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England is one of the four "home nations" that make up the United Kingdom. It is not the "same thing" as Britain or the UK. It is the largest of them, both in terms of surface area and population (about 50 million inhabitants out of about 60 million). On the island of Great Britain, Scotland sits to the north of England and Wales is to the west. Northern Ireland (also part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland lie across the Irish Sea to west of England (and Wales). France and the Channel Islands are across the English Channel to the south, and to the east is The North Sea.
Quick Facts
Capital London
Government constitutional monarchy
Currency Pound Sterling (GBP £)
Area 130,395 sq km
Population 49,138,831 (2001)
Language English
Religion Church of England (established): 64%, Roman Catholic: 10%, Muslim: 3.3%, Methodist: 3%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, Eastern Orthodox: 0.5%.
Electricity 240V, 50 Hz (UK plug)
Calling Code +44
Internet TLD .co.uk
Time Zone UTC
Climate
England has been stereotyped as being cold, grey and rainy since the ancient Romans wrote home, but this is not an entirely accurate picture. The temperatures rarely get very cold or very hot, and while the country certainly gets rain, it's really not as wet as rumour has it. London alone has lower annual rainfall than Paris and New York, and it's not uncommon for parts of the country to go without rain for weeks and even months in rare cases.
Cities
England has many large cities. Listed below are nine of the most popular:
- London - the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, a vast metropolitan area, and a global capital of finance, fashion and culture. This city, which is the biggest in Europe is not to be missed.
- Birmingham - the UK's second largest city (by population) is located in the industrial heartland and many attractions for the traveller. It is a cultural, sporting, entertainment, shopping and media hub.
- Bristol - largest city in South England (after London), vibrant music scene, lovely historic buildings and an attractive waterfront.
- Brighton - Victorian seaside resort turned into one of the major nightlife centres of Europe.
- Liverpool - Famed nautical city and home of the Beatles. (European capital of culture 2008)
- Manchester - a cultural, sporting, entertainment, shopping and media hub. Greater Manchester is the UK's second largest city by metropolitan area, but, only by a few thousand, its third largest by population. It is also the third most visited city in The UK after London and Edinburgh.
- Nottingham - home of Robin Hood and Nottingham Castle.
- Newcastle upon Tyne - a thriving northern city with world-famous nightlife.
- York - ancient capital of Yorkshire, with Roman, Viking and Medieval remains.
By plane
England has numerous airports:
London and the South East
The South
The South West
East Anglia
The Midlands
The North
For more information please see available guides below:-
Part or all of this text stems from the original article at: Wikitravel.org |
