The UK is home to 4 nationalities: the English, the Welsh, the Scottish and the Irish. While the eth

National Emblem/Coat of Arms A Lion and a Unicorn bearing a shield representing England, italy rail travel Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The motto of the English royal family Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) appears at the base of the shield.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain italy rail travel and Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom (U.K.) is located in the continent of Europe. It is bound in the north and west by the North Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the English Channel and in the east by the North Sea. It is linked to France which is only 35 km across the English Channel by a tunnel under the sea and shares an international boundary with Ireland.
The geographic coordinates italy rail travel of the country are 54 degrees 00 minutes north and 2 degrees 00 minutes west. The northernmost point of the country is Out Stack on Shetland Island, while the southernmost point is Western Rocks on the Isles of Scilly and the easternmost point is Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk, while the westernmost point is Soay on the archipelago of St. Kilda. The entire mainland italy rail travel part of the country lies between the 49 degrees north and 59 degrees north latitude and 8 degrees west to 2 degrees east longitudes.
The prime meridian which is also called the Greenwich Meridian or the International Meridian passes through the U.K. The standard time zone in the country thus has no offset from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The entire italy rail travel country follows one time zone in the winter, the WET-Western European Time (UTC +0).
However in summer italy rail travel the daylight saving time sets the clock forward by 1 hour and the time zone is then called BST - British Summer Time (UTC +1). This time zone is the same as WEST - Western European italy rail travel Summer Time (UTC +1). In the UK daylight saving time begins on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday in October each year. However this clock forwarding does not apply to the overseas or dependent territories of the UK.
The UK is an island nation made up of 1 large island and numerous small islands. The entire coastline is heavily indented. The main island is covered with rugged hills and low mountains especially italy rail travel in the west over most parts of north-west England, Wales and Scotland. However level to rolling plains are found in the east and south-east. Living up to its island status no location in the country is more than 125 km from tidal waters.
The largely temperate climate of the U.K. has a maritime influence due to its being an island nation. The Gulf Stream which is a warm ocean current from the Atlantic Ocean helps to make winters relatively mild for the UK despite its latitude. The main influences on temperature in the country are latitude and altitude, with an increase in either italy rail travel of the two the mean temperature decreases. The warmest place in the UK is London with temperatures ranging from 5 degrees centigrade in January to 18 degrees centigrade in July; an annual mean of 11 degrees centigrade.
English weather and its unpredictability are known the world over. This comes from the fact that the weather in the UK is quite changeable and cloud and rain occurs frequently and throughout the year. However since the heaviest italy rail travel rainfall comes from frontal systems, autumn and winter are the wettest seasons. In summer the rainfall comes mostly from convective activity. The wettest places in the U.K. with an average rainfall italy rail travel of over 3,000 mm are in west Scotland, north-west England and north Wales.
The rivers in the U.K. are not very long since the country is a relatively small island. Important east-flowing rivers which flow into the North Sea are the Thames, Great Ouse, Trent, Ouse, Tyne and Tweed. While the Severn and Wye rivers flow westwards into the Atlantic Ocean. Technically the longest river in the UK is the Severn while the deepest is the Thames which is navigable as far inland as London.
Among the largest lakes in the UK are the Windermere and Rutland Water in England; Llyn Trawsfynydd and Lake Vyrnwy in Wales; italy rail travel Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland and Lough Neagh and Lower Lough Erne in Northern Ireland. Of these Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the U.K. and Loch Ness is famous for its sightings of the mythical creature 'Nessie'.
For the year 2013 the estimated birth rate is 12.26 births per 1,000 and the death rate is 9.33 deaths per 1,000 members of the population, while the infant mortality rate is 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. The sex ratio is estimated to be 1.05 males for every female and the growth rate of the population is estimated italy rail travel at 0.55%.
The distribution of population in the UK is quite uneven with a majority of the population concentrated in England while the remaining three constituent parts - Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are relatively sparsely populated. In England too almost one-third of the population lives in the south-eastern part centered around London. The estimated population density for the country for the year 2013 is 258 persons per sq km.
The estimated figures for the year 2013 for age structure italy rail travel in the UK show that 17.3% of the population consists of children between italy rail travel 0-14 years, 12.8% of the population is in the early working age between 15-24 years, 41.1% of the population is in the prime working age between 25-54 years, 11.5% of the population is in the mature working age between 55-64 years and 17.3% of the population is in the elderly age of 65 years and over.
The main religion in the UK is Christianity, comprising of Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist sects, however the country also has Muslims, Hindus and those following other religions.
The UK is home to 4 nationalities: the English, the Welsh, the Scottish and the Irish. While the ethnic groups living in the UK include Europeans, people of African and Caribbean origin, Indians, Pakistanis, and others.
Traditional food in the UK has been facing competition from recipes brought into the country from around the world to the extent that today it is said that curry is the most popular dish in England. Most of the traditional dishes italy rail travel in the UK are based on meat, fish, potatoes, butter and eggs.
An interesting italy rail travel fact about meal times in the UK is that the three meals of the day were traditionally called breakfast, which was eaten in the morning; dinner, which was the main meal in the afternoon; and tea, which was the evening meal. Today they are referred to as breakfast, lunch, and supper.
In the early 1960's the Beatles arrived on the UK music scene and since then Pop music has been an integral part of British culture. Given the multi-cultural composition of the UK today there are several other genres of music that are popular in the country. In alphabetical order they include Bhangra, BritPop, Garage, Glam Rock, Goth, Grunge, Hip Hop, Indie, Madchester, italy rail travel Mods, Northern Soul, Progressive Rock, Punk, Rockers, Ska, Soca, and Techno.
The UK is home to some of the biggest legends of the music world, including: Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Sir Elton John, and Led Zeppelin. Among the world renowned bands from the UK are the Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Who, Clash, Take That, and the Spice Girls.
Art in the UK has been greatly impacted by European traditions and a classification of British art separate from the European styles is extremely difficult. Thus, the art movements of Europe which have also had an influence on British art are Medieval and Gothic Art, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Classical, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Post-Modernism which is continuing till today.
Some of the most renowned British painters are: William Hogarth (1697-1764), Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), George Stubbs (1724-1806), italy rail travel Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), John Constable (1776-1837), J.W.M. Turner (1775-1851), John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), Sir Stanley Spencer (1891-1959), Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) and David Hockney (1937- italy rail travel ).
Some of oldest sculptures found in the UK are the massive stone crosses believed to have been carved between 500 and 1000 AD. Stone, italy rail travel marble, bronze, wood, ceramic and metal are among the mediums that have been commonly used for sculpting in the UK
Some of the finest British sculptors are Nicholas italy rail travel Stone (1586-1647), John Bushnell (1630-1701), italy rail travel Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), Joseph Wilton (1722-1803), Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823), John Bacon (1740-1799), John Flaxman (1755-1826),Sir Richard Westmacott (1775-1856), Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777-1862), italy rail travel Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1841), John Gibson (1790-1866), italy rail travel Samuel Joseph (1791-1850), Alfred Stevens (1817-1875), George Frederick Watts (1817-1904), italy rail travel Alexander Munro (1825-1871), Jacob Epstein (1880-1959), Henry Moore (1898-1986), Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975), Sir Anthony Caro (1924- ), Antony Gormley italy rail travel (1950- ) and Anish Kapoor (1954- ).
Like other aspects italy rail travel of its culture British architecture has been influenced italy rail travel by the nation's long and diverse history. Broadly the architectural styles in the UK correspond to its historical periods and are classified as Pre-Roman, of which Stonehenge is the most famous example; Roman, of which the Hadrian's wall is an example; Anglo-Saxon, characterized by high and narrow structures; Norman, characterized by rounded arches; italy rail travel Gothic, italy rail travel which was influenced by France; Vernacular, which was constructed in wood; Tudor, in which the focus shifted italy rail travel from defense to entertainment structures; Stuart, which was influenced by the Palladian style of Italy; Georgian, which was influenced by the European Palladianism; Victorian, in which steel was introduced; 20th Century, characterized by non-symmetrical designs; Modernism, in which reinforced concrete frames were introduced; High-Tech, which was used for commercial buildings; Post Modern, which led the construction b