East of England

The East of England covers low-lying fenland, coastal marshes and drained agricultural plains that slope to the North Sea. Large areas of the Fens are below sea level and are kept arable by a managed network of channels, sluices and pumping stations that feed into the Wash. Inland, the Norfolk Broads are a linked system of rivers and lakes created when medieval peat diggings flooded, now used for navigation and wildlife. Rivers such as the Cam and the Great Ouse thread through market towns and university cities within the region.

Economic and cultural life mixes farming, ports and high-tech industry. Felixstowe handles the region’s major container traffic, Stansted provides international flights, and Cambridge combines a centuries-old university with the "Silicon Fen" research and technology cluster. Newmarket remains a centre for thoroughbred training and racing. Smaller coastal towns, cathedral cities and market centres support local food production, boatbuilding, research and logistics across the region.