Northampton Tourist Information
& Travel Guide by Jamie Watters
Northampton
Featured Hotels
Northampton is a large market
town and the county town of Northamptonshire. It is in the East Midlands
region of England, situated 108 km north of London on the River Nene.
During the 11th century the
Normans built town walls and a large market grew under the stewardship
of the Norman Earl Senlis. Later Northampton grew rapidly at the time of
the Normans with the population reaching 1500 residents.
The town underwent rapid
growth when new houses were built in housing estates at the beginning of
the 20th century and by 1961 the population had increased to 100,000. Northampton
Development Corporation was set up to increase the size of the town, targeting
a population of 230,000 which was estimated to happen in 1981. But somehow
the actual growth was much slower than they had planned for perhaps because
of the emergence of its neighbor the new town of Milton Keynes.
Northampton is famous for
Rugby, Cricket and Football. The league football club Northampton Town,
also called as the Cobblers due to the town's long association with shoe
making. Northampton Town plays at their new stadium at Sixfields Stadium
on the edge of the town. This stadium has both an athletics track as well
as a football ground which are both adjacent to each other. Northampton
is today better known for its Rugby, Northampton's team is known as the
"Saints." Probably their greatest moment was when they won the Heineken
Cup in 2000 at Twickenham Stadium, beating their opponent Munster 9 - 8.
 One
of the main tourist attractions is "Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens" This
is a fine stately home that was built in 1702 with the "Arts and crafts
garden" which was added in 1930. The garden is known as the pattern for
Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Althorp pronounced as "All - Thorp" is the
country estate of the Spencer Family. Princess Diana grew up there and
her brother the Earl Spencer now lives their and manages the estate.
The house was made originally
of red brick and but later in the 18th century many modifications were
made when Henry Holland was paid a huge commission for the task. Kelmarsh
hall is an 18th century house which is built in a beautiful set of Romantic
gardens. It is wonderful place to be when the garden is open to the public.
Because of Kelmarsh's extensive parkland which is very attractive it is
used for attractive outdoor events and shows.
Northampton is located near
junctions 15, 15a, 16 of the M1 motorway. The 2 highways A45 and A43 go
through the towns. The A45 goes through East Birmingham bypassing Coventry
and Rugby. The A14 runs all the way to the port of Felixstowe.
In addition to great road
connections Northampton has direct rail connections to London (Euston)
and Birmingham. You can also get connecting trains to Liverpool, Manchester,
North Wales, Crewe, Glasgow and the Lake District all on the West Coast
Mainline.
I hope you enjoyed reading
this tourist information and travel guide to Northampton. Please look out
for the next instalment which will reveal some more interesting facts about
my city.
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