The administrative centre of the Huntingdonshire District, the town of Huntingdon has long been a place of importance and was, in the days before local government boundary changes, the county town' of Huntingdonshire.  The town which is situated on the north bank of the Great Ouse, is on both the A14 and main rail routes between London and Edinburgh and nowhere is this strategic position now more evident than at the railway station.  Here, one can stand in the shadow of the concrete viaduct that carries the A14 and the A1-M1 link road clear of the town centre and over the railway along which high-speed electric trains travel at over 100 miles an hour.  The station itself is well served and acts as an outer 'commuter' station for many who work in London.  A footpath across the meadows leads to the bus station which is the centre for routes to all parts of the District.

Both Romans and Saxons had settlements here and even though attacked several times by river-bound Danes, the place prospered to the extent of having both market and mint in the 10th Century.  In Norman times it became a major town with no less than sixteen churches, three hospitals and a priory, the first in Britain of the Augustinian Canons.  The Black Death, however, saw the end of the town's early fortunes, the priory was closed and trade dwindled.  During the Civil War it was the headquarters successively to both Cromwell and Charles I but prosperity did not really return until the 18th Century when improved roads saw Huntingdon gain importance as a stage-coach centre.

In more recent times the town has grown considerably as a place of residence and as a place from which to tour a delightful stretch of country.  The population is over 18,000 and extensive housing estates, offices, shops, industrial and commercial areas have been developed in recent years.  Free from the burden of through traffic, the town centre has gained a new dignity and the older shopping thoroughfares merge into paved precincts one of which, flanked by a large and well-designed supermarket, leads directly to the bus station.  Modern schools have been built and other amenities include the Huntingdonshire Regional College, Youth Centre, the Commemoration Hall, the Recreation Centre and the Riverside Park.  An area of peaceful tranquility amongst the bustle of the busy town can be found in the town park with its colourful flower beds, interesting maze and bandstand, where local organisations stage music and drama events in the Summer.

One of the more recent contributions to the town is Pathfinder House, the offices of the Huntingdonshire District Council, located in St. Mary's Street.  Nearby is Castle Hill House, a brick built residence of 1786 which was the wartime HQ of the RAF's Pathfinder Force - hence the name given to the council offices.  Opened on 21st April 1977 by Air Vice-Marshall Bennett who had commanded the force during the war.

Although modern in its outlook and in many of its buildings, Huntingdon does retain old features reminiscent of its long history.  Both of its two churches (the only survivors of the original 16!) are of architectural interest and All Saints' in the town centre has a remarkably fine chancel roof and a beautiful stained-glass window showing the Te Deum.

There are quite a number of elegant 18th Century houses in the town including Ferrar House, Cowper House, being the home of the poet William Cowper, Montagu House and Whitwell House.  Also in the town is Cromwell House built in the 19th Century on the site of the house in which that famous man was born.  He attended the town's Grammar school and what survives of this building is now the Cromwell Museum with many contemporary portraits, documents and Cromwell relics. 

Of importance on the west side of the town and visible through the trees to passing rail passengers is Hinchingbrooke House, a splendid Tudor mansion built around the walls of a 13th Century nunnery which later also belonged to the Cromwell family.  Alterations were made in the 17th and 19th centuries but much early work remains.  The building is now used as the 6th Form Centre of one of the town's comprehensive schools but is open to the public with the extensive grounds, on certain advertised occasions.

Quite a number of Huntingdon's former coaching inns survive and provide the modern town with a leavening of traditional 'background' character.  The most notable is The George which keeps two sides of its 17th Century Courtyard as well as its open gallery - and this fine gallery together with the rooms opening from it were spared the fire that did much damage to the rest of the building in 1865.  One of these rooms is said to have been used by Dick Turpin when he 'worked' the Great North Road.  The Inn itself despite its 19th Century frontage, was certainly in business during the reign of Henry VIII.  The medieval courtyard with its gallery and open staircase is used annually for staging Shakespeare's plays and, although it is not known if it was originally used for that purpose, since 1959 it has been used by local amateur actors.  The ideal setting of the open courtyard, itself one of the finest inn yards surviving in England, draws good-sized audiences to the plays.

Oliver Cromwell made his Civil War head quarters at another inn, The Falcon, and this still survives.  The beautiful 18th Century wrought-iron sign of another inn The Fox, is now found in London's Victoria and Albert Museum.  Close to the bridge over the Great Ouse (one of the finest medieval bridges still left in England) is the Old Bridge Hotel, a beautiful creeper-clad building of the Georgian period with panelled rooms, riverside gardens and moorings for boats.