1.

THE LANDSCAPE AND THE PEOPLE

1.1 Brief Geographical Outline

In Shakespeares chronicle play Richard II, there are some famous lives uttered by John of Gaunt, in which the beauty and uniqueness of the country is nowhere better extolled; the text is a wonderful portrayal of what this blessed plot of land shows and means to its people.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise; This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war; This happy breed of men, this little world; This precious stone set in the silver sea This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, (Act II, Scene I) The excerpt portrays the island myth, a nature fortress against threats coming from outside, the plot of land peopled with a happy breed of men recognizing their fortune in belonging to the island community. But, the country consists of a multitude of islands representing geographical and regional distinction, and the idea of a single island has been one of the most misleading British myths; however, the myth has been a useful one by creating the image of a single island people staying together against the rest of the world, the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish constituting a cohesive unit [50, p. 500]. For an Englishman, as Monica Redlich says [38; p. 13], no matter the place where he happens to live, whatever the background, that place is the best of all in the world, is the most special one; for one; it may be Devon, for another the Welsh border, for another London, for another

East Anglia; but each of them knows that his particular corner of England is the best possible one. Even the drawbacks are better which is to say worse than those of any other district; its frost are unsurpassable, its mud in winter time scarcely to be believed. We must return to this matter for one cannot understand England or the English if one does not remember it. The Englishman loves his place and his home, and, not accidentally, they say that for an Englishman his home is his castle. The full name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; the names United Kingdom, Great Britain and England are often confused, even by the United Kingdom inhabitants [53; p. 1]. Sometimes, the name Britain is used with reference to The United Kingdom. The country is located off the north-western coast of Europe, its total land area covering 94,231 square miles (244,110 sq. km) with 300 miles across at its widest, and about 600 miles from the top of the northern point to its southern coast. The United Kingdom consists of four geographic and historical parts: England, Wales and Scotland which constitute together Great Britain, the larger of the two main islands, and Northern Ireland, part of the second large island which also includes the Republic of Ireland, (Ireland or Eire) politically independent and not part of the United Kingdom. There are also numerous isles spread along the coast, large enough or quite tiny: the Isle of Wight to the south of England, and the Isles of Scilly to its southwest; the island of Anglesey lies off north-western Wales, while the Isle of Man is above it, in the Irish Sea, facing the Lake District; the Hebrides lie to the west of Scotland, while the Orkney and Shetland islands lie to its north. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands off the French west coast are not part of the United Kingdom, being self-governing Crown Dependencies; they have their own independent legal system, legislatures and administrative bodies, with the British government responsible for their defence and foreign relations, and being entitled to interfere in case of unproper administration.

England is the largest (129,634 sq. km/50,052 sq. miles) and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom, being the most industrialized one as well. Wales (20,637 sq. km/7,968 sq. miles) lies west of the English lowland, being composed almost entirely of rocky outcrops dissected by deep valleys, but with a well-known industrial south. Wales and England were unified administratively, legally, and politically by the Acts of Union (1536, 1542). Scotland (77,179 sq. km/29,799 sq. miles) is the most northern and mountainous part of Great Britain but the less densely populated one, as a result of its position and high ground. In 1707, Scotland joined England and Wales by forming a single Parliament and the country became Great Britain. The area of Northern Ireland (13,438 sq. km/5,206 sq. miles) consisting of 6 counties, which became part of the United Kingdom in 1922, is relatively small but varied, with a growing industry, particularly in and around its capital, Belfast. It has a common frontier with the Irish Republic (200 miles long) which represents, in fact, the only land border of the United Kingdom. With a territory consisting of smaller or larger islands, the United Kingdom is a country surrounded by sea. The English Channel lies to the south of England (between the United Kingdom and France) while the North Sea lies to the east, both of them, together with the Strait of Dover separating England from Europe. The seas are not deep, but they are frequently rough and difficult to navigate during storms, which made crossing from England to France far from pleasant. Nowadays, a tunnel constructed under the English Channel connects, the two countries. To the west, the Irish Sea surrounds the land, while the north-western coast of Ireland and western Scotland face the Atlantic Ocean. The seas around Britain are generally shallow and provide exceptionally good fishing grounds. The distance from the south coast of England to the most northerly part of Scotland is 960 km (600 miles), while the distance between Englands and Wales coasts are 480 km (300 miles), making that no place in the United Kingdom be more than 80 miles from the sea. However, there used to be people in Britain who had never seen

the sea, a fact which is no longer the case in our days. The distances being relatively small, the development of political union, the standardization of social, economic and institutional norms, as well as proper communications have been possible.

The fact that Britain is an island has determined and explains many of the consequences of its special development; it has mainly made of its inhabitants a seafaring nation, sailors and merchants, travelling across the

seas and oceans of the world, but, permanently, longing for and coming back to their precious homeland. It also meant invasion or security from invasion, shipyards, a gentle climate, Brighton piers, and sand castles, and much else besides [38; p. 15]. Thus, the sea is quite familiar to the Englishman and he, instinctively, turns to it as to his friend. Another important geographic feature of the main island of Great Britain is its deeply indented coastline; it has created, as a consequence, the sheltered bays and caves, a lot of perfect natural harbours, easily accessible to deep-water shipping, a decisive factor both for the countrys economic development and for its imperial expansion. Besides, the high tides provide safe anchorages along a large number of rivers and estuaries of the country. The coast is of a great diversity and beauty and it is said that it offers something for everybody in every mood; maybe, its most beautiful parts are to be found in the south-west of England and in the west of Scotland. There is much indentation along the coast of Devon and Cornwall with the hills running close to the sea and becoming cliffs. As regards the southern and eastern coast, it is composed of chalk cliffs which vary in size, the coast being sometimes flat, and of a less dramatic effect. On the other hand, the north-western coast offers images of a wild beauty: here, many river valleys (fyords), widened by the sea-drowned glaciers, penetrate deeply into the mountains which are stately rising from the sea, either forming elongated peninsulas or emerging in hundreds of small off shore islands. There are also big seaside resort towns which have grown up on the coastline: Brighton, Bournemouth or Southend in the south, and Blackpool in the north-west, among others. They are well-known for the great number of visitors they receive, either for a fortnight stay or just for a couple of hours spent on the beach. The coastline which can be admired today, is the result of the natural forces whose actions are still in a permanent process; over time, the sea moved backwards and forwards, with the coastline sinking under or rising above it, the seas retreat creating either the chalk and limestone

uplands or the beaches along the coasts; but, in some places, the process of erosion is still on, the sea consuming the land slowly and relentlessly. Besides the sea, the second important presence in the scenery of Britain are the hills, as this country is a land without spectacular high mountains. With some exceptions, a few districts in eastern England where the land is smooth and flat and West Wales and North Scotland which have some real mountains, the prevailing landscape of the country is the hilly one, but of a wide variety with both large and small hills. The hill plays an important part in the life of the people and in their way of thinking as well. An average Englishman asked to imagine a typically English scene will almost certain include in it some familiar hill top or a row of blue-shadowed hills in the background. The hills are part and parcel of the English culture, being part of the peoples life as they separate one town or village from another, they act as shelter from the prevailing wind, they change colour continually with the changes of sunlight and cloud, they give point and purpose to a country walk; they make the old rhyme about over the hills and far away a symbol of adventure and the unknown [38; p. 11].

1.2 The Relief and Economic Development

The archipelago that forms the United Kingdom, irregular in shape and beautiful in the diversity of its scenery, is, largely, the result of its underlying structure, of its nature and disposition: the archipelago represents the westward extension of European mainland, connected, thousands of years ago, by land links which disappeared under the shallow waters of the Strait of Dover and the North Sea. The Strait of Dover represents, now, the shortest stretch of water separating the two land masses (29 miles/32 km). It was the consequence of the glaciers melting in the last Ice Age, causing the sea level to rise, and the separation of the island from the continent. In its turn, Northern Ireland is the westward extension of Scotlands rocks.

The great variety of Britains geography is the result of a long geological history: its oldest parts were formed by the mountain chains rising from the sea-bed, due to the earth movements. Between the earth movements, there were important climatic changes when warm, sub-tropical periods alternated with sub/arctic ones; thus, during the warm periods there were large swamp forests which covered the lowland areas, (their fossil remains buried by sand soil and mud formed the coal deposits of the island) while in the cold ones, the glaciers moved southwards leaving their mark over the most of the area, shaping the details of the valleys and plains, and deciding the sitting of the future rivers. Other weather agents (wind, ice, water) had also an important part to play, gradually wearing away the raised land, rounding off the mountain peaks and moving waste materials to lower areas, where they were turned into new rocks; in this way, the scenery became softer and less folded. From the point of view of physical relief, Great Britain is traditionally divided into two major regions, Highland and Lowland, in fact, a separation between the older rocks of the north and west created by the earth movements from the younger ones in south and east. Highland Britain includes Scotland, the Lake District (in north/west England) the Pennines (central upland), a large part of Wales, as well as Devon and Cornwall (southwest of England); the rest of the country is known as Lowland, a sort of imaginary line running diagonally on the map of the island from the mouth of the river Exe (southwest) to that of the river Tees (northeast), being considered to follow the geological edges which mark the wrinkles of the landscape. Generally speaking, because of the type of rocks it is made from, Highland is not so much suited for agriculture, being largely good for animal grazing, while Lowland, with its fertile soils, offers good agricultural conditions; there are also important urban settlements here, and highly developed industrial areas.

The Highland. In comparison with the continental mountainous regions, its altitudes are low; the highest peak is Ben Nevis, which is only 4,406 feet (1,343 meters) above sea level, the second high being Snowdon (3,560 feet) in North Wales; the scenery offered is not at all specifically alpine; even Ben Nevis is rounded in shape and benevolent, covered with grass and heather and only, sometimes, patched with snow. In Wales, Snowdon dominates the landscape which is largely mountainous, with deep wooded valleys. Scotland lies in this area, consisting of three main topographic regions: Northern Highlands and Southern Uplands with Central Lowlands separating them. The Highlands cover the northern part of the country, the region being characterized by high grounds (nearly 300 peaks) of granite outcrops, deeply trenched with valleys and lochs. There are large areas of unspoilt and wild landscape here. The highest part of the Highlands is represented by the Grampian Mountains (1,000-3,500 feet above sea level), reaching their highest altitude with the Cairngorms, exceeding 4,000 feet (Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of Great Britain stands a bit farther to south west). Numerous mountains torrents and brooks descend from the highland masses which are furrowed by wide valleys. However, the Highlands of Scotland are not entirely of great altitude; there are occasional areas of lowland, sharply contrasting with the mountain scenery around; long lines of sand dunes fringe them, adding variety to the landscape. There are many long and narrow fresh water lochs, some of them exceptionally deep, which enhance the wild beauty of the lonely landscape. Loch Lomond deserves a special mention for its wonderful scenery, while Lock Ness is a famous place for the largely debated monster which is supposed to live there.

The Western coast is intersected by long, narrow sea lochs or fyords which cut deep into the land, making the coast rugged and irregular. The cliffs vary in character according to the nature of the rock. The population is not dense DARTMOUTH, DEVON (LACKE) in the Highlands, the largest parts of mainland and the heather-covered moorland being uninhabitable; however, many remote places along the west coast have recently developed as summer residences, famous for their wild beauty. The most important towns of the Highlands are Aberdeen, (university town, manufacturing centre, port and place of oil support facilities), Inverness, Peterhead, Elgin, etc. The Highlands of Scotland also include numerous islands, the most important being the Hebrides, the Orkneys and the Shetland. The Hebrides (consisting of Outer Hebrides and Inner Hebrides) can be considered a broken archipelago, formed of eighty inhabited islands. Many of these remote islands are small and rocky, with only light houses and few inhabitants. Their landscape is very attractive, rugged and picturesque, especially in summer time when they are visited by pleasure cruisers, as tourism to these islands has recently become of growing importance. The richest and most productive of all islands is Islay, situated in the extreme south of the Inner Hebrides; it is known for good trout and salmon fishing due to its many fresh water lochs and rivers with which it is provided. Stock raising and dairy farming are of great importance, the islands main crops being oats, potatoes and some other vegetables.

The Orkneys are growing in importance with the development of oilfields in the North Sea; they are also known for sheep raising, largely kept on common grazing land; some farm land can be found in some parts of the island, and fishing of herring shoals, appearing off the Orkneys, is possible in summer time. The Shetland Islands lie in the far north, making a compact archipelago of about one hundred islands and islets, out of which only no more than twenty/twenty five are inhabited, because of their position and severe climate conditions. The Shetlands are famous for sheep raising, appreciated for the fine wool produced by a native breed able to live out in all weathers; the harsh conditions are said to be beneficial for the wool quality. There is a well-known hand-knitting industry here using traditional patterns, which has greatly contributed to the islands prosperity. In many ways, the Shetland Islands are unique; the beauty of the scenery is also remarkable, with rugged ridges, many fresh water lochs and sea inlets. There are long summer twilights, a reminder of the northerly latitude. The Central Lowlands lie between the Highlands, the boundary being, here, of a wall-like feature, and the Southern Uplands. It constitutes a broad depression, but this trench is, by no means, a continuous plain; there are many separate groups of hills here, and isolated crags formed of sturdy, resistant masses of volcanic rock. (The Castle of Edinburgh is built on a hill of this type of rock). There are three chief valleys in the Central Lowlands: the valley of the Tay and of the Forth descending from the Highlands, and the valley of the Clyde descending from the Southern Uplands; the last two form the deeply penetrating estuaries of the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. There are not many lochs in this part of the country, but there are shallow lakes of various sizes.

The population of this region is comparatively dense, as a consequence of the important industrial position of the region. The main important towns are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leith, Dundee, Paisley, Perth, etc. each of them specialised in some specific production. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, famous for its fine setting, architecture and historical interest.; administration is the main activity of this city, but it is also a banking and insurance centre; Edinburgh is a university town, its university being founded in 1582. In the town there are industries of quite considerable importance as rubber production, baking and milling industries. Glasgow is known for a great variety of manufacturing industries, as heavy industry, including shipbuilding, being an important textile centre as well. Glasgow is also known for its book-producing and publishing firms. It is one of the countrys chief ports and a leading distribution centre. Close to the manufacturing districts lie rich agricultural lands, situated especially in the east of the region; the main crops are barley, oats and potatoes, with a farming notable for its high yields. The Southern Uplands lie to the south of Central Lowlands, from the North Channel (south-west) to St. Abbs Head (north-east); much of this part of Scotland consists of high ground; however, in comparison with the Northern Highlands, the relief is more subdued here, and its highest point is only 2,800 feet above the sea. The main hill masses are the Cheviots, culminating with Broad Law and Merrick, which is the highest summit in the region (above 2,700 feet), both of them being mainly based on volcanic rocks and granite; they, together with the rugged imprint of former glaciers, give a mountainous quality to the landscape. Otherwise, the general aspect of the region is of broad plateau surfaces separated by numerous dales covered with woods. There are many rivers flowing in the west of the region and following the slope of the plateau towards the Solway Firth. In the east, the Valley

of the Tweed and its numerous tributaries form a broad lowland expanse. One of the most picturesque and best-known locks is the wild and lonely Loch Skene. The eastern part of the upland carries a great deal of moor. The density of the population in the Southern Uplands is not very high; the urban population is concentrated in a number of small market and textile towns, but, for the most part, the region is rural, with its population either grouped in small villages or scattered in hill and lowland farming units; sheep raising has been practised for a long time; dairy farming is developed, as well as fishing, side by side with the woollen industry. The largest and most important town of south-west Scotland is Dumfries well known for its textile industry embracing a variety of knitted garments for home and foreign markets. Stranraer is another town, small but important as a dealing centre with dairy products. This region is also known as the Border country, and it is important as well because of Sir Walter Scott whose special province it was. As regards the economic development of the three regions forming Scotland, the traditional industries (coal, steel and ship building) have recently declined, but less dramatically than it happened in other parts of the UK. There has been an important growth in new industries, such as chemicals, electronic engineering and some forms of mechanical and instrument engineering. Thus, Scotland accounts for more than half of Britains output of integrated circuits and for more than 10 p.c. of European output [54; 19]. A serious impact on its economic development was due to the discovery of oil and gas under the North Sea, a large number of jobs being estimated to have arisen as direct or indirect result of North Sea activities. As regards the traditional industries there are some textiles (high quality tweeds, food and drink products) which are still important. There are more than 100 whisky distilleries, especially in north-east Scotland, whisky exports valuing over 2 million.

Services have also expanded: there are four Scottish based clearing banks having limited rights to issue their own banknotes, and there is also a large number of insurance companies. As regards agriculture, 80 p.c. of Scotlands land area is devoted to this activity, much of the land representing grazing for cattle and sheep. The productivity of the arable land is high, and its principal crop is barley, used in producing whisky and beer. Nearly half of Britains forest area lies in Scotland, and the timber production is also notable. Fishing is an activity well represented, especially in the north-east area and in the islands; more than 60 p.c. of the total value of Britains fish landing comes from Scotland. In general, and with few exceptions, Scotland can be characterized by harsh physical conditions, a cold climate and isolation because of its remoteness; as a consequence, settlement there, agriculture, general development, but also its conquest, have been difficult over time. Northern Ireland (at its nearest point only 13 miles/12 km from Scotland) could be considered an extension of the Scottish Highlands, presenting the same type of mountain scenery, with peat-covered summits, (Sperrin Mountains, 2,241 feet above the sea) while the uplands here, are a continuation of the Southern Uplands of Scotland; however, the land is flatter (500 feet) with the exception of the Mourne Mountain a cluster of granite summits rising sharply in the south-east (the highest peak Slieve Donard is 2,796 feet (853 m). The difference in the geological structure is represented by an outpouring of basaltic lavas which formed a huge plateau, its largest part being covered by Lough Neagh (147 sq. miles/381 sq. km), a shallow fresh water lake, the largest in Britain. Economically, Northern Ireland has for long been a traditional manufacturer of textiles, especially linen; nowadays, its industry (situated mostly in the eastern part) is diversified, showing excellency in the production of vehicle components, oil-drilling equipment, electronic instruments, synthetic rubber.

Most of the province population, generally sparse and scattered, is concentrated in Belfast and in the neighbouring counties. Belfast, the capital, stands at the head of the wide Belfast Lough, where the river Lagan reaches the shore; its location made it a port of great importance for Northern Ireland; it has developed a large shipyard, where a considerable number of passenger liners and aircraft carriers were built. There are some other towns situated in valleys, such as Londonderry, especially known for its clothing industry, Ballymena, Newry etc. As regards, agriculture, it includes livestock products, while the main cereal crop are oats; there is a big production of potatoes, as well; many farmers grow flax and fruits in the suitable districts. The Highland region of Great Britain continues to the south with the Highland of England and of Wales. Here, it consists of four upland masses descending from north to south: The Pennines, the Cumbrian Mountains, the Cambrian Mountains and South West peninsula. The Cambrian Mountains (known as the Welsh Massif) form the core of Wales; their slopes go down into the sea, excepting the eastern side where they border the English plain. The general scenery they offer is that of a hilly region dissected by long, deep wooded valleys; their ancient summits were worn down by cycles of erosion and glacial processes, the activity of former volcanism being visible as well. However, there are still fine peaks, especially in North Wales, in Snowdonia and in its southward extensions, Cader Idris and the Berwyn mass, were mountain areas above 2,000 feet are to be seen (Snowdon massif is the highest part of Wales, 3,561 feet high/1,085 m; but Carnedd Dafydd 3,427 feet, and Carnedd Llewelyn 3,485 feet, are also worth mentioning). With some exceptions, Wales central area does not include similar high surfaces, most of the region representing a plateau with much grass-covered moor land. The scenery is smooth and rounded with a remarkable even skyline. Only in the south, the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons can be seen standing out, again, in their wonderful solitary splendour above the upland.

To the north west of the Welsh massif lies the Isle of Anglesey, a remnant of a very ancient land mass. There are several valleys that radiate from the highland core to the coastal regions which have a milder climate, being sheltered from the high winds. Besides this higher area, there are other two zones in the region, presenting a bit different nature: the south eastern part, which can be considered, physically and structurally, an extension of the English plain, and Welsh borderland, hilly, but lower than the Welsh Massif. The southern area is the most densely populated, due to its industrial development. This part of Wales is well known for the ferrous metals manufacturing and cool mining. A high quality coal started to be extracted here as early as the 13th century; the sea proximity made the coal transportation easy, the region becoming one of the biggest coal-mining centres in the world. In time, because of the difficulty of coal extraction, and the decrease in demand for the Welsh coal, the mining industry ceased to be of utmost importance. However, the traditional industry of steel making remains important, side by side with the development of a more diverse range of manufacturing industries, many of them at the forefront of technology; (electronics, information technology, automotive components, chemicals, etc.); they have started to develop not only in the south, but also in north east (especially light industry). As regards agriculture, it occupies nearly 80 p.c. of Wales land area. The most extensive crops are wheat, barley, oats and mixed corn. Other main activities are sheep and cattle rearing in the hilly regions, and dairy farming in the lowlands. About 12 p.c. of Wales territory is covered by woods. The most important towns of the region are Cardiff, the capital of Wales and an ancient city, Swansea and Newport in the south, and Colwyn, Bay, Pembroke and others in the northwestern area.

The rest of the Highlands regions represents England. The Pennines, considered to start in the north, along the river Tyne gap, and running straight down the centre of the country, are also called the backbone of England. (The Cheviots are the northerly extension of the Pennines and the surface of this arch is remarkably smooth, with bare, rounded heights). The Pennines have few sharp peaks, and chiefly consist of plateaux situated at different levels. The valleys, although deep, cover small areas, so that the moor land between them look almost featureless. The plateaux in the north are of a less hospitable character, because of low temperatures, heavy snowfalls and rain falling. The Central Pennines are lower and densely populated (Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester being the most important towns in the area). The southern part of the Pennines is a more grassy upland, characterized by dry valleys and steep-sided gorges. At lower levels the larger dales are more richly wooded, the trees standing out against a background of rugged cliffs of white grey rocks [53, p.3]. To the north-west of the Pennine system lie the Cumbrian Mountains, constituting a compact and isolated mountain group. They include the famous Lake District or Lake Country or Lakeland. The region is well known for its great natural beauty it is considered the most beautiful part of England, the lakes occupying many icedeepened valleys and showing a wonderful variety. The largest lakes are Windermere, Coniston Water, Derwent Water and Ullswater. There are numerous swift and clear streams, and small water falls, and, in spite of the fact that the altitude is not high, two individual masses tower over the surrounding area (the highest, Scafell Pike, is only 3,210 feet, and Helvelyn, 3,116 feet above the sea). The northern part of the Cumbrians is formed of tough slate rocks cut into deep gorges, separated by narrow ridges and sharp peaks. To the south, there are greater expenses of level upland formed from the lava and the ash thrown out by ancient volcanoes. There are clear glacial actions which created the hanging valleys, and left signs of their passage. This mountainous district is also widely known for its association with the history of English literature, and, especially, with the name of William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and other Lake poets, who celebrated the special beauty of this area in their poetry.

It seems that before the Romantic Movement in the late 18th century, which was represented by Wordsworth and the other poets who drew their inspiration from the perfection of the natural scenery, of waters, trees and heathen-covered slopes of the area, people were less impressed by/or concerned with natures beauty. The most so, it is these poets merit to have drawn the peoples attention on what is now accounted for the most beautiful part of England. The largest town of the Lake District is Carlisle, on the river Eden. Besides different industrial developments, the region is mainly a tourist attraction. The South-West of England includes the largest peninsula of the country. There are six uplands here: Exmoor (Dunkey Beacon is 1,704 feet) Dartmoor (High Willhays is 2,038 feet), mysterious stretches of grass and heather, with strange granite, coming out torsi, here and there; Bodmin Moor; St. Austell; Carn Brea; the spectacular extremity of Lands End, a dreadful sector of English coast; a bit farther, granite can be seen again on the Isle of Scilly. The landscape of the region has a certain uniformity of summit heights, with some differentiation between the groups of areas; there is a network of deep and narrow valleys which alternate with flat-topped zones of rising inland. The fine and diversified coastline attracts many tourists who enjoy visiting the resort towns, fairly small, but full of magic. (The only exception in size is Torquay, located on the south coast of the peninsula, which receives a large number of tourist). The main towns in the south west England are Plymouth (the largest town of the peninsula and a naval base), Exeter (a university centre), Falmouth (reputed for its shipyards), Dartmouth (with a deep and large harbour).

The Lowland zone. The boundary of the lowland runs from the mouth of the Tyne in north east of England, including a strip of low-lying ground around the Solway Firth in the northwest, to the mouth of the Exe in the southwest, descending against the Welsh Massif and the lower river Severn in the west; it opens to the Midland Plain with the scarp face of the Cotswold Hills, covering the area from the Dorset coast in southern England, and continuing in the Cleveland Hills to the coast of North Yorkshire. This part of England consists of alternating rocks, lying in long sweeps of scarp and vales, stretching from Dorset in the southwest to the moors of Cleveland. The first major scarp feature consists of Jurassic rocks and stretches from Dorset to the north Riding. (It is known as the Cotswolds, Northampton uplands and North Yorkshire moors). Behind this scarp lies a wide vale of soft, clayey rocks including the vales of Oxford, White Horse, Lincoln and Pickering. The flat, even reclaimed landscape of the Fens is underlined by these clays. The western edge of the chalk layer is also part of the English lowlands, stretching from Flamborough Head in Yorkshire to the western Downs of Dorset, a line of hills gently sloping to the east and south. (North and South Downs are uplands, so called because of their aspect: open, rolling, treeless grassland). The chalk outcrop is a more conspicuous and continuous feature than its sandstone and limestone predecessors [53; p. 6]. To the east of the Fens, the outcrop is very low (150 feet), but it rises gradually in the attractive, graceful Chilterns. The Downs cover a wide area of England, from the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs to the North Downs, reaching the sea at Dover, and the South Downs ending at Beachy Head. The wide, undulating down land, with its fresh, green springy turf, provides a spacious kind of landscape which is very typically English. From one great wave of green grass one can see far away over the crests of other waves, and in the valleys are tiny villages with an ancient church in the centre. [38; p.13]. In the southeast, the scenery contrasts strongly with the adjoining zones; most of the area is taken up by the zone of the weald region of Kent and East Sussex (the central hilly part of the area has different names: the High Weald, the Forest Ridges, Ashdown Forest). Surrounding the Forest Ridges is a belt of vale country called the Low Weald. On the coast, the waters of the English Channel have eaten parts of the chalk wall, producing a succession of chalk cliffs which face the

European mainland and glitter in the light of the sunny days; their white colour made the Romans call the territory they were eager to conquer, the Albion. Many regions and towns in England are associated with important English writers and artists. Thus, besides, William Wordsworth, already mention for his association with the Lake District, William Shakespeare is connected with Stratford-upon-Avon, Arnold Bennett with Stoke-onTrent, the Bront sisters with Yorkshire, Thomas Hardy with Dorset and John Constable with the beauty of Essex and Suffolk landscape. The region of Lowlands has considerable changed economically during the 20th century; manufacturing is still important in some fields; it is most significant in West Midlands and in north of England. High technology industries have recently developed in East Anglia. As regards agriculture, dairy is common in the western part, while sheep and cattle are reared in the hilly and moor land areas of the north, and in the southwest. The east and south area concentrate most of the arable land, pig and poultry farming. Horticulture is well developed here, as well as in the west Midland. As regards population, it is concentrated in the largest towns and cities, in London and south coast England, around Birmingham (west Midlands), in Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield (Yorkshire); around Liverpool and Manchester (north-western industrial area); in Newcastle and Sunderland (north-eastern part of the country).

1.3 Britains Rivers and the Landscape Beauty As a consequence of so many hills, Britain is rich in waterways. A lot of towns and villages stand on a river, a fact obvious from their names; some of the places are quite famous, others are less known: Stratfordupon-Avon, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Weston-by-Welland and many others.

Looking at Britains map the important rivers can be easily discovered: in Scotland, from north to south, the Spey, the Dee, the Tay, the Forth and the Tweed are all flowing east, while the Clyde is flowing west, into the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers draining east are longer and faster, running along impermeable rocks, and increasing rapidly after rains. In northern England, the significant westward-flowing rivers are the Eden and the Mersey, and in Wales, the Dee, the Teifi and the Tywi, flowing over relatively short distance. Between England and Wales, is the Severn, flowing south west into the Bristol Channel after its meeting with the Avon. Coming from the northern Pennines are the Tyne, the Wear and the Tees; they flow independently into the North Sea, while other rivers as the Ouse, the Aire and the Trent, drain into the Humber. To the south, after draining a large, flat area of the Fen county, another group of rivers flow into the Wash: the most significant is the Great Ouse. South eastern England is dominated by the large drainage system of the Thames; it rises from the Cotswolds, and after crossing the Oxford Clay and being joined by many tributaries, it forms the Thames estuary before flowing into the English Channel. Other important rivers flowing into the English Channel are the Tamar, the Exe, the Fowey, the Test, the Arun, the Ouse. In Northern Ireland the major rivers are the Erne, the Foyle and the Bann. Once again, as it happens with the hills or the seacoast, the landscape which this multitude of rivers offer, is diverse and picturesque: the swift and short rivers in the Highlands with their tumbling brown waters fringed by heather; the shallow, clear waters flowing over bright pebbles somewhere in Hampshire; the slow Midland streams winding through rich pasture lands, or small streams flowing along tree-dark valleys in the north. Once again everybody knows his own favourite minor river or unimportant stream; and wherever you are in the British Isles, if you reckon on taking your evening stroll to the river, or to the stream, or to the bridge, and inquire the best way to get there, you will scarcely even be disappointed, and you will spend many pleasant halfhours leaning over ancient stone bridges or strolling in quiet meadows, and will see far more of the real England than you ever could from the main highway [38; p. 16].

1.4 British Weather, a Conversational Topic

As well-known, the British weather is the source of innumerable jokes, being, at the same time, an inexhaustible topic of conversation. The fact is not accidental; the climate offers so many exceptions to so many rules, that speaking about it has become a habit, and not only. Besides, climate has a bad reputation partly justified; it is considered to be permanently rainy, foggy and windy, with few sunny days. The climate in Britain is determined, to a large extent, by the countrys position related to the form and distribution of land and sea. Lying in middle latitudes, Britain has a mild, temperate climate. But its climate is also influenced by the Gulf Stream, the warm North Atlantic Current that heats the sea and the air of the regions it crosses; thus, Great Britains climate is more temperate than it would be, considering its northerly position. As regards the classification of climate, it generally falls into the cool temperate humid type with some obvious regional diversity. In theory, there are four definite seasons, but because of its position, between the European landmass and the relatively warm Atlantic waters, there are permanent modifications of the main thermal and moisture characteristics of the air masses circulation over the countrys area. As the weather changes with the wind, and Britain is crossed by winds coming from different source regions, ranging from Arctic polar to tropical ones, each of them being, in their turn, either maritime or continental, it is natural that the characteristic feature of Britains weather should be variability. In their paths, these atmospheric systems fluctuate rapidly, varying both in frequency and intensity throughout the seasons and from year to year. But, although by definition, the weather is changeable, the extremes are not severe: in winter, the polar maritime masses of air reaching the country determine a line of equal temperature from north to south of about 400F (40C), rarely falling below zero; in summer, there are some

regional differences, with temperature increasing from north to south, but never exceeding 900F (320C); however, this happens on some rare occasions, when southerly or south-easterly airstreams bring some waves of heat to the south of England. There are situations when varieties of airstreams can bring winter cold in spring, and spring days in winter, autumn days in summer, and splendid summer days at the end of October. Here, we cannot help mentioning the wonderful season and magic atmosphere described by John Galsworthy in the interlude The Indian Summer of a Forsyte in his trilogy The Forsyte Saga. Thus, on the British Isles the weather is a long series of exceptions to its traditional rules which say that spring lasts from March to May, being gentle and sunny with blooming flowers and singing birds, summer from June to August, being even sunnier with long hot days when everybody can get sunburned, autumn, from September to November, being the time when leaves and fog is prevailing, while in winter (December-February) people expect snow and bright sparking frosty days. All these traditions are only pure theory, because, in practice, nobody can guess from one day to another which season will meet him next morning; that is why, the foreign tourists are advised to take some winter clothes for their summer holidays in Britain, and never forget their umbrellas when leaving the hotel in the morning while the sun is brightly shining in the sky. The discrepancies between weather forecasts and the real weather is something usual, this climatic changeable characteristic with its unpredictability being virtually a national institution and for some a conditioning factor in the national character [38; p. 23]. As regards, rainfall pattern, a concept very popular with the foreigners associate Britain with perpetual rainfall. In fact, it seems that rain is distributed well enough throughout the year; June, May and April are considered the driest months, each of them at different times in different regions, while the wettest months are from October to January. However, again, it can never be taken as a rule, as, in some particular years, any month might be equally wet or the wettest, even in the south. (An unforgettable example is the summer of the year 1992, when for three weeks, in July, there was hardly a sunny day in Plymouth.) Anyway, the rainfall distribution also depends and even to a great extent to the exposure to the Atlantic Ocean and the place topography: in the mountainous areas there is more rain than in the plains of the south and

east. Besides, increasing with altitude, and from southwest to northeast some precipitations turn into snow in wintertime. Sometimes, there are heavy snowfalls, locally immobilizing traffic, with glazed frost and icy roads causing great inconvenience, and occasional little whirlwind can uproof the houses. (The average number of snow falling days can vary from 30 in north-eastern Scotland to five in southwester England). But, of course, the worst weather circumstance is caused by the famous British fog or mist, causing collisions and other unhappy events on roads, railways and along the coast. Anyway, most of the time the sky is overcast in the British isles and, according to official records, the average daily hours of sunshine vary from less than three in northeast to about four and a half along the southeastern coast. As said before, to have weather as a topic of conversation is something usual in Britain; however, we are warned that, in some cases, this might not be a mere reference to weather. Thus, a sentence as lovely weather for the time of year! could mean that the person really enjoys the sunshine, or it could be nothing else but small talk, in order to make the time pass; but, it could also express someones desire to get acquainted to someone else, or even to declare, in a special way, some feeling of affection. Here is an amusing example of what communicating across cultures means!

1.5 Plant and Animal Life, a Preoccupation of the British

In remote times, much of Britain was forest, but, nowadays, woodland covers less than 10 p.c. of the country. Since its creation in 1919, the Forestry Commission was active in afforestations, having important plantations, but, the woods are still fairly small and scattered outside the enclosed cultivated fields; they are quiet and interesting areas, where different kinds of trees growing together in friendly proximity can be seen: oak, larch and crabb-apple side by side with scrubs and flowering bushes. However, large areas of woodland can be found in north-eastern Scotland; there are Kielder and other forests in Northumberland.

Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, Gwynedd in Wales, and Breckland in Norfolk are also worth mentioning. There are some famous places, as for example Sherwood Forest in Midland where Robin Hood and his merry men used to live stealing from the rich lords to give to the poor people, or Epping Forest to the north east of London; New Forest in Hampshire is also a place to be mentioned, being laid out by William the Conqueror for his own royal pleasure as a hunting-ground. The purpose for which it was cultivated was the protection of deer, by offering them everything they needed for their survival. The forest covers an area of 145 sq. miles of woodlands, moors and marshes. People have lived on that area since prehistoric times, but because of its soil, a large population could not live there. The area is nowadays open to holiday makers. As regards the species of trees, except for northern Scotland where the pine is the most characteristic, the tree dominating the forest is the oak; but some other trees, as the elm, the ash, the beech and the thorn, also belong to the British landscape; no less the willow, mirroring itself in the waters of a lake or river, the poplar, supplying a vertical line to the sloping country scenery, or the acacia and the silver birch with their outstanding grace. In south Devon there are palm-trees growing along the coast. Anyway, the general image the trees offer is not that of a forest as we might expect to see, but that of groups or individuals, magnificent and impressive in their unusual attitudes, watching the ground for centuries. All over the British Isles there are apple and pear trees, and almost every farm or country house has its orchard, where one can also find plums damsons, greengages and cherries. In Worcestershire and Somerset, to the west of England, for example, there are famous orchards, and, in springtime, the sight of the trees in blossom is not to be forgotten. Typically British are also the luxuriant hedgerows, a natural transition from trees to hedges and a way, both impressive and practical, of separating one field from another, and the field from the country lane; the hedges are full of flowering bushes, honey-suckle and dog roses, blackberry and elder, crab-apple and hawthorn, and what not. It is said that there is a certain, present day tendency towards destroying the hedgerows, because they are, sometimes, considered harmful to crops,

although they are a natural habitat for birds and insects. But, on the other hand, others say that a short term effect of hedgerows destruction would be a gradual reduction of scenic quality and of the landscape variety. About a forth of the total area of the British Isles is represented by moorlands and heathlands. But vegetation can be even more specific, in its diversity. Thus, some mountain summits in Scotland are covered by arctic-alpine vegetation, while in the highland zone, peat moss, heather bilberry and grass moors are most extensively found; a similar vegetation covers the high grounds in eastern Northern Ireland and the Mourns. In the lowland area, where the soil is lightly sandy, the common heather is dominant, sometimes mixed with bilberry or bell heather; in autumn, the scenery is quite special, because of the deep purple colour of the vegetation which add a splash of colour to the landscape. The image of the British wild nature would not be complete without shortly mentioning the gardens of Inverewee, a small peninsula just north of Gaitloch, in the northwest of Scotland; the variety of the scenery is extraordinary there, a combination of mountain and moor, loch and sea, forming a never-to-be-forgotten panorama. The place is a fascinating spot, where palms and eucalyptus trees, huge pines and firs, as well as the great blaze of colour coming from the delicate and beautiful flowers from Africa, South America or New Zeeland can be seen together. The surprise and secret of all these plants growing there, at that northern latitude, is that Inverewee is washed by the Gulf Stream. Now, the gardens are the property of the National Trust for Scotland, but it was the work of a Highland laird, Osgood Mackenzie, who started it in the mid 60s of the 19th century; at that time, the small peninsula, the name of which is Ane Ploe Ard (in the Gaelic language) was a bare, bleak spot, being mainly covered with black acidy peat and outcrops of rock. Mackenzie started by running a fence over the neck of the peninsula in order to keep out sheep and deer, and, only later on, created a barrier against the cold winds and storms of the place by planting a thick belt of Scots firs, Corsican pine and massive hedges of rhododendrons. After about twenty years, all of them made good shelter, and, nowadays, these giant beautiful trees are part of the gardens, constituting one of the main features of the landscape.

The beauty of the British landscape owes a lot to the wild flowers, which pattern the scenery from early spring, in February, till late in autumn. The first to appear are the aconite and snowdrop followed by others coming upon with a rush: carpets of blue bells and banks of primroses, fields of cowslips and weaves of daffodils, (famous along the shores of Lake Windermere), so beautiful and gentle that they inspired the romantic poet when he saw them: Besides the lake, beneath the trees,/ Fluttering and dancing in the breeze (William Wordsworth); and other more and more flowers scattered in the summer fields, like the blue speedwell, the scarlet pimpernel, the graceful pansy, the poppy cornflower and chicory, and the common flowers like clover and daisy and buttercup with their delicate beauty, ready to welcome those who take the trouble to stop for a minute for admiring them. Flowers are really loved in Britain, and they represent part of the peoples life. You can see them everywhere, attentively looked after, in the tiny gardens in front of the houses, in the windows flower stands or in pots hanging from iron fences or just on the walls of the houses in London or in any other towns or villages. Not only once, you are tempted to stop in front of them to admire, and, if possible, to touch their delicate and coloured petals, as a sign of respect for those who so tenderly care for them. There are flower contests festivals in Britain, and the people are really proud with their achievements in this activity, which is more than a hobby, it is a cultural characteristic. The wild animals populating the British Isles are similar to those of Europe, but most of the formerly abundant larger mammals, as boars, reindeer, bears and wolves, have become extinct. Some species of deer do still survive, as the red deer in the Scottish Highlands and in Exmoor Forest, and the roe deer in wooded Scotland and southern England. In addition, there are badgers, otters, foxes, stoats and weasels living in rural areas; there are some species of rodents, such as rats, squirrels and mice, and of insectivores such as hedgehogs, moles and shrews. There are still plenty of rabbits and two species of hare. On some parts of the coast there are seals. As regards reptiles, there are three species of snakes, of which only one is venomous, and three species of lizard. The amphibians are represented by five species of frogs and toads and three species of newt. From his earliest childhood, the average British is familiar to all these little beings; he either could have had the

luck to see them as a child while strolling in the woods or along a river or when crossing some lane, or he knows them from the stories of Kenneth Grahams The Wind in the Willows or of Beatrix Potters, whose immortal animals have become his personal friends. The birds are, equally, an important and varied part of the British landscape; there are more than two hundred species in the British Isles, more than one-half of them being migratory. Among the best known and usually seen are the town-dwelling birds, such as the sparrow, the blackbird, the thrush and the pigeon, or even the swallow, the robin and the house-martin as well, all of them living in the suburban gardens and having a density here, maybe, higher than in the woodland. However, a special attention should be paid to some birds often met in the fields, as, for examples, the lark, the cloud of fire as Shelley called it, whose song could make the pleasure of a country walk, the nightingale making the delight of a summer evening, or the cuckoo, whose coming around the 15th of April is considered a real event in Britain, while, during the night, the owls scream is sad and impressive. In some lonely places, but very often in the parks as well, one may see the magnificent wild swans sailing majestically on the waters face, side by side with the small and agile ducks, and, everywhere, the seagulls: above the Thames bridges in the heart of London, on the coast where they come around any sitting person begging for some crumbles, or even far inland, wheeling above the country cottages. There are many ornithological organizations which encourage a more sympathetic attitude to birds, and promote their conservation by assisting the creation of refuges, sanctuaries and reserves; such effort contributes to the elimination of the negative effects of environmental changes on bird life. Surrounded by water, crossed by many rivers, Britain is renowned for its many species of fish: trout, salmon, perch, pike and others which could be found in the fresh waters, and cod, haddock, mackerel, herring and plaice in the offshore one. Fresh water fishing is, nowadays, merely considered some sport or recreation because of the water pollution, but there are still rich fishing grounds in the North Sea, Irish Sea or off the western coast of Scotland.