Geography The United Kingdom of Great Britain

and Northern Ireland is situated on islands. Northern Ireland occupies the northern part of Ireland. Great Britain consists of three parts. Their names are England, Scotland and Wales. Scotland is situated in the north of Great Britain, Wales – in the southwest, and England – in the southeast.

Great Britain is surrounded by seas and is separated from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The rivers in Great Britain are not long, but many of them are deep. There are many mountains in the north of England and in Scotland, but they are not very high. The highest mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis. There are many lakes in Scotland. The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.

London – the Capital of the UK

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world.

Its population is more than 11 000 000 people. It was founded more than two thousand years ago.

Traditionally London is divided into several parts:

The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre.

The Westminster is the aristocratic official part of London.

The West End is the part where rich people live.

The East End is an industrial district of London.

Places of Interest in London There are a lot of places of interest in London.

Among them there are:

Westminster Abbey the Houses of Parliament Buckingham Palace

St Paul’s Cathedral London Bridge the Tower of London

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey is a famous church where kings,

queens, and many famous people are buried.

The Houses of Parliament On the bank of the Thames, not far

from the Tower of London, you can see Westminster Palace, or the Houses of Parliament. It is the seat of the British government and it is one of the most beautiful buildings in London.

In one of its towers there is famous Big Ben, the largest clock of England. It strikes every quarter of an hour.

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s official London

residence. Tourists always go to see the ceremony of changing the Guard there.

St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul’s Cathedral is the biggest English church.

The Tower of London

London stands on the river Thames. Crossing the river by the Tower Bridge you can see the Tower of London. Many centuries ago it was a fortress, a royal palace and then a prison. Now it is a museum of arms.

London has many fine squares. Some of them are quite, others are busy like Trafalgar Square.

To the right of the square there is the National Gallery which has a fine collection of European paintings.

London is also famous for its beautiful parks.

Hyde Park is the most democratic park in the world, as anyone can say anything he likes there.

Regent’s Park is the home of London Zoo.

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