THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE OF GREAT BRITAIN

The British Isles are situated off the north-western coast of Europe. They include Great Britain, Ireland, and a great number of small islands, such as the Orkney and the Shetland Islands in the north, the Hebrides in the north-west, the Isle of Wight in the south, and many others.

The British Isles are washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The island of Great Britain is separated from Ireland by the Irish Sea. It is separated from the continent by the North Sea in the east and the English Channel in the south. The Channel, in its narrowest part, the Strait of Dover, is only 32 kilometres wide.

Two countries are located on the British Isles. They are the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK consists of four countries which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Everyone who was born in Britain is British. People from England are English. People from Scotland are Scottish or Scots. People from Wales are Welsh and people from Northern Ireland are Irish.

More than 67 million people live in Britain. Many of them live in big industrial cities like London, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool. Everyone in Britain speaks English. In some parts of Scotland and Wales people speak different languages as well.

The flag of the United Kingdom is known as the Union Jack. It is made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England (a red cross on a white field), the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland (a white diagonal cross on a blue field), and the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland (a red diagonal cross on a white field). The cross of St.David, the patron saint of Wales (a yellow cross on a black field) is not included in the Union Jack. The flag of Wales is a red dragon on a white and green field.

Each country of the UK has a national emblem. The red rose is the national emblem of England, the thistle is the emblem of Scotland, the daffodil and the leek are the emblems of Wales and the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland.