The United Kingdom In The 21 St Centrury. The End Of 'Splendid Isolation'?
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
The British Isles is the geographical term for a group of about 5,000 islands off the north-west of the mainland Europe. The lagest island is Great Britain, which is also the largest island in the Europe. It consists of England, Scotland and Wales. The next larges island is Ireland, which is made up of Northern Ireland (Ulster) and the Irish Republic (Eire). Britain and Ulster, together with a number of small islands, form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, though recognizin‘ the Crown, have their own parliaments and are largely self-governing.
Great Britain is just under 1,000 km long and just under 500 km accross its widest part. The most mountainous region is Scotland (with Briatin’s highest peak, Ben Nevis), which also has a wide lowland area between the Grampians and the Southern Uplands, where most of the large towns, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, and three-quarters of the population are located. Much of Wales is also mountainous and in England the Pennines (the backbone of England) extends 224 km. The rest of England tends to be rather undulating, and not even the large agricultural plains of East Anglia are perfectly flat. In Ireland all the highland areas are around the edge.
Rivers in Great Britain are quite short-the longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames- but their easy navigability has made them an important part of the inland transport network for the transportation of bulk products such as coal, iron ore ans steel.
The UK has about 57 million inhabitants. The average population density in Britain is about 238 per sq. km. England, with 361 inhabitants per sq. km, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Offshore natural gas (distributed by pipelines) is used by industries. About a half of national consumptionis used for industrial and commercial purposes, and the remainder for household use.
Britain is the world’s fifth largest oil producer and, although the production declines slowly, Britain should remain a significant producer. About 80% of offshore production is brought ashore by submarine pipelines.
The main consumers of Britain’s declining coal industry are the thermal power stations.
Britain was the first country in the world to have a public supply of electricity. The industry is in the process of being privatizated.
NATIONAL PRODUCTION
Membership of the European Community has had a major impact on Britain’s pattern of trade.
Among the main trends in industrial activity in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s have been the decline in heavy industry and growth of the offsore oil and gas industries together with the related activities; the rapid development of electronic and microelectronic technologies and their application to a wide range of other sectors; and a continuous rise in services (for example tourism)
In certain regions, older industries have steadily declined. As a result, the unemplyment is higher in the northern parts of Britain. There are various incentives provided to encourage industrial development there.
Less than 3% of the working population is employed in agriculture in Britain, yet the industry produces nearly 2/3 of Britain’s food requirements. Just over the ¾ of the land is used for agriculture. About 3/5 of full-time farms ae devoted to dairying or beef cattle and sheep. The majority of sheep and cattle are reared in the hill areas. The farms devoted primarily to arable crops are found mainly in eastern and central southern England. Pig production occurs in most areas, but is most important in eastern and northern England. Britain is also broadly self-sufficient in poultry meat and eggs.
Britain is one of Europe’s most important fishing nations. The fishing industry is an important source of employment and income in a number of ports.
Woodland covers an estimated 2.1 million hectares in GB, but the rate of new planting is growing and home timber production is expected to double in the future.
WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Britain has a generally mild, temperate climate. The weather tends to be very changeable as a result of the constant influence of different air masses. The prevailing winds are south westerly, which bring warm air in from across the Atlantic. There are few extermes in temprature. Annual rainfall is fairly evenly distibuted, but western Britain gets more relief rain.
SOUTHEAST-THE GARDEN OF BRITAIN
It is the most densely populated region in England. It is only 11% of the land area of the country, but a third of the total population lives here. Because of this, a large part of the region is affected by urban development:housing, factories, offices and a complex of communications‘ network. However, there is still attractive countryside to be found in all counties outside the influence of London. The south coast has a mild and sunny climate which makes it popular with holiday-makers and elderly, who find it a comfortable area to retire to.
When you travel to Britain by sea or air, it is very likely that you will arrive in the Southeast, for this is where the main passenger ports and airports are located. Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport for international traffic, is about 20 miles east of central London.
Most travellers from continental Europe arrive at the east coast ports of Dover, Folkestone and Ramsgate. Of these, Dover is by far the busiest. The white cliffs of Dover are the first sight many people have of England.
Kent is county, which is known as the garden of England, because it produces a lot of fruits and vegetables which are eaten all over the country. The soil and climate make ideal growing conditions.
Brighton is the largest holiday resort on the south coast. It was once a small fishing village. In 1724, the Prince Regent started going to Brighton to swim in the sea. He liked Brighton so much that he built himself an Indian-style palace, the Royal Pavilion. Further west along the coast is Bournemouth, also a holiday resort. Both towns have many language schools, ehich give them a lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Canterbury is a town in Kent with a population of about 120,000. It is the religious capital of England because its cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is head of Church of England. From the 12th to the 15th centuries, it was a place of pilgrimage. Thouands of people come to pray at the shrine of a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, who was murdered iin the Cathedral in 1710.
Windsor is a popular place to visit. The town is dominated by the castle, which is one of the official residences of the Queen.
St. Albans is a historic city with a fine Norman cathedral.
EAST ANGLIA
East Anglia is extremely flat, and it is dominated by agriculture. It has beautiful cities with fine historic buildings (such as Cambridge, Ely, Norwich, Peterborough and Colchester), and it has many sandy beaches and inland waterways.
In medieval times, it became rich because of the wool trade. It was not affected by the industrial revolution, and even today there is very little heavy industry. It was, however, the home of agricultural revolution and is now best known as a farming region.
It is rather isolated from the rest of Britain because of its position away from the main national routes.
Cambridge is famous for its university, founded in the 13th century. Until today, there are over 20 colleges. Most of them allow visitors to enter the courts and courtyards. The oldest college is Peterhouse and the most recent is Robinson college. The most famou is probably King’s cos of its magnificent chapel. The uni was exclusively for men until 1871. The Cambridge Science Park was deeloped in response to te need of universities to increase their contact with hi-tech. There are over 60 companies and research institutes recently.
Norwich is the most imporant city of East Anglia and it has a large shopping centre. It also has to cater for the tourists who are attracted by the city by cathedral, museums and castle. It also has a wide variety of small specialist shops. Now the city’s attractions include another imporant development,a modern shopping centre called „ The Castle Mall“.
Colchester has a long history, which you can recognize on everywhere in the streets. Balkerne Gate is one of the best-preserved Roman gateways in Briatin. „Jumbo“ is the town’s most amous landmark. It is a Victorian water-tower which took its name from the amous elephant. Dutch quarter with Georgian houses has been restored. The Flemish weavers lived there in the medieval times. The castle was built in the 11th centuryon a site of a Roman temple. There is a museum now. Colchester has been famous for its oysters from the River Colne since the Roman time.
THE SOUTHWEST
The principal industries here are farming and tourism. Most are small family farms with a mixture of cows, sheep and cereal crops. The main emphasis is on the dairy products. On Exmoor and Dartmoor, two highland areas, conditions are ideal for rearing sheep and beef cattle. Industry is centred on three large ports: Bristol, Portsmouth and Southhampton. In Bristol, aircraft are designed and built. In Portsmouth and Southhampton, the main industries are shipbuilding and oil-refining.
The region is the only one in Britain with an increasing population of both young and old. It has the mildest weather and is the most popular tourist area in the UK for Brits.
Dartmoor is a national park. The area is mainly moorland and hills, surrounded by farmland.
The New Forest is an area of heath and forest, and is best known for its wild ponnies.
The Cheddar Caves are a popular place with tourists. These underground caves contain amazing stalagmites and stalactites.
The coast is very popular with surfers because of large Atlatic waves.
„Land’s End“ is the most westerly point of GB. Tthe penninsula used to be well known for its pirates.
The romantic past of Cornwall makes it a popular place for writers and artists.
St. Ives, a Cornish fishing village, has always attracted painters and in 1993 a new modern art gallery was opened there.
The port of Bristol became rich in the 19th century by importing sugar, rum and tobacco and also by exporting slaves. It is the centre of the aviation industry now (Rolls Royce engines for planes).
The Roman town of Bath was setteled by the Romans beacuse of its natural hot spring, the only one in Britain. They built a temple to the godess Minerva. In the18th century the town became popular with the royal family and the aristocracy.
The county of Wiltshire is famous for the great stone monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury. No written records exist of the origins of these features and they have always been surrounded by mystery.
Stonehenge is the best known and probably the most remarkable of pehistoric remains in the UK. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for about 4000 years. There have been manz different theories about its original use and although modern methods of investigation have extended our knowledge no one is certain why it was built. One theory is that it was a place from where stars and planets could be observed. It was discovered that the positions of some of the stones related to the movements of the sun and moon, so that the stones could be used as a calendar to predict such things as eclipses. At one time people thought that it was a Druid temple.
THE HEART OF ENGLAND
Birmingham is the most important city in the Midlands, one of England’s most productive regions, with large industrial areas such as the Black Country in the West Midlands. However, there is also a lot of farming country, for example in the counties of Worcestershire, Shropshire and Leicastershire.
This region has some beautiful coutryside in the Peak District National Park, the Cotswold Hills and the Malvern Hills.
Buying and selling has been an important part of life in Birmingham for more than 800 years. In fact men used to sell their wives there. Nowadays Birmingham’s markets offer a large choice of other goods. You can visit a famous rag market 3 times a week, many open-air-markets as well as modern shopping centres.
There has been a town where Oxford stands for many centuries. The University began to establish itself in the middle of the 12th century. Oxford was a wealthy town until 14th century when the trade declined and plague appeared. Relations between students and the townspeople were very unfriendly, and there was often fighting in the streets. The best known descripcion of Oxford is „that sweet city with her dreaming spires“. However, Oxford isn’t only famous for its arcitecture. In the 20th century, it has developed quickly as an industrial and commercial centre. The Rover Group (OPEL with us) factory at Cowley, for example, is an important part of Britain’s motor industry.
Liverpool is one of Britain’s major ports and has long had an important ship-building industry.
Manchester and Sheffield are large industrial centres. Sheffield is famous for steel.
Shropshire is the birthplace of industrial revolution. Ironbridge, where iron was first made, is a living museum.
Coventry is famous for its magnificent modern cathedral. The waters of Leamington Spa can cure medical problems.
NORTH ANGLIA
This northernmost region of England contains some of the wildest and loneliest parts in the country, but also some of the busiest industrial centres. The Ice Age formend many deep valleys in the counties of Cumbria and North Yorkshire, made rivers into waterfalls and left behind hills and mountains. Beneath the earth is coal – the foundation of the region’s industry.
Northumberland Natinal Park has over 400 sq miles of moors, hills and forests.
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne was the first town to export coal. Today it is the centre of the ehavey engineering industry, particularly ship-building.
Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is connected to the mainland by a causeway at low tides. The monastry there was the birthplace of Christianity in England.
The historic city of York was the capital of Viking kingdom. Now itis, among other things, the home of world-famous chocolate and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The National Railway Museum’s collection of steam traind and Royal Carriages is world-famous. In the Castle Museum one can imagine oneself in Victorian Age. The most splendid of all is the magnificent Minster. It’s the largest cathedral in northern Europe. It is famous for its stain-glass windows, and the interior full of colour and light. You can see it for miles.
The Lake District is the most visited countryside area in England. Although it’s only 50 km long, it has many lakes. You can sail on some of the big lakes or walk in the mountains. Since it is a Natonal Park, there is special control over building.
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