Great Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe and east of Ireland.
It is separated from the continent by the North Sea and by the English Channel.
It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles.
geography
Great Britain is made up of:
England - The capital city is London.
Scotland - The capital city is Edinburgh.
Wales - The capital city is Cardiff.
Northern Ireland - The capital city is Belfast.
Population is about 62 million people.
big cities
cities known for...
Edinbourgh – festivals
Plymouth – festivals, British Fireworks Championships
Oxford, Cambridge - University
Liverpool – Beatles, football
Yorkshire - football, rugby league, cricket and horse racing, music
geography
The main mountain regions are:
the Cornish Heights
the Cambrian in Wales
the Cambrian Mountains (in Lake District)
the Pennies
The highest mountain in Great Britain is
Ben Nevis (1,344 m) in Scotland.
geography
There are many rivers in Great Britain.
Among the most important river is the Thames, which flows into the North Sea. Its length is 336 km and it is the deepest river in Britain.
The longest river in Britain is the Severn. Length is about 354 km.
Other important rivers include the Trent, the Tay and the Tweed. The capital and largest city, London, is in the southeast and is situated at both sides of the River Thames.
government type and administration
The Queen Elizabeth II is the official Head of State.
Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen only rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament.
Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional Monarch as Head of State.
government type and administration
The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world - a legacy of the British Empire. The parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster has two houses; an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords.
At present, the Prime Minister is David Cameron.
government type and administration
The House of Lords
is made up of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or another. There are 675 members of the Lords.
The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.
government type and administration
The House of Commons
has 659 members who have been elected by local residents to represent an area of the country in Parliament. The members are called MPs (Members of Parliament). Each MP represents one of 659 constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party.
The Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws.
places of interest
Stonehenge
Hadrians Wall
Kings College, Cambridge
Windsor Castle
The White Cliffs of Dover
Blackpool Tower
Buckingham Palace
The Palace of Westminster
Tower of London
The London Eye
St Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is the most
famous prehistoric
monument in Britain.
It is a circle of stones.
Stonehenge is situated
on Salisbury Plain in
the county of Wiltshire.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle has
been a royal residence
for over 900 years and
today is one of the
homes of Queen
Elizabeth ll.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official and
main royal London home. It has been the official
London residence of Britain's monarchy since 1837.
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there.
