Interesting places in Great Britain

Interesting historical and tourist places in Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is composed of historic lands England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In England, there are many fascinating places. Many people know London and its historic centre but
they forget to another monuments, which are not only in London and its environs.
We don't have to forget to Oxford and Cambridge, the old university towns. Stratford-upon-Avon is the
birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Southern part of England is full of historical monuments. Canterbury is an ancient city with a majestic
cathedral. The other old cathedral town is Winchester, which once was the capital of England. Salisbury is in
Salisbury Plain where we can see a beautiful historic monument of Stonehenge with its giant stone circles which
are more than 3 000 years old.
West part of England has its own character. The only larger towns here are Bristol, Plymouth, Bath and
Exeter. Plymouth has a proud maritime heritage. From this place in 1588 Sir Francis Drake set out to beat the
Spanish Armada. Bath is worth seeing for the remains of its Roman bath built 2000 years ago. Exeter is the
starting point for Dartmoor-the moorland. In this country there are many national parks for example Dartmoor
and Exmoor National Parks.
The second largest city in Britain is Birmingham. It is northern, at the geographical heart of England.
We can see interesting Victorian architecture here. In Manchester we can visit The Museum of Science and
Industry, The Air and Space Museum. The other big cities here are Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and York.
Northwest is mainly an industrial area, sometimes it's called the "Black Country".
Northern England is the country of beautiful nature, many national parks and cultural traditions. We can
find here a massive 11th century castle and beautiful cathedral. The Lake National Park with beautiful
Windermere Lake is the region where romantic poets wrote their poetry. The other national parks here are
Northumberland Park and Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Wales is the other part of Great Britain. In Wales we can visit snow-capped mountains and green
valleys. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are the biggest cities ere. Wales is sometimes called the land of castles.
Among the best known are Caernarfon, where Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969, Conwy
and Harlech which stand on rocky cliffs overlooking the mountains of Snowdonia National Park.
Scotland. As Wales and England is Scotland one of the parts of Great Britain. The biggest city is
Glasgow, an old Victorian town, the cultural centre and the heart of the arts in Scotland. The city has also some
of the finest museums and galleries in Europe.
The next city is Edinburg. It is dominated by its imposing 12th century castle-Holyroodhouse. Through
the heart of the city the cobble Royal Mile runs. The city is full of attractive squares, three-line avenues and
elegant shopping centres like Princess Street.
The biggest lake is Loch Lamond (lakes are called lochs in Scotland) and Loch Ness is famous for its
"Loch Ness Monster".
London is the capital of Great Britain. It is the 9th largest city in the world. It was founded as a Roman
settlement. In spite of it isn't osilated part of Britain, deserve special attention. There is the oldest underground in
the world. Now it operates 11 lines and is 418 km long. We can find here many beautiful monuments.
The Houses of Parliament were built in gothic style and it's "only" about one hundred years old. There
is also a famous clock-tower with Big Ben and its characteristic bell-ringing.
Whitehall is the street where the government offices are.
Downing Street 10 is the official home of British Prime Ministers since 1731.
Westminster Abbey was founded in the 11th century. Britain's Kings and Queens are crowned here in
the Poet's Corner. It was built in gothic style. Since 1066 the Abbey is the place where many state occasions and
royal weddings take place.
St. Paul's Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. It was built in 17th century in
renaissance style. The Cathedral is known for its Whispering Gallery. Standing on this Gallery you can clearly
hear what is whispered on the opposite side 107 feet far from you. In 1981 Prince Charles and Lady Diana were
married here.
The Tower was built in the 11th century. It served as royal palace first, then prison and fortress. It's a
museum now. The Crown Jewels guarded by the Beefeaters in their traditional Tudor uniforms are kept here.
Tower Bridge is one of the most famous symbols of London. It was built in the last century. It can open
in the middle and let large ships go through.
Trafalgar Square was named after Admiral Nelson's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar in
1805. Nelson's statue is situated on a high column. This square is very popular for various meetings and
demonstrations.
Buckingham Palace is Queen's residence in London since Queen Victoria's reign.
There are more interesting places in London, e.g. The British Museum, The National Gallery, Piccadilly
Circus, Regent Street, Oxford Street etc. There are many parks in London too e.g. St. James's Park, Green Park,
Regent's Park and the largest-Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner where anybody can have a speech. And we
don't have to forget to Windsor Castle, Kew Gardens-the Royal Botanical Gardens with largest collection of
living plants in the world-and Greenwich, seat of the National Maritime Museum where the Royal Observatory
is.