DISCOVER

Greensand Country covers 40 miles of scenic landscape, which is defined by the Greensand Ridge and reaches three neighbouring counties: from Cambridgeshire in the East, across Bedfordshire and to Buckinghamshire in the West. The area’s unique landscape and geology results in a place of rich natural and cultural heritage.

It’s no accident that Greensand Country is distinct from its surrounding areas. The acidic soil found here, resulting from the special geology of the Greensand Ridge, meant that the area was less well suited to agriculture and was instead used for the siting of monasteries. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, the land was given to major landowners who established their own stately homes and gardens, deer parks and estate villages. Towards the middle of the 19th Century the railways, brought by the Industrial Revolution, transformed local towns and created new industries such as quarrying, brick making, cultivation and milling.

It is this mixture of historic parkland, estate villages and former industry – together with the patchwork of habitats along the Greensand Ridge itself – which combine to give Greensand Country the unique ‘sense of place’ that is cherished by residents and visitors today.