The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included. Other counties more distant from London—such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire and Sussex —are not normally regarded as home counties, although on occasion may be thought of as such due to their proximity to London and their connection to the London regional economy.