Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England, 724 square miles (1,874 km2) running from the Thames at Marlow to the Great Ouse at Olney. About 843,500 people lived there at the 2021 census. Aylesbury is the county town and Milton Keynes is by far the largest settlement.
Two councils cover the county: Buckinghamshire Council, a unitary authority created in April 2020, and Milton Keynes City Council in the north-east.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | South East England |
| Area | 724 sq mi (1,874 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 843,473 |
| Density | 450 people per km2 |
| County town | Aylesbury |
| Largest settlement | Milton Keynes (288,312) |
| Councils | Buckinghamshire; Milton Keynes |
| Highest point | Haddington Hill, 267 m (876 ft) |
Towns and Villages in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire has roughly 490 named towns, villages, hamlets and Milton Keynes estates. The list below shows about 260 of them, grouped by council.
Buckinghamshire (182 of 345 shown)
- Addington
- Akeley
- Amersham
- Amersham on the Hill
- Ascott
- Ashendon
- Ashley Green
- Aston Abbotts
- Aston Clinton
- Aylesbury
- Ballinger Common
- Beacon’s Bottom
- Beaconsfield
- Berghers Hill
- Bierton
- Bledlow
- Bolter End
- Botolph Claydon
- Bourne End
- Bragenham
- Brill
- Bryant’s Bottom
- Buckingham
- Buffler’s Holt
- Burnham
- Butler’s Cross
- Chackmore
- Chalfont Saint Peter
- Chalfont St Giles
- Chartridge
- Chearsley
- Cheddington
- Chequers
- Chesham
- Chesham Bois
- Chilton
- Chivery
- Cholesbury
- Cliveden
- Cores End
- Cryers Hill
- Cublington
- Cuddington
- Denham
- Denham Green
- Dinton
- Dorney
- Dorney Reach
- Drayton Beauchamp
- Drayton Parslow
- East Claydon
- Edgcott
- Ellesborough
- Farnham Common
- Farnham Royal
- Fawley
- Fingest
- Flackwell Heath
- Forty Green
- Frieth
- Fulmer
- Gawcott
- George Green
- Gerrards Cross
- Great Brickhill
- Great Horwood
- Great Kimble
- Great Kingshill
- Great Missenden
- Green End
- Grendon Underwood
- Grove
- Haddenham
- Ham Green
- Hardwick
- Heath End
- Hedgerley
- Hedsor
- High Wycombe
- Hitchambury
- Holly Green
- Horn Hill
- Hughenden
- Hunters Yard
- Hyde Heath
- Ickford
- Ilmer
- Iver
- Iver Heath
- Ivinghoe
- Jordans
- Kingsash
- Lacey Green
- Latimer
- Lee
- Lenborough
- Ley Hill
- Little Brickhill
- Little Chalfont
- Little Hampden
- Little Marlow
- Little Missenden
- Long Crendon
- Longwick
- Loosley Row
- Loudwater
- Lower Hartwell
- Lower Winchendon
- Ludgershall
- Lye Green
- Marlow
- Marlow Common
- Marsh Gibbon
- Marsworth
- Mentmore
- Monks Risborough
- Mop End
- Mursley
- Nash
- Nash Lee
- New Denham
- Newton Longville
- North Marston
- Oakley
- Orchard Leigh
- Oving
- Owlswick
- Padbury
- Penn Street
- Piddington
- Pitstone
- Poundon
- Princes Risborough
- Quainton
- Radclive
- Rockwell End
- Rout’s Green
- Sands
- Seer Green
- Shabbington
- Shalstone
- Shipton Lee
- Skirmett
- Soulbury
- South Heath
- St Leonards
- Steeple Claydon
- Stewkley
- Stoke Hammond
- Stoke Poges
- Stokenchurch
- Stone
- Stowe
- Swanbourne
- Taplow
- Tatling End
- The City
- Thornborough
- Tingewick
- Turville
- Tylers Green
- Upper Winchendon
- Waddesdon
- Walter’s Ash
- Waterend
- Weedon
- Wendover
- West Wycombe
- Weston Turville
- Wexham Street
- Whaddon
- Wheeler End
- Whelpley Hill
- Whitchurch
- Winchmore Hill
- Wing
- Wingrave
- Winslow
- Wooburn
- Wooburn Green
- Woodrow
- Worminghall
Milton Keynes (78 of 149 shown)
- Abbey Hill
- Astwood
- Bancroft
- Blakelands
- Bletchley
- Blue Bridge
- Bow Brickhill
- Bradville
- Bradwell Abbey
- Brook End
- Browns Wood
- Caldecotte
- Campbell Park
- Chicheley
- Clifton Reynes
- Cold Brayfield
- Crownhill
- Downhead Park
- Eagle Farm South
- Eaton Leys
- Emberton
- Emerson Valley
- Fenny Stratford
- Fox Milne
- Furzton
- Giffard Park
- Grange Farm
- Great Linford
- Hanslope
- Hardmead
- Hazeley
- Hodge Lea
- Kiln Farm
- Kingston
- Lathbury
- Lavendon
- Linford Wood
- Little Linford
- Lower Weald
- Middle Weald
- Milton Keynes
- Monkston
- Moulsoe
- Netherfield
- New Bradwell
- Newport Pagnell
- Newton Leyes
- North Crawley
- Oakhill
- Old Wolverton
- Olney
- Oxley Park
- Pennyland
- Redhouse Park
- Rooksley
- Shenley Church End
- Shenley Wood
- Sherington
- Springfield
- Stantonbury
- Stoke Goldington
- Stony Stratford
- Tattenhoe
- Tickford End
- Tinkers Bridge
- Two Mile Ash
- Walnut Tree
- Walton Hall
- Water Eaton
- Wavendon
- Westcroft
- Whitehouse
- Willen Lake
- Winterhill
- Woburn Sands
- Wolverton Mill East
- Woodhill
- Woughton on the Green
Geography
Northamptonshire lies 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 Chiltern Hills cross the south of the county in a chalk ridge of beechwoods and dry valleys, taking in Marlow, High Wycombe, Amersham and Chesham. Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods reaches 267 metres, the highest point in the whole Chiltern range.
North of the escarpment the ground drops into the Vale of Aylesbury, flat clay farmland, and then into the Great Ouse basin around Buckingham, Newport Pagnell and Olney. The Thames marks the southern boundary at Marlow and Taplow.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 555,161 people in the Buckinghamshire Council area and 288,312 in Milton Keynes, 843,473 in total. Milton Keynes is one of the fastest-growing places in England, having grown from farmland and three villages since 1967.
The southern Chiltern towns, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Amersham and Chalfont St Peter, are among the most expensive commuter districts in the country. Aylesbury’s built-up area holds about 88,000 people and High Wycombe’s about 84,000, the two largest towns outside Milton Keynes.
Economy and Local Life
Milton Keynes dominates: retail, logistics along the M1, financial back offices and a growing technology sector, including trials of autonomous delivery robots on its redway paths.
Pinewood Studios at Iver Heath is one of the largest film studios in Europe and anchors a cluster of production businesses in the south of the county. High Wycombe built furniture for two centuries, most famously the Windsor chair, and the trade still leaves its mark in local firms and the Wycombe Museum collection.
The rest is farming and commuting, with Buckingham, Winslow, Princes Risborough and Olney serving as market towns. Silverstone circuit sits just over the Northamptonshire boundary, and much of the motorsport engineering it supports is based on the Buckinghamshire side.
History
The county is named for Buckingham, the fortified place of Bucca’s people, and appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 918. Buckingham was the county town until Aylesbury took the assizes in the sixteenth century.
Bletchley Park, now inside Milton Keynes, housed the Government Code and Cypher School from 1939 to 1945. Work there on the Enigma and Lorenz ciphers, and the Colossus machines built to attack them, is credited with shortening the Second World War.
Benjamin Disraeli lived at Hughenden Manor near High Wycombe. Chequers, the country residence of the Prime Minister, sits below Coombe Hill near Ellesborough and has been in government use since 1921. Milton Keynes was designated a new town in January 1967 and gained city status in 2022.
Getting There
The M1 runs up the eastern side through Milton Keynes, junctions 13 to 15. The M40 crosses the south-west through Beaconsfield and High Wycombe, junctions 2 to 6. The A5 follows Watling Street, the A41 links Aylesbury to Tring and the A413 runs from Amersham to Buckingham.
Milton Keynes Central, Wolverton and Bletchley are on the West Coast Main Line, roughly 35 minutes from London Euston. Chiltern Railways serves Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Aylesbury from Marylebone. London Underground’s Metropolitan line reaches Amersham and Chesham, the furthest stations from central London on the network. The nearest airports are Luton and Heathrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Buckinghamshire?
843,473 at the 2021 census: 555,161 in the Buckinghamshire Council area and 288,312 in Milton Keynes.
What is the largest town in Buckinghamshire?
Milton Keynes, with 288,312 people in the city council area. Aylesbury and High Wycombe are the largest of the older towns.
Which councils cover Buckinghamshire?
Buckinghamshire Council, a unitary authority formed in 2020 from the county council and four districts, and Milton Keynes City Council.
Where is the highest point in Buckinghamshire?
Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, at 267 metres (876 feet). It is also the highest point in the Chilterns.
What are the postcode areas for Buckinghamshire?
MK for Milton Keynes, Newport Pagnell and Buckingham; HP for Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Amersham and Chesham; SL for Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and Iver.