Tourist Info > UK

Tourist Information for UK.

• Cheshire
• Cornwall
• Shropshire
• Wiltshire

The United Kingdom consists of four countries, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each of these is split into provinces called counties.

There are several national parks in the UK that offer stunning scenary and breathtaking views. The popular national park of The Lake District is in the county of Cumbria.

Hadrian's Wall is a roman fortification that runs from the western coast of England, in the north of Cumbria, all the way across the country to the eastern coast at Newcastle Upon Tyne. This UNESCO World Heritage Site formed the original border with Scotland although the modern day border is now much further north. Another World Famous UNESCO site in England is Stonehenge (found in Wiltshire). This is a prehistoric stone circle and surrounding earthworks with a very mysterious history.

Most of the Historical sites in the UK are managed by the English Heritage, Welsh Heritage or Scottish Heritage trusts. Visitors can obtain short term memberships to get free entry to these sites or can just turn up and pay the standard entry fees to each place.

It should be noted that there is no such county as Devonshire. Devonshire is actually an adjective that describes something that comes from the county of Devon.

Contrary to popular opinion, British food is actually one of the best and most varied national cuisines in the World. Unfortunately, British "cooking" is the worst in the World. British people, in general, cannot cook and even restaurant chefs are frequently bad. The typical stiff upper lip of the British means that the average British person doesn't complain about the quality of food in restaurants and they just put up with it. Many foreigners try bad British restaurants and leave with the impression that British food is terrible. It has got to the point that a lot of British people now assume that British cuisine is as bad as everyone thinks.

A Sunday Roast (not just served on Sundays) is a very difficult meal to prepare because so many individually cooked items have to be completed at exactly the same time. This means some things are frequently overcooked and others undercooked, all on the same plate. The gravy that is traditionally served over the Sunday Roast is frequently watery and tasteless. In order to get a good Sunday Roast you should forget most classy looking restaurants and find a restaurant called a Carvery. These will usually have a bar inside and may even be a country pub in their own right. Usually for a set price, you will get a choice of meats and can then add your own potatoes, vegetables, stuffing and gravy.

Fish and Chips is another national dish that can be difficult to find in good quality. There are so many Chippies (Fish and Chip take away shops) that serve poor quality Fish and Chips that even this dish has developed a bad reputation. To get a good quality Fish and Chips, you should visit a Chippy on the coast. Even just 20-30 miles inland gives a noticeable lowering of the general quality. Once on the coast choose a Chippy that has been recommended by the locals (don't just take your chances) and preferably with a sit-down restaurant as well (this seems to improve the quality as well). A good piece of fish should have only a thin layer of batter around it and the meat should be soft and not mushy.

The Full English Breakfast is not just served at breakfast time. Many cafes (sometimes called "Greasy Spoons") will serve All Day Breakfast, which is a Full English Breakfast served at any time of the day. For some reason, it really does taste much better first thing in the morning though. The best place to have a Full English Breakfast is generally at a good quality Bed & Breakfast accomodation. You will usually get Sausages, bacon, fried eggs, baked beans and maybe some of the following: fried tomato, fried mushrooms, hash browns, black pudding.

Other national dishes include Bangers & Mash (sausages with mashed potatoes), Toad in the Hole (no toads are involved, this is just sausages in batter, usually served with potatoes and vegetables), various pies (eg. Steak and Kidney Pie), cottage pie, shepherds pie and Haggis (but usually only in Scotland). Once again, for all of these you will have to be careful where you go to eat these. Ask locals where the best restaurants are, or, if you have friends in the country, grandmothers tend to be very good cooks.

Getting into the UK by public transport is not a problem. It is served by many international airports (including the world's busiest airport) and also the Channel Tunnel rail link and many ferry services.

Once you are in the UK however, public transport can be very variable. Some large towns and cities, such as London and Nottingham, are served with very good bus services which are punctual and affordable. Most areas however have a terrible bus service that often is not punctual, is very expensive and just doesn't go anywhere useful.

The UK rail network has experienced a long period of decline, and privatisation only seemed to make the problem worse. Trains are frequently late and it is cheaper to drive. It may be better to hire a car than to take the train. Having said all that, recent studies have shown that the network is improving, passenger numbers are increasing and punctuality is still much better than some other countries (such as Italy).

Unlike mainland Europe, the UK stills drives on the left hand side. The rules of the road are adhered to much more than on the mainland which is why the UK has the best road safety record. It is not permitted to turn left through a red light. A red light always means stop. On roads with more than one lane in each direction, cars should keep in the left lane unless over taking. Move back to the left lane as soon as possible after overtaking. It is not permitted to overtake on the left hand side so you should keep left to allow other cars to overtake you on the right. The use of seatbelts is mandatory.