The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main countries which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state which is sometimes referred to as Great Brit­ain or Britain.

 The UK is an island state: it is composed of some 5,500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are: Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic) to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.

The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. The UK is situated off the northwest coast of Europe between the At­lantic Ocean on the north and northwest and the North Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.

 The chief rivers of Great Britain are: the Severn, flowing along the border between England and Wales, the Thames, which flows eastward to the port of London and some others. 

There are many lakes in Great Britain. On the northwest side of the Pennine system lays the Lake District. The largest cities of Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glas­gow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, and Edinburgh. The most important ports are: London, Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff. Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the largest, the most industrial and most densely populated part of the Unit­ed Kingdom. Over 46 million people out of the population of the UK live in England.

The greatest concentrations of population are in London, Birming­ham and northwest industrial cities. The coasts of England are washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. No part of England is more than 120 kilometres from the sea.

 There are many rivers in England. The longest is the Severn (388 km), the most important is the Thames (354 km). The rivers are of great importance for communication and especially for carrying goods.

England is mostly a lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat.

London

When we think of Paris, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and other Euro­pean capitals, we think of them as 'cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city', not even as a city and its suburbs. Modern London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the cen­turies; it is a number of cities, towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.

London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames; it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.

London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cul­tural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.

London consists of three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.

The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.

The West End can be called the centre of London. Here are the his­torical palaces as well as the famous parks. Hyde Park with its Speak­er's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gar­dens, St. James's Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament.

The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Gov­ernment offices, Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Min­ister and the place where the Cabinet meets, Fleet Street'' where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others.

The name 'West End' came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.

It is in the West End where the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.

Visitors with plenty of money to spend and who come chiefly for enjoyment are likely to pass most of their time in the West End.

The Port of London is to the east of the City. Here, today are kilo­metres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that de­pend upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.