The British Isles

1. ENGLAND

FLAG: The flag of England is represented by a red cross on a white background. This is known as St George's Cross and has its origins in the Crusades (12^th and 13^th centuries), when soldiers were identified by this red-coloured cross on their white tunics.

FLOWER: Tudor rose was adopted as a symbol of peace and combines a white rose (representing the Yorkists) and a red rose (representing the Lancastrians). During the War of the Roses, these two sides fought over the control of the royal house.

ANIMAL: As lion means bravery, it was used to represent the intrepid warriors of medieval England. Today, it remains the national animal of the country.

COLOUR: Red and white (referring to the Crusades in 12^th and 13^th centuries).

PATRON SAINT: Saint George. Saint George’s Day is celebrated on April 23^rd.

2. SCOTLAND

FLAG: The Flag of Scotland is a white X-shaped cross, which represents the cross of its patron saint, Saint Andrew, on a blue sky. The flag is called the Saltire or the Saint Andrew's Cross.

FLOWER: The thistle: Anybody is sure about why it became the official flower, but one legend says that sleeping party of Scottish warriors were saved from a trap by an invading Norse army when one of the enemies stepped on this plant.

ANIMAL: A unicorn. Tales of dominance and chivalry associated with the unicorn may be why it was chosen as Scotland’s national animal.

COLOUR: White (cross of Saint Andrew), and Blue (sky).

PATRON SAINT: Saint Andrew: St Andrew was known for being a generous man. St Andrew’s philosophy was incredibly simple: take what you have and share it with those less fortunate. He became known as a strong and fair man who took every opportunity to help others whenever he could. That’s why he became the patron saint of Scotland in 1320, when the Scotland’s independence was declared. Saint Andrew’s day is celebrated on November 30^th.

3. WALES

FLAG: The flag includes the red dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, The red dragon was then included as a supporter of the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959.

FLOWER: Daffodil: David Lloyd George, the only Welshman as Prime Minister loved the appearance of daffodils in early spring as a symbol of nature’s optimism.

ANIMAL: Red dragon (or Welsh dragon): It is the official animal of Wales, perhaps due to a legacy of the Roman Empire.

COLOUR: White, Green and Red. The dragon is red because a legend says that the red dragon (representing the Britons) defeated another white dragon (which represented the Saxons).

PATRON SAINT: Saint David, because he fought against Saxons invaders. Both natives and Welsh wore the same clothes, so Saint David had an idea (because Welsh people were losing the battle): to put a leek on the helmets to differentiate both sides. This idea made the Welsh soldiers win the battle. Saint David’s Day is celebrated on March 1^st.

4. NORTHERN IRELAND

FLAG: Ulster banner: This flag was used from 1953 to 1972 by the Stormont government to represent the government of Northern Ireland. That government was given a royal warrant to use the Ulster Banner in 1924. It continues to be used by some sports teams which represent Northern Ireland internationally. It is NOT the official flag, as Norther Ireland doesn’t own any official flag currently.

FLOWER: Although the shamrock is believed by many to be the national flower of Northern Ireland, the lax is the official floral symbol, appearing as the emblem of the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, the badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and some one-pound coins minted between 1986 and 1991.

ANIMAL: None.

COLOUR: Red colour in the flag represents Saint George’s Cross, on a white background. The flag also includes the red hand, which was the symbol of the Celtic sun god Labraid of the Red Hand.

PATRON SAINT: Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is thought to come from Scotland or Wales, but he spread the Christianism in Ireland. He also built churches and baptized people until he died in 461.

5. REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

FLAG: It was a present of Thomas Francis Meagher and represents the union between Catholics and Protestants. As T.F. Meagher said, The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between Orange and Green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.

FLOWER: Shamrock, because Saint Patrick used it in his teachings, as it was thought to have mystical properties and the ability to predict weather: it leaves turned their colour when a storm was approaching.

ANIMAL: Mountain hare, because it is only found on Ireland.

COLOUR: Green represents ancient Catholic inhabitants. Orange, Protestant inhabitants and white the union between them.

PATRON SAINT: Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17^th.

Poblation and area

The British isles: Area and distance

The British Isles are a group of islands off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consist of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. Situated in the North Atlantic, the islands have a total area of approximately 315,159km2, and a combined population of just under 70 million. Two sovereign states are located on the islands: the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of the island of Ireland) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British Isles also include three Crown Dependencies: the Isle of Man and, by tradition, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

Ireland:Area and distance

Ireland  is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe. It is the second largest island in the British Isles, after Great Britain.

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, in the northeast of the island. In 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.6 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.8 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.

Population of United Kingdom:

The current population of the United Kingdom is 66,418,186 as of Wednesday, February 7, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates.

•    the United Kingdom population is equivalent to 0.88% of the total world population.

•    the U.K. ranks number 21 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.

•     The population density in the United Kingdom is 274 per Km2 (709 people per mi2).

•     The total land area is 241,930 Km2 (93,410 sq. miles)

•    81.0 % of the population is urban (53,627,859 people in 2018)

•    The median age in the United Kingdom is 40.3 years.

Rivers, highlands, lowlands...

Probably you have heard about the famous Loch Ness or the Thames River that crosses London. The British Isles has many interesting and incredible highlands, as lakes and really long rivers.

Let’s start with Great Britain. In the South of the country, we have the most important and  more known rivers of the country. First of all, the Severn River, the longest of the island. It is 354 km long and delimits the border with Wales. It’s head is in Plynlimon, at Ceredigion. The end of it is at Bristol’s Canal, on the Atlantic Ocean.

It crosses cities like Shrewsbury and Telford, where the first iron bridge was built.

In second place and probably the most known of the UK, the Thames River. It is 346 km long, the second longest river of the island, just behind the Severn. The head of the Thames River is situated in Gloucestershire and it flows into the North Sea.

This one crosses the cities of Oxford and London, where the river is by 32 bridges.

Another important river in England is the Trent. It’s situated little bit more to the north of the island than the Thames. This one is a shorter than the Thames and the Severn, with a total length of 298km.

The river crosses the cities of Nottingham and Derby. The main function of this river is to divide the north and south of England.

In the UK there are different mountains and lakes, like the Loch Ness, that are really famous, but, the Lake District, situated in Cumbria, is one of the biggest and more known rurl parks in the country. This massive area has from the tallest mountain of the country to the deepest pond of the same.

Because of this, is one of the most visited rural parks of the country and it’s the one that has the bigest area.

Going a little bit more to the North, arriving to the South of Glasgow, we will find the Souther Uplands, that are 200 km approximately of tablelands that with the Pinnines (another group of mountains) create the spine of Great Britain. 

   Economy.

United Kingdom:

-Agriculture: represents only 1% of GDP (Growth Domestic Product) and contributes barely 2% of the PPP (Purchasing power parity). It is highly mechanized, and its main productions are of potatoes, beets, wheat and barley.

-Livestock: it is very significative, especially sheep and cattle, being a large producer of milk and its derivatives.

-Industry: The main activities are machinery, transport materials (vehicles, railways and aeronautics) and chemical products. The high technologic development and the large sums of money for research make the British economy enjoy good health. The sectors I crisis are the naval  and the textile. Mining was very important in the past, it was used to give the UK the economic development; nowadays mines are not working.

-Energy: The electricity in the UK comes from three main sources: gas, coal-fired power station  

 and nuclear,  but there are so many electricity sources.

The UK is such a good country in Europe for wind energy, in fact is the fastest growing supply.

Here we have the ‘Fuel input for electricity generation of the UK.

 

Coal : 7,04.                                        

Oil: 0,58     

Natural Gas: 25,33

Nuclear: 15,41

Natural flow hydro: 0, 6

Wind and solar: 4,12

Coke and breeze: -

Other fuels(2): 9,39

Ireland:

-Primary sector:  Constitutes about 5% of Irish GDP and the 8% of Irish employment.

The main economic resource is Ireland’s large fertile pastures, especially in the midland and southern regions. Agriculture was once Ireland’s  main economic driver, but they are not an agrarian nation.

In 2012 Ireland exported approximately €9 billion worth of agri-food and drink (about 8.4% of Ireland's exports), mainly as cattle, beef, and dairy products.

-Industry: There is often surprise that the top revenue generator in Ireland is the pharmaceutical industry, due to the large number of multinationals pharmaceutical companies who have production facilities here.

-Energy:  The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment oversees the formulation and implementation of policies concerning Ireland's coal, gas, peat, oil, electricity and renewable energy supply. Ireland is a net energy importer.

The production of electricity for the Irish national grid, by nuclear fission, is legally prohibited by Ireland under Electricity Regulation Act, 1999.

The enforcement of this prohibition is naturally only possible within the borders of Ireland.