Things you didn't know about Cheshire

Cheshire boasts the oldest racing venue in Britain

Chester racecourse held its first race in 1540 and is still going strong.

Cheshire has a bridge fit for a Queen

Princess Victoria, as she was at the time, was the first person to walk across the Grosvenor bridge in Chester, in 1819.

Britain's only working salt mine is in Cheshire

Winsford Salt Mine has been in operation since 1844.

The actor Daniel Craig is from Cheshire

Which resulted in Chester hosting its very own premiere of Casino Royale, Craig's first film as James Bond.

Cheshire cheese is the oldest named cheese in Britain

Cheshire cheese is so ancient that it's even mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Cheshire is the home of Bentley Motors

The luxury vehicles have been made in Crewe since 1946.

Lewis Carroll was born in Cheshire

Author Carroll raised Cheshire's profile when he created the endlessly smiling Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The Brave New World of Cheshire

Huxley, Cheshire, is the location of the ancient family seat of Aldous Huxley, who wrote his famously pessimistic novel of the future in 1932.

Lord Nelson's mistress was a Cheshire Lady

Lady Hamilton, Emma Lyon, was born in Neston, on the Wirral.

Mr Darcy lives in Cheshire

The Cheshire stately home of Lyme Park was used as the location for Darcy's country estate, Pemberley, in the popular 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Cheshire was home to the largest US Air Force base outside of America

Burtonwood RAF Base, near Warrington, was so significant during World War II that Humphrey Bogart and Bob Hope both played to the troops there.

Cheshire is the most green-fingered place in England

The county of Cheshire boasts more gardens and garden centres open to the public (per head) than anywhere else in the country.

There's an awful lot of water in Cheshire

There are more lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and canals in Cheshire than anywhere else in England.

Never mind Chelsea, what about the Cheshire set?

Cheshire has more millionaires than any other county outside of London. It must be all those footballers...