The United Kingdom

1. The United
Kingdom

2. The British Isles consist
of the two large islands of
Great Britain and Ireland,
and a number of smaller
islands lying off the north-
west coast of Europe.

3. Great Britain, sometimes
called Britain, is the largest island
in Europe: it includes England,
Scotland and Wales.
Ireland lies to the west of Great
Britain. Politically it is divided into
two parts: Northern Ireland and
the independent Republic of
Ireland, called EIRE, in the south.
Northern
Ireland

4. To the east of the British
Isles there is the North
Sea.
The Atlantic Ocean is
to the west.
To the south there is the
English Channel which
separates Great Britain
from the Continent.
Between Ireland and
Great Britain there is
the Irish Sea.

5. The main rivers are:
the Thames which rises in the Cotswold Hills and flows through
the south of England into the North Sea;
the Severn, the longest, which rises in the Cambrian Mountains
of Wales and flows into the Irish Sea.
The biggest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.
The biggest of the Scottish lakes is Loch Lemond but the most
famous is Loch Ness.
A group of picturesque lakes are situated in the Lake District,
in the north-western part of England, near the Scottish border.
The mountainous part of GB are Scotland and Wales. The chief
mountain ranges in Britain are:
the Northwest Highlands in the north-west of Scotland;
the Grampian Mountains with Ben Nevis, the highest peak;
the Southern Uplands, in southern Scotland;
the Pennines stretch from the Scottish Border to Central
England;
the Cambrian Mountains in Wales.

6. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland form a political union called
The United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (UK).
The capital city is London, the official
language is English, and the currency is
the pound sterling.

7. The British national anthem is the oldest in the world,
established in 1745 and based on a song of the 17th century.
God Save the Queen*
God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and Glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
Oh, save us all!
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign;
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen
* God Save the King, if the monarch is male.
The British flag, known as the Union
Jack, is a combination of three flags:
the Saint Andrew`s Cross, the Saint
Patrick`s Cross and the Saint
George´s Cross.

8. NORTHERN IRELAND • Ulster is the name used today for six
counties of Northern Ireland.
• The flag, a red diagonal cross on a
white background, called St. Patrick’s
Cross, represents these six counties.
• The capital city is Belfast.
• The Patron Saint is St. Patrick,
celebrated on the 17th of March.
• The national emblem is shamrock.

9. NORTHERN IRELAND

10. SCOTLAND
• The capital city of Scotland is
Edinburgh.
• The flag, a white diagonal cross on
a blue background, is called St.
Andrew’s Cross.
• The Patron Saint is St. Andrew,
celebrated on the 30th of November.
• The national emblem is thistle.

11. SCOTLAND

12. WALES
• The capital city of Wales is
Cardiff.
• The flag, called the Welsh
Dragon, shows a red dragon on a
white and green background.
• The Patron Saint is St. David,
celebrated on the 1st of March.
• The national emblem is leek.

13. WALES

14. ENGLAND
• The capital city of England is London.
• The flag, a red cross on a white background,
is called St. George’s Cross.
• The Patron Saint is St. George, celebrated
on the 23rd of April.
• The national emblem is rose.
The red rose became the emblem of
England after the War of the Roses (1455-
1485) which was the war of the dynasties for
the English throne.

15. ENGLAND

16. CLIMATE
• There is rain all year round in the UK and in some areas
it is often windy.
• Apart from winters in northern Scotland, it is not usually
very cold.
• In summer the weather can be sunny and pleasant,
even hot but it can change very quickly, with sunshine
and rain coming and going every day or even few hours.
• Because the weather changes frequently, there’s
always something to say about it, so a common way to
start a conversation in Britain is to talk about the
weather.

17. The United Kingdom
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