Linton, Cambridgeshire
| Linton | |
| Cambridgeshire | |
|---|---|
 Linton Free Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TL560469 |
| Location: | 52°5’57"N, -0°16’37"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,412 (2001) |
| Post town: | Cambridge |
| Postcode: | CB21 |
| Dialling code: | 01223 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Cambridgeshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South East Cambridgeshire |
Linton is a village in rural Cambridgeshire, in the very southeast of the county close to the border with Essex. The River Granta runs through the village.
The village has been expanded much since the 1960s and is now one of many commuter villages around Cambridge, with easy access to Cambridge and the major roads.
Linton once has a railway station on the Stour Valley Railway between Cambridge and Colchester, now closed.
About the village
Linton Zoo is on the southern edge of the village, whilst Chilford Hall and its vineyards are to the north side, beyond Linton's the Rivey Tower. The Rivey Tower, the most prominent feature on the landscape outside the village, is a water tower standing on Rivey Hill.
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.
There are four schools in Linton. Linton CofE Infant School is in the middle of the village, adjacent to St. Mary's church, teaching children aged 4 to 7. At the Bartlow end of the village is Linton Heights Junior School, for children aged from 7 to 11. Linton Village College is alongside the A1307, the main Haverhill-to-Cambridge road, and teaches children aged 11 to 16, including those from several surrounding villages. The Granta School is one of Cambridgeshire's six area special schools. This caters for pupils with special educational needs from the ages of 3 to 19, and is located next to Linton Village College.
Linton Recreation Ground, eight and a half acres off Meadow Lane, is a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
Big Society
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.
Linton Zoo
Linton Zoo is to the south of the village, on the Hadstock road, running up to the Essex border. It is a display of wild animals but also a wildlife breeding centre.
The zoo was created by the Simmons Family in 1972, when they moved to Cambridgeshire from Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire to expand their pet shop and zoo supplier's business into a breeding centre for wildlife. The first stock at the zoo was the family's own private collection of exotic species and unsold shop stock.
Popular culture
The zoo is the village's best known location.
The Chilford Hall Vineyard is just to the north, and welcomes visitors who may become purchasers.
In one series of Alan Partridge the character justified his extended stay at the Linton Travel Tavern by claiming that Linton is equidistant between London and Norwich (and the mid-point of the A11 between those two cities is indeed near here, although the village is 4 miles from the A11). In one episode Partridge walked to an M11 service station to buy windscreen-washer fluid, though the M11 would be quite a walk from here! (The series was actually filmed in the Hilton Hotel, on the A41 near Bushey, Hertfordshire.)
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Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Linton, Cambridgeshire) |
- Linton.info - local information, including the monthly Linton News newspaper
- Linton Zoo
- Linton Radio race Car club
- St. Mary's Church
- WindmillArt - Private art gallery and event space
- Chilford Hall Vineyard