The North West

Counties: Cumbria, Lancashire, Manchester, Mersey, Cheshire.

Consists of two metropolitan areas of Greater Manchester and Merseyside (where 57 % - 3,9 mln in 2001) of the region’s population live as well as the 3 shire counties – Cheshire, Cumbria, and Lancashire. It’s the 3^rd most populated region after London & the South East.

The metropolitan areas of Greater Manchester & Merseyside have the population densities of 1,970 & 2,110 inhabitants per km2 respectively.

The total economy of the NW in 2000 was larger than that of Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal or Finland in GVA terms.

The NW is historically connected with the textile industry (before the mid-20^th c.)

It became famous in the 18^th century for spinning and weaving and cotton mills.

The Industrial Revolution developed round Manchester. Modern Manchester’s industries include clothing, banking and manufacturing.

The 1990s saw a marked shift from manufacturing towards services (tourism became important).

The NW of England is home to Blackpool – England’s most popular coastal resort, the Lake District, 160 museums, Hadrian’s Wall -the most complete Roman city walls, the National Football Museum.

The region boasts 7 Premiership football clubs & in horse racing – the Grand National.

Manchester and Liverpool are Northwest’s largest cities & ports.

Liverpool is Britain’s 2^nd largest port after London.

There are also 53 km of canals and 39 km of navigable rivers in the region.

The port of Manchester lies 58 km inland.

Manchester Airport is the 3rd busiest in the UK.

The county of Cumbria is known as the Britain’s Energy Coast due to the large amounts of energy produced along the coasts of the county.

Sellafield nuclear plant – one of the major power stations in Cumbria (& the whole UK).

The city of Barrow-in Furness – major city producing submarines.

Cumbria is England’s 2^nd largest county. It’s known as the Lake District because it contains 15 large lakes, the biggest of which is Windermere. The Lake Dictrict is one of the most prominent vacation spots in the country.

Hadrian’s Wall, built 2000 yy. ago to guard against… is another tourist attraction. It was declared World Heritage site in 1987.

Much of the region is rich farmland. Dairy cattle graze on the low plains between the Pennines & the hills of North Wales.

10. Outline the economic & social dev-t of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Characterize the major industrial centers of the regions & their population.

Wales. The geography of Wales ranges from the predominantly rural mountainous areas of the north & west to the industrialized south-east. Wales comprises 2 sub-regions: West Wales & the Valleys and East Wales.

The name Wales comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning foreigner.

The largest urban settlements are Cardiff, the capital, Swansea & Newport in the south & Wrexham in the north.

The military conquest of Wales by England was completed in 1282, but the formal legal incorporation of Wales into the political institutions of the English state dates from the reign of Henry VIII in the first half of the 16^th c.

Wales retains its own language & distinctive culture. Separate political & administrative arrangements for Wales evolved over the course of the 20^th c.

With the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, administrative devolution has been accompanied by a degree of political devolution.

The National Assembly for Wales has responsibility for a wide range of policy areas in Wales, ranging from health & education to economic development & cultural policy.

Day-to-day management of these responsibilities lies with the Welsh Assembly Government, which is the executive arm of the National Assembly.

Historically Wales with its mountainous terrain has been isolated & agricultural but in the 19^th c. with the dev-t of the coal deposits the economy shifted away from agriculture & began to be integrated into the UK economy.

Wales has a long history of pastoral agriculture & mining. An abundant supply of good quality coal & iron ore was considered strength for 2 centuries, providing employment for hundreds of thousands.

By the 1980s falling domestic demand & declining competitiveness in international markets forced most coal pits still operating in Wales to close.

The decline of coal mining & steel industry has caused severe problems in Wales.

The last deep coal mine in Wales was closed in early 2008.

Coal is still produced in opencast mines in the south (1.6 m tonnes in 2008).

Welsh mines also produce limestone & slate.

Areas with good communications to the rest of Britain have been better placed to replace these old industries with new areas of activity such as light industry & services.

Elsewhere, the transition has been more difficult, despite gov-t schemes delivered directly or through agencies.

High unemployment & low incomes still remain in the south Wales valleys, in Western Wales.

Despite recent changes in structure, industry remains concentrated in the south & the north-east.

By contrast, service industries had a relatively small share at 66 % in 2009; similar to the North East.

Today Wales is home to a diverse manufacturing sector.

The refining of metal ore, much of which is imported, has long been a major industry.

Almost all the tin plate & much of the aluminium of the sheet steel produced in Britain are made in Welsh plants.

Since the 1940s many new industries have been established. These include oil refining & the manufacture of plastics, electronic equipment, synthetic fibres, & automotive parts.

Milford Haven, in southwestern Wales, is a major petroleum-importing port & refining centre. The 2 oil refineries near Milford Haven represent around a fifth of UK capacity.

In recent decades there has been substantial foreign investment in Wales. This has helped to offset the decline in employment in coal mining.

Wales is predominantly a rural country. Forests & woodland cover about 13 % of the land. 80 % of land is used for agriculture.

Agriculture and forestry provide just 3 % of employment in Wales.

The raising of livestock, mainly beef & dairy cattle & sheep, is more important than crop cultivation. The 10 mln sheep in Wales outnumber the human population by more than 3 to 1.

Crops include barley, oats, and potatoes.

The fishing industry is concentrated along the Bristol Channel.

Swansea, Newport & Cardiff are centers for financial & business services. Tourism too is an important part of the Welsh economy.

The Welsh economy today is the 10^th largest of the UK’s 12 regions ahead of only NI & the North East of England.

Currently Wales’ population is over 3 m people (2010).

The Flag of Wales incorporates the red dragon of Prince Cadwalader along with the Tudor colors of green & white.