instance_of m31 motorway
Surrey is a ___MASK8___ in the south east of ___MASK81___ and also one of the home counties bordering Greater London . Surrey shares borders with Kent to the east , East Sussex to the south - east , West Sussex to the south , Hampshire to the west and south - west and Berkshire to the north - west . The ___MASK43___ is Guildford . Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames , administered as part of Greater London since 1965 . With a resident population of 1 . 1 million , Surrey is the most densely populated and third most populated ___MASK8___ in the South East region , after Kent and Hampshire . The Greater London ___MASK29___ ( GLC ) was the top - tier local ___MASK44___ administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986 . It replaced the earlier London County ___MASK29___ ( LCC ) which had covered a much smaller area . The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local ___MASK44___ Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities . A new legislative body , known as the Greater London Authority ( GLA ), was established in the year 2000 . Kent is a ___MASK8___ in South East ___MASK81___ and one of the home counties . It borders Greater London to the north west , Surrey to the west , East Sussex to the south west , and Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north . The ___MASK43___ is Maidstone . The Thames ___MASK92___ is the ___MASK92___ in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North ___MASK26___ , in the south - east of Great Britain . Kingston upon Thames , also known as Kingston , is the ___MASK100___ settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London . It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned . Kingston is situated southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan . Kingston lies approximately 33 feet ( 10 metres ) above sea level . Kingston was part of a large ancient parish in the county of Surrey and the town was an ancient borough , reformed in 1835 . It has been the location of Surrey County ___MASK95___ from 1893 , extraterritorially in terms of local government administration since Kingston became part of Greater London in 1965 . Most of the town centre is part of the KT1 postcode area , but some areas north of Kingston railway ___MASK1___ have the postcode KT2 instead . The population of the town itself , comprising the four wards of Canbury , Grove , Norbiton and Tudor , was 43 , 013 in the 2011 census . The ___MASK10___ counties are the counties of ___MASK81___ that surround London ( although several of them do not border it ). The counties generally included in the list are Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , Essex , Hertfordshire , Kent , Surrey , and Sussex . Other counties more distant from London  such as Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire , Hampshire and Oxfordshire  are also sometimes regarded as ___MASK10___ counties due to their proximity to London and their connection to the London regional ___MASK97___ . The London Ringways were a ___MASK66___ of four ___MASK91___ roads planned in the 1960s to ___MASK47___ London at various distances from the city centre . They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city ' s ___MASK16___ system by providing high speed motorway - standard roads within the capital linking a ___MASK66___ of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city . Following the campaign by Homes before Roads , the scheme was cancelled in 1973 at which point only three sections had been constructed . A ___MASK43___ is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within the county , or it has been established over time as the " de facto " main town of a county . The concept of a ___MASK43___ eventually became detached from its original meaning of where the county administration or county hall is based . In fact , many county towns are no longer part of the administrative county . For example , Nottingham is administered by a unitary authority entirely separate from the rest of Nottinghamshire . Many county towns are classified as cities , but all are referred to as county towns regardless of whether city status is held or not . A shire is a traditional ___MASK63___ for a division of land , found in the United Kingdom and Australia . It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo - Saxon ___MASK64___ , and spread to most of the rest of England in the tenth century . Ringway 4 was the outermost of the ___MASK66___ of four London Ringways , ___MASK91___ roads planned in the 1960s to ___MASK47___ London at various distances from the city centre . They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council ( GLC ) to alleviate traffic congestion on the city ' s ___MASK16___ system by providing high speed motorway - standard roads within the capital linking a ___MASK66___ of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city . Most of the scheme was cancelled in 1973 . Sussex ( abbreviated Sx ), from the Old English " Sþsaxe " ( South Saxons ), is a historic ___MASK8___ in South East ___MASK81___ corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex . It is bounded to the west by Hampshire , north by Surrey , north - east by Kent , south by the English Channel , and divided for local ___MASK44___ into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove . Brighton and Hove was created as a unitary authority in 1997 , and granted City status in 2000 . Until then , Chichester was Sussex ' s only city . The M31 was planned as a Reading to M3 motorway which was dubbed the ' M3 -- M4 link motorway ' . It would have provided a direct high - speed ___MASK70___ between the ___MASK74___ motorways . The motorway was planned at the same ___MASK18___ as the largely unrealised London Ringways scheme and an additional section was planned that would have taken the M31 south and east from the M3 to connect to the scheme ' s Ringway 4 ( now the M25 ) providing a shorter ___MASK70___ for traffic travelling between the west and Surrey and Kent . Only part of the planned ___MASK70___ was built ; it bears the designations A329 ( M ) and A3290 . Had the motorway been constructed it would have provided an alternative to the south - west section of the M25 , reducing the motorway journey between Reading and Byfleet by approximately 10 miles ( 16 km ) and alleviating traffic on what is the M25 ' s busiest section . East Sussex is a ___MASK8___ in South East ___MASK81___ . It is bordered by the counties of Kent to the north and east , Surrey to the north west and West Sussex to the west , and to the south by the English Channel . Berkshire ( or , abbreviated Berks ) is a ___MASK8___ in south east ___MASK81___ , west of London . It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957 and letters patent issued in 1974 . Berkshire is a ___MASK8___ of historic origin and is a home ___MASK8___ , a ceremonial ___MASK8___ and a non - ___MASK35___ without a ___MASK8___ council . Berkshire County Council was the main ___MASK8___ governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading . Surrey ___MASK59___ is the ___MASK59___ administering major local services in the non - ___MASK35___ of Surrey in England . The council is composed of 81 elected Councillors , the majority of whom are members of the Conservative party . The leader of the council is David Hodge . West Sussex is a ___MASK8___ in the south of ___MASK81___ , bordering East Sussex ( with Brighton and Hove ) to the east , Hampshire to the west and Surrey to the north , and to the south the English Channel . Chichester in the southwest is the ___MASK43___ and only city in West Sussex , with the largest towns being Crawley , Worthing and Horsham . West Sussex has a range of scenery , including wealden , downland and coastal . The highest point of the ___MASK8___ is Blackdown , at 280 metres ( 919 ft ). It has a number of stately homes including Goodwood , Petworth House and Uppark and also castles such as Arundel Castle and Bramber Castle . Over half the ___MASK8___ is protected countryside , offering walking , cycling and other recreational opportunities . Maidstone is the ___MASK43___ of Kent , England , south - east of London . The River Medway runs through the centre of the town , linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary . Historically , the river was a source and route for much of the town ' s trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent , known as the Garden of England . There is evidence of a settlement in the area dating back to before the Stone ___MASK49___ . ___MASK81___ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish ___MASK26___ lies northwest of ___MASK81___ and the Celtic ___MASK26___ lies to the southwest . ___MASK81___ is separated from continental Europe by the North ___MASK26___ to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . Guildford is a large ___MASK52___ in Surrey , ___MASK81___ , located southwest of central London on the A3 trunk ___MASK16___ midway between the capital and Portsmouth . It is the seat of the borough of Guildford . Hampshire (; abbreviated Hants , archaically known as the ___MASK8___ of Southampton ) is a ___MASK8___ on the southern coast of ___MASK81___ in the United Kingdom . The ___MASK43___ of Hampshire is Winchester , the former capital city of ___MASK81___ . Hampshire is the most populous ceremonial ___MASK8___ in the United Kingdom ( excluding the metropolitan counties ) with almost half of the ___MASK8___ ' s population living within the South Hampshire conurbation which includes the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth . The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1 , 547 , 000 . Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy , British Army , and Royal Air Force . It is bordered by Dorset to the west , Wiltshire to the north - west , Berkshire to the north , Surrey to the north - east , and West Sussex to the east . The southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent , facing the Isle of Wight . A ___MASK91___ ___MASK16___ ( also known as beltline , beltway , circumferential ( high ) way , loop or orbital ) is a ___MASK16___ or a series of connected roads encircling a town or city . London is the ___MASK69___ and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom , as well as the most populous city proper in the European Union . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , London has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". London ' s ancient core , the City of London , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " London " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater London , governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . South East ___MASK81___ is the most populous of the nine official regions of ___MASK81___ at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes . It consists of Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , East Sussex , Hampshire , the Isle of Wight , Kent , Oxfordshire , Surrey and West Sussex . As with the other regions of ___MASK81___ , apart from Greater London , the south east has no elected ___MASK44___ .