– United Kingdom TRAVEL GUIDE –
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
National capital: London
Population: 60,975,000 people
Area: 244,820 square kilometers
Currency: pound sterling
Language: English
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – the country of tradition, monarchy, five o’clock tea, the London Underground and exceptional weather – is a hotbed of European conservatism and a source of avant-garde trends. It is the country of Shakespeare and David Beckham, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols, soccer, rowing regattas and royal polo. The island offers a wealth of experiences and unforgettable impressions to all tourists coming to Britain. There is something for everyone here – pulsating with non-stop life metropolises, prehistoric monuments and boundless wind- and rain-swept landscapes.
-UNITED KINGDOM travel guide –
London is the capital of the United Kingdom and the third largest city in Europe. It is a financial, cultural and entertainment center. A paradise for lovers of history, fashion and royalty. No wonder it is one of the most visited cities in the world by tourists. The city’s top attractions include Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Westminster, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Notting Hill and the London Eye – currently the fourth largest Ferris wheel in the world.
Scotland is a former kingdom that is now part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is famous for its whisky, whimsical weather, magnificent landscapes and a huge number of castles. Scotland attracts tourists with its numerous attractions, Worth a visit is especially the capital of Scotland – Edinburgh. Here you will find old stone houses, a magnificent castle on a rock in the center of the city, an extinct volcano, the queen’s residence and many recreational attractions. Glasgow, Stirling or St Andrews are also worth a trip.
Stonehenge is one of the most important prehistoric monuments not only in England, but also in the world. It was built in Neolithic times. It is located about 15 km north of Salisbury in Wiltshire. To date, the purpose of the stone circle is unknown. Various theories claim that it was a place for ritual sacrifices as well as a Druidic sun temple, an astronomical observatory and even a royal palace. Stonehenge was probably built in several stages. Around 3,000 BC, an outer circular mound and ditch were created, and a massive Heel Stone was placed in front of the entrance. On the inside of the mound, 56 holes were dug, which were later filled with earth mixed with human ashes. Around 2100 BC, the first circle of stones was erected – about 80 massive dolerite blocks, transported all the way from Preseli in Wales. For the time, this was a breakneck undertaking. Some of the stones are more than seven meters high and weigh 40 tons. It is believed that one of them was transported by about 500 men. Stonehenge is listed as a 380 UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bath boasts a presence on the UNESCO list, and it must be said that it fully deserves it. According to Celtic legend, the discovery of healing waters was made here as early as the 19th century BC. However, it wasn’t until the Romans really appreciated the place, who created here the largest spa north of the Alps, building numerous baths and bathing establishments. They renamed the town Aquae Sulis and, like the Celts, honored the spring with a magnificent temple. By the 3rd century AD, the spa attracted pilgrims and bathers from all over the Roman Empire. Many of them threw curses written backwards into the spring water to bring misfortune to wrong-doers or unfaithful lovers. Today, in addition to its healing waters, Bath offers tourists modern tourist facilities and numerous attractions in the form of museums introducing the city’s luminous past, organized tours of the city and its environs, charming pubs and lavish galleries.
Rarely has a museum become as popular and become a symbol of an entire city as Titanic Belfast. Dedicated to the world’s most famous ship, this stunning modernist structure is located on the site of the former Harland and Wolff shipyard. It proudly showed the world the „indestructible” ship built here. The thought of the museum’s creators was to show its history from many different points of view.
North Wales’ castles date back to the 13th century and were mostly built by King Edward I, who wanted to crush the Welsh independence movement. Among the most beautiful and best preserved are Beaumaris, Harlech, Conwy and Caernarvon. The latter is the most imposing, although it is inferior to the others in terms of defensive capabilities. Rather, it was designed as a symbol of English dominance and the seat of local power, and many consider it Edward I’s finest building. Caernarfon (as the Welsh call it), picturesquely located on the very shore of the Menai Strait, attracts many tourists each season, arriving both by land and aboard yachts and motorboats.
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