United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland covers an area of about 244,755 square kilometres. It lies between 50^oNorth and 60^o North latitude, and the prime meridian of 0^o passes through the old observatory at Greenwich.

Britain lies off north – west coast of Europe across the English Channel, the Strait of Dover and the North Sea. It consists of two large islands – Great Britain and Northern Ireland - and about 5000 smaller ones - the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England, the Isles of Scilly off the extreme south-west, Anglesey off North Wales, the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea,  the Shetlands, the Orkneys, the Hebrides, Aran Islands, the Channel Islands (the only part of UK where French is spoken) etc.

The island of Great Britain can be divided into the Lowland Britain and the Highland Britain. In the lowland area lie the newer and softer rocks of midland, southern and eastern England, while the highland area comprises Scotland, most of Wales, the broad central upland known as the Pennines, and the Lake District.

The highest mountains are Ben Nevis in Scotland (1342m) and Snowdon in North Wales (1085m).

The longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames in England, while Scotland′s chief river is the Clyde. Other rivers of British Islands are the Avon, the Cam, the Tyne, the Humber, the Trent. As for the lakes, the best known are those in the Lake District and those in Scotland (Loch Lomond and Loch Ness). The largest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

Britain has a temperate and equable climate. During a normal summer the temperature occasionally rises above 27^oC  in the south; winter temperatures below -7^oC are rare. The climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream, so it is quite worm in England but it rains fairly often.

Woodlands occupy about 8 percent of the surface. Most of Britain is agricultural land, of which over one-third is arable and the rest pasture and meadows.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
Britain is a constitutional monarchy : Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. She is also the supreme commander of the armed forces. Queen Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 (her birthday is officially celebrated in June); married Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh,; and was crowned on 2 June 1953. Her official title is : Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".
The country is governed, in her name, by the Government, a body of ministers, who are responsible to Parliament.

PARLIAMENT
Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Sovereign formally summons and dissolves Parliament and generally opens each new annual session with a speech from the throne. The House of Lords is made up of hereditary and life peers and peeresses, including the law lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties of the House, and the Lords Spiritual. Its main function is to bring the wide experience of its members into the process of law making. The House of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs).

A general election must be held every five years and may be held at more frequent intervals. The party which wins sufficient seats at a general election to command a majority of supporters in the House of Commons forms the Government; its leading members are chosen by the Prime Minister to fill ministerial posts. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the official Opposition.

FLAG and ANTHEM

The British national flag is called Union Jack. The Union Jack – incorporates the national flags of England, Scotland, Ireland. English Flag = the red cross of St. George in a white field. Scottish flag = the white diagonal cross of St. Andrew in a blue field (1606). Irish flag = the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick in a white field (1801). Wales is not represented because it was politically united with England as early as 1536.

The national anthem is one of the oldest in the world and is called: “God save the King”

SOME MORE FACTS

The UK is divided into areas called counties. England and Wales =53 counties with 369 districts. Scotland =12 regions with 53 districts . Northern Ireland=6 counties with 26 districts The Isle if Man is an Independant administrative unit.

Capitals: England – London, Wales – Cardiff , Scotland – Edinburgh, Northern Ireland – Belfast

Uk has 14 independant territories, including Falkland Islands, Gibraltar

Natural riches: Black coal reserves have world significance. The coal beds are concentrated in several areas – the Pennines, the Midlands, Wales. There are small oil resources. Oil and natural gas are taken from the North Sea. Gravel, sand, sandstone, chalk, limestone, clay, iron ore, salt are mined in GB too.

Industry: Foremost are chemical, textile, aviation industries. Manufacturing of transport vehicles and the electronic industry. GB was the pioneer in many branches of industry. Important centres are Yorkshire, Manchester, South Wales etc.

Famous people: Alexander Graham BELL (1847-1922) – inventor, „father of telephone“ Robert BURNS (1759-1796) – Scotland´d greatest poet. Charles Spencer CHAPLIN (1889-1977). Oliver CROMWELL (1599 – 1658) – reformer. Sir Winston Churchill – politic . James COOK – naval explorer . Charles Robert DARWIN (1809 – 82) – the founder of the modern theory of evolution . Charles DICKENS – writer. Sir Francis DRAKE – the naval hero

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST IN GREAT BRITAIN

STARTFORD - UPON - AVON (21 000) is probably the second most visited town in England. It was founded by King Richard I in 1196 and became famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The top attraction is the house in Henley Street where Shakespeare was born. In the Holy Trinity Church tourists can see the grave of Shakespeare, his wife and other members of his family. Not far is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (1932) and the Swan Theatre (1986) overlooking the river Avon. About two miles away is nearby Shottery you can visit the House of Ann Hathaway, Shakespeare′s wife.

OXFORD (116 000) is the seat of the oldest English university (12th century) which includes 34 colleges now.
Cambridge (103 000) whose history goes back to Roman times, is the residence of the second oldest university in Britain (13th century).
CANTERBURY (37 000) is the seat of the Archbishop and a magnificent cathedral whose oldest part originated in the 11th century. It is the place where the conversion of England to Christianity began. The pilgrimage to Canterbury is also reflected in Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
YORK (123 000) is the residence of the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Northern Province and a superb Gothic cathedral called York Minster. The cathedral boasts impressive medieval stained glass, particularly the beautiful Gothic windows known as the Five Sisters.
WINCHESTER (93 000) is originally a Roman town and later the capital of Wessex in Anglo - Saxon times. The remarkable Winchester Cathedral, whose oldest part dates back to the 7th century and which was rebuilt in the 12th century is the longest medieval church in Europe.
HASTINGS is a seaside resort on the east coast whose nearby village of Battle was the battlefield of William the Conqueror′s victorious battle over the Anglo - Saxons in 1066 which began the Norman history of England.

Choose other 5 famous places and learn some facts about them: e.g.:  Manchester, Cambridge, Liverpool, Stonehenge, Plymouth, Bath, Exmoor National Park, Dartmoor National Park,  The Lake District, Hadrian’s Wall, Cardiff, Glasgow, Loch Ness, Dublin etc.