Welcome to our humble home – the United Kingdom – where we permanently reside, and have done all of our lives! Being British ourselves, of course we love a good grumble about the ever persistent grey skies and rain, but in all honesty, there are truly are some beautiful areas to explore that make us very proud to live here!
Whether you are a fellow UK resident looking for staycation ideas, or an International visitor who wants to see more than just London, we’ve got you covered! Check out our extensive and ever-growing range of blogs below – from ready made itineraries, step-by-step walking guides, hotel reviews and more.
More posts about United Kingdom:
England: South-West region
Dorset, Devon & Cornwall
Itineraries
Wildlife Experiences
Walks
Places To Stay
England: South Coast region
New Forest National Park
Know Before You Go
Itineraries
Places To Stay
England: Mid-West region
Cotswolds
Itineraries
England: The Midlands region
Peak District National Park
Itineraries
Walks
England: North-West region
Lake District National Park & Yorkshire Dales
Lake District Itineraries
Lake District Walks
Lake District Miscellaneous
Yorkshire Dales Walks
Yorkshire Dales Places To Stay
England: East Anglia Region
Norfolk coast
Places To Visit
Places To Stay
Wildlife Experiences
Wales:
South Pembrokeshire Itineraries
South Pembrokeshire Miscellaneous
United Kingdom Miscellaneous
The UK Facts
The United Kingdom and Great Britain are two different things. The UK includes Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England – whereas Great Britain does not include Northern Ireland.
The UK is renowned for its unpredictable weather, and experiences high levels of rainfall every year! It also experiences sudden heatwaves, the highest temperature recorded was 38.5°c in Kent in 2003.
Iconic British dishes and food traditions are: Roast dinners on Sunday afternoons, fish and chips (ideally at the seaside), a full English Breakfast, “Bangers and mash” i.e. sausage and mashed potatoes and shepherds pie!
165 millions cups of tea per day are consumed in the UK. It is a favourite pass time of ours! We actually drink 20x more than America combined!
King Charles II wrote a decree that if there was ever less than 6 black ravens in the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall. With the decree still in place to this day, the Tower of London’s ravens all have their wings clipped so they cannot fly away, and there are a few spare ravens ready in case one was to go missing.
Queen Elizabeth is the longest-reigning Queen in the world, 69 years! As all British passports are issued “in the name of The Queen”, she herself does not need one.
The Queen is the “Seigneur of Swans” i.e. owns all unmarked swans on the open waters of the UK! Thus, since 1980 it is an illegal offence to kill one, and could land you with a 6-month sentence or £5,000 fine.
It is home to Stonehenge, one of the oldest monuments in the world! Scientists predict it was built in 3,000 B.C, and is actually older than the Egyptian pyramids.
No point in England is more than 75 miles from the sea. So when we do get a sporadic sunny day, we have over 60 beaches to chose from!
In the UK, our accents change substantially every 25 miles!
You can walk the full 870 mile length of England’s mainland, from Land’s End in Cornwall all the way up to John O’Groats in Caithness.
In the UK, it is also illegal to dress up in a sailor or solider costume, to avoid impersonating a member of the armed forces.
The British are renowned for their unwritten rule of ‘Etiquette’. This includes politely joining the back of any queue and waiting your turn, apologising for everything and saying “sorry” and using our manners: ‘Excuse me, please and thank you’.
The UK Weather & Seasons
Summer
The United Kingdom’s Summer months are between June-August. Of course, Britain being Britain, the weather is always unpredictable and subject to grey clouds and rain. Though with luck on our side – we can have glorious Summer days sometimes all the way through to September!
Autumn
The United Kingdom’s Autumn months are between September-November. Autumn blankets the UK in gorgeous golden, yellow and warm orange hues of fallen and changing leaves.
Winter
The United Kingdom’s Winter months are between December-February. UK Winters usually bring very unpredictable, grey, wet weather. Northern areas tend to get a lot more snow fall than Southern England.
Spring
The United Kingdom’s Spring months are between March-May. The days gradually get longer and warmer with everything seeming to come back to life, from leaves on the trees, spring flowers and baby farm animals in the fields!
The UK’s Capital Cities
CAPITAL CITIES
The capital city of England is London.
The capital city of Wales in Cardiff.
The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh.
The capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.
The UK’s Top Wildlife
British Swans
There are three types of swan in the UK: Mute, Whooper and Bewick’s. While Bewick’s and Whooper migrate, while the Mute swan stays in the UK all year.
Squirrels
Spot squirrels scurrying in the trees of most British woodland, forest and even public parks! There are two different species: the red and grey squirrel. The red squirrel is our native species, while grey squirrels were introduced from North America in 1800’s. Now, the number of grey squirrels vastly outweighs the red.
Hedgehogs
Spot these cute balls of spines waddling across most British gardens and grassy areas during nighttime, when they come out to feed! They usually hibernate between October – April during the British Winter.
Deer
These timid creatures are usually spotted in the quiet countryside in herds. There are six types of deer living wild in the UK: the Scottish red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, sika deer, Reeves’s muntjac, and the Chinese water deer.
Ducks
Though not the most exciting of wildlife, feeding the ducks at the park is considered a long-standing British pass time.
The UK’s Top Wildlife:
Common Pheasant
Find these colourful, long tailed birds across the open UK countryside all year round. Unfortunately, Pheasants are still bred in the UK specifically for shooting. The Pheasant was actually introduced to the UK in the 11th Century, and are actually native to Asia!
Red Fox
Native to the UK, red foxes are usually stalking the open countryside at night-time. Though usually shy and elusive, foxes around London have become much more “urban” and confident, found casually wandering the streets and walking along garden fences even during the day!
Rabbits
Though considered the UK’s most common and widespread mammals, rabbits are not native to the UK! They were introduced in the 12th century by the Normans. Spot them in the countryside, in public parks or even just grazing the verges by the side of the road!
Snakes
Snakes in the UK?! In fact – there are three species: Grass, Adder and Smooth snake! The only snake that is venomous here is the ‘Adder’. Deaths from an Adder bite are extremely rare, and usually just cause discomfort, and potentially nausea and dizziness. The last death from an Adder bite was recorded in 1975.
Badgers
A British icon, usually found foraging in the peace and quiet of our woodland and countryside. They look like no other UK mammal, with a characteristic black and white striped face, grey body and short stubby tail. They are nocturnal, and very rarely seen in the day, and more common in Southern England.