milton-keynes Postcodes

Of all the 'home counties' Buckinghamshire, the heartland of high house prices and good schools, is surely the most beautiful. With the Chilterns, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at its heart and the River Thames running through it, this is a county that has helped to define England for centuries.

A landscape of endless contrasting vistas from bustling market towns to tiny unspoiled villages, from country walks to river walks and also of incredible museums and ancient sites, Buckinghamshire surely has it all.

Of all the hundreds of museums and stately homes, the most famous is surely Bletchley Park, the historic site of British code-breaking activities during the Second World War, home of the famous Enigma machine and the birthplace of the computer. In addition Bletchley Park is also home to one of the largest collections of Churchill artefacts and memorabilia in the world.

Other historic places worth visiting include High Wycombe with its Museum at Castle Hill and its glorious heritage as a furniture making town, Marlow with its famous suspension bridge (built in 1831) and Georgian buildings (and also home to the poet Shelley and his wife Mary, creator of Frankenstein) and Amersham old town with its rows and rows of period cottages, period houses and assorted half-timbered buildings.

Also worth checking out are Amersham's weekly outdoor markets which have been running for hundreds of years.

For a more scenic look at Buckinghamshire head for the hills - the Chiltern Hills - and experience Buckinghamshire's own gorgeous Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Or why not spend a day strolling along the Thames as it flows through the county? Lastly, try the rolling fields of Aylesbury Vale, whether by bike or on foot, a delightful way to experience one of England's true home-counties.