Hotels in The United Kingdom
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Hotels in The United Kingdom at great discounts! This site offers you the best hotels in The United Kingdom with the best offers in the country. All hotels in The United Kingdom can be booked without reservarion fees. All hotels in The United Kingdom can be booked online and with free cancellation. Our site offers you all relevant information on over 5,000 hotels in The United Kingdom. Select one of the top 10 UK cities below or click here for a complete listing of cities in The United Kingdom . 
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the United Kingdom or the UK) is a constitutional monarchy in western Europe.The Union comprises four constituent nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern portion of the island of Ireland and most of the remaining British Isles. It counts Ireland, France, Belgium and Netherlands as its nearest neighbours. The Isle of Man and the various Channel Islands are "crown dependencies", linked to the UK by various ties and mutual obligations but not part of it (or of the EU). Gibraltar is a British territory within the EU with its own autonomous government. The UK today is a diverse patchwork of native and immigrant cultures, possessing a fascinating history and dynamic modern culture, both of which remain hugely influential in the wider world. Although Britannia no longer rules the waves, the UK is still a popular destination for many travellers. The capital city of the United Kingdom (and the largest city) is London. |
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Climate
The UK has a benign humid-temperate climate moderated by the North Atlantic Current and the country's proximity to the sea. Warm, damp summers and mild winters provide temperatures pleasant enough to engage in outdoor activities all year round. Having said that, the weather in the UK can be changeable and quite often conditions are windy and wet. British rain is legendary, but in practice it rarely rains more than two or three hours at a time and sometimes parts of the country stay dry for weeks, especially in the East. More common are overcast or partly cloudy skies. It is usual to be prepared for a change of weather when going out; a jumper and a raincoat usually suffice when it is not winter.Because the UK stretches nearly a thousand kilometres from end to end, temperatures can vary quite considerably between north and south. Differences in rainfall are also pronounced between the drier east and wetter west. Scotland and north-western England (particularly the Lake District) are often rainy and cold, with heavy snowfall in northern Scotland in winter. The north-east and Midlands are also cool, though with less rainfall. The south-east is generally warm and dry, and the south-west warm and often wet. Wales and Northern Ireland tend to experience cool to mild temperatures and moderate rainfall, while the hills of Wales occasionally experience heavy snowfall. Even though the highest land in the UK rarely reaches more than 1,300 metres, the effect of height on rainfall and temperature is great.
Architecture
The earliest remnants of architecture in the United Kingdom are mainly neolithic monuments such as Stonehenge and Avebury, and Roman ruins such as the spa in Bath. Many castles remain from the medieval period and in most towns and villages the parish church is an indication of the age of the settlement, built as they were from stone rather than the traditional wattle and daub.Over the two centuries following the Norman conquest of 1066, and the building of the Tower of London, many great castles such as Caernarfon Castle in Wales and Carrickfergus Castle in Ireland were built to suppress the natives. Large houses continued to be fortified until the Tudor period, when the first of the large gracious unfortified mansions such as the Elizabethan Montacute House and Hatfield House were built.
Cruisine
During much of the 19th and 20th century the United Kingdom had a reputation for somewhat conservative cuisine. The stereotype of the native cuisine was of a diet progressing little beyond stodgy meals consisting of "meat and two veg". Even today, in more conservative areas of the country, "meat and veg" cuisine is still the favoured choice at the dinner table.Traditional British fare usually includes dishes such as fish and chips; roast dishes of beef, lamb, chicken and pork; both sweet and savoury pies and puddings, as well as regional dishes such as the Cornish pasty and Lancashire Hotpot.
On 8 January 1940, four months after the outbreak of World War II, a system of food Rationing was introduced to conserve stocks and feed the nation during the critical war years. Rationing persisted until July 4, 1954 [4] when a fourteen year period of relative privation (which profoundly affected a generation of people attitude to 'a culture of food') finally came to an end. With the end of rationing, Britain's diet began to change, slowly at first during the 1950s and 1960s under the influence of such people as Elizabeth David, but immeasurably by the closing decades of the 20th century.
Sports
The national sport of the UK is football, having originated in England, and the UK has the oldest football clubs in the world. The home nations all have separate national teams and domestic competitions, most notably the FA Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Scottish Premier League. The first ever international football match was between Scotland and England in 1872. The match ended goalless.Other famous British sporting events include the Wimbledon tennis championships, the Grand National, the London Marathon, the Six Nations rugby championships (of which 4 "home nations" participate), the British Grand Prix, the ashes series of cricket matches and the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities.
A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including: Football (soccer), squash, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby (rugby union and rugby league), cricket, snooker, billiards, badminton and curling.