19. Great Britain, London, some places
worth visiting.
The official name of this country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. It is situated on the British Isles, which lie off the northwest coast of
Europe. It consists of two large islands (Great Britain and Ireland) and about 5,000
smaller ones. Its neighbours are Ireland to west and France to southeast.
The British are proud of their isles which gives them a feeling of security. They call the
La Manche Channel the English Channel and the rest of Europe the Continent. We can get
there either by air or by ferry from Calais to Dover across the Strait of Dover, which is
the shortest way. We can get there also through the tunnel under the English Channel.
The Great Britain includes four countries: England with its capital London, Scotland with
Edinburgh, Wales with Cardiff and Northern Ireland with Belfast. British national flag is
sometimes called „Unions Jack“. It symbolises the Union of England, Scotland and
Ireland. Each country has its cross. National anthem is „God save the Queen!“
A lot of people think that the people who lived in Great Britain are English. But only
people in England are English, people in Scotland are Scottish, people in Wales are Welsh
and people in Northern Ireland are Irish. Population is about 57,000,000 people. The
density is one of the highest in the world.
England is mostly rolling land, rising to the Uplands of southern Scotland. The South
is also a holiday resort so there is a very high density.
Scotland is historically and culturally separate country from England. It is the
land of many special traditions, which cannot be found elsewhere in the world – playing
the pipes, quality tweeds, woollen knitwear, wearing kilts etc. It is a large and
magnificent lake and mountains area. Because of number of castles it is often called the
land of castles.
In Northern Ireland there are some political problems. They want to separate from
Great Britain and IRA did some bomb attacks and terrorist actions in London.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Power is represented by a Monarch
and Parliament. The role of a sovereign is to represent state and appoint all the
Ministers, including the Prime Minister but it is just formal. The present Monarch is the
Queen Elizabeth II. She had four descendants – Charles, Prince of Wales, Andrew,
Edward and Anne. Parliament has two chambers – the House of Lords and the House
of Commons. Both Parliament and the Queen represent legislative power.
The British democratic system depends on the two strongest parties – Conservative and
Labour. The party, which wins the majority of seats, forms the Government and its
leader becomes the Prime Minister. The present Prime Minister is Gordon Brown from
Labour Party. Interest: The United Kingdom constitution is unwritten. It is based on
agreement, tradition and common law.
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LONDON
7 million people
the Thames, Heathrow airport, Victoria railway station, underground (tube), coaches
Tower of London: castle with coronation jewels, 6 ravens, executed Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard
Tower Bridge: last bridge on Thames
St. Pauls Cathedral: second biggest cathedral in the world and center of Anglican
church, built by Christopher Wren in barocco style, Whispering gallery, buried – Ch.
Wren, G. Wellington, H. Nelson
London Bridge: oldest bridge in London
The Monument: on the memory on the big fire in London in 1666 (1665 – plague),
London rebuilt by Ch. Wren
Westminster Abbey: all kings and queen of Britain were crowned there (coronation
chair), many famous people and kings are buried there (poets corner – Geoffrey
Chaucer)
Houses of Parliament: two towers (Big Ben and Victoria Tower), House of Lords, House
of Commons
Buckingham Palace: seat of royal family from year 1840, changing of the guards,
Queen Victoria Monument
Whitehall: streets of Offices, Downing Street – seat of prime minister
Trafalgar Square: statue of Horatio Nelson and National Gallery, pigeons
Piccadilly circus: centre of London
China Town: very interesting are gates of China town
Hyde Park: the largest park in London, Speaker’s Corner
St. James’s Park
Regent’s Park
Museums: Madam Tussaud, British museum, National gallery, Museum of London,
National historical museum, Tate Gallery
Wembley Arena
Botanical Garden at Kew
Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Castle
Area: West End, East End, Chelsea
Greenwich: prime time, royal observatory, meridian
OTHER PLACES
Dover: White cliffs, Dover castle – key to England
Stonehenge
Loch Ness: one big attraction
The Giant’s Causeway
Oxford, Cambridge and St. Andrews: university towns
York: York Minster (gothic cathedral), Viking Centre
Bath: oldest spa
Brighton: fashionable seaside resort, Royal Pavilion, Brighton Pier
Hastings: William the Conqueror
Liverpool: Beatles, steeplechase
Manchester: cotton, football
Canterbury: cathedral, museum, Marlowe theatre, archbishop (Thomas Becket)
Salisbury: highest spire in England (cathedral of St. Mary)
Hadrian’s Wall
Blenheim castle: place of birth of Winston Churchill
Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare
Edinburgh: Holyrood Palace (official residence)
Balmoral castle: private home
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