United Kingdom at a Glance

        Hola.. Here’s come the country edition post. The first post would be all about UK. Why UK? I don’t know. I’m just recently falling in love with this country. So, check out these more.

    Some of us maybe confused a lot about the difference between United Kingdom, Britain, Great Britain, and British Isles.

      Well, United Kingdom is a country comprising 4 parts of the country, i.e. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. England is a country forming the southern and largest part of the United Kingdom with London as its capital. United Kingdom is officially named the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island.

      Meanwhile, British Isles is a group of islands consisting of the large islands of Great Britain and Ireland and almost 5000 surrounding smaller islands and islets. Great Britain is the largest island in the cluster of British Isles. British is term to call people of the United Kingdom (in short, you can call the Brit).

Let's make some peeps! :)

Tower of London

The Tower of London, located on the northern bank of the Thames River, was built about 1078. It was used alternately as a fortress, royal residence, and state prison in its early years. Today, it is maintained as an arsenal with a garrison, and is open to the public. The well-preserved Norman and medieval structures cover nearly 7.2 hectares (18 acres).

Island of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Boats glide through the harbor of Tobermory, the main town on the Island of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, located off the coast of Scotland. The bay purportedly holds the wreck of a Spanish Armada galleon that went down in the 16th century. Sheltered inlets, rocky cliffs, coastal skerries, and desolate moorlands add to the island’s scenic beauty.

Lake Windermere, Lake District, England

Watersports enthusiasts windsurf on Lake Windermere in England’s Lake District. Windermere has become a popular venue for watersports and fishing, leading to conflicts with conservationists over the use of the area.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city. The view here is of the city with the hills south of the Firth of Forth.

Cambridge University, Cambridge, England

Founded in the 13th century, Cambridge University is one of the oldest educational institutions in Europe and one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Among its many distinguished graduates are Charles Darwin, John Maynard Keynes, Oliver Cromwell, and John Milton.

Rugby School, England

The playing fields of Rugby School, in Warwickshire, witnessed the birth of rugby football in 1823 when William Webb Ellis, a pupil, picked the ball up while playing football. Founded in 1567, the school is a leading English public school, renowned for its science education.

All Souls College, Oxford University

England’s oldest institution of higher learning, Oxford University, is a federation of 35 colleges, each with its own structure and activities. Many prominent people have attended the All Souls College, Shown here.

Big Ben, London

Named after Sir Benjamin Hall, London’s portly commissioner of works, Big Ben is the great bell in the clock tower on the eastern end of the Houses of Parliament in London. The booming 13.5-ton bell first rang out in 1859.

The Seven Sisters, England

Visible from far away because of their striking color, the Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs on the coastline of southeastern England, near the town of Eastbourne. The chalk of which the cliffs are made is a type of limestone found on both the English and French sides of the English Channel.

Dartmoor Prison, England

Built in 1802 to hold French prisoners of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain’s famous Dartmoor Prison lies in the historic moorlands of southwestern England. The region’s rugged beauty results from a dramatic combination of granite outcroppings, heather-covered slopes, grassy lowlands, and tracts of dark peat and treacherous bogs. The wild and desolate terrain of Dartmoor is vividly evoked in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). The region is also the site of several prehistoric building remains and Druidic settlements.

Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham

The city of Birmingham, England, is a major commercial and retail center. It was home to one of Britain’s first purpose-built shopping complexes—the Bull Ring, which opened in 1964. The original building was demolished in 2001 and a new retail and residential development, known as the Bullring, opened in 2003.

Roman Bath

The Romans were originally attracted to the natural hot springs near what is now the city of Bath in England, pictured here. They founded the city and excavated the baths to exploit their medicinal value. The baths are now famous landmarks.

London from the Air

This view of London, taken from the air, shows the city’s financial district spread out around the River Thames. The Canary Wharf Tower in the London Docklands dominates both the skyline and the regeneration project around the old wharves.

Thames River in London

The Thames River is the most important river in England and the main source of London’s water supply. In this picture, the Palace of Westminster is on the left, in front of Westminster Bridge (thought to be the site of the Romans’ first crossing point). On the south bank of the river (on the right of the picture) are Lambeth Palace (the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury), the South Bank Centre arts complex and the London Eye.

Aerial View of Avebury Stone Circle

Avebury circle, shown from the air, is a Neolithic monument built from about 2800 to 2700 bc, during the Bronze Age in Britain. An embankment and a ditch enclose a large ceremonial area in which there are several circles of stones and a village. Many of the stones were removed for use in construction as the village expanded during the 17th century.

London Tower Bridge

The 244-m (800-ft) Tower Bridge spans the Thames River in London. It was the only movable bridge crossing the Thames when it was completed in 1894. Sir Horace Jones designed the bridge, and Sir John Wolfe Barry built it.

Well, that's all. Enjoy and visit England!

xoxo