Part I. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Unit1. Cultural aspects of geography

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

BASIC FACTS:

National flag of the United Kingdom `Union Jack`

• Highest mountain: Ben Nevis, in the highland of Scotland, at 1, 343 m (4, 406 ft)

• Longest river: the Severn, 354 km (220 miles) long, which rises in central Wales,

and flows through Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester in |England to the Bristol

Channel

• Largest lake: Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, at 396 sq km (153 sq miles)

• Most northerly point on the British mainland: Dunnet Head, north-east Scotland

• Most southerly point on the British mainland: Lizard Point, Cornwall.

• Closest point to mainland continental Europe: Dover, Kent.

• The Channel Tunnel, which links England and France, is a little over 50 km (31 miles) long,)

• Symbolical character of Britain: John Bull .

Task 1. Read the text and focus on what the islands are known for.

Physical Features, landscape.

The country, which is known as Britain, Great Britain or UK is situated on a group of islands. The largest of the islands is Great Britain. The next largest one is Ireland. Besides, in the English Channel there is a large Isle of Wight [il v wit], a favourite place of queen Victoria, now the venue of a famous yacht club and yachting regatta. The Isle of Wight is almost the smallest county in the country (after Rutland). It measures 23 miles from east to west, and 13¹/4 from north to south, giving a total area (including inland water) of 94,146 acres, or 147 square miles. The Island is divided into two boroughs - Medina & South Wight, with Newport as the all-Island capital, although Ryde is the largest town. Further in the Atlantic Ocean there are the Isles of Scilly [ilz v sili] , a group of about 140 small rocky islands, only 5 of those are inhabited. The weather there is warmer than in the rest of Britain so the Isles of Scilly are popular with tourists. There is a whole range of plants – yukkas, exotic flowers – which cannot grow on mainland. To the west of Great Britain from South to North we come to Anglesey [eglsi] and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. In Celtic times Anglesey was called Mona and was the stronghold of Druids. Anglesey is situated off the north-west coast of Wales near the beautiful Snowdonia mountain range. It is separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait, which is spanned by two picturesque bridges, the Menai Bridge and the Britannia Bridge. Anglesey was known as Mam Cymru [mam kamri]('Mother of Wales') during the middle ages because its fertile fields formed the breadbasket for the north of Wales. The town of Holyhead is the main ferry port for travel across the Irish Sea to Dublin and Llangefni, in the centre of the island, is the county town.

The Isle of Manis famous for its tailless Manx cats. It is under British control but has its own parliament, the TYNWALD. Well-known motorcycle TT races (Tourist Trophy) is held in the Isle of Man every year.

Western Scotland is fringed by the large island chain known as the Hebrides [‘hebridiz].

The Hebrides are a marvellous and unique destination for a short break or longer holiday, where even at the height of summer you can still enjoy the pleasure of having a sparkling clean mile-long sandy beach all to yourself. In a wonderful variety of unspoilt natural settings you will find not only breathtaking scenery and wildlife, but also the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities from climbing, hill walking and cycling to diving, boat trips and some excellent sea and freshwater fishing. One of the Hebrides is Iona. This little island, with its impressive Benedectine Abbey was chosen by St Columba as the starting point for his mission to establish Christianity in Scotland, in the sixth century. To the north east of the Scottish mainland are the Orkney [o:kni] and Shetland [etlend] Islands. Iona [I’ouna], one of the Hebrides, attracts tourists and artists by its picturesque ruins of an ancient monastery. Iona is famous as the starting place in the 6^th century of Scots Christianity.

All these along with the Isle of Wight, Anglesey and the Isles of Scilly, have administrative ties with the mainland, but the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands between Great Britain and France are largely self-governing, and are not part of the United Kingdom. They are territories controlled by UK. The UK is one of the 15 member states of the European Union (EU). Great Britain’s landscape is marked by an incredible and admirable variety of scenery. You can enjoy the green and pleasant land dotted by idyllic cottages in the Cotswold Hills, which is the zone where the Thames rises, there are pretty valleys where sheep dogs skilfully herd flocks, you can marvel at the imposing rocky walls of the Pennines and breathtakingly beautiful lakes in Snowdonia and in the Lake District. The white cliffs of Dover, the Romantic Cornwall coastline are associated with legends about smuggles and land pirates. The gorgeous Highlands of Scotland took heart of the great Scottish poet, Robert Burns. My heart’s in the Highlands,

My heart is not here.

My heart’s in the Highlands,

A’chasing a deer.

With an area of about 243, 000 square kilometres (93,000 sq. miles), the United Kingdom is just under 1,000 km (about 600 miles) from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under 500 km (around 300 miles) across at the widest point.