United Kingdom

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Quick Facts
Capital	London
Government	constitutional monarchy
Currency	British pound (GBP)
Area	total: 244,820 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands land: 241,590 sq km
Population	59,778,002 (July 2002 est.)
Language	English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Religion	Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000

The United Kingdom occupies all of the island of Great Britain and most of the rest of the British Isles just off the northern coast of Europe. Made up of four major countries -- England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland -- as well as several minor islands and protectorates, the UK is a patchwork of cultures with fascinating history and modern culture. Although Britannia no longer rules the waves, the UK is still a central destination for all travelers.

Regions

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of several countries and territories:

• Great Britain
  • England
  • Scotland
  • Wales
• Ireland
  • Northern Ireland
• Smaller islands
  • Isle of Man
  • Orkney Islands
  • Shetland Islands

Note that technically Great Britain is the name for the largest of the British Isles, comprised of Scotland, England, and Wales. It is often used as a misnomer for the entire United Kingdom.

See also: Ireland

Cities

There are many cities in the United Kingdom; these are a few of the major ones.

• Belfast - capital of Northern Ireland
• Birmingham
• Cambridge - famous University
• Edinburgh - capital of Scotland, castle and culture
• Glasgow - Scottish city, new cultural hotspot
• Liverpool - home of the Beatles, maritime heritage
• London
• Manchester
• Oxford - the other famous University town
• Sheffield

Get in

By plane

London has several large international airports - Heathrow and Gatwick are major worldwide hubs, while Stansted and Luton serve mainly no-frills airlines from European destinations. None are very central so you'll need to use public transport to reach Central London. There are also several large airports in the regions, including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside.

By train

Eurostar services run to London and Ashford in Kent from Paris, Lille and Brussels through the Channel Tunnel. The journey time is two hours forty minutes from Paris.

By car

The Channel Tunnel has provided a rail/road connection since 1994. Shuttle trains carry cars from Calais to Folkestone, the journey taking around 40 minutes. On arrival at Folkestone, you can drive on to the M20 motorway which heads towards London. Car ferries also operate to many parts of the UK, see 'by boat' section.

By boat

There are a large number of ferry routes into the UK, particularly to ports on the English Channel. Here are the main routes, sorted first by the country of departure.

• Arriving from Scandinavia
  • Bergen to Newcastle (Fjord Line/2-3 per week/20-26 hrs)
  • Haugesund to Newcastle (Fjord Line/2 per week/21 hrs)
  • Stavanger to Newcastle (Fjord Line/2-3 per week/19-26 hrs)
  • Kristiansand to Newcastle (DFDS/Mon and Fri/18 hrs)
  • Gothenburg to Newcastle (DFDS/Mon and Fri/26 hrs)
  • Esbjerg to Harwich (DFDS/alternate days/17 hrs)
• Arriving from Germany
  • Cuxhaven to Harwich (DFDS/alternate days/18.5 hrs)
• Arriving from the Netherlands
  • Umuiden to Newcastle (DFDS/daily/15 hrs)
  • Hook of Holland to Harwich (???)
  • Rotterdam to Hull (P&O/daily overnight/10 hrs)
• Arriving from Belgium
  • Zeebrugge to Hull (P&O/daily overnight/12hrs30min), to Dover (P&O/up to 6 daily/4hr30min)
  • Ostend to Dover (Hoverspeed/up to 3 daily/2hrs)
• Arriving from France
  • Dunkerque to Dover (Norfolkline/up to 10 daily/2hrs)
  • Calais to Dover (P&O/up to 35 daily/75-90min, SeaFrance/15 daily/70-90min, Hoverspeed/up to 15 daily/45min)
  • Dieppe to Newhaven (Hoverspeed/up to 5 daily/2hrs15min-4hrs)
  • Le Havre to Portsmouth (P&O/3 daily/5.5 hrs)
  • Caen to Portsmouth (Britanny/3 daily/6 hrs)
  • Cherbourg to Portsmouth (P&O/up to 7 daily/2.45-5 hrs), Poole (Britanny/up to 5 daily/2hrs15min-4hrs15min)
  • St Malo to Portsmouth, Weymouth
  • Roscoff to Plymouth
• Arriving from Spain
  • Bilbao to Portsmouth
  • Santander to Plymouth
• Arriving from Ireland
  • Cork to Swansea
  • Rosslare to Pembroke, Fishguard
  • Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead
  • Dublin to Holyhead, Mostyn, Liverpool
• for services to/from the Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles, see their 'get there' sections.
• for services between Northern Island and Great Britain, see the 'get around' section below.
• See http://www.ferryinformationservice.co.uk

Get around

By plane

There are domestic air services linking the major cities, but this is not a popular form of transport: the distances are generally short enough to make other forms of public transport cheaper and easier.

By train

Train services were privatised in the 1990s and are now run by a patchwork of different operators. This should have little effect on the traveller, from any National Rail station you can buy tickets anywhere in the country. While much of the rolling stock and infrastructure is ageing, and ticket prices relatively high, train is often the only way to get from A to B by public transport.

By car

A car will get you pretty much anywhere in the UK. Parking can be a problem in large cities. Petrol is heavily taxed and therefore expensive, however there are very few tolls (mainly on some large bridges/tunnels). Traffic can be very heavy, especially during 'rush hour', when commuters are on their way to and from work. The M25 London orbital motorway is particularly notorious.

By bus and coach

Local bus services are of variable quality and cost. Getting to outlying rural areas can be especially hard, as there may be only one bus a week. Coach services run by companies like National Express provide an alternative to train travel for longer journeys.

By boat

Ferries link the mainland to the many offshore islands including the Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Orkneys and Shetland islands.

Talk

English is spoken everywhere. In some parts of Wales or Scotland, Welsh or Gaelic may be used, but everyone will speak English to tourists. There are strong regional accents which may make comprehension difficult.

Contact

Telephones

Payphones are widely available, especially in stations, airports etc. Payphones usually take cash (minimum 20p) and don't give change. Some newer payphones accept credit and debit cards and may even allow you to send emails and surf the web. Phonecards have been phased out, though various pre-paid phonecards can be purchased from newsagents for cheap international calls. The UK's calling code is 44. To phone another country, dial 00 followed by the calling code and subscriber number. In case of emergency, call 999 or 112 from any phone.

Mobile phones are heavily used, the main networks are T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and O₂. Pay-as-you-go SIM cards can be purchased.

Internet

Internet access is widespread. Internet cafes can be found in cities and large towns, check the city pages for details. Public libraries may also be able to provide access for free.

Post

The Royal Mail has a long history. Post boxes are still the traditional red colour, mail can also be posted at post offices. Postage stamps cost about 28/20p (domestic 1st/2nd class), 38p (Europe), 47p (Worldwide).

External links

• Visit Britain -- the official Web site of UK Tourism

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