Linton, Cambridgeshire

For other uses, see Linton (disambiguation).

Signpost in Linton showing the clapper stile

Linton
Linton Free Church
Linton  Linton shown within Cambridgeshire
Population	4,412 (2001)
OS grid reference	TL560469
District	South Cambridgeshire
Shire county	Cambridgeshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CAMBRIDGE
Postcode district	CB21 (was CB1, postcode changed Sept 06)
Dialling code	01223
Police	Cambridgeshire
Fire	Cambridgeshire
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Cambridgeshire South East
List of places: UK • England • Cambridgeshire

Linton is a village in rural Cambridgeshire, England, on the border with Essex. It has been expanded much since the 1960s and is now one of many dormitory villages around Cambridge. The railway station was on the Stour Valley Railway between Cambridge and Colchester, now closed. The Rivey Hill overlooks the village, with its famous water tower. The River Granta runs through the village.

There are three schools in Linton, each one covering a different age group. At the Bartlow end of the village is Linton Junior School (teaching children aged from 7 to 11). Linton Infants School is in the middle of the village, for children aged 4 to 7, while Linton Village College is alongside the main Haverhill-to-Cambridge road and teaches children aged 11 to 16, including those from several surrounding villages.

Linton Zoo is on the southern edge of the village, whilst Chilford Hall and its vineyards are to the north side, beyond Linton's best-known feature, Rivey Tower.

Many businesses are based in Linton, with several around the trading estate at The Grip and along the High Street.

Spread evenly along the High Street are the three public houses. The Crown has an attached restaurant. The Dog and Duck focusses on fresh Italian-influenced food and is styled internally on a contemporary European bistro theme. Near the fire station is the Waggon and Horses, which has been resurrected by a new landlord. Although it has been closed for several years, The Bell probably remains Linton's most famous pub.

A recent local tradition is the Wacky Races. This popular event occurs on the second Bank Holiday Weekend in May, and involves participants dressed in comedy costumes, racing down the High Street, stopping in all the pubs for a pint, and then racing through the fields next to the village and back down the High Street, again drinking in the pubs.

The village has a vibrant community with active clubs and societies for all walks of life and age groups. It remains a highly desirable semi rural location and a very popular residential location.

Popular culture

Linton has become famous through fictional character Alan Partridge, who once justified his extended stay at the Linton Travel Tavern by claiming that Linton is equidistant between London and Norwich. Indeed, Linton is near the halfway point of the London-to-Norwich A11 trunk road, although some four miles from the actual road, which suggests that the travel tavern was not in Linton itself, but nearby on the A11. Even in this location, the travel tavern is probably farther than Partridge would have wanted from the M11 motorway, to which he once walked to purchase several bottles of windscreen-washer fluid from a petrol station.

The location used for the BBC television series is the Hilton Hotel, on the A41 near Bushey.

See also

• Linton railway station, a disused station that once served the village
• List of places in Cambridgeshire

External links

• Linton.info - local information, including the monthly Linton News newspaper
• 2001 Census
• Linton Zoo
• St. Mary's Church
• Chilford Hall Vineyard