The UK is an island nation and is one of the various islands located in the British Isles on the northwestern coast of continental Europe just off the coast of France. The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49°N and 59°N and longitudes 8°W to 2°E.

Its full name is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or as Britain)

The British Isles

The British Isles is a geographical term for the region which includes Great Britain, the entire Ireland, and all the offshore islands. It consists of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and about 5000 small islands.

Difference between Great Britain and the UK

Great Britain is the part of UK which comprises of the main and larger portion of the territory.

It is the official name given to the two kingdoms of England (and the principality of Wales) and Scotland.

Great Britain is very often used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the UK for short.

The full name of UK includes Great Britain AND Northern Ireland. Thus, Great Britain is the name (or a geographical term used in reference) of the island on which the countries England, Wales and Scotland are situated. Great Britain is a political term that describes the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, the three countries which together include all the land on the island. Great Britain has an area of 229,850 km² (88,745 sq. mi.) and is the largest island of the British Isles.

Difference between Britain and Great Britain

Sometimes people use the shorter name Britain instead of Great Britain, to mean the same thing, but in reality Britain only refers to England and Wales. The name Britain goes back to Roman times when they called England and Wales "Britannia" (or "Britannia Major", to distinguish from "Britannia Minor", ie Brittany in France). The Roman province of Britannia only covered the areas of modern England and Wales. The area of modern Scotland was never finally conquered.

History of UK

Earlier England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were 4 different independent countries in the British Isles. Each one had its own separate sense of identity, its own history, even its own language. There was no such word as British. People were either English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish. In 1543, England and Wales were united as one country. Scotland and Ireland remained separate kingdoms, with their own parliaments and laws.

Great Britain
The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same monarch. Despite having the same monarch, both kingdoms kept their own parliaments.

Kingdom of Great Britain

In 1707 the Act of Union meant that Scotland lost her Parliament and her independence and became part of a new country to be called 'Kingdom of Great Britain'.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
In 1801 a second Act of Union was passed, creating yet another new country, the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland'.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 removed mainland Ireland from the UK. Six northern Irish counties (Northern Ireland) remained part of the UK. Thus the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927

The flag contains 3 different flags

The Union Flag, popularly known as the *Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag. It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of 'England, of 'Scotland' and of 'Northern Ireland' (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.

England is represented by the flag of St. George. In 1194 A.D., Richard I of England introduced the Cross of St. George, a red cross on a white ground, as the National Flag of England.

Scotland is represented by the flag of St. Andrew (a diagonal white cross form (called a saltire) on a blue field)

After Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became King James I of England. It was a Union of the Crowns, but not yet of the nations. Each country still kept their own parliaments. Early in his reign James attempted to combine England and Scotland in a united kingdom of 'Great Britain'. This was the policy he presented to his first Parliament, called on 22 March 1604. The union was resisted.James defied them. On 20 October 1604 he proclaimed a new title for himself as 'King of Great Britain'.

But what flag should be used?

A problem arose, which flag should be hoisted on the king's ships. English sailors resented the Scottish colours and the Scots scorned the cross of St. George . In 1606 the problem was solved ........ A compromise was the answer and it led to the creation of the first Union Flag. On 12 April 1606, the National Flags of Scotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union 'Jack'. Ashore however, the old flags of England and Scotland continued to be used by their respective countries.

A royal decree declared that the ships of the Kingdom of Great Britain "shall bear on their maintops the red cross, commonly called St. George's cross, and the white cross, commonly called St. Andrew's cross."

When the red cross of England was put onto the flag of Scotland, a white border was added around the red cross for reasons of heraldry. (The rules of heraldry demanded that two colours must never touch each other.) On 28th July, 1707, during the reign of Queen Anne, this flag was by royal proclamation made the National flag of Great Britain, for use ashore and afloat. The Act of Union of 1707, joined England and Scotland together, creating a single kingdom with a single Parliament called 'United Kingdom of Great Britain'.

England Wales and Scotland were now united together under one monarch and one parliament.

The Royal Navy christened the British flag " The Union".

When the 'Union Flag' was first introduced, in 1606, it was known simply as 'the British flag' or 'the flag of Britain'.

Nearly one hundred years later, another country was added to the Union flag ...

Ireland is represented by the cross of St. Patrick ( a diagonal red cross on a white background )

On January 1801, Ireland was united with Great Britain and it became necessary to have a new national flag in which Ireland was represented. The cross St. Patrick was combined with the union flag of st. george and st. Andrew to create the union flag that has been flown ever since.

England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland were now all joined together and called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The name was later changed to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when the greater part of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1921. The St. Patrick’s cross remains in the flag even though now only Norther Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom

Climate in UK

Britain is an island country and the surrounding sea gives England a varied climate. It can never be known what the weather will be like from one day to the other. It can be sunny one day and rainy the next. As there is such a variable climate change from from day to day, it is difficult to predict the weather. In general there are warm summers and cool winters. Summers are cooler than those on the continent, but the winters are milder.

Temperate Climate

The overall climate in England is called temperate maritime. This means that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0ºC in winter and not much higher than 32ºC in summer. It also means that it is damp and is subject to frequent changes.

Warmest and coldest months

July and August are normally the warmest month in England.

Around the coasts, February is normally the coldest month, but inland there is little to choose between January and February as the coldest month.

Summer

Summer - the time for outings and holidays

In the summer, it can be as hot as 32°C (90°F) but mostly the temperature only reaches 26°C. The average high in London from June through August is around 70°F/21°C and the average low is around 51°F/12°C.

Interesting Facts

Britain's highest temperature recorded is 38.5°C (101.3°F ) in Brogdale, Kent (south east England) on 10 August 2003.

Autumn

Autumn - Leaves begin to change colour, transforming England’s landscape into an array of autumn colours.

Winter

Winter - the time for snow and frost

In the winter, the temperature can drop below freezing point (32°F/0°C) but rarely drops much below. It is cold, wet and windy and it sometimes snows between December and March. In the mornings we have to scrape the ice from our cars.

The average winter temperature is 38.6°F/3.7°C. Normally, the UK gets 13 inches (332 mm) of rain sleet and snow each winter.

Interesting Facts

The lowest temperature recorded is -27.2°C (-17°F ) - in Braemar in Grampian, Scotland, on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982.

Length of Daylight

The British Isles have a latitude between 50° N and 60° N. At this latitude, the length of daylight has a significant variation between summer and winter. For example in mid-December the period between sunrise and sunset in London is 7 hours and 50 minutes, while in Lerwick, Shetland (north of Scotland), it is 5 hours and 50 minutes; in mid June it is 16 hours and 40 minutes in London and 18 hours 50 minutes in Lerwick.

Best months to travel to England

Probably the best months to travel in England are May, June, September and October. These months generally have the most pleasant temperatures and less rain. July and August are the warmest months, but they are also the wettest. The sunniest parts of the Britain are along the south coast of England.