The Fens and East Anglia

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About The Fens and East Anglia

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East Anglia is a peninsula of eastern England. It was named after one of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, which was named after the homeland of the Angles, Angeln in northern Germany. The kingdom consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, names which possibly arose during or after the Danish settling ("North folk [people]" and "South folk [people]"); but the region's boundaries, however, are vague.

It includes the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, with part (or all of the pre-1974) Cambridgeshire. Some people include Essex—sometimes only the northern part—and a small part of southern Lincolnshire bordering The Wash. Some of the area is characterised by its flatness, consisting of fenland and reclaimed marshland, though much of Suffolk and parts of Norfolk are gently rolling hills. The perception of the area as flat is in Noel Coward's Private Lives "Very flat, Norfolk"

The principal East Anglian cities include Norwich (the nominal capital), Ipswich and Cambridge. Peterborough and Colchester are often classified as East Anglian cities though Colchester and Ipswich are technically towns.

East Anglia forms part of the East of England administrative region. In the European nomenclature of territorial units for statistics East Anglia is a region comprising Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Despite water playing a significant role in the Fen and Broads landscapes, some parts of the region are classified as semi-arid due to their exceptionally low rainfall. During the summer months, tinder-dry conditions are frequently experienced, resulting in many field and heath fires. Daily temperature maxima range from 5-10 degrees Celsius in the winter to 20-25 degrees Celsius in the summer, although temperatures have been known to reach 35 degrees Celsius in recent years. Sunshine totals tend to be higher towards the coastal areas.

Farming and horticulture have proven very successful in this fertile country. The landscape has been heavily influenced by Dutch technology, from the influx of clay pantiles to the draining of the fens. It has a wide range of small-scale holiday destinations ranging from traditional coastal resorts (Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft), through historic towns such as Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Ely and King's Lynn to the modern holiday villas of Center Parcs set in Thetford Forest. The Royal Air Force constructed many airfields during World War II and a few of these remain in use. One, near Norwich, has become Norwich International Airport, a civilian airfield to serve the city.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads form a network of waterways between Norwich and the coast and are popular for recreational boating. A recent bid to have them declared a National park failed, as it would have meant conservation becoming more important than navigation rights.

The University of East Anglia is located in Norwich. Norwich is the largest settlement in East Anglia. Ipswich is the largest town in East Anglia. The East of England regional assembly is based in Bury St. Edmunds.

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