The whole name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elisabeth II as the current ruler. It consists of four culturally and historically separated units – England, Scotland, Wales and the Northern Ireland. Capital is Greater London, which is the now the global financial centre. United Kingdom used to be the head of the British Empire that ruled many important colonies in the whole world. It is therefore multicultural, with many ethnic minorities, which moved in from the former colonies. United Kingdom has a rich history and it is still the world centre of arts, literature, music, finance and fashion.

England

England forms the biggest part of the United Kingdom and it in actually the ruling part. Most of the surface is hilly, but there are also higher mountains, the Pennines in the north. Apart from London there are also other large cities and conurbations, like Manchester, Birmingham or Liverpool. England has a well defined traditional culture, which is rather conservative. There are many old castles, as the Tower of London and sites of old architecture in the typical Gregorian or Tudor style. The history of the country gave origin to many famous legends as the one about King Arthur or Robin Hood. There are also traditional universities as the Oxford, Cambridge or Eaton.

Scotland

Scotland is situated in the northern part of Great Britain. Most of the surface is mountainous, but there are also fertile lowlands in the eastern and southern part. The highest point Ben Nevis (1344 m) is situated in the Highlands. The mountains are steep with little woods and lots of heather and thistles. There are stone walls that creep up the slopes to separate the parcels of land. The mountains are divided by the deep valleys, called “glen” or lakes called “loch” between them. The most famous is Loch Ness, the largest is Loch Lomond. Capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. There are about 1000 islands around whole Great Britain, most of them, like the Shetlands, Orkneys and Hebrides lie in the north.

Wales

Wales lies in the south-east of Great Britain; the capital is Cardiff, which is a large seaport. North Wales is hilly with beautiful valleys, little lakes and mountain peaks. The country possesses many medieval castles, like the Conwy Castle or the Harlech. There are cozy little towns with calm streets sand beaches at the shores of the Irish Sea. Welsh national flower is the daffodil.

Northern Ireland

The smallest part of United Kingdom is located at the Ireland Island. The capital is Belfast, Béal Feirste in Irish language. It has been a place of conflicts for many years, due to the different religion and struggle for freedom. There is a beautiful nature, with rough rocky mountain ranges covered by the heather as well as many old castles. The famous Titanic was built in Northern Ireland, in Belfast docks.

Summary

Come to sit in a pub with a pint of dark thick beer, or have a glass of whisky. Eat the shortbread, butterscotch, pudding or haggis. Listen to the sounds of violins, drums, pipes or the Beatles. Climb up Ben Nevis, swim in Loch Ness, sail down the Thames River or look for the Tintangel, a mysterious castle of King Arthur. You can spend thousand days in United Kingdom and there will be always something you haven’t seen yet.