The term home counties describes a number of English counties close to London. There is no precise definition, but the counties bordering London are most likely to be described as members, namely: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey.
Other counties farther from London – Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex and West Sussex – are sometimes also regarded as home counties, due to their proximity to London and connection to its regional economy.
Surrey (/ˈsʌri/) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking.
The county has an area of 1,663 km (642 square miles) and had an estimated population of 1,248,649 in 2024. The north of the county, which includes the towns of Staines-upon-Thames and Epsom, is densely populated and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. A second conurbation along the western border of the county includes Camberley and Farnham and extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. Woking is located in the north-west, and Guildford in the centre-west. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are Horley in the south-east and Godalming in the south-west. For local government purposes Surrey is a non-metropolitan county with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but did not include what is now the borough of Spelthorne, which was part of Middlesex. It is one of the home counties.
Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west.
The county has an area of 3,544 square kilometres (1,368 sq mi) and had population of 1,931,684 in 2024. The north-west of Kent is densely populated, with Dartford and Gravesend belonging to the Greater London conurbation and Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester forming a second conurbation around the River Medway; the town of Maidstone is located to their south. The remainder of the county is more rural, and its principal settlements include the city of Canterbury in the north-east, the seaside resort of Margate on the north-east coast, and the ports of Dover and Folkestone on the east coast. For local government purposes Kent consists of a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and the unitary authority area of Medway. The county historically included south-east Greater London, and is one of the home counties.
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. It is part of the network of transport services managed by Transport for London.
The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway, opening on 10 January 1863 as the world's first underground passenger railway. Despite sulfurous fumes, the line was a success from its opening, carrying 9.5 million passengers in the first year of its existence. The Metropolitan is now part of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The first line to operate underground electric traction trains, the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line.
The Celtic currency of Britain were the various items and coins used as currency between approximately 200 BC and AD 60. The earliest currency consisted of various forms of iron bars. Coins were first imported in large numbers in around 150 BC and domestic minting began around 100BC. Coin production was largely ended by the Roman conquest of Britain, first by the Claudian invasion of AD 43 and later by the Defeat of Boudica in AD 60 or 61. Cast coins may have been produced for a few more years around Hengistbury Head. Exact dating of coins often changes in the light of new research.
Coin use is usually divided into a core area which covers the home counties as well as parts of Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. This was surrounded by a periphery of coin using groups some of which, the Corieltauvi, Durotriges, Dobunni and Iceni, appear to have minted their own coinage. The coins in the core area are generally attributed to the Atrebates and Cantii in the areas south of the Thames and the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni to the north.
Buckinghamshire (/ˈbʌkɪŋəmʃər, -ʃɪər/, abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes.
The county has an area of 1,874 km (724 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 884,656 in 2024. Besides Milton Keynes, which is in the north-east, the largest settlements are in the centre and south of the county and include Aylesbury, High Wycombe, and Chesham. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The county historically had slightly different borders, and included the towns of Slough and Eton. It is one of the home counties
The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between Aldgate in the City of London and Amersham and Chesham in Buckinghamshire, with branches to Watford in Hertfordshire and Uxbridge in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line is 41.4 miles (66.7 km) long and serves 34 stations. Between Aldgate and Finchley Road, the track lies mostly in shallow "cut and cover" tunnels, apart from short sections at Barbican and Farringdon stations. The rest of the line is above ground, with a loading gauge similar to those of main lines. Almost 94 million passenger journeys were made on the line in 2019.
This line is one of two Underground lines that cross the Greater London boundary and proceed outwards into the Home Counties, the other being the Central line. It is the only Underground line with an express service at peak times; the longer distance between stations means trains can achieve the system's highest speeds, up to 62 miles per hour (100 km/h), on some sections.
Rail service fares in Greater London and the surrounding area are calculated in accordance with the London fare zones system managed by Transport for London. Within London, all London Underground, National Rail, London Overground, Elizabeth Line and Docklands Light Railway stations are assigned to six fare zones. Fare zone 1 covers the central area and fare zones 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 form concentric rings around it. Some National Rail stations and almost all Transport for London served stations outside Greater London in the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey are either included in fare zones 4, 5 or 6 or in extended zones beyond these. Transport for London fare zones are also known simply as zones or travelcard zones, referring to their use in calculating prices for travelcards. London fare zones are also used for calculating the cost of single and return paper tickets on Transport for London services, National Rail single and return paper tickets within the London area, Oyster card and contactless pay-as-you-go fares and caps, and season tickets. Before Londonwide flat fares were introduced in 2004, fare zones were used on the London Buses network.
Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Television as a single entity (ITV London), but the two companies are still separately licensed. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of "ITV Broadcasting Limited". Carlton has been branded on air as "ITV1" since 28 October 2002 ("ITV" between 14 January 2013 and 14 November 2022). Carlton Television Ltd, the original holder of the licence (renamed Carlton Broadcasting Limited on 1 February 1997), has since been dissolved. Carlton UK Television Limited however is now known as ITV Consumer Limited and legally operates ITV plc's websites. As Carlton's name has no relation to its region, its on-screen identity has been completely removed (along with those of HTV, LWT and GMTV). Other regions have kept their original company name as a region name and in their local news name.