It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which goes back to the 19th
century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters patent issued confirming this in 1974. Berkshire has been the scene of many battles throughout history, during Alfred
the Great's campaign against the Danes, including the Battle of Englefield, the Battle of Ashdown and the Battle of Reading.
During the English civel war there were two battles in Newbury. During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, there was a second Battle at Reading, also known as the 'Battle of Broad Street'.
From a landscape perspective, Berkshire divides into two clearly distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of Reading.
The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the River Thames, with that river forming the northern boundary of the county. In two places Slough and Reading the county
now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the Loddon and Blackwater increase the amount of low lying land in the area.
Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with Surrey and Hampshire. Much
of this area is still well wooded, especially around Bracknell and Windsor Great Park. In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the current county
boundary, leaving the county behind at the Goring Gap.
This is a narrow part of the otherwise quite broad river valley where, at the end of the last Ice Age, the Thames forced its way between the
Chiltern Hills (to the north of the river in Oxfordshire and the Berkshire Downs. As a consequence, the western portion of the county is situated around the valley of the River Kennet, which joins the
Thames in Reading. Fairly steep slopes on each side delineate the river's flat floodplain.
To the south, the land rises steeply to the nearby county boundary with Hampshire, and the highest parts of
the county lie here. The highest of these is Walbury Hill at 297m (974ft), which is also the highest point in South East England. To the north of the Kennet, the land rises again to the Berkshire
Downs. This is a hilly area, with smaller and well-wooded valleys draining into the River Pang and its tributaries, and open upland areas famous for their involvement in horse racing and the
consequent ever-present training gallops.
