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England Travel Guide - England Holiday Guide
TheHolidayAbroad.com is an “Intelligent Travel Guide”, for use by travellers and travel agents alike, and as an interesting Geography tool in the classroom. World Travel Guides are being published under The HolidayAbroad banner on every country and major city in the world.
The England Travel Guide is planned as a new photo-visual travel guide portal for travellers planning to go to England, part of the United Kingdom, on holiday or vacation abroad. The site is currently in BETA development with content being added on a regular basis.
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Did you watch the British Royal Wedding on Television on 29th April 2011 between Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? It is estimated 2 Billion people all around the World saw the event live. If so, you cannot have been unimpressed by the magnificence of the occasion which only the British can do so well. The United Kingdom is set for an increase in Tourism, not least because of the weak pound, but also the coming of the 2012 London Olympic Games. We shall be featuring Photo Travel Guides, with important links, on many of the great places to visit in England
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Then, as a starter ,take just a few minutes to read some of what Wikipedia (a highly reputable source of information on the Web) says about England.
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England (
i /ˈɪŋɡlənd/) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.[6][7][8] It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, theCeltic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithicperiod, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world.[9] The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country’s parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations.[10] The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world’s first industrialised nation.[11] England’s Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.[12]
England’s terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District,Pennines, and Yorkshire Dales) and in the south west (for example, Dartmoor and theCotswolds). London, England’s capital, is the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.[note 3] England’s population is about 51 million, around 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, and is largely concentrated in London, the South East and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. Meadowlands and pastures are found beyond the major cities.
The Kingdom of England—which after 1284 included Wales—was a sovereign state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union put into effect the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year, resulting in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain.[13][14] In 1800, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through anotherAct of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the Irish Free State was established as a separate dominion, but the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927reincorporated into the kingdom six Irish counties to officially create the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Geography
Wastwater in the Lake District -wikipedia-
Geographically England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly. It is bordered by two fellow countries of the United Kingdom—to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. England is closer to the European Continent than any other part of mainland Britain. It is separated from France by a 34-kilometre (21 mi)[113] sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel nearFolkestone.[114] As England is on an island, it is surrounded by the water of the Irish Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
The major ports of London, Liverpool, and Newcastle, lie on the tidal rivers of the Thames, Mersey and Tyne respectively. The tides raise the level of water in their estuaries and enable ships to enter the ports. At 354 kilometres (220 mi), the Severn is the longest river flowing through England.[115] It empties into the Bristol Channel and is notable for its Severn Bore tidal waves, which can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height.[116] However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 346 kilometres (215 mi) in length.[117] There are many lakes in England; the largest is Windermere, within the aptly named Lake District.[118]
In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the “backbone of England”, are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago.[119] The total length of the Pennines is 400 kilometres (250 mi), peaking at Cross Fell in Cumbria.[120] The material of which they are composed is mostly sandstone and limestone, but also coal. There arekarst landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The Pennine landscape is high moorland in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region’s rivers. They contain three national parks, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, and the Peak District. The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft), isScafell Pike in Cumbria.[118] Straddling the border between England and Scotland are the Cheviot Hills.
The English Lowlands are to the south of the Pennines, consisting of green rolling hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs—where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. The granitic Southwest Peninsula in the West Country provides upland moorland, such asDartmoor and Exmoor, which flourish with a mild climate; both are national parks.[121]
Climate
England has a temperate maritime climate meaning that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer.[122] The weather is damp relatively frequently and is subject to change. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the English coast, while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather with least rainfall are May, June, September and October.[122]
The biggest influences on the climate of England comes from the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northern latitude and warming of the waters around the Gulf Stream.[122] England receives quite a significant proportion of rainfall during the year, with autumn and winter being the wettest time—geographically the Lake District receives more rain than anywhere else in the country.[122] Since weather recording records began, the highest temperature received was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 10 August 2003 at Brogdale in Kent,[123] while the lowest was −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 in Edgmond, Shropshire.[124]
Economy
England’s economy is one of the largest in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £22,907.[131] Usually regarded as a mixed market economy, it has adopted manyfree market principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure.[132] The official currency in England is the pound sterling, also known as the GBP. Taxation in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe—as of 2009 the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £37,400, and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.[133]
The economy of England is the largest part of the UK’s economy,[131] which has the 18th highest GDP PPP per capita in the world. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry. London, home to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom’s main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England’s financial centre—100 of Europe’s 500 largest corporations are based in London.[134] London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2009 is also the largest in the world.[135]
The Bank of England, founded in 1694 by Scottish banker William Paterson, is the United Kingdom’s central bank. Originally instituted to act as private banker to the Government of England, it carried on in this role as part of the United Kingdom—since 1946 it has been a state-owned institution.[136] The Bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, although not in other parts of the United Kingdom. Its Monetary Policy Committee has devolved responsibility for managing the monetary policy of the country and setting interest rates.[1
England is highly industrialised, but since the 1970s there has been a decline in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a moreservice industry oriented economy.[82] Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated by pharmaceuticals, automobiles—although many English marques are now foreign-owned, such as Rolls-Royce, Lotus, Jaguar and Bentley—crude oil and petroleum from the English parts of North Sea oil along with Wytch Farm, aircraft engines and alcoholic beverages.[138] Agriculture is intensive and highly mechanised, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force.[139] Two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops.[14
Cuisine
English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport. The charity National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty holds a contrasting role. Seventeen of the twenty-five United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England.[268] Some of the best known of these include; Hadrian’s Wall, Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London, Jurassic Coast, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, Studley Royal Park and various others.[269]
There are many museums in England, but the most notable is London’s British Museum. Its collection of more than seven million objects[270] is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world,[271] sourced from every continent, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. The British Library in London is the national library and is one of the world’s largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats; including around 25 million books.[272] The most senior art gallery is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.[273] The Tate galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host the famously controversial Turner Prize.[27
National Symbols
The national flag of England, known as St. George's Cross, has been the national flag since the 13th century. Originally the flag was used by the maritime state the Republic of Genoa. The English monarch paid a tribute to the Doge of Genoa from 1190 onwards, so that English ships could fly the flag as a means of protection when entering the Mediterranean. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with Saint George, along with countries and cities, which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner.[292] Since 1606 the St George’s Cross has formed part of the design of the Union Flag, a Pan-British flag designed by King James I.[201]
There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the Tudor rose, the nation’s floral emblem, the White Dragon and the Three Lions featured on the Royal Arms of England. The Tudor rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses as a symbol of peace.[293] It is a syncretic symbol in that it merged the white rose of the Yorkists and the red rose of the Lancastrians—cadet branches of the Plantagenets who went to war over control of the royal house. It is also known as the Rose of England.[294] The oak tree is a symbol of England, representing strength and endurance. The term Royal Oak is used to denote the escape of King Charles II from the grasps of the parliamentarians after his father’s execution; he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before making it safely into exile.
The Royal Arms of England, a national coat of arms featuring three lions, dates back to its adoption by Richard the Lionheart from 1198–1340. It is described as gules, three lions passant guardant or and provide one of the most prominent symbols of England; it is similar to the traditional arms of Normandy. England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has God Save the Queen. However, the following are often considered unofficial English national anthems: Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory (used for England during the 2002 Commonwealth Games),[295] and I Vow to Thee, My Country. England’s National Day is St George’s Day, as Saint George is the patron saint of England, it is held annually on 23 April.[296]
The Tudor Rose -wikipedia-
The Royal Arms of England -wikipedia-
External Links
- Official website of the United Kingdom Government
- English Heritage – national body protecting English heritage
- Natural England – wildlife and the natural world of England
- Enjoy England – website of the English Tourist Board
- BBC England – news items from the BBC relating to England
- England travel guide from Wikitravel
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Published from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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