Basic information about Great Britain
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (The UK) is the official name of the state which is situated in the British Isles. It consists of four countries which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The UK is an island state. The two main islands are Great Britain and Ireland. The two islands are separated by the Irish Sea. The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The UK is also washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the North Sea in the east.
The United Kingdom is very small compared with many other countries in the world. However there are only nine other countries with more people. More than 63 million people live in Britain. Many of them live in big industrial cities like London, Manchester and Liverpool. London is the world’s seventh biggest city.
Foreigners are often surprised by the fact that much of land in Britain is open country. There are many lonely hills, quiet rivers, deep lakes and just farmlands especially in the south of the country. When you travel about Great Britain you can see how the scenery changes right in front of your eyes. Highlands turn into lowlands, forests and hills turn into meadows and plains very quickly. Britain is an unusually beautiful country!
Everyone in the UK speaks English but they all speak it differently. A Scottish person has to listen carefully if he wants to understand a Londoner or a Welsh person.
As you know, the flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. It is made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George (the patron saint of England), the cross of St. Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland) and the cross of St. Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland).