4, M20 and M23 motorways all connect the region radiating around London via the M25 peripheral road. Be aware that the M25 is nearly always busy, and there is congestion, sometimes severe, during the rush hours virtually every day.
As well as the M25, the M20 (the main motorway link between Dover and London) is occasionally clogged up by lorries, often due to French ferry workers going on strike. (Operation Stack is the name to listen out for on the radio if travelling). Other motorways that can get very congested at rush-hour include the M3 (connecting Southampton to London) and the M27 around Southampton and connecting the city with Portsmouth.
England has one of the highest densities of railway lines per square mile in the world, so rail travel is a very viable option...but much of it dates back to the early 20th century and as such there are frequent train delays and cancellations due to engineering works. These costs are passed on to the customer - be prepared for the most expensive tickets in Europe (per mile/km).
Be aware that the train lines in the South and South East are some of the busiest and most overcrowded in Britain, especially during the week day rush hours (7:00 to 9:00 and then 16:30 to 18:30).
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