Introduction

United Kingdom is the north-west part of Europe. United Kingdom is consisted of two big islands and several smaller ones. All these islands are called the British Isles. These bigger islands are named Great Britain and Ireland.

The United Kingdom is a kind of abbreviation of "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and often it is called "UK". This is also a political name of the whole country consisted of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some islands near the British coast belong to the United Kingdom (for example: the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys, Hebrides and Shetlands), but some of them such as Channel Islands and the Isle of Man don't belong. Great Britain (also simply called "Britain") refers to the island on which there are England, Wales and Scotland. It doesn't refer to Northern Ireland.

Climate

The British climate is similar to the climate of north-western part of Europe. It is untrue that in Britain it is raining all year long. British image as the country wet and foggy was created by Romans, who invaded British islands almost two thousands years ago. Then this image was perpetuated by Hollywood's movies. In fact, London doesn't get more rain during the whole year than any other part of Europe.

The total rain amount which falls on towns in Great Britain is dependant to their location. It is said that the further west, the bigger amount of rain. In Britain there are usually mild winters and it snows in the higher areas. Sometimes there is no snow at all in the lower parts of the country. However, winters are a little bit colder in the eastern parts of the country than winters in the western parts. In summer, on the other hand, the southern parts are warmer and even sunnier than the northern parts.

Why does the Britain's have such a bad reputation on climate? I think it may be the same reason why the British always talk about the weather. It is also said that Great Britain doesn't have a climate, Britain has only weather. You can't be sure that there will be only sunny day in summer. It is also possible that there will be some warmer days in winter.

In Britain there is the lack of extremes. Sometimes it happens that when there is the attack of freezing cold or some hot days, Britain seems to be completely unprepared for such extremes. Some snow and frost is enough to stop trains and block the roads. When the temperature rises above 25 degrees Celsius, everyone feels as if there was the Sahara. In addition, the heat is on the front pages. However, such situations don't happen very often, so British think that it isn't worth preparing all their forces for every possibility.

Regions

There are some regions in the United Kingdom and there is the variety of climates and different landscapes.

Southern England

The region surrounding the suburbs of London is known as "commuter land". The area belongs to the most densely populated region in whole Great Britain. That region covers about 11% of the whole area of Great Britain and there lives about a third of British population. Because of these reasons in that area there are a lot of factories, cities and the well-developed network of highways. That region is very attractive outside London.

There is also the county of Kent. You probably go through the county, when you when riding to London form the Channel Tunnel or Dover. This region is known as "the garden of England", because of the fact that there are a lot of orchards and gardens. The landscape is consisted of downs and hills. There are also a lot sheep farms. In the southern parts of the Downs the land reaches the sea. There are many white cliffs. The landscapes are breathtaking, so many people decide to spend there their retired years. You can find job in this region of England in business, trade and light manufacturing. However, there isn't a lot of heavy industry. The region doesn't suffer from the decline of the economy as many other parts of England do.

There is also the region called "the west country", which has a rural landscape. There are some industrial cities and the one, which is the largest-Bristol. It was one of the most important ports in Great Britain in the past. The most of inhabitants are employed in agriculture. The western parts of that region are famous for dairy produce and fruit. In south-west peninsula there are a lot of rocks and many small bays. There are also some moor land called Exmoor and Dartmoor. These are one of the most popular holiday regions in Great Britain. There are very mild winters and in some part it is possible to plant some palms. The tourist industry is well-organized there, so the area is called "English Riviera".

East Anglia is the area in the north-east direction from London. The area is rural. It seems to be the only one British region where there a lot of flat land. Both the flatness and the dry climate make the area available for crops and wheat growing. The region in East Anglia called Fens is very watery and misty. Another region named Norfolk Broads is criss-crossed by many waterways. It is a great area for sea sport lovers.

The Midlands

Birmingham is British second largest city. In the years of Industrial Revolution this city and its surrounding region became country's main important engineering centre. This part of Midlands is also called "Black Country". Despite of the fact that there is the decline in heavy industry, the factories in Midlands still convert steel and iron.

There are some industrial regions in the British Midlands in the area between Manchester and the Black Country. These industrial cities are known as The Potteries. They are known for the production of china. To these cities belong Derby, Nottingham and Leicester. Grimsby - a town on the British east cost is a quite small town and the most famous fishing port.

However, the Midlands don't have the positive association among the. Many tourists every year want to visit so called "Shakespeare country" (cities such as Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born) and Nottingham, which is the place where the legend of Robin Hood was born.

Northern England

The Pennine Mountains seems to be an English spine. On both their sides, there are huge deposits of coal and iron ore. It was the main region during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The western side from the Pennine Mountains near Manchester was the leading producer of cotton. Manchester is connected with the port in Liverpool. On the eastern side, on the other hand, there is the area famous for the woollen produce. The main towns on the eastern side are Leeds and Bradford. There are also some industrial towns on the both of Pennine. The city located in the south: Sheffield is the centre of the steel production. In the north from Newcastle the area is famous for shipbuilding.

British stereotype connected with the area is that the region is noisy and dirty. However, the inhabitants of that region are very proud and full of enthusiasm. They are used to say: "where there's muck there is brass". It means that no matter the dirt is, but there is a lot of money.

The towns on the both sides of the Pennines are located among slopes, so it is very difficult to build there. The towns are surrendered by land designed for agricultural aims. What is more, the settlement in the north part of Great Britain is different from the settlement in the south. The uninhabited places aren't far away from the big towns. It is a kind of connection between the industrial landscape and the rural one. These wild and windswept moor lands are the typical landscape for novels written by Emily Bronte. Her most famous novel is "Wuthering Heights" is set in such an area far away from the noisy cities. It is hard to believe that it is about 15 kilometres from Bradford.

Away from the industrial area in the north direction form the cities the region isn't densely populated. The north-western corner is called Cumbria. There lived some romantic authors such as poets Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge. The region is called the emerald in the crown of nature of Great Britain. There are a lot of lakes, valleys and peaks. There is also the highest mountain in England - Scafell Pike. That place is the famous destination for mountains lovers. Moreover, the region constitutes the National Park. It is the largest National Park in England.

Scotland

Scotland is the clearly marked region. Near the English border the southern uplands are located. There are many small towns, which are situated quite far away from each other. The regional economy depends on sheep farming. In the north part of Scotland there is a huge plain. There are also the highlands, where are a lot of mountains and valleys. On the west coast there are many small islands. This region is picturesque, but there don't live a lot of people. Moreover, the main economic branch is the tourism and Whisky production.

About 80% of Scottish population lives in the plain and at the east coast. In the past the region had a lot of industrial problems, however the oil industry extracted in the North Sea helped to develop the industry in the region.

Scotland's two biggest towns have completely different reputations.

The third biggest British city is Glasgow. It is notorious for heavy industry and the worst living conditions in Great Britain. The worst was the district called Gorbals. On the other hand, Glasgow has a great artistic heritage. At the beginning of the 19th century the city was know for the Glasgow School. The school was led by Mackintosh and the leading European designing and architecture centre. In 1990 Glasgow was called the European City of Culture. To Glasgow came a lot of Irish immigrants. That fact is also seen in the division of the society of Northern Ireland. There are also a lot of Catholics and Protestants and two rival football teams.

Edinburgh is the city which has the half size of Glasgow. It has quite middle-class image. Edinburgh is Scottish capital and it is identified with law, administration and scholarship. There are many great historic buildings. In the past Edinburgh was called "the Athens of the north". Every year there is the Edinburgh Festival of the arts organized and it gathers the great publicity.

Wales

Similar to Scotland the most density region of Wales are the smallest part of it. In Wales the south east of region is density populated. There are also the great resources of coal, which are mined. As it was written, there are a lot of industrial factories in the northern part of England, in Wales which is the south part of the country there are a lot of coal mines. Despite of the industrial cities there aren't any bigger ones. Cardiff, which is Walsh capital, has the population of over the quarter million. There are many industrial villages in the region. However, the coal mining in Walsh southern part is almost ceased and the transition from a given form of employment to another is quite painful and slow.

Most area of Wales is covered with mountainous. Because of that fact, the communication between north and south may be very difficult. It seems that some parts of Wales are closer in contacts with their neighbouring English parts than with some part of Wales: the northern part with Liverpool and the middle part of Wales with the midlands. It is said that Mount Snowdon region located in the north-west part of Wales. Moreover, there is the largest and the most beautiful and National Park of Great Britain.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland, apart from the region of Belfast, is known for the production of linen. Belfast is famous for shipbuilding. However, the region is also rural. There are a lot of beautiful landscapes. To the most breathtaking places belongs the Giant's Causeway located in the north coast. These are huge rocks, which looks like big stepping stones.

Questions

1. Taking into consideration the climate conditions and the general character of British regions, in which area of Britain would you like to live? Explain why! Think about the region of Britain which you would like to visit during your holiday? Why or why not?

2. Do you think that the capital of your country is in the similar relations with the rest of your country as British capital is with relations to the all regions?

3. Main British television news organizations: BBC and ITN have their "North of England" correspondents. But they don't have any "South of England" correspondents. Why? Could you explain the situation? Give some examples of it.

Bibliography

"Spotlight on Britain" by Sheerin, Seath and White (Oxford University Press 1995).

"Britain. The country and its people..." by James O'Driscoll (Oxford University Press 1997).

"England's La ke District" by Bill Bryson ("National Geographic" journal vol.186, No.2, August 1994)

"Blackpool, England" by Bill Bryson ("National Geographic" journal vol.139, No.1, January 1998).