Located south of the
Thames, this inland county is sometimes called Royal Berkshire because
of its royalist history – indeed, half a dozen battles and
sieges occurred in Berkshire during the English Civil War, and prior
to this the county hosted the conflicts between the Danes and King
Alfred in the ninth century. The only battle now fought is the famous
horserace at Ascot. The land is still reasonably wooded, and a chalk
ridge runs through the county. The heavily haunted Windsor Castle
can be found in Berkshire, as well as Bisham Abbey and the legend
of Dame Hoby