England

England is the largest part of the UK. Nearly 84 per cent of population of the UK lives in England, mainly in the major cities and metropolitan areas.

England shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain. The Channel Tunnel directly links England to France.

England takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled in this territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. It used to be known as "Angla land", meaning "the land of the Angles".

The capital city of England is London. The Greater London is the biggest city in England, in the United Kingdom and one of the worldТs largest cities. London was the historical centre of the British Empire.

Such cities as Manchester and Birmingham now rival for the second place in importance. Other big cities are concentrated mainly in central and northern England and they include Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Hull.

England is a country of lowland, where no part of it is higher than 120 metres above the sea level.

The county of Lancashire is famous for its wide beaches where the tides are unusually high.

In England there is the most westerly point of Great Britain - "Land's End".

The coastal scenery of southern England is famous for chalk hills and cliffs which stretch across the south and it is often called Albion.

According to one of the historical theories, when the Romans firstsaw England they called those white chalk cliffs and the land behindthem "Albion", meaning a "White Land". Since those times Albion is the poetic name of England.

Lake District (or Cumbria) in Northern England is very famous and its lakes, hills and valleys make it an excellent place for having rest.

The ruins of Hadrian's Wall are also here. It is a stone wall built across the north of England by the order of the Roman Emperor Hadrian to defend the northern border of Britain from the Scottish tribes.

When somebody says England, what famous things first come to your mind?

Of course, these might be London, Big Ben, Stonehenge, William Shakespeare, red double-decker buses, black taxi cabs, red postboxes and telephone boxes, tea, fish and chips, the Beatles, legend of Robin Hood, Wimbledon and, probably, David Beckham.

The territory of England is famous for the oldest British settlements. Traces of those times can be found in the south of England in the form of ancient monuments like Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is an enormous stone structure. The largest stones in this construction are 50 tones when the smallest weigh 5 tons. Ancient people began constructing Stonehenge thousands of years ago, and many generations of them took part in it.

William Shakespeare was a great playwright and a literary master of poetry. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Wimbledon is the oldest of all major tennis tournaments. It started in 1877 in a small club and had only 22 male participants. Since 1905, for a professional tennis player, winning Wimbledon is the pinnacle of their career.

1960's marked the beginning of a culture phenomenon known as the Beatlemania. The Beatles is an English rock-n-roll band from Liverpool. Its members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. These four men were born into working class to become the founding fathers of rock music. Not only their music was so popular, they also became trendsetters for harestyles and clothes. Some of their most popular songs are "Yesterday", "Let it Be", "Michelle".

England is also famous for an outstanding figure from remote past - Queen Boadicea ['bouəd|'siə]. This lady was a real warrior and is remembered for her courage. She fought against the Romans to keep England free. There is a bronze statue of her riding high in her chariot on the Thames embankment next to the Houses of Parliament in London.

The red rose is the national symbol or the emblem of England.

Every nation has its own Patron Saint who in times of great trouble is called upon to help save the country from its enemies. St. George is the Patron Saint of England. St. George's Day is celebrated on April 23rd and his flag, St. George's cross, which is the national flag of England is flown all over England.