Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Basic information
•    The British Isles are formed the two major islands of Great Britain and Ireland and more than 5,000 small ones.
•    Are washed off by the North Sea in the north and east, by the Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean in the west.
•    On the south, England and France are divided by the La Manche Channel.
•    The British are mostly protestant.
•    Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1343 and established the Church of England
National symbols
•    The British national flag is called Union Jack and it is a combination of:
o    St George's Cross (symbolizing England)
o    St Andrew's Cross (Scotland)
o    St Patrick's Cross (Ireland).
•    The national anthem is "God Save the Queen!".
•    St George is the patron saint of England.
History
•    The original inhabitants were the Celts and there are remnants of their language in Welsh and Scottish and Irish Gaelic.
•    The country was occupied about 3000 years ago by the Celts. In 55 BC the Romans came to Britain, they built roads and forts throughout the land, e.g. Hadrian's Wall against the invasion of Celtic tribes. They brought Christianity to Britain.
•    Angles called the country Britannia.
•    English kingdom and Scottish kingdom were separate, independent counties from 9 century. In 1284 Wales was joined to England. In 1707 Scotland was joined too. At that time Kingdom of Great Britain originated.
•    In 1920 Ireland was divided into 2 parts, and Northern Ireland was joined to Kingdom.
•    After 7 years the name was changed – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
•    After Industrial revolution and Napoleonic Wars the UK became a world-power. ¼ of land of the world belonged to UK. UK won both of world wars.
Geography
•    The island of Great Britain can be divided into two region'. Lowland Britain and Highland Britain.
o    Lowland Britain covers infantile rocks of the midland, southern and eastern England
o    Highland Britain comprises Scotland, Wales, the Pennines - which are called the backbone of England, the Lake District consisting mainly of very old rocky mountains and hilly regions.
•    The highest peak Ben Nevis (1,343m) is a part of the Scottish Highlands - in Grampians - and the highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon (1,085m).
•    The longest river is the Severn and the longest lake is Loch Fyne, which is situated in Scotland and penetrates more than 40 miles inland.
•    The most bigger British lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.
•    Other rivers are the Thames, the Avon, the Cam, the Tyne etc.
Climate
•    The climate in the U.K. is influenced by the Gulf Stream, so it is quite warm in England but it rains fairly often
•    The climate is mild and humid with average temperature ranging from 4°C in winter to 16°C in summer. For tourists, the summer is the best season with longer daylight and generally fine weather, not too hot for travelling (23-25°C).
•    March, April, May and June are considered to be the driest months of year.
Economy
•    UK is a member of G8. Most people work in tertiary sector. Only 2 % work in agriculture. 
•    We can find there fields of corn, fruits and vegetables. Also there are cows and sheep.
•    The most important natural resources are oil and natural gas, which lie under the Northern Sea.
•    Fishing is important for export.
•    Other industries are shipbuilding, motor vehicles, electronics, chemicals, food processing, textiles.
Political system
•    Divided into areas called counties There are 39 of them in England, 34 in Scotland, 13 in Wales and 6 counties are to be found in Northern Ireland.
•    The British Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of Great Britain and its former colonies in Europe, Asia, Africa and America (e.g. Malta, India, Malaysia). It was founded in 1931 and has 49 members. The Queen of England is the formal head in 17 dominions, e.g. Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
•    Constitutional monarchy with the Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. She is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and follows the advice of the Cabinet The British Parliament is one of the oldest in the world. )
•    In Northern Ireland, the sovereign is represented by a governor.
•    The Parliament includes
o    the sovereign
o    the House of Lords (which is the Upper House) with hereditary members and lifetime peers, archbishops and bishops
o    Lower House is called House of Commons with 650 elected and paid members,
•    The main role of the Upper House is to adopt laws, and Lord Chancellor is its head.
•    General election - in which members of the Lower House are elected every five years
•    Ministries (or Secretaries in the UK) are appointed by the Queen and the Cabinet is made once she has discussed this with the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is responsible to the Parliament.
•    Scotland has its own parliament. Based in Edinburgh, it is responsible for most aspects of life in Scotland.
•    U.K. is a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), UNESCO and the European Union although with the latter the membership is different as compared to other members of EU. They keep driving on the left, they use their original currency and use old measuring units (pints, miles, yards, pounds, inches, feet, stones etc.)   
Cities and places of interest
•    Edinburgh – cultural centre of Scotland. There are many festivals.
•    Oxford
o    has been a university town since 12th century. It lies on the river Thames. A popular means of transport especially for students are bicycle and punts.
•    Cambridge
o    lies on the river Cam and it's a university town as well.
o    Those two universities are big rivals and every year they organize rowing
o    There are many museums to explore such as the University Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.
•    Liverpool
o    became famous as the birthplace of the Beatles.
o    It became one of the world's greatest cities and ports
•    Canterbury
o    the famous cathedral with the grave of the archbishop Thomas Beckett
o    the cathedral was a popular destination for pilgrims from all over Europe, all throughout the Middle Ages
•    Salisbury Plains are famous for a place called Stonehenge.
o    These are giant stones in a circle.
o    They are assumed to be 3,000 years old.
o    It could have been an observatory, a calendar or a place for ceremonies.
o    Nobody knows for sure but the wonder lies in the question of how the stones could have been transported from the remote parts of Wales
•    Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
•    The Lake District is a National Park. There are many lakes, the biggest one being Lake Windermere. Lake poets used to live there and write about the countryside (William Wordsworth).
•    Hadrian's Wall lies across England near the Scottish border. It was built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian nearly 2,000 years ago.

Sport
•    UK is a cradle of football. (Manchester United, Manchester City, FC Arsenal , FC Liverpool).
•    The second popular sport is rugby.
•    The most played sport is cricket. Everyone plays cricket. We can find some sport centre in every city in UK. 
Something about Wales
•    The capital of Wales is Cardiff
•    St David is the patron saint of the country.
•    Most people are bilingual, they speak both English and Welsh.
•    There are the Cambrians with the highest peak Snowdon.
•    The national instrument is the harp and the symbol is daffodil (narcis).
•    On the flag there is a dragon
•    Wales is sometimes called a land of castles.
•    In Wales there is a village with the longest name in the world

Something about Scotland
•    The biggest Scottish city is Glasgow but the capital is the historical town of Edinburgh.
•    Scots speak English and in some parts Scottish Gaelic as well
•    The symbol of the country is thistle that (bodlák), according to a legend, saved the Scots from their enemies.
•    The patron saint of Scotland is St Andrew.
•    The typical instrument is the pipe and a typical Scot is dressed in a pleated tartan kilt.
•    the highest peak Ben Nevis
•    Loch Ness with the tourist attraction monster "Nessie" that was first sighted in 6th century.
•    The Scots love their traditional sports like tossing the caber, curling, tossing the hammer or a tug-of-war.

Something about Ireland
•    Ireland is divided into the Northern Ireland, or Ulster, and the Republic of Ireland called Eire. The capital of Ulster is Belfast and the capital of Eire is Dublin.
•    Irish flag is a tricolour of green, symbolizing native Roman Catholics, orange, British supporters of William of Orange and white, peace between them.
•    The Irish are mostly fair-skinned, red-haired people who speak English and Irish Gaelic.
•    The symbol of the country is a green clover symbolizing the Holy Trinity
•    The patron saint of Ireland is St Patric.
•    The Irish like playing Gaelic Football or hurling.