Hertfordshire is bordered by Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north and Buckinghamshire to the west.

The population of the county in 1801 was 97,577; it was 1,078,400 by 2008.

At the time, the county was mostly owned by the gentry, who found it convenient for trips into London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of its fertile, abundant fields, Kent has been called "The Garden of England".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1,150 square mile county was home to 1.7 million people in 2008, but only 307,624 in 1801 (still 3 times more than Hertfordshire in the same period).

 

 

 

 

 

Half the border of Kent is its coast; Sussex lies to the south, Surrey to the west, Greater London to the north-west and Essex to the north.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Located in the Midlands, Derbyshire includes much of the Peak District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

161,142 people lived in Derbyshire in 1801. In 2008 there were just over a million.

 

 

The region boasts many prehistoric sites as it has been inhabited since at least 12,000 BCE and was visited by human ancestors as early as the paleolithic era, around 200,000 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The geology of the region made mining an important local industry as early as the 16th century. Derbyshire boasts many spectacular views and has been a tourist attraction since the beginning of the 19th century.  The coming of the railways brought industrial development to the county.

 

 Cheapside is a street near St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, so named as it was once a market area; cheap was a market in medieval English.

As Cheapside was linked to trade, it was not looked upon as a desirable place to live by the gentry.  These days, it is extremely valuable real estate.

 Westerham is a town in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, southeast of London.

The name means simply "town in the west", as ham is Old English for village.

  Gracechurch Street is located near Cheapside in the City of London.

 

 

 

 

The Lake District, in the northwest of England, is famous for its many lakes and mountains.

By the end of the 18th century it was already becoming a tourist attraction, partly because of its breathtaking views and partly because wars in the rest of Europe reduced the possibility and attraction of travelling to the continent.

With tourism increasing, many books were published on the region; for example, William Wordsworth wrote the first edition of A Complete Guide to the Lakes (1810), comprising detailed directions with Wordsworth's description of the scenery and three letters on the geology of the Lake District by the Rev. Professor Sedgwick.

Located on the Kent coast, Ramsgate has one of the biggest harbours in that part of England. 

 

In Austen's time, Bromley was part of Kent and on a coaching route into London. It became a part of Greater London in 1965. Lady Catherine assumes that the carriage will change horses here.

 

 Brighton is a town on the coast of East Sussex, in South East England. In the early 19th century, the Prince Regent commissioned the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Many militia camps were held there as the Prince Regent reviewed them himself. By the end of the 18th century, it had become a fashionable sea resort.

  Matlock is a town in Derbyshire, in the Peak District.

 

 

 Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire. It is one of the places on Lizzy's route with her uncle and aunt, and may have been Austen's inspiration for Pemberley.

 

 

Bleinheim Palace in Oxfordshire was built for John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, in 1705-1724. It was the birthplace of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

 

  Warwick is an old medieval walled city in Warwickshire, though only the two gates that were once part of the wall still stand. It is home to the impressive Warwick Castle.

  Bakewell is a small market village in Derbyshire, close to Chatsworth House.

 Gretna Green is a small Scottish village just across the border from England.

As the laws regarding marriage differed in England and Scotland, underaged English couples who wished to marry without their parents' consent would traditionally elope to Gretna Green. Scottish law also permitted weddings to be conducted by almost anybody, so long as there were two witnesses. Consequently, many weddings were performed at the old blacksmith's.

Epsom is a town in northeast Surrey, just southwest of London.

 Barnet is now a part of North London. Colonel Forster looks here as Mr Wickham and Lydia might have stopped in Barnet if they were on their way to Scotland. It is also en route to Longbourn.

 Hatfield is a town in Hertfordshire, on the way from London to Longbourn.

Eastbourne, written as East Bourne in Austen's time, is located in East Sussex.

 Newcastle upon Tyne is a big city in the North East of England, in Tyne and Wear.

  Scarborough is a town on the coast of North Yorkshire.

 

 Bath is a city in Somerset, founded by the Romans on the site of the only natural hot springs in Britain. It became a fashionable spa resort in Austen's time, where society would gather to drink the horrible-tasting mineral water, which was credited with restorative properties.

Austen lived unhappily in Bath from 1800 to 1806. Part of her novel Persuasion is set in the city.

Persuasion on Book Drum