This is the most important region in the country in terms of industry, agriculture and population. Only recently has the growth of population slowed largely as a result of government policies — and even this slowing down has not been reflected in the industrial development of the region. The region includes all the South of […]

The people who now inhabit the British Isles are descended mainly from the people who inhabited them nearly 9 centuries ago. The English nation was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the native population of the British Isles — the pre-Celts and the Celts with the invaders: the Germanic tribes of the Angles, […]

The British Isles are situated on the continental shelf off the north-west coast of Europe and comprise a group of islands lying between latitudes 50° and 61° North and longitudes 1°45′ East and 8°10′ West, the prime meridian of 0° passing through the old observatory of Greenwich (London). The total area of the British Isles […]

The British Isles are of the continental origin. Situated off the north-west coast of Europe, they once formed part of that continent. They only became islands when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands of years, ago, after the last Ice Age. When the ice melted, the level of the oceans rose […]

Britain has a great diversity of physical characteristics and, despite its small area, contains rocks of nearly all the main geological periods. There is a contrast between the generally high relief of western and northern Britain and the lowland areas of the south and east. In general, the oldest rocks appear in the highland regions […]

Wales is the largest of the peninsulas on the western side of Britain. It consists of a complex of worn down mountain ranges, representing high plateaux. They are called the Cambrian Mountains. The highest and most glaciated area occurs in the north, especially around Snowdon (1,085 m), and often the mountains approach close to the […]

Scotland may be divided into three major physical regions: the Highlands, the Southern Uplands and the Central Lowlands. The Scottish Highlands lie west of a line from Aberdeen to the mouth of the Clyde. They form the most extensive and the most sparsely populated of the three regions. The mountains are separated into two parts […]

Ireland is predominantly a rural island, with a generally low density of population and indeed few large towns other than those situated on the coast. The regional geography of the island is simpler than that of Great Britain, and especially than the regional geography of England. The Central Plain of Ireland stretches west-east across the […]

Lowland Britain offers a striking contrast in many ways. Though so much less rugged, there are few parts where level land is uninterrupted by hills. One of the most extensive plains in the British Isles is in the English Midlands, consisting of river valleys and plains interspersed with scattered hills. It is the Midland Plain, […]

There is a wide network of rivers in the British Isles, though generally short in length and navigable but in their lower reaches, especially during high tides. Mild maritime climate keeps them free of ice throughout the winter months. In the Middle Ages, river transport played a major role in the British internal transport system, […]