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St Ives

This is an ancient town on the banks of the Great Ouse that once held a huge annual fair. The first fair charter was granted in 1100, and celebrations were held throughout the town in 2010. The town's motto is 'sudore non sopore', meaning 'by work, not sleep' - a pun on Slepe, the town's original name. Its present name remembers St Ivo, said to be a Persian bishop who came here in the Dark Ages to spread a little light.

In the Middle Ages, kings bought cloth for their households at the village's great wool fairs and markets, and a market is still held here every Monday. The Bank Holiday Monday markets are particularly lively affairs, and the Michaelmas fair fills the town centre for three days.

Seagoing barges once navigated up to the famous six-arched bridge that was built in the 15th century and has a most unusual two-storey chapel in its middle. Oliver Cromwell lived in St Ives in the 1630s; Frederick Pomeroy's statue of him on Market Hill, with its splendid hat, is one of the village's most familiar landmarks. It was made in bronze with a Portland stone base, and was erected in 1901. It was originally designed for Huntingdon, but they wouldn't accept it! The Victoria Memorial marked the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, but it wasn't put up until 1902. The inscription on the side says that it was unveiled on June 26th, the day of Edward VII's coronation - but it wasn't. The coronation was postponed because the king was ill, and the Memorial was unveiled a few days later, but no one got round to changing the inscription.

The beautiful parish church in its churchyard beside the river is well worth a visit. The quayside provides a tranquil mooring for holidaymakers and there are wonderful walks by the riverside.

Clive Sinclair developed his tiny TVs and pocket calculators in the town; another famous son of St Ives was the great Victorian rower John Goldie, whose name is remembered each year by the second Cambridge boat in the Boat Race.

The Norris Museum, in a delightful setting by the river, tells the story of Huntingdonshire for the past 175 million years or so, with everything from fossils, mammoth tusks and models of the great historic reptiles, through to flint tools, Roman artefacts and Civil War armour as well as lace-making and ice-skating displays, and contemporary works of art. A truly fascinating place that is open throughout the year, admission is free. Exhibitions include a life-size replica of a 160-million-year-old ichthyosaur. There are remains of woolly mammoths from the Ice Age, tools and pottery from the Stone Age to Roman times, and relics from the medieval castles and abbeys. Also on show are toys and models made by prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars.

Just outside St Ives are Wilthorn Meadow, a Site of Natural History Interest where Canada geese are often to be seen, and Holt Island Nature Reserve, where high-quality willow is being grown to reintroduce the traditional craft of basket-making. Allow some time for spotting the butterflies, dragonflies and kingfishers. These seven acres of peace and tranquillity are open for visits most weekends from April to September.