Gamlingay, United Kingdom

Gamlingay is 14 miles (22 km) west of the county town of Cambridge, five miles (9 km) south-east of St Neots and 45 miles (72 km) north of London. It is north of the small town of Potton and south-west of Waresley. The parish ranges from 39 metres (along the Millbridge Brook) to 73 metres (near Potton Wood) above sea level. The village is at around 50 metres. Most of the central parish is on the Lower Greensand; the soil in the eastern part of the parish is clay with gault subsoil. Two nature reserves, Gamlingay Wood and Gamlingay Cinques Common (registered Town and Village Green No. 39) can be found in the parish, the former and the latter being a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a County Wildlife Site respectively.

By the 12th century, heathland had developed on the Lower Greensand and the poor drainage of the soil there meant there were two quaking bogs, on Gamlingay Heath (drained in 1855) and Cinques Common. Treeplanting and pig rearing after inclosure in 1844 altered the landscape.

Woodbury used to be in the parish but was transferred to Bedfordshire in 1965 and a hamlet named Newton on the Heath had disappeared by 1279.

Gamlingay is now largely a commuter village: 44% of its employed residents work outside of Cambridgeshire, 30% more than 20 km away and 11% more than 40 km away.

Farming, mainly arable, was the primary employer in Gamlingay for many centuries. A third of the parish was cultivated in 1801, with wheat the main crop, then barley and peas. In 1937, there were 12 smallholders and 11 market gardeners. There was some gravel extraction south of the village in the late 19th century; in 1864 the village had three brickworks. In 1912, one occupied an area of 31 acres (12.5 hectares), with 12 kilns and a warehouse capable of holding 500,000 bricks. The closure of the brick and tile works probably caused the parish's population to fall in the aftermath of its sale in 1920.

Until 2017, Gamlingay children were educated under the neighbouring Bedfordshire three-tier system but the village aligned with the nationally recognised two-tier system from September 2017. Gamlingay children aged 4–11 years are now educated at Gamlingay Village Primary, part of the Cam Academy Trust. (As Gamlingay Village College it was previously a Middle school and admitted pupils aged from 9–13). Secondary education follows at Comberton Village College (also a Cam Academy Trust school), Ofsted rated Outstanding, with free school bus provided for 11 - 16 year olds. The nearest secondary schools are Sandy Secondary School and Stratton Upper School, Biggleswade.