One of the safest
places to explore is the United Kingdom. With English as the main
language and a healthy online population, it is an obvious place to
start your static globetrotter expedition. The country is
well-represented by Google street view as well (actually, a little
too well according to some
reports!) It's also small enough that you can get a very good
impression with little effort.
Geography
The Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland is comprised of four separate countries,
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Although the Isle of
Man and the Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) are
dependencies of the Crown according to Wikipedia, they are not part
of the UK. (For confusion's sake, the term “Great Britain” does
not include Northern Ireland, whereas the term “the British Isles”
includes all of Ireland as well.
Area of the UK
The United Kingdom
is slightly larger than the US state of Minnesota and slightly
smaller than Michigan (or Wyoming or Oregon – both similar sizes)
with a population of around 63 million people. This is broken down
into:
* England
– just over 50,000 square miles (130,000 square kilometers) -
slightly larger than Mississippi and slightly smaller than Louisiana.
* Scotland
- just over 30,000 square miles (nearly 79,000 square kilometers) - a
little smaller than South Carolina.
* Wales
- only 8000 square miles (nearly 21,000 square kilometers) - smaller
than the state of New Jersey.
* Northen
Ireland - just over 5000 square miles (nearly 14,000 square
kilometers) – about the size of Connecticut.
The Peoples of the UK
Most people in the
UK speak some variant or other of English. There are also native
populations of Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic speakers as well
as many immigrant groups who have brought their native tongues with
them.
Britain has been
inhabited for a very long time; even thousands of years before the
last great Ice Age, there were people of some description living on
these islands. According to Wikipedia, some 80% of modern British DNA
originated from the Ice Age hunters who lived on the islands before
the glaciers melted.
As various people
migrated (or invaded), there were influxes of the Beaker people,
Celtic tribes, Saxons, Romans, Gaels – and that's still in the
prehistoric section of British history! Then, we had the Viking
raids, the Norman invasion, the Romani (sometimes known as Gypsies)
and people fleeing persecution in Europe. In colonial times, many
came from India and Africa. These days, there are still people
fleeing persecution from the Middle East and Eastern Europe and many
others taking advantage of various treaties – all looking for a new
and happier life in the United Kingdom.
With such a history
of migration, it isn't surprising that each group has left its mark
on the UK.
Historical Landmarks
Britain is famous
for its many landmarks.
* Ancient peoples
left behind hill forts, standing stones, cairns and chalk figures.
* The Romans left
behind their roads, amphitheaters, baths and other ruins.
* Medieval Britain
left behind castles, stoneworks, abbeys, cathedrals and churches.
Many manor houses and palaces had their beginnings in this time.
* Industrialization
gave Britain a legacy of mining and other industrial riches including
the Iron Bridge and, later, the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol.
* The British Empire
brought more grand manors and country estates; museums, bridges and
Kew Gardens.
* The various wars
Britain has fought is marked in many museums and fortresses. Historic
dockyards in places like London and Portsmouth display the rich naval
history of Britain.
* Trains have also
lent a rich heritage all of their own. Some of the old steam engines
have been restored and currently run on special excusion trains
throughout Britain.
* Modern times have
added icons such as the London Eye, the Millennium Bridge, the
Olympic Stadium in London and the Millennium stadium in Cardiff.
With museums and
plaques across the country, it is difficult to find a location where
history has been forgotten.
Sporting Events
The United Kingdom
could be considered the birth place of modern sport. Many popular
sports originated in this area. From “association football”
(soccer) and rugby, to cricket and rounders, to field hockey and
curling, you will have a hard time finding a team sport that wasn't
originally thought of in Britain. Even basketball and it's relative,
netball, have their origins in Britain. For more individual sports,
boxing, snooker, billiards, tennis and table tennis; golf, badminton,
squash, even darts were all developed in Britain.
Although Great
Britain is not a leader at the Winter Olympics, they shine in the
Summer where they took fourth in the medal table in 2012. They are
particularly proficient in sailing, cycling, rowing, and athletics.
Other popular sports
in Britain include Formula 1 (motor racing) and equestrian events
such as racing (flat or over fences) and eventing. Two of the six
4-star events on the annual eventing calendar happen in Britain –
the Badminton Horse Trials and the Burghley (pronounced Burley) Horse
Trials.
Arts and Entertainment
If you're more
interested in the arts, there are many ways of discovering your inner
Brit.
From Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales to Shakespeare to Jane Austen and the Bronte
sisters; Dickens to Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie, there
are many, many authors who gave Britain a very rich literary history.
Today, there are
many TV programs and movies which give an insight into British life.
From “Fawlty
Towers” and “Jeeves and Wooster” to “Four Weddings and a
Funeral” and “Doctor Who”, you will find many British shows to
help you understand the culture. The more risque “Monty Python”,
“Little Britain” and comedienne, Catherine Tate, challenge
Britons to understand themselves (and examine their prejudices) more
thoroughly. Traditional British literature also adds unending fodder
to the diet of the dramatist.
Britain has produced
its share of show biz celebrities from Patrick Stewart, John Cleese
and Stephen Fry to Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Grant and Ewan McGregor. Then
there's Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Angela Lansbury; Maggie Smith,
Helena Bonham Carter and Kate Winslet; Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley
and Emma Watson. (And that's without hardly breaking a sweat!) Even
Bollywood has a big following in Britain – following the massive
immigration from India with the dissolution of the British Empire.
Cultural immersion
Another option is to
find some British television programming which isn't so easy as most
of their channel websites will not allow you to stream their live
programming from outside of the UK. But there are other options such
as BBC America. Otherwise, you can use their TV listings to know what
to look for, then find a site which allows you to watch these
programs.
Looking at British
newspaper websites is another option. Freedom of the press *is* an
important notion in the UK, however, the main newspapers will lean
their views in certain, but predictable, directions. “The Daily
Telegraph” is followed by many supporters of the Labour party;
similarly, “The Times” is followed by Conservatives and “The
Guardian” by Liberal Democrats. Then, there's “The Daily Mail”
which is simultaneously loved and loathed by many. The BBC maintains
a news website as well.
Gardens and Wildlife
Naturalists will
love the many gardens which dot the country. From Kew to the Eden
Project to the Lost Gardens of Heligan (my personal favorite), you
can take great inspiration from the gardeners of both past and
present.
There are also
plenty of good locations to watch wildlife – though some require
separate boat rides, like to the Island of Lundy – where you'll
find a great many puffins!
There are also caves
and mining pits to explore with tour guides, seals along the coast
and zoological parks of the highest standard.
In a Nutshell
As you can see, it
would take a long time to fully explore everything Great Britain has
to offer if you did it in real life, having to pay for it with real
money, etc. When you explore as a “static globetrotter”, you can
see everything much more quickly and cheaply. Then, if you do decide
to visit in person, you will know exactly where you want to go –
enabling you to make the very most of your travels.
As this country is
one I have the most information about, I will include living
information in a separate article. As I get a chance, I will add info
on the various counties in the UK. There are quite a few of them, and
they change from time to time.
Links to:
Living in BritainLondon
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