Despite its relatively small size, the United Kingdom is one of the most
culturally diverse countries on Earth, peopled by four main ‘native’ nationalities, plus later arrivals from all over the world. The United Kingdom consists of
Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), plus
Northern Ireland. The
Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands (principally Jersey and Guernsey) are also parts of the British Isles, but somewhat confusingly not officially part of the UK.
The UK is also a topically diverse country, with such landscapes as the rolling
moors of Yorkshire, the
lakes and mountains of the Lake District and Scotland, and the ancient
forests of Nottinghamshire or the
stunning beaches of Wales. All this, as well as genteel
villages with chocolate-box
cottages or
vibrant cities at the forefront of modernity, means the UK has something to offer everyone.
London is the natural starting point for visitors and is a great introduction to this varied country, with
famous sights such as the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye and renowned
exhibitions in the National Gallery, Natural History Museum and Tower of London.
Not far out from the capital are the university cities of
Oxford and
Cambridge, with their elegant architecture, and
Windsor, home to the Queen’s famous castle residence.
The British
seaside is at its best in the south coast resorts of
Brighton and
Bournemouth or the harbor villages in
Cornwall,
Dorset and
Devon. For more beautiful, wilder, windswept beaches, head to the
Pembrokeshire coast of Wales or the
Scottish islands of Skye, Shetland and Orkney.
Walkers have no end of choice with hundreds of miles of
hiking trails in the hilly Peak District, the mountainous Lake District, Wales and Scotland or along the coastal paths of southern England. For more gentle pursuits, pretty villages of the
Cotswolds and
Suffolk offer endless photo opportunities of thatched cottages or leaning timber-framed houses.
GeographyThe British landscape can be divided roughly into two kinds of terrain – highland and lowland. The highland area comprises the mountainous regions of Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and North Wales. The English Lake District in the northwest contains lakes and fells. The lowland area is broken up by sandstone and limestone hills, long valleys and basins such as the Wash on the east coast. In the southeast, the North and South Downs culminate in the White Cliffs of Dover. The coastline includes fjord-like inlets in the northwest of Scotland, spectacular cliffs and wild sandy beaches on the east coast and, further south, beaches of rock, shale and sand sometimes backed by dunes, and large areas of fenland in East Anglia.
Note: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although they form one administrative unit (with regional exceptions), they have had separate cultures, languages and political histories. The
United Kingdom section consists of a general introduction (covering the aspects that the four countries have in common) and sections devoted to the four constituent countries. The Channel Islands (Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Herm) and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the British Crown. These are included here for convenience of reference.
More detailed geographical descriptions of the various countries may be found under the respective entries.
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