The United Kingdom- basic facts, geography

Location:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is located to the north-west of Europe on the British Isles in the Atlantic Ocean. It is separated from France by the English Channel. The British Isles are two biggest islands- Great Britain and Ireland and many smaller islands up to 800 – Shetlandy,

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (= The Uk) is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The capital city of England (London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland (Edinburgh), Northern Ireland (Belfast).

Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles.

Basic facts:

The UK is cosmopolitan country and it means that there live a lot of people from different country. There live about 64 millionpeople. The official language is English. The capital city of the UK is London. London is very important and famous city with a lot of interesting sights. Other famous cities are Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool.

Rivers: The longest river is the River Severn flowing through Wales and England followed by the River Thames. So next long rivers are Thames in England and Clyde in Scotland.

Mountains:  The north and north-west of the country are more mountainous, in the south and east there are flat lands. The highest peak is Ben Nevis (1343m) in Scotland and then Snowdown(1085m) in Wales.

Climate: The climate is mild, with no real weather extremes.

Political system:

The country is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary democracy. But the country is also ruled by monarch. It is a head of the royal family Queen Elizabeth the second.

The Flag of the UK called Union Jack. It is a mix of free flags- England, Scotland and Ireland. There arecolorred, white and blue. The Wales is not here, because from the history the people of England Wales considered as part of the state.

6. UK – basic facts

The British Islands lies in the north-west part of Europe. There are two large islands: Great Britain, Ireland and another 5,000 smaller islands. Great Britain is the largest island in the Europe. In Great Britain there are many points of interest. There is nice scenery with many parks and cities with antique architecture.

I would like talk about towns…

Startford upon Avon is the second most visited town in England. It is famous as the birthplace of well-known dramatist William Shakespeare. The top attraction is the house in Henley Street where Shakespeare was born. There is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and church where Shakespeare is buried.

Oxford and Cambridge are the seats of the oldest English universities. These universities were founded in 13th centuries.

In Bath is Roman bath and architecture of this town is very nice.

Brighton is famous seaside town with Arab architecture including the Royal Pavilion. Around the Pavilion there is a big gardens. This town is near the sea and you can go to the beach or walk on the promenade. There are many casinos and funs.

In Canterbury there was murdered Thomas Becket – a archbishop of Canterbury and England’s most famous martyr. Geoffrey Chaucer was inspired by this town and he wrote Canterbury Tales.

Liverpool is a world city with an 800 year history. The city gave birth of The Beatles.

In Portsmouth there is Nelson’s flagship Her Majesty Victory in the dockyard. The town reminds Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Greenwich lies in the east of London. There is the Old Royal Observatory and you can see 0-degrees-longitude site.

When we visit Stonehenge we can feel a mystery from it. The origin of Stonehenge isn’t sure. This monument is very old and this place is visited many tourists. May be it was a temple made for the worship of ancient Gods.

SCOTLAND

Scotland is a historically and culturally different country from England. Scotland is the land of many special traditions, which can’t be found anywhere in the world – playing the bagpipes, wearing kilts made of tartan, Scotch whisky. The biggest city is Glasgow. It is culture centre and heart of the arts in Scotland. Edinburgh is dominated by its imposing 12th century castle – Holy Roodhouse. The city is full of attractive squares, three-lined avenues and elegant shopping centres. In the North of the country there are many lakes as Loch Lomond and Loch Ness which is famous for its „Loch Ness Monster“.

WALES

Beautiful country with many highlands and castles (for example Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech). There aren’t many industrial towns, the biggest are Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

In the United Kingdom there are many museums. In London is Toussaud´s wax museum where are wax figures of well-known people. There is British museum where are collections of art of Egypt, Asia, Greece and Rome, and National Gallery where are the art of famous painters.

There are many parks too. Hyde Park is a London Royal Park. It was founded in 16th century. It is a large area with monuments of Queen Victoria and her husband. There is Regent’s Park too where is an open air theatre and city’s ZOO.