Cheshire

Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west it is bordered by the Welsh counties of Flintshire and Wrexham, and has a short coastline on the Dee Estuary. The largest settlement is Warrington.

The county has an area of and had a population of in . The areas around the River Mersey in the north of the county are the most densely populated, with Warrington, Runcorn, Widnes, and Ellesmere Port located on the river. The city of Chester lies in the west of the county, Crewe in the south, and Macclesfield in the east. For local government purposes Cheshire comprises four unitary authority areas: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, and Warrington. Halton Borough Council is a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and the councils of the other three areas collaborate through the Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority. The county historically included all of the Wirral Peninsula and parts of southern Greater Manchester and northern Derbyshire, but excluded Widnes and Warrington.