United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland is an alliance of four areas, three of which - England,
Scotland and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, and the fourth -
Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland.
Territory - 244.7 sq. km, England-131tys. square kilometers, Scotland -
78.7 thousand square kilometers, Wales - 20.8 thousand square
kilometers, Ireland - 14.2 thousand square kilometers
Population: 58.97 million (1998).
Capital: London (with suburbs 7.33 million), also known as the capital
of England, the capital of Wales - Cardiff (272 inhabitants), Scotland -
Edinburgh (421tys. inhabitants), Northern Ireland - Belfast (280
thousand).
Major cities: Greater Manchester (2.6 million inhabitants), Birmingham
(about 1.3 million including the suburbs), Leeds (720 inhabitants),
Glasgow (about 660 thousand)
The official language is English.
Gosp.religiya: Christianity (gos.tserkov Anglican, Roman Catholic,
Methodist).
MONETARY UNIT: pound sterling = 100 pence.
Gos.stroy constitutional monarchy.
Head of state: Queen.
Determining influence on the climate of
the UK has a warm current of the Gulf Stream, extending along its
western coast and the heated air along the way. Thanks to the climate of
the islands is softer than it could be, given their northerly position.
Britain belongs to the field of moderate continental climate marine
type, which is characterized by warm winters and cool summers.
Temperature seldom rises to 30 and falls below -10, and most of the year
it is between +10 and +20. Because of the topography of the country most
of Scotland as well as rolling hills of Wales and England, cooler in
summer and colder in winter than the rest of Britain. The average
temperature of the coldest month - January - changes from north to
south, from 2.7 to 5.9 degrees, and the warmest - July - from 13.4 to
16.0. In the northeast, in some years, winter temperatures can drop
below 18 degrees.
The main features of the weather in the UK is the instability and
abundant rainfall, caused by frequent cyclones. Rain and sun can replace
each other in a matter of minutes, especially in the fall.
Rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year with a slight peak in
the autumn-winter period. Their greatest number observed in the west of
the country, where the annual rainfall is about 1600 mm, and in some
places - up to 3000 mm. Upland protect lowlands to the south and east of
the country, so the annual rainfall is much lower (about 800 mm in parts
of 635 mm), with the intensity of the summer. The driest time is from
March to June, but everywhere the average rainfall for any month exceeds
30 mm.
Britain is known for its clouds and mists. Here, more than half of all
days in the year is cloudy. Number of hours per day during which the sun
shines in summer varies from five in northern Scotland to eight on the
south coast of England, and in the winter - from one hour to the
northernmost point to the southernmost of the two.
Traditions of England
UK country traditions. Britain represents
modern civilization and long history. History of the Kingdom are very
different, and this: Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In
England, a lot of objects of cultural heritage. Here is a rich London
nightlife, architectural monuments, shops, theaters, art galleries,
museums and restaurants.
Bath, Windsor, Oxford, Manchester, Cambridge, York, Liverpool,
Birmingham - famous and not at full strength of England. Scotland - is
the lake, the mountains, the sound of bagpipes, heaths and traditional
whiskey.
Wales simply amazes tourists wonderful castles and varied landscape. The
traditions and customs of the UK presentation online to see and not just
one. About the customs and traditions of the British abstract shaped
many because almost everyone knows about this country.
Customs and traditions of Great Britain
British people are proud to be significantly different from the other
nations of the world. They still strictly adhere to such practices as
cricket or left-hand drive. Brits so far, unlike the rest of Europe, the
distance is measured in kilometers and miles. In its tradition of the
British did not always follow logic. In rural pubs locals often play a
game of darts, and sometimes in checkers or chess.
The British are cool people. They express approval of the word "good",
which may look a little stiff and pompous. They are not used to show
their feelings, but it is sociable people with a good sense of humor and
love.
Local people have a bad habit of making fun of everything. Foreigners
sometimes puzzled.
English tradition manifested in restraint of judgment as a sign of
respect for his companion. Hence they have a tendency to avoid denial,
using the "may," "I think," "I think," etc.
By lunchtime, the British change into some other clothes. Holidays UK
customs traditions all residents are trying to adhere to.
Traditions and customs of the British are numerous festivals. The most
popular place in May in Chelsea. The most solemn and grand celebration
of the country - the Queen's Birthday.
Sport also referred to the traditions - "Boat Race" takes place in late
March, football, tennis tournaments, yachting.
Attractions in England
Big Ben
Big Ben, the voice of London, shows the
exact time since 1859. The construction of the clock tower height of 320
pounds in 1837, began the ascent to the throne of Queen Victoria. At
that time there was a reconstruction of buildings of Parliament, was
damaged by fire in 1834. Designer watches, Sir Edmund Grimtorp,
architect and watchmaker died before the bell, weighing 13.5 tons was
set for the four clock faces, the area of which 23 square meters.
pounds.
Large bell cracked again cast it cracked again, uttering the famous
resonant ringing. Why bell called Big Ben? There are two versions. It is
possible that it was named after a Welshman, Sir Benjamin Hall, who was
then directed the construction. According to another version, the name
was given to the workers who moved out of the bell foundry Uaytchapela a
cart pulled by 16 white horses. Their hero was then a heavyweight boxer
Benjamin County.
St Paul's Cathedral
Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece - St Paul's Cathedral - proudly confusion reigns among architectural City. This is the third cathedral, built on the same site after the Great Fire of London in 1666 his plan - a plan for a Gothic cathedral, but the architect was inspired by the style of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque. The magnificent dome - the first built in the capital - the inside is painted frescoes on the life of Saint Paul. Can be picked up the endless stairs that leads to the gallery. The most popular is still whispers Gallery - if you put your ear to the wall, despite a 34 m wide, heard the words spoken in a whisper from the other side. You will have to overcome the 627 steps to get to Zsolt gallery. In the crypt, as general area as the cathedral, lie famous characters in British history - Wellington and Nelson. Cathedral is a working church, so during the Sunday service (10:30), it is closed to tourists. Open Monday to Saturday from 08:30 to 16:00. In 6 GPB
Museum of Natural History
A fascinating collection of the museum is a lively process of evolution of the Earth and the creatures that inhabit it. Even if you're not having much interest in the science of the wonders here hardly leave you indifferent. The most interesting of them - a 30-meter skeleton of a dinosaur that lived 150 million years ago, and the relative exposure of mammals in the life-size model of a blue whale with that, just Imagine, 20 times (!) More elephants. The museum building was designed by architect Alfred Waterhouse and built as a church, with numerous figures of animals and plants. Admission is free.
Cities in England
Liverpool
Liverpool.
The very name conjures up images of a glorious maritime history, musical
heritage, who beat all records worldwide fame, two major football teams
in the Premier League, and not one but two magnificent cathedrals.
Recently, the city is literally sparkled fabulous new shops, buzzing new
restaurants, luxury hotels and trendy wine bars.
In Liverpool, you can perform a cultural program and a world-class - you
are invited to a number of museums and galleries, you can hardly find
anywhere else outside London.
Do not forget about the people of Liverpool, who are known for their
friendliness, and who will be proud to welcome you to their home town.
Liverpool is a fantastic place if you want to take a break and just see
something new and interesting. Do you dream of traveling? You can visit
many great cities of the world.
And we go back to Liverpool. This city is full of cultural heritage.
Liverpool has a glorious past when it was a trading center and the
gateway to the New World. And today it is an important center for art
lovers, theater lovers and hiking to museums ..
The city has many attractions, here are constantly attracting art
lovers. Visit the Walker Art Gallery and the National Gallery of the
North - ask the administrator guide, and it will lead you to the work of
Hockney, Degas, Turner and Rembrandt.
Liverpool is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as the Great Wall of China
and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. City won that status in 2004 because
of its impressive waterfront, which, according to UNESCO, is "a model
example of port in the period of greatest global influence of Great
Britain."
Liverpool is famous for its music, but when you hear the "Liverpool", of
course you think about the Beatles. The city is officially recognized by
the world capital of pop music, and the Fab Four, of course - his most
famous asset.
London
History of London has more than 2000
years. The city experienced the ups and downs, fires and epidemics, was
the capital of the most powerful empire the world.
Very interesting many London tradition, rooted in the ancient times.
City of London - the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. It is the largest city in the British Isles. Situated
on the River Thames, about 60 kilometers from the mouth. London has
played a leading role in political and cultural life of the UK, it
contains the parliament, the government and the higher judiciary. And
here the focus of international business life and is a host of
international airlines. In the city of 80 parks, about 160 museums and
permanent exhibitions, more than 60 theaters. The city is also known for
the many old churches that house the shrines of the British people.
London city center is City, the city is divided into central and Greater
London.
Central London
This City and 12 large urban administrative districts located around:
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith, Camden, Islington,
Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Wandsworth.
Metropolitan area
Consists of Central London and 20 areas: Barking, Barnet, Bexley, Brent
Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon,
Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge,
Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest.
Greater London area is 1579 square kilometers.
The number of tourists who annually visit London, about 27 million.
Greenwich
Greenwich - a city that is currently part
of the London conurbation, refers to the historic county of Kent (the
ceremonial county of Greater London), on the right bank of the Thames,
is located 51 ° 28 '38 "N, 0 ° 0' 0" z.d .
The most famous landmark in the city, to glorify him to the world, is
the observatory. June 22, 1675, the founding day of the famous Royal
Observatory in Greenwich (England). Through it passes the zero meridian.
Special expeditions were fitted to tie our coordinate system, say,
Greenwich. Or to Paris. Struve himself went on an expedition with
chronometers to determine the difference in longitude between the two
meridians. Pulkovo Meridian was one of the candidates for the zero on a
world scale, when astronomers planet in 1884 have chosen to define the
same for all "stove." Defeated, we know, Greenwich - the most westerly
in Europe. Scientists do not hurt. It's a shame to tourists. The
observatory is located a rich exhibition of ancient astronomical
instruments.
But the history of the city in the Middle Ages was not closely related
to astronomy and to the British fleet. Undoubtedly of interest to
tourists, is the National Maritime Museum, located in Greenwich.
Exposure of the maritime museum tell the story of the British fleet.
Pearl of the historical exhibition is a British high-speed Clipper «Cutty
Sark».
In 1997, part of Greenwich Quay joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.
