1_The_United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom is a country situated north-west of continental Europe. It consist of the two islands, Great Britain and Ireland. These islands are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and its parts, the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel. There is also a lot of smaller islands which belong to the United Kingdom such as the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Hebrides in the north or the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland.

The relief of the country is mostly mountainous but there are also some lowlands. Some of the well-known mountain ranges are the Scottish Highlands, the Pennines, the Cambrian mountains or the Grampians with the highest mountain of the United Kingdom, Ben Nevis.

In Great Britain there we can find many lakes, mostly in Scotland, the most famous is Loch Ness, the others are for example Loch Lomond or Lough Neagh. And there is also Lake District in the north of England, which is very popular holiday destination for the British.

Some of the well known rivers are the Thames, the Avon, the Severn or the Mersey.

The climate there is influenced by the Atlantic ocean. The weather is very changeable but it’s mild and there aren’t big differences between summer and winter temperatures.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy composed of four parts - England (with the capital London, which is also the capital of the whole United Kingdom), Scotland (with the capital Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff) and Northern Ireland (Belfast). The interesting fact is that their constitution isn’t codified, which means it isn’t in written form. They have only traditional rights system and habits.

The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system, which has two houses, an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords. The main political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. The head of the state has been the Queen Elizabeth II. since 1952. However, the role of the monarch is mainly ceremonial, because the executive power is done by the Prime Minister who is currently David Cameron from the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister’s residence is in 10 Downing Street and he is appointed by the Queen. The national anthem is called God Save the Queen.

The population of the UK counts over 60 million people. The official languages are English, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. Nowadays, the population is a mixture of nations, particularly in London, which has over 7 million citizens. The other big cities are for example Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds or Manchester.

Now I would like to tell a brief history of the United Kingdom. Around the year 2000 BC, the area of Britain was inhabitated by the ancient Celtic tribes.

Then about 55 BC the Romans came to Britain under the lead of Julius Caesar. They built many signifiant landmarks there. For example the Hadrian’s Wall, which served as a protection against the Scottish tribes from the north. They also founded Londinium during their second invasion a hundred years later. Nowadays you can see the sings of their living in many British towns.