British History in Credo: UK Geography

Archipelago (2005 est. pop. 156,000), 75 sq mi (194 sq km), 10 mi (16 km) off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. The main islands are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.

Range of limestone hills in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset, England, 80 km/50 mi long, between Bath and Chipping Camden.

Plateau of southwest Devon, England; mostly a national park, 956 sq km/369 sq mi in area. Over half the region is around 300 m/1,000 ft above sea level.

Moorland district in north Devon and west Somerset, southwest England, forming (with the coast from Minehead to Combe Martin) a national park since 1954.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
River in central Scotland, with its headstreams, Duchray Water and Avondhu, rising on the northeast slopes of Ben Lomond. It flows east approximately 105 km/65 mi to Kincardine where the Firth of Forth begins.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Group of more than 500 islands (fewer than 100 inhabited) off the west coast of mainland Scotland; total area 2,900 sq km/1,120 sq mi.

Region in Cumbria, northwest England. It contains the principal English lakes, separated by wild uplands rising to many peaks.

From Brewer's Britain and Ireland
The largest lake in Ireland, and, at 396 sq km (153 sq miles), bigger by a factor in excess of five than anything Britain has to offer. It is surrounded by five of the six counties of Northern Ireland.

River in northwest England; length 112 km/70 mi. Formed by the confluence of the Goyt and Tame rivers at Stockport, it flows west through the south of Manchester, is joined by the Irwell at Flixton and by the Weaver at Runcorn, and enters the Irish Sea at Liverpool Bay.

A region of woodland and heath in S England, in SW Hampshire: a hunting ground of the West Saxon kings; tourist area, noted for its ponies.

Sea to the east of Britain and bounded by the coasts of Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway; part of the Atlantic.

A group of over 70 islands off the N coast of Scotland, separated from the mainland by the Pentland Firth: constitutes an island authority of Scotland.

Elevated plateau of the south Pennines in northwest Derbyshire, central England; area 1,438 sq km/555 sq mi. It is a tourist region and part of it forms a national park.

River in Britain, which rises on the slopes of Plynlimon, in Ceredigion, west Wales, and flows east and then south, finally forming a long estuary leading into the Bristol Channel; length 336 km/208 mi.

Islands and unitary authority off the north coast of Scotland, 80 km/50 mi northeast of the Orkney Islands, an important centre of the North Sea oil industry, and the most northerly part of the UK.

River in south England, flowing through London; length 338 km/210 mi. The longest river in England, it rises in the Cotswold Hills above Cirencester and is tidal as far as Teddington.

Island administrative unitary authority area in Scotland, also known as the Outer Hebrides, including the major islands of Lewis-with-Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula, and Barra.

Europe's largest stone circle (diameter 412 m/1,350 ft), in Wiltshire, England.

The national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ethnography.

A rail tunnel beneath the English Channel, which opened in 1994, linking Cheriton near Folkstone in England, with Sangatte near Calais in France.

Cistercian abbey in North Yorkshire, England, situated 13 km/8 mi north of Harrogate. Celebrated as the greatest monument to English monasticism and its architecture, it was founded about 1132, and closed in 1539 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Line of fortifications built by the Roman emperor Hadrian across northern Britain from the Cumbrian coast on the west to the North Sea on the east.

One of the largest open spaces in London, England, occupying over 138 ha/340 acres in Westminster, and adjoining Gardens to the west. It includes the Serpentine, a boating lake; and Rotten Row, a riding track.

Printing establishment in London. There William Morris led the 19th-century revival of the art and craft of making books (see arts and crafts). The first book made by the press was The Story of the Glittering Plain (1891), by William Morris.

Purpose-built structure in London, England, designed as the centrepiece for UK celebrations of the year 2000. Located on a 73-ha/181-acre site in the borough of Greenwich, the Dome is 320 m/1,050 ft in diameter, 1 km/0.6 mi in circumference, 50 m/164 ft in height, and covers an area of 80,425 sq m/865,687 sq ft.

From Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable
A megalithic passage tomb dating from about 3200 bc. It is situated in the Boyne Valley, near Slane in Co. Meath. The grave-mound, which is kidney-shaped, is about 11 m (36 ft) high and 90 m (300 ft) in diameter, and has been reconstructed with materials found on the site after a major excavation that began in 1962.

Megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, 3 km/1.9 mi west of Amesbury in Wiltshire, England.

National art gallery group in the UK, with museums in London, Liverpool, and St Ives.

Resort in southern England, 41 km/25 mi south of Exeter; from April 1998, administrative headquarters of Torbay unitary authority; population (2001) 62,950. It is a sailing centre and has an annual regatta in August. Tourism is very important.

Square in central London, England. On the north side of the square is the National Gallery and to the south is Whitehall. It was laid out from the designs of Charles Barry 1829-67 to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar, the naval victory of 1805.

Historic county of Northern Ireland, occupying the northeastern corner of Northern Ireland, with a coastal eastern boundary; area 2,830 sq km/1,092 sq mi.

Historic county of Northern Ireland, bordering Lough Neagh to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south; area 1,250 sq km/483 sq mi.

Historic city and administrative headquarters of Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, southwest England, 171 km/106 mi west of London; population (2001) 90,200.

Capital city and industrial port of Northern Ireland , situated in County Antrim.

Industrial city and administrative headquarters of West Midlands metropolitan county, central England, second-largest city in the UK, 177 km/110 mi northwest of London; population (2001) 970,900.

Seaside resort in Brighton and Hove unitary authority, on the south coast of England; population (2001) 134,300. The city was part of the county of East Sussex until 1997. It is an education and service centre with two universities, language schools, and tourist and conference business facilities.

City and administrative headquarters of Cambridgeshire, eastern England, on the River Cam, 80 km/50 mi north of London; population (2001) 117,700. It is the seat of Cambridge University (founded in the 13th century).

Seaport, capital of Wales (from 1955), and administrative centre of Cardiff unitary authority.

From Brewer's Britain and Ireland
A county in southeastern Northern Ireland, in the traditional province of Ulster. It is bordered on the west by Armagh, on the north by Antrim, on the east by the North Channel and the Irish Sea, and to the south by Carlingford Lough.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Market town and seaport in Kent, southeast England, on the coast of the English Channel; population (2001) 34,100. It is Britain's nearest point to mainland Europe, 34 km/21 mi from Calais, France. Dover is the world's busiest passenger port and England's principal cross-channel port.

Capital and administrative centre of Scotland and Edinburgh City unitary authority, near the southern shores of the Firth of Forth.

City and administrative headquarters of Glasgow City unitary authority, situated on the river Clyde in southwest Scotland, 67 km/42 mi west of Edinburgh; population (2001) 577,900.

From Brewer's Britain and Ireland
A Scottish village 14 km (8.5 miles) northwest of Carlisle, situated at the most southerly point of the border with England, formerly in Dumfriesshire and now in Dumfries and Galloway. It encompasses the villages of Gretna Green and Springfield. The former was for long associated with illicit marriages.

Industrial city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, 40 km/25 mi southwest of York, on the River Aire; population (2001) 443,250; metropolitan area 715,400. Industries include engineering, printing, chemicals, glass, woollens, clothing, plastics, paper, metal goods, and leather goods.

City, seaport, and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, northwest England; population (2001) 469,000. Liverpool is the UK's chief Atlantic port with miles of specialized, mechanized quays on the River Mersey, and 2,100 ha/5,187 acres of dockland.

Capital of England and the United Kingdom, on the River Thames. Since 1965 its metropolitan area has been known as Greater London.

Metropolitan district of Greater Manchester, and city in northwest England, on the River Irwell, 50 km/31 mi east of Liverpool; population (2001) 394,300.

City and administrative centre of Nottingham City unitary authority in central England, on the River Trent, 38 km/24 mi north of Leicester; population (2001) 249,600. The city's prosperity was based on the expansion of the lace and hosiery industries in the 18th century.

University city and administrative centre of Oxfordshire in south central England, at the confluence of the rivers Thames (called the Isis around Oxford) and Cherwell, 84 km/52 mi northwest of London; population (2001) 134,250.

Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England. The finest work of four centuries of medieval English architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, is represented in the building.

Cathedral in the city of Hereford, Herefordshire, England. Founded not later than 680 by its first bishop, Putta, it was destroyed in 1055 by the Welsh, and rebuilt late in the 11th century.

Cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. With the exception of its crowning tower and spire, it is a building of uniform Early English design, built to one plan between 1220 and 1258 (unlike any other English cathedral except Exeter).

A Gothic church in London: site of a Benedictine monastery (1050-65); scene of the coronations of almost all English monarchs since William I.

Cathedral in York, England. It is the cathedral and metropolitan church of St Peter, and one of the most famous of Europe's Gothic buildings.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Residence of the British royal family in Scotland on the River Dee, 10 km/6 mi northeast of Braemar, Aberdeenshire. It was purchased for Queen Victoria by her husband, Prince Albert, in 1852.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
London home of the British sovereign, it stands at the west end of St James's Park.

Former royal residence near Richmond, England, 24 km/15 mi west of central London.

A palace-fortress started by William I as a wooden fortification in 1067 and replaced by him with one in stone (c.1077–97).

British royal residence in Windsor, founded by William the Conqueror on the site of an earlier fortress.