Cafes

Scotland has some of the largest cities in the United Kingdom. The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow and the second largest is the Edinburgh. Apart from London Edinburgh is the only city which hosts a parliament. Aberdeen is also famous in Europe it being the “oil capital” of the community.

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in the Scotland. It has a population of around 580,000, is the commercial capital of Scotland. It is the UK’s largest retail centre after London. Situated in the Central Belt of Scotland on the west coast it is easily accessible by road, rail and air.

Glasgow is one of Europe’s top 20 financial centres and is home to many of Scotland’s leading businesses.  The city houses many wonderful municipal art galleries and museums, first class sports and leisure facilities; excellent theatres; an array of restaurants, pubs and clubs; and beautiful parks. Spectacular countryside and coastal views are within easy reach and the city is only 42 miles from Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh.

The city is administered by Glasgow City Council with the municipal headquarters, the City Chambers, situated in George Square, at the heart of the city.  The City Council works with partner agencies including Scottish Enterprise, the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Valley Tourist Board, Greater Glasgow Health Board, public sector organisations, educational institutions and the private and voluntary sectors to raise the profile of the city and make it an attractive place to live in, study in, work in, or visit.  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew to a population of over one million, and was the fourth-largest city in Europe, after London, Paris and Berlin. In the 1960s, large-scale relocation to new towns and peripheral suburbs, followed by successive boundary changes, have reduced the current population of the City of Glasgow unitary authority area to 580,690, with 1,199,629 people living in the Greater Glasgow urban area.

The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers approximately 2.3 million people, 41% of Scotland’s population.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom.  Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of the Central Belt, along the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea.

Owing to its spectacular, rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.  Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Parliament.

The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North.   The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city.  In the 2008 mid year population estimates, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 471,650.

Edinburgh is the top destination for overseas and UK visitors to Scotland. Edinburgh is well-known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city.

The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe (the largest performing arts festival in the world), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Other events include the Hogmanay street party (31 December), Burns Night (25 January), St. Andrew’s Day (30 November), and the Beltane Fire Festival (30 April).

Snow covered tracks

Scotland is the second largest country that is part of the United Kingdom. The country occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland of Scotland, the country consists of over 790 islands including the Hebrides and the Northern Isles.

The capital city of the country is Edinburgh and is the second largest city is also one of Europe’s largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe.

The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow, was once one of the world’s leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe’s oil capital.

The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent sovereign state before 1 May 1707 when it entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England, which lead to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Scotland’s legal system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and in private law. The country also enjoys autonomy from the central government in several key matters such as education, health and energy etc…

The continued existence of legal, educational and religious institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the Union.

London Eye

There are currently sixty-six officially designated cities in the UK, fifty of which are in England. London, the capital of England and the UK, occupies over 620 square miles and is the most populous city in the European Union, with over 7 million residents. It is also one of the European Union’s most densely settled areas.

Birmingham, in the industrial Midlands, has a population of 976,400 and is England’s second largest city.

The information below has been taken from the 2001 Census. A census of the British population has been taken every 10 years since 1801. The next census will be in 2011.

Pebble beach

There are 5 major settlements with city status in Northern Ireland. These are Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Lisburn and Newry.

Armagh

The city of Armagh (from the Irish: Ard Mhacha meaning “Macha’s height”) is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is an ancient religious site of worship of both Celtic paganism and Christianity. Armagh was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994, and city status was officially re-conferred in 1995. Armagh is the least-populated city in both Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. It had a population of 14,590 people in the 2001 Census.

Belfast

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of devolved government and legislative assembly in Northern Ireland. It is the largest urban area in the Irish province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of Ireland. The City of Belfast has a population of 267,500, and lies at the heart of Metropolitan Belfast, which has a population of 723,447. Belfast was granted city status in 1888.

Derry

Derry or Londonderry lies on the west bank of the River Foyle with the location of old Derry on the east bank, the present city now covers both banks (Cityside to the west and Waterside to the east) and the river is spanned by two bridges.  The city district also extends to rural areas to the southeast of the city. The population of the city proper was 83,652 in the 2001 Census, while the Derry Urban Area had a population of 90,663. The city is the the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth largest on the island of Ireland. The wider Derry City Council area had a population of 107,300 as of June 2006. The district is administered by Derry City Council and contains both Londonderry Port and City of Derry Airport.

Lisburn

Lisburn is the third-largest city in Northern Ireland, south-west of and adjoining Belfast. Formerly a borough, it was granted city status in 2002 (along with Newry) as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. The city is split between County Antrim and County Down, the River Lagan forming the county boundary. Lisburn had a population of 71,465 people in the 2001 Census. Although it has city status, the area covered consists of the town of Lisburn, surrounded by an extensive rural and semi-rural hinterland. The council area includes Hillsborough, Moira, Dromara, Glenavy, Dunmurry and Drumbo The administrative headquarters are in the town of Lisburn.

Lisburn is also known as the birthplace of Ireland’s linen industry, which was established in 1698 by Louis Crommelin and other Huguenots. An exhibition about the Irish linen industry is now housed in the Irish Linen Centre, which can be found in the town’s old Market House in Market Square.

Newry

Newry  is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth in Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down: Newry was included entirely in the latter by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. It is 34 miles (60 km) from Belfast and 67 miles (108 km) from Dublin. Newry had a population of approximately 27,430 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population of 87,058. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery and is one of Northern Ireland’s oldest towns.

Kayaking

Northern Ireland is composed of 26 districts, derived from the boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry and the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone. Together they are commonly called Ulster, though the territory does not include the entire ancient province of Ulster. It is slightly larger than Connecticut.

Government

Northern Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom, but under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act in 1920, it had a semiautonomous government. In 1972, however, after three years of sectarian violence between Protestants and Catholics that resulted in more than 400 dead and thousands injured, Britain suspended the Ulster parliament. The Ulster counties were governed directly from London after an attempt to return certain powers to an elected assembly in Belfast.  As a result of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a new coalition government was formed on Dec. 2, 1999, with the British government formally transferring governing power to the Northern Irish parliament. David Trimble, Protestant leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and winner of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, became first minister. The government has been suspended four times since then; it has remained suspended since Oct. 14, 2002.

History

Ulster was part of Catholic Ireland until the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) when, after suppressing three Irish rebellions, the Crown confiscated lands in Ireland and settled the Scots Presbyterians in Ulster. Another rebellion in 1641–1651, brutally crushed by Oliver Cromwell, resulted in the settlement of Anglican Englishmen in Ulster. Subsequent political policy favoring Protestants and disadvantaging Catholics encouraged further Protestant settlement in Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland did not separate from the South until William Gladstone presented, in 1886, his proposal for home rule in Ireland. The Protestants in the North feared domination by the Catholic majority. Industry, moreover, was concentrated in the North and dependent on the British market. When World War I began, civil war threatened between the regions.

Northern Ireland, however, did not become a political entity until the six counties accepted the Home Rule Bill of 1920. This set up a semiautonomous parliament in Belfast and a Crown-appointed governor advised by a cabinet of the prime minister and 8 ministers, as well as a 12-member representation in the House of Commons in London.

Big Ben United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which is located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea apart from Northern Ireland sharing its land border with the Republic of Ireland.

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and English Channel. England’s inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population. The capital of England is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by many measures.

Wales

Wales is bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. Wales has a population estimated at three million and is officially bilingual, with both Welsh and English having equal status. The capital Cardiff is Wales’s largest city with 317,500 people. Once Cardiff was considered as the biggest coal port in the world and, for a few years before World War One, it handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool. Most of its population (Two-thirds) live in South Wales, with another concentration in eastern North Wales. Most tourist attractions have been drawn to Wales’s “wild… and picturesque” landscapes. Cardiff is the largest media centre in the UK outside of London.

Scotland

Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain, and shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Edinburgh, the country’s capital and second largest city, and is one of Europe’s largest financial hubs.

Northern

Ireland Northern Ireland is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. Its population was 1,685,000 in the 2001 UK Census, which constituted to between a quarter and a third of the island’s total population and about 3% of the population of the UK.

Sunset at a British coastal city

England is in north-west Europe and is in the southern part of Great Britain. England is an island country and also part of the United Kingdom. England is only 35 km from France and is now linked by a tunnel under the English Channel. England is the largest country in the UK.

The south of England is mostly low-lying land, with hills and agricultural land and the north of England is mostly covered in moorland and mountains. Its inhabitants account for more than 84% of the total population of the United Kingdom. England’s mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England shares border with Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and English Channel.
The capital of England and United Kingdom is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by many measures.

In the year 927 CE England became a unified state and takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled in the country during the 5th and 6th centuries. It has had a considerable cultural and legal impact on the wider world being the place of origin of the English language, the Church of England, and English law, which forms the basis of the common law legal systems of countries around the world.

England is the birth place of the Industrial Revolution, thus being the first country in the world to industrialise. England has the world’s oldest parliamentary system, and consequently, other constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that stemmed from England have been widely adopted by other nations.

Until 1707 the Kingdom of England (including Wales) continued as a separate state. When the Acts of Union, resulted in political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Great Britain was united with Ireland in 1800 through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the creation the Irish Free State and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act in 1927 officially established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which exists today.

Facts about England

• England is 74 times smaller than the USA, 59 times smaller than Australia and 3 times smaller than Japan.
• England is however 2.5 times more populous than Australia, and 1.5 times more populous than California. With 2.5 times less inhabitants than Japan, its density of population is slightly higher than the country of the rising sun.
• The highest temperature ever recorded in England was 38.5°C (101.3°F ) in Brogdale, Kent, on 10 August 2003.
• English people consume more tea per capita than anybody else in the world (2.5 times more than the Japanese and 22 times more than the Americans or the French).
• London used to be the largest and most influential city in the world. With a population of 12 million, it remains the largest city in Europe.
• Public schools in England are in fact very exclusive and expensive (£13,500/year in average) private schools. Ordinary schools (which are free), are called state schools.
• Oxford University once had rules that specifically forbade students from bringing bows and arrows to class.
• The national anthem of the United States (“The Star-Spangled Banner”) was composed by an Englishman, John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) from Gloucester.
• Silbury Hill, in the English county of Wiltshire, is the largest man-made earthen mound in Europe. It was built about 4750 years ago.
• The world’s largest and oldest chained library is in Hereford Cathedral, which also contained the world’s best preserved Mappa Mundi.
• Windsor castle is the oldest and largest royal residence in the world still in use.
• The world’s oldest public zoo opened in London in 1828.
• It is in England that the first postage stamps appeared.
• The world’s first drive through safari park opened at Longleat House (Wiltshire) in 1966.
• The Caen Hill, a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal (between Bath and Reading) rising 72 m in 3.2 km, making it the steepest flight of locks in the world. The locks were built in the early 1800s.
• During the first three decades of the 19th century, West Cornwall produced two thirds of the world’s copper. The smelting of copper ore was subsequently transferred to Swansea, in South Wales, which became the global centre for the trade during most of the century.
• The statue of Anteros on Piccadilly Circus (1892) was the world’s first statues to be cast in aluminium.
• Economy
• London Heathrow Airport is the world’s busiest airports by international passenger traffic, and the third for total traffic.
• London is the world’s largest financial centre.
• Inner London has the highest GDP per capita (€ 88,761) of any European city.