Royston

Cave dwellers once called this place home, leaving behind a network of mysterious tunnels carved directly into the chalk beneath the high street. Royston sits right on the ancient Icknield Way, that prehistoric trackway that's been guiding travellers for thousands of years. The town straddles the Hertfordshire-Cambridgeshire border with typical English disregard for county boundaries.

Those famous caves are the real draw here - artificial chambers cut into the soft chalk, possibly by medieval monks or Knights Templar. Nobody knows for certain. Above ground, the market square keeps things properly grounded with its weekly gatherings and Georgian buildings that have seen better days but still hold their own.

Just outside town, the countryside opens up into classic chalk downland. Rowley's Hill and Money Hill offer proper walks with views that stretch for miles on clear days. Shepreth Wildlife Park makes for a decent family day out, while RSPB Fowlmere draws serious birders to its wetland reserve. The old Fowlmere Airfield Museum tells wartime stories that feel surprisingly immediate.

Getting here's straightforward enough - the A10 runs right past, connecting you to Cambridge in about twenty minutes. London's an hour by train from Royston station. It's not the most thrilling base, but that's rather the point. The surrounding villages like Meldreth and Haslingfield have kept their character intact, complete with proper churches like Holy Trinity Parish Church Meldreth and St Andrew's.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks makes sense if you want to explore both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire without the Cambridge traffic. The chalk hills and ancient ways feel timeless here.