- published: 26 Apr 2012
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- author: TravelChannelVOD
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- Admiral
- Admiral Robert Blake
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-
Asturias
Asturias (English /əˈstʊriəs/, /əˈstjʊəriəs/, /ɑːˈstʊərjəs/), officially the Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias [pɾinθiˈpaðo ðe asˈtuɾjas]; Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies [pɾinθiˈpaw ðasˈtuɾjes]), is an autonomous community of Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains nearly all of the territory that was part of the Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. The autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by Castile and León to the south, by Galicia to the west, and by the Bay of Biscay to the north.
The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo (Uviéu), the seaport and largest city Gijón (Xixón), and the industrial town of Avilés. Other popular municipalities include Cangas de Onís (Cangues d'Onís), Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado (Grau), Langreo (Llangréu), Laviana (Llaviana), Lena (Ḷḷena), Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo (A Veiga) and Villaviciosa (see also List of municipalities and comarcas in Asturias).
wn.com/Asturias -
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi), it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas".
The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: Sea of Atlas); see also: Atlas Mountains. The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic ocean as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world.
The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean (which is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic), to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. (Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica.) The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.
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Bayonne
Coordinates: 43°29′37″N 1°28′30″W / 43.4936°N 1.475°W / 43.4936; -1.475
Bayonne (French pronunciation: [bajɔn]; Gascon and Basque: Baiona) is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It belongs to both vernacular cultural regions of Basque Country and Gascony.
Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 178,965 inhabitants at the 1999 census, 40,078 of whom lived in the city of Bayonne proper (44,300 as of 2004 estimates).
The communes of Bayonne, Biarritz, and Anglet have joined into an intercommunal entity called the Agglomération Côte Basque-Adour (formerly Communauté d'agglomération de Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz (BAB) prior to 2010).
In the 3rd century AD, the area was the site of a Roman castrum, named Lapurdum. It was a military site, but not a port. In 840, the Vikings appeared before Lapurdum. In 842, with their chieftain Björn Ironside they launched a large-scale inland offensive and settled outside the city on the river bank[citation needed]. Lapurdum was an oppidum and they needed a port. Bayonne (from Basque ibai, "river") became a key place on the route between the Adour and Ebro Rivers, which served as a kind of link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.[citation needed] This commercial route was the main goal of Danish invaders in France. By this route, they could easily reach Muslim-controlled Tortosa, which was the main marketplace in Europe dealing with slaves.[citation needed]
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Bodmin
Coordinates: 50°27′58″N 4°43′05″W / 50.466°N 4.718°W / 50.466; -4.718
Bodmin (Cornish: Bosvenegh) is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered to the east by Cardinham parish, to the southeast by Lanhydrock parish, to the southwest and west by Lanivet parish, and to the north by Helland parish.
Bodmin has a population of 12,778 (2001 census). It was formerly the county town of Cornwall until the Crown Courts moved to Truro which is also the administrative centre (before 1835 the county town was Launceston). Bodmin was in the administrative North Cornwall District until local government reorganisation in 2009 abolished the District (see also Politics of Cornwall#Cornwall Council).
Bodmin Town Council is made up of 16 councillors who are elected to serve a term of four years. Each year, the Council elects one of their number as Mayor to serve as the town's civic leader and to chair council meetings
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Bristol
Bristol
i/ˈbrɪstəl/ is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007. It is England's sixth and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England.
Historically within Gloucestershire, the city received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.
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Bristol Airport
Bristol Airport (IATA: BRS, ICAO: EGGD), located at Lulsgate Bottom in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England, and the surrounding area. Originally named Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport in 1955, from March 1997 to March 2010 it became known as Bristol International Airport. In 2003, the airport drew 45% of its passengers from the former county of Avon area, 13% from Devon, 10% from Somerset. In 2011 it was the ninth busiest airport in the United Kingdom, handling 5,780,746 passengers, a 0.6% increase compared with 2010.
The airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (number P432) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction.
In 1927 a group of local businessmen raised £6,000 through public subscription to start a flying club at Filton Aerodrome. By 1929 the club had become a success and it was decided that a farm located in Whitchurch near Bristol would be developed into an airport. In 1930, Prince George, son of King George V opened Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport — becoming the third such airport in the United Kingdom. Passenger numbers grew from 935 in 1930 to over 4,000 in 1939.
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Brittany
Brittany (French: Bretagne [bʁətaɲ] (
listen); Breton: Breizh, pronounced [brɛjs]; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain (as opposed to Great Britain). Brittany is considered as one of the six Celtic nations.
Brittany occupies the northwest peninsula of continental Europe in northwest France. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Bay of Biscay to the south. Its land area is 34,023 km² (13,136 sq mi). The historical province of Brittany is divided into five departments: Finistère in the west, Côtes-d'Armor in the north, Ille-et-Vilaine in the north east, Loire-Atlantique in the south east and Morbihan in the south on the Bay of Biscay.
In 1956, French regions were created by gathering departments between them. The Region of Brittany comprises, since then, four of the five Breton departments (80% of historical Brittany), while the remaining area of the old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department, around Nantes, forms part of the Pays de la Loire region. This territorial organisation is regularly contested. The Kingdom and the Duchy of Brittany, the province of Brittany, and the modern Region of Brittany cover the Western part of Armorica, as it was known during the period of Roman occupation.
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Bude
Coordinates: 50°49′26″N 4°32′31″W / 50.824°N 4.542°W / 50.824; -4.542
Bude (Cornish: Bud) is a small seaside resort town in north Cornwall, England, UK, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was formerly sometimes known as Bude Haven. It lies southwest of Stratton, south of Flexbury and Poughill, and north of Widemouth Bay and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France.[citation needed] Bude's coast faces Bude Bay in the Celtic Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean.
Its earlier importance was as a harbour, and then a source of sea sand useful for improving the moorland soil. The Victorians favoured it as a watering place, and it was a popular seaside destination in the 20th century.
It lies just south of Flexbury and north of Widemouth Bay and is located along the A3073 road off the A39 road.
Bude Coast SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), located between Compass Cove to the south and Furzey Cove to the north, is noted for its geological and biological interest.Carboniferous sandstone cliffs surround Bude. During the Variscan Orogeny the strata were heavily faulted and folded. As the sands and cliffs around Bude contain calcium carbonate (a natural fertiliser), farmers used to take sand from the beach, for spreading on their fields. The cliffs around Bude are the only ones in Cornwall that are made of Carboniferous sandstone, as most of the Cornish coast is formed of Devonian slate, granite and Precambrian metamorphic rocks). The stratified cliffs of Bude give their name to a sequence of rocks called the Bude Formation. Many formations can be viewed from the South West Coast Path which passes through the town.
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Camborne
Coordinates: 50°12′47″N 5°18′00″W / 50.213°N 5.300°W / 50.213; -5.300
Camborne (Cornish: Cambron, 'Crooked Hill') is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.
The population of Camborne was 20,010 at the 2001 census. By 2007 the population had grown to 22,500. The population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which includes Pool and Illogan and satellite villages, is 39,937 making it the largest urban conurbation in Cornwall.
Camborne is located in what was formerly one of the richest tin mining areas in the world. It is no longer an industrial town it was once the home to the Camborne School of Mines (see below). The School of Mines moved from the centre of Camborne to Trevenson, Pool and is now a specialist department of the University of Exeter, based at Tremough Campus
In 1931 the ruins of a Roman villa were found at Magor Farm, Illogan, near Camborne, and excavated that year under the guidance of the Royal Institution of Cornwall. It is the only Roman villa found as of 2006[update] in the whole of Cornwall.
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Camelford
Coordinates: 50°37′01″N 4°40′59″W / 50.617°N 4.683°W / 50.617; -4.683
Camelford (Cornish: Ryskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council.
Lanteglos-by-Camelford is the ecclesiastical parish in which the town is situated (not to be confused with Lanteglos-by-Fowey).
Camelford is in the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency. Until 1974, the town was the administrative headquarters of Camelford Rural District.
The two main industrial enterprises in the area are the slate quarry at Delabole and the cheese factory at Davidstow but there is a small industrial estate at Highfield.
The A39 road (dubbed 'Atlantic Highway') passes directly through the town centre: a bypass has been discussed for many years. Camelford Station was some distance from the town and closed in 1966; the site was subsequently used as a cycling museum.
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Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase (grid reference SK000165) is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district.
Cannock Chase is located between Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley and Stafford. It comprises a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland and the remains of early industry, such as coal mining. The landscape owes much to the underlying Triassic bunter formations. Cannock Chase was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on 16 September 1958 and is the smallest area so designated in mainland Britain, covering 68 km2 (26 sq mi). Much of the area is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite being relatively small in area, the chase provides a remarkable range of landscape and wildlife, including a herd of around 800 fallow deer and a number of rare and endangered birds, not least migrant Nightjars. A feeding station at the Marquis Drive Visitors' Centre, sponsored by the West Midland Bird Club, attracts many species, including Brambling, Yellowhammer and Bullfinch. Efforts are[when?] underway to increase the amount of heathland on the chase, reintroducing shrubs such as heather in some areas where bracken and birch forest have crowded out most other plants. The local flora also includes several species of Vaccinium, including the eponymous Cannock Chase Berry (Vaccinium ×intermedium Ruthe). In January 2009, an outbreak of Sudden Oak Death disease (Phytophthora ramorum) was discovered on the chase, at Brocton Coppice. Various restrictions were put in place in an attempt to prevent its spread.
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Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea (Irish: An Mhuir Cheilteach; Welsh: Y Môr Celtaidd; Cornish: An Mor Keltek; Breton: Ar Mor Keltiek; French: La mer Celtique) is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany. The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf, which drops away sharply.
The Celtic heritage of the bounding lands to the north and east gives the sea its name, first proposed by E. W. L. Holt at a 1921 meeting in Dublin of fisheries experts from England, Ireland, Scotland and France. The northern portion of this sea had previously been considered as part of Saint George's Channel and the southern portion as an undifferentiated part of the "Southwest Approaches" to Britain. The need for a common name came to be felt because of the common marine biology, geology and hydrology. It was adopted in France before being common in the English-speaking countries. It was adopted by marine biologists and oceanographers, and later by oil exploration firms. It is named in a 1963 British atlas, but a 1972 article states "what British maps call the western approaches, and what the oil industry calls the Celtic Sea [...] certainly the residents on the western coast [of Great Britain] don't refer to it as such."
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Cheltenham
Cheltenham (
/ˈtʃɛltnəm/), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England, located on the edge of the Cotswolds. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held every March. The town hosts several festivals of culture often featuring nationally and internationally famous contributors and attendees; Cheltenham Literature Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Science Festival and Cheltenham Music Festival.
The town was awarded a market charter in 1226, and has been a health and holiday resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716. Horse racing began in Cheltenham in 1815, and became a major national attraction after the establishment of the Festival in 1902. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the borough of Cheltenham was merged with Charlton Kings urban district to form the non-metropolitan district of Cheltenham. Four parishes — Swindon Village, Up Hatherley, Leckhampton and Prestbury — were added to the borough of Cheltenham from the borough of Tewkesbury in 1991.
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Chichester Harbour
Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour to the south west of the city of Chichester on the Solent. It straddles the boundary of West Sussex and Hampshire. Geographically it is a ria. It is one of four natural harbours in that area of the coastline, the others being Portsmouth Harbour, Langstone Harbour and Pagham Harbour. The harbour and surrounding land is managed by Chichester Harbour Conservancy [1].
Chichester Harbour is one of the few remaining undeveloped coastal areas in Southern England and remains relatively wild. Its wide expanses and intricate creeks are at the same time a major wildlife haven and among some of Britain's most popular boating waters.
The massive stretch of tidal flats and saltings are of outstanding ecological significance. Very large populations of wildfowl and waders use the mudflats feeding on the rich plant life and the huge populations of intertidal invertebrates. More than 7,500 Brent geese overwinter on the intertidal mud-land and adjacent farmland and more than 50,000 birds reside in or visit the Harbour throughout the year.
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Chiltern Hills
The Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.
The Chilterns cover an area of 833 km2 (322 sq mi) and are 18 km (11 mi) at their widest and stretch 74 km (46 mi) in a southwest to northeast diagonal from Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, through Buckinghamshire, via Dunstable Downs and Deacon Hill in Bedfordshire, to near Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
The boundary of the hills is clearly defined on the northwest side by the scarp slope. The dip slope, by its nature, merges with the landscape to the southeast. Similarly, the Thames provides a clear terminal to the southwest, whereas northeast of Luton the hills decline slowly in prominence.
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Cornubian batholith
The Cornubian batholith refers to the group of associated granite intrusions which underlie the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. The main exposed masses of the batholith are seen at Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, St Austell, Carnmenellis, Land's End and the Isles of Scilly. It formed during the early Permian period, from about 300 to 275 Ma, at a late stage in the Variscan orogeny. The granites are classified as S-type, interpreted to be derived from the partial melting of a sedimentary protolith. The intrusions are associated with significant mineralization, particularly tin, for which the area has been famous since about 2000 BC. It takes its name from Cornubia, the Medieval Latin name for Cornwall.
From gravity and magnetic geophysical data, the batholith is interpreted to extend from about 8°W, more than 100 km southwest of the Isles of Scilly, to the eastern edge of Dartmoor. The negative gravity anomaly, caused by the relatively low density of the granites compared to average continental crust, is linear and trends WSW-ENE, parallel with that associated with the Haig Fras granite.
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Cornwall
Cornwall ( /ˈkɔrnwɔːl/ or /ˈkɔrnwəl/;Cornish: Kernow [ˈkɛrnɔʊ]; Latin: Cornubia or Cornuvia) is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of 537,400 and covers an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The administrative centre and only city is Truro.
The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, and later (in the Iron Age) by Brythons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Wales and Brittany. There is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. Cornwall was a division of the Dumnonii tribe—whose tribal centre was in the modern county of Devon—known as the Cornovii, separated from Wales after the Battle of Deorham, often coming into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex before King Athelstan in AD 936 set the boundary between English and Cornish at the Tamar. From the early Middle Ages, British language and culture was apparently shared by Brythons trading across both sides of the Channel, evidenced by the corresponding high medieval Breton kingdoms of Domnonee and Cornouaille and the Celtic Christianity common to both territories.
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Cotswold District
Coordinates: 51°43′08″N 1°58′05″W / 51.719°N 1.968°W / 51.719; -1.968
Cotswold is a local government district in Gloucestershire in England. It is named after the wider Cotswolds region. Its main town is Cirencester.
It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the urban district of Cirencester with Cirencester Rural District, North Cotswold Rural District, Northleach Rural District and Tetbury Rural District.
Eighty per cent of the district lies within the River Thames catchment area, with the Thames itself and several tributaries including the River Windrush and River Leach running through the district. Lechlade in an important point on the river as the upstream limit of navigation. In the 2007 floods in the UK, rivers were the source of flooding of 53 per cent of the locations affected and the Thames at Lechlade reached record levels with over 100 reports of flooding.
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Crim Rocks
Coordinates: 49°53′48″N 6°27′00″W / 49.8967°N 6.4500°W / 49.8967; -6.4500
Crim Rocks (Cornish: An Creeban) is a small group of uninhabited islands in the Isles of Scilly, England, United Kingdom.
They lie on the western fringe of the Isles of Scilly. They are about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Bishop Rock, and about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) southwest of Zantman's Rock. The name may be cognate with the Middle Welsh "crimp" meaning "shin, ridge, or ledge." The most conspicuous of the Crim Rocks is the Peaked Rock.
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Crown Dependencies
The Crown Dependencies are self-governing possessions of the British Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
Being independently administered jurisdictions, none forms part of the United Kingdom nor of the European Union.
"The Crown" is defined differently in each Crown Dependency. In Jersey, statements in the 21st century of the constitutional position by the Law Officers of the Crown define it as the "Crown in right of Jersey", with all Crown land in the Bailiwick of Jersey belonging to the Crown in right of Jersey and not to the Crown Estate of the United Kingdom. Legislation of the Isle of Man defines the "Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as being separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". In Guernsey, legislation refers to the "Crown in right of the Bailiwick", and the Law Officers of the Crown of Guernsey submitted that "The Crown in this context ordinarily means the Crown in right of the république of the Bailiwick of Guernsey" and that this comprises "the collective governmental and civic institutions, established by and under the authority of the Monarch, for the governance of these Islands, including the States of Guernsey and legislatures in the other Islands, the Royal Court and other courts, the Lieutenant Governor, Parish authorities, and the Crown acting in and through the Privy Council." This constitutional concept is also worded as the "Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey".
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Dedham Vale
Dedham Vale is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex-Suffolk border in east England. It comprises the area around the River Stour between Manningtree and Smallbridge Farm, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Bures, including the village of Dedham in Essex. It is part of the area known since the artist's lifetime as Constable Country, as it was made famous by the paintings of John Constable. Among many other works of the area is Dedham Vale 1802 in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
It supports a viable and diverse agriculture with a mix of farm sizes. The majority of the land in the valley is still farmed despite development pressures. Farming is the primary tool for supporting the area’s landscape and wildlife.
Throughout the valley Eocene and glacial deposits overlay chalk deposited during the Cretaceous period. London Clay and sands are often exposed on the valley sides as the river and its tributaries cut through the deposits. The composition of these layers and where they occur is paramount in determining what species will grow, which habitats can occur and how the area is farmed.
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Devon
Coordinates: 50°42′N 3°48′W / 50.7°N 3.8°W / 50.7; -3.8
Devon ( /ˈdɛvən/) is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although it has never been officially "shired" and that use often indicates a traditional or historical context. Nowadays, "Devonshire" is mostly a demonym.
The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to the east. Its southern coast abuts the English Channel and its northern coast the Bristol Channel and Celtic Sea. The name "Devon" derives from the ancient Dumnonia, which was home to the independent kingdom of Brythonic Celtic speaking people who inhabited this area of the southwestern peninsula of Britain continuously from through the Roman era until partial absorption into the English-speaking Kingdom of Wessex some time in the eighth or ninth century, with some emigration to the sister Kingdom of Domnonee in Brittany taking place.
Devon is the fourth largest of the English counties by area and has a population of 1,141,600 making it the 11th most populous. The county town is the cathedral city of Exeter. In addition to Devon County Council, the county contains two unitary authorities (independent from Devon County Council's control): the port city of Plymouth and Torbay, a conurbation of seaside resorts. Plymouth is also the largest city in Devon. Much of the county is rural (including national park) land, with a low population density by British standards. It contains Dartmoor 954 km2 (368 sq mi), the largest open space in southern England. It is the only English county to have two separate coastlines – a north and southern coastline.
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Dorset
Dorset (
/ˈdɔrsɨt/) (or archaically, Dorsetshire), is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974. The ceremonial county comprises the area covered by the non-metropolitan county, which is governed by Dorset County Council, together with the unitary authorities of Poole and Bournemouth. Dorset covers an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi); it borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. Around half of Dorset's population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.
The county has a long history of human settlement and some notable archaeology, including the hill forts of Maiden Castle and Hod Hill. A large defensive ditch, Bokerley Dyke, delayed the Saxon conquest of Dorset for up to 150 years. In 1348 the black death came ashore at Melcombe Regis and spread throughout England, killing a third of the population. Dorset has seen much civil unrest: the first trade union was formed by farm labourers from Tolpuddle in 1834, the Glorious Revolution was instigated in an ice-house at Charborough Park, and the Duke of Monmouth and his rebels landed at Lyme Regis. During the English Civil War (1642–1651) angry yokels fought with Cromwell's forces near Shaftesbury. The naval base at Portland has had a pivotal role in the nation's defence for many years, and with Weymouth and Poole was one of the main embarkation points on D-Day.
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East Devon
Coordinates: 50°40′44″N 3°14′20″W / 50.679°N 3.239°W / 50.679; -3.239
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth along with Axminster Rural District, Honiton Rural District and part of St. Thomas Rural District.
East Devon is covered by two Parliamentary constituencies, East Devon and Tiverton and Honiton. Both were retained in the 2010 general election by the Conservative Party.
In the 2001 census it was found that a third of East Devon's population were over 60. The average for England was 24%. East Devon also had a higher number of people living in 'Medical and Care Establishments' at 1.6% compared to the England average of 0.9%.
A large amount of East Devon is made up of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), East Devon AONB and the Blackdown Hills. AONBs have the same level of protection as National parks of England and Wales which restricts new developments, which protects the natural beauty of this district.
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East Dorset
East Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council is based in Furzehill, near Wimborne Minster.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Wimborne Minster Urban District with part of the Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District and the Wimborne and Cranborne Rural District. The district was originally known as Wimborne, and adopted its present name in 1988.
The popularity of the area, being close to the New Forest, Bournemouth and the Dorset coast, has seen a rapid expansion in housing from the 1970s with the Verwood, Ferndown, West Moors and Corfe Mullen populations more than quadrupling. There still remains a rural feel, however, especially in the north and west of the area. Wimborne Minster has managed to retain its identity as a historic market town.
East Dorset also contains a large amount of the remaining lowland heath, managed by East Dorset Countryside Management Services in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The expansion of housing has led to a massive decrease in the area of this unusual and unique habitat, which once covered 500 km² but now covers only 15% of that.
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East Hampshire AONB
East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England was designated in 1962. The designation was revoked in March 2010, together with the neighbouring Sussex Downs AONB, upon the establishment of the South Downs National Park. The southern part of the area is mainly rolling chalk downland used for farming that is a westward extension of the Sussex Downs. The north and east includes steep wooded hills and heathland.
Features include; Petersfield, the Rother valley, Warnford and West Meon. Four National Nature Reserves and many several Sites of Special Scientific Interest fall within the AONB. The Hanger's Way, South Downs Way, Staunton Way and Wayfarer's Walk long distance paths pass through it.
Notable hills include Butser Hill near Petersfield, Beacon Hill and Old Winchester Hill near Corhampton and St Catherine's Hill and Cheesefoot Head near Winchester.
There was controversy in 1994 when a new stretch of the M3 motorway was cut through Twyford Down, separating St Catherine's Hill from the main AONB.
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East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire.
A looser definition of the East Midlands might also include the City of Peterborough (once part of Northamptonshire, but now Cambridgeshire), and North Lincolnshire.[citation needed]
The highest point in the region is Kinder Scout in the Peak District, at 2,088 ft (636 m). The centre of the East Midlands area lies roughly between Bingham and Bottesford. The geographical centre of England lies in Higham on the Hill in west Leicestershire, close to the boundary between the East and West Midlands. 88% of the land is rural, although agriculture accounts for less than three percent of the region's jobs. All of the coastline within the region falls within Lincolnshire.
The region is home to large quantities of limestone, and the East Midlands Oil Province. Charnwood Forest is noted for its abundant levels of volcanic rock, estimated to be approximately 600 million years old.
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East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.
Its population as of the 2001 census was 5,388,140.[citation needed] The area is mostly low-lying, and the highest place is the top of the Dunstable Downs at 243 m (797 ft).[citation needed]Norwich, Peterborough, Luton and Southend-on-Sea are the region's most populous urban areas. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt.
The area is one of the flattest in the UK. Cambridgeshire is part of The Fens. The lowest point in the UK is Holme Fen, which is 3 metres below sea level.
Before the creation of the East of England region there had been a smaller standard statistical region of East Anglia which did not include Essex, Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire. They had previously been included in the South East region. The East of England civil defence region shared the boundaries of the current region.
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Eastern Isles
The Eastern Isles are a group of twelve small uninhabited islands within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, part of the Scilly Heritage Coast and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) first designated in 1971 for its flora and fauna. They have a long period of occupation from the Bronze Age with cairns and entrance graves through to Iron Age field systems and a Roman shrine on Nornour.
The site, notified in 1971, is located to the south–east of St Martin’s, and is within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Scilly Heritage Coast.
The Isles are not as exposed to gales as the Western Rocks and consequently the soils do not receive so much salt spray, and remnant habitats such as coastal grassland and maritime heath have survived the inundation of the sea. If the practice of summer grazing had continued there would be even more grassland instead of the dense bramble which has smothered some of the small growing plants.
The islands by area are:
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England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
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European Parliament
The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU). Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council) and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament is currently composed of 754 Members of the European Parliament, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375 million eligible voters in 2009).
It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Turnout in 2009 stood at 43% of all European voters, ranging from 90% in Luxembourg and Belgium (where compulsory voting is used) to 20% in Slovakia. Turnout was under 50% in 18 out of 27 member states.
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Exeter
Exeter (i/ˈɛksɨtər/ EK-si-tər) is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the County Council. The city is on the River Exe, about 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Plymouth, and 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Bristol. According to the 2001 Census, its population in that year was 111,076, while the mid-2010 estimate was 119,600.
Exeter was the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Britain. Its Exeter Cathedral, founded in the early 12th century, became Anglican at the time of the 16th century Reformation.
Exeter has been identified as one of the top ten most profitable locations for a business to be based. The city has good transport links, with Exeter St David's railway station, Exeter Central railway station, the M5 motorway and Exeter International Airport connecting the city both nationally and internationally. Although a popular tourist destination, the city is not dominated by tourism.
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Five Islands School
Coordinates: 49°54′58″N 6°18′37″W / 49.9162°N 6.3104°W / 49.9162; -6.3104
The Five Islands School is the first federated school in the United Kingdom, providing primary and secondary education for children from 3-16 at five sites across the Isles of Scilly. The primary school bases are:
Carn Thomas Secondary Base, on St Mary's, provides secondary education up to GCSE. Secondary pupils from the other islands are given free board at Mundesley Hostel from Mondays to Thursdays, returning home on the weekends.
These were formerly five separate schools. While the smaller schools were praised by inspectors, the two larger schools on St Mary's were judged as inadequate. In response, the government forced a fresh start as a federated school, which opened in April 2002 and subsequently the other off islands bases were also federated. An inspection in June and July 2003 again found the standard of education at the St Mary's sites to be inadequate, and the school was placed in special measures until 2005. Under a succession of heads, the school has become a successful and cohesive federation, judged "outstanding" by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in 2007. The school's GCSE results are now the highest in South West England.
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Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Once described as the "Switzerland of England", it has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1964, and is used for grouse shooting, walking and cycling, though it is relatively unfrequented by tourists. One of the best known features of the area is Pendle Hill, which is separated from the main part of the Forest of Bowland AONB by the Ribble Valley.
In total, 13% of the AONB is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its important areas of heather moorland and blanket bog. The area is nationally and internationally important for its upland bird populations – the hen harrier is the symbol of the AONB. There are over 500 listed buildings and 18 scheduled monuments within the AONB.
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Fowey
Coordinates: 50°20′04″N 4°37′58″W / 50.334327°N 4.632891°W / 50.334327; -4.632891
Fowey (i/ˈfɔɪ/ FOY; Cornish: Fowydh) is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.
The Domesday Book survey at the end of the 11th century records manors at Penventinue and Trenant, and a priory was soon established nearby at Tywardreath. Circa 1300 the prior granted a charter to people living in Fowey itself. This medieval town ran from a north gate near Boddinick Passage to a south gate at what is now Lostwithiel Street; the town extended a little way up the hillside and was bounded on the other side by the river where merchants had their houses backing onto the waterfront. The natural harbour allowed trade to develop with Europe and local ship owners often hired their vessels to the king to support various wars, although the town also developed a reputation for piracy, as did many others at this time. In the 14th century the harbour was defended by 160 archers; after these were withdrawn, two blockhouses were built on either side of the harbour entrance. Despite these defences the town was attacked by French forces in 1457. Place House, by the church, was successfully defended against the French but subsequently strengthened. This building still exists, but much remodelled. A small castle was built on St Catherine’s Point, the western side of the harbour entrance, around 1540. The defences proved their worth when a Dutch attack was beaten off in 1667.
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Gascony
Gascony ( /ˈɡæskəni/; French: Gascogne [ɡaskɔɲ]; Gascon: Gasconha [ɡasˈkuɲɔ]) is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a part of Guyenne. Most definitions put Gascony east and south of Bordeaux.
It is currently divided between the Aquitaine région (départements of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, south and west of Gironde, and south of Lot-et-Garonne) and the Midi-Pyrénées région (départements of Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, southwest of Tarn-et-Garonne, and west of Haute-Garonne).
Gascony was historically inhabited by Basque-related people who appear to have spoken a language similar to Basque. The name Gascony comes from the same root as the word Basque (see Wasconia below). From medieval times until the nineteenth century, the Gascon language was spoken, which is a regional variant of the Occitan Language. It is also the land of d'Artagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumas's character in The Three Musketeers. It is also home to the hero of the play Cyrano de Bergerac (though this character has little in common with the real Cyrano de Bergerac, who was a Parisian) and to Henry III of Navarre who later became king of France as Henry IV.
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Gloucester
Gloucester (i/ˈɡlɒstər/ GLOS-tər) is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately 32 miles (51 km) north-east of Bristol, and 45 miles (72 km) south-southwest of Birmingham.
Gloucester was founded in AD 97 by the Romans under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries, and has a strong financial and business sector, being home to the bank Cheltenham & Gloucester and historically was prominent in the aerospace industry.
The existence of a British settlement at Gloucester (Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre) is not confirmed by any direct evidence, but Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, founded in the reign of Nerva. Parts of the walls can be traced, and many remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. Evidence for some civic life after the end of Roman Britain includes the mention in the Historia Brittonum that Vortigern's grandfather ruled Gloucester. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gloucester was part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, when it came under the control of Mercia.
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Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (i/ˈɡlɒstərʃər/ GLOSS-tər-shər; abbreviated Glos.) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other principal towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury.
When considered as a ceremonial county, Gloucestershire borders the preserved county of Gwent in Wales (now Monmouthshire), and in England the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. Ceremonially, it includes the area covered by the South Gloucestershire unitary authority.
According to a 2002 campaign by the charity Plantlife, the county flower of Gloucestershire is the Wild Daffodil.
Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe and the Forest of Dean were not added until the late 11th century. Gloucestershire originally included the then "small town" of Bristol. The "local" rural community moved to the port city, (as Bristol was to become) and Bristol's population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became part of the administrative County of Avon in 1974.
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Godolphin Estate
Coordinates: 50°08′06″N 5°21′00″W / 50.135°N 5.350°W / 50.135; -5.350
The Godolphin Estate is a National Trust property situated in Godolphin Cross, a few miles north-west of Helston in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
The Estate is the former seat of the Dukes of Leeds and the Earls of Godolphin. It contains a Tudor/Stuart mansion, complete with early formal gardens (dating from ca. 1500) and Elizabethan stables (circa 1600). The present house is remnant of a larger mansion. At one time it was a secondary seat of the Dukes of Leeds, but the Duke sold it in 1929.
The Godolphin Estate came into the ownership of the National Trust in 2000. The Estate measures 2.22 square kilometres (555 acres). The Trust has been improving public access to the Estate.
Godolphin Hill provides views over west Cornwall. More than 400 recorded archaeological features range from Bronze Age enclosures to 19th-century mine buildings.
The large village of Godolphin Cross (sometimes Crossroads), in the parish of Breage, adjoins the estate to the east. Amenities include a public house and also a primary school.
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Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur) is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, the largest European island, and the largest of the British Isles. With a population of about 60.0 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populous island in the world, after Java and Honshū. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of Ireland lies to its west. Politically, Great Britain may also refer to the island itself together with a number of surrounding islands which comprise the territory of England, Scotland and Wales.
All of the island is territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most of the United Kingdom's territory is in Great Britain. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.
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Great Ganilly
Coordinates: 49°57′06″N 6°15′24″W / 49.9517°N 6.2567°W / 49.9517; -6.2567
Great Ganilly (Cornish: Guen Hily, pronounced "g'NIL-ee", meaning the saltwater downs) is one of the Eastern Isles of the Isles of Scilly. It has a maximum total area of 0.13 square kilometres and a highest point of 34 metres above sea level, located in the middle of the island. There are two known Cairns near the summit.
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Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey ( /ˈɡɜrnzi/ GURN-zee; French: Bailliage de Guernesey, IPA: [bajaʒ də ɡɛʁnəzɛ]), is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Lihou. Furthermore, the Bailiwick includes Alderney and Sark, which each has its own parliament.
Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick of Guernsey is not part of the UK; and while it participates in the Common Travel Area, it is not part of the European Union.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is included (along with the Bailiwick of Jersey) in the grouping known as the Channel Islands.
The name of Guernsey, as well as that of neighbouring Jersey, is of Old Norse origin. The second element of Guernsey (-ey) is the Old Norse for "island". Guern similar to Spanish "Cuerno", French "Coi(r)n", Dutch "Hoorn", Frisian "Hoarn", Swedish "Hörn", Swiss "Gorn" means "Corner". - Corner Island.
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Gugh
Coordinates: 49°53′46″N 6°19′59″W / 49.896°N 6.333°W / 49.896; -06.333
Gugh ( /ˈɡjuː/; Cornish: Keow, meaning "hedge banks") could be described as the sixth inhabited island of the Isles of Scilly, but is usually included with St Agnes with which it is joined by a sandy tombolo known as "The Bar" when exposed at low tide. The island is only one km long and about 0.5 km wide, with the highest point, Kittern Hill at 34 m. The geology consists of Hercynian granite with shallow podzolic soils on the higher ground and deeper sandy soils on the lower ground. The former Gugh farm is just north of the neck across the middle of the island between the two hills. The two houses were designed and built in the 1920s by a Mr Cooper.
The island lies within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast, is in the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. Vegetation cover is mainly wind-pruned heath or dense bracken and bramble with a small area of coastal grassland formed over blown sand which has accumulated near the bar.
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Hayle
Coordinates: 50°10′59″N 5°24′58″W / 50.183°N 5.416°W / 50.183; -5.416
Hayle (Cornish: Heyl) is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance. The name derives from the Cornish heyl, meaning estuary.
Hayle parish was created in 1888 from part of the now defunct Phillack parish, with which it was later combined in 1935, and incorporated part of St Erth in 1937. The modern parish shares boundaries with St Ives to the west, St Erth to the south, Gwinear and Gwithian in the east, and is bounded to the north by the Celtic Sea.
Although there is a long history of settlement in the Hayle Estuary area dating from the Bronze Age, the modern town of Hayle was built predominantly during the 18th century industrial revolution. Evidence of Iron Age settlement exists at the fort on the hill above Carnsew Pool where the Plantation now stands. It is thought that Hayle, was an important centre for the neolithic tin industry, trading not only Irish and Breton people, but also the Phoenicians of the eastern Mediterranean. Evidence of this comes from finds of imported pottery including Romano/Grecian Amphorae - containers for wine and oil.
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Hebrides
The Hebrides ( /ˈhɛbrɨdiːz/; Scottish Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the names given to the islands, which are derived from the languages that have been spoken there in historic and perhaps prehistoric times.
A variety of artists have been inspired by their Hebridean experiences. Today the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, fishing, tourism, the oil industry and renewable energy. The Hebrides lack biodiversity in comparison to mainland Britain, but these islands have much to offer the naturalist. Seals, for example, are present around the coasts in internationally important numbers.
The Hebrides have a diverse geology ranging in age from Precambrian strata that are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe to Tertiary igneous intrusions.
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Helford River
The Helford River (Cornish: Mawonyek) is a ria (flooded river valley) located in Cornwall, England, UK, and not a true river. It is fed by a number of small streams into its numerous creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford, from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwith Creek, Polwheveral Creek, Frenchman's Creek, Port Navas Creek, and Gillan Creek, the best known of which is Frenchman's Creek, made famous by Daphne du Maurier in her novel of the same name. A little further up river is Tremayne Quay, built for a visit by Queen Victoria in the 1840s which she then declined to make-—allegedly because it was raining!
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Helston
Coordinates: 50°06′N 5°16′W / 50.10°N 5.27°W / 50.10; -5.27
Helston (Cornish: Hellys or Henlys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Penzance and nine miles (14.5 km) southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) further south than Penzance. In 2001, the town celebrated the 800th anniversary of the granting of its Charter, making it the second oldest town in Cornwall after Marazion. The town population is 9,780.
The former tin mining and cattle market town is best known for the annual Furry Dance (known locally as the Flora Dance), said to originate from the medieval period.
The name comes from the Cornish 'hen lis' or 'old court' and 'ton' added later to denote a Saxon manor; the Domesday Book refers to Henliston (which survives as the name of a road in the town). It was granted its charter by King John in 1201. It was here that tin ingots were weighed to determine the duty due to the Duke of Cornwall when a number of stannary towns were authorised by royal decree. A document of 1396 examined by Charles Henderson shows that the old form "Hellys" was still in use The manor of Helston in Kerrier was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall. The seal of the borough of Helston was St Michael his wings expanded standing on a gateway the two towers domed upon the upturned dragon impaling it with his spear and bearing upon his left arm an escutcheon of the arms of England viz. Gu. three lions passant guardant in pale Or. with the legend "Sigillum comunitatis helleston burg".
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High Weald AONB
Coordinates: 51°06′43″N 0°24′40″W / 51.112°N 0.411°W / 51.112; -0.411
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is situated in south-east England. Covering an area of 1,450 square kilometres (560 sq mi), it extends across the counties of Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) in England and Wales. It is characterised by an attractive, small-scale landscape containing a mosaic of small farms and woodlands, historic parks, sunken lanes and ridge-top villages.
The High Weald AONB was designated under the National Park and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 in October 1983. Designation as an AONB gave official recognition to the unique landscape of the High Weald, strengthened the ability of government agencies and local authorities to conserve and enhance the landscape, and provided priority for financial support for these objectives from the principal government agency responsible for AONBs, the Countryside Agency (now Natural England). AONBs do not possess separate administrative structures like Britain's National Parks, but rely on existing structures. In the case of the High Weald, this requires co-ordination of the policies and management activities of fifteen local authorities, comprising four counties (Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent) and eleven district authorities.
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Howardian Hills
The Howardian Hills form an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England. located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park and the Vale of York. The AONB includes farmland, wooded rolling countryside, villages and historic houses with parkland. The hills take their name from the noble Howard family who owned large areas of the hills.
The Howardian Hills form a roughly rectangular area of well-wooded undulating countryside rising between the flat agricultural Vales of Pickering and York.The irregular 180 metres (591 ft) ridges of the Howardian Hills are a southern extension of the rocks of the Hambleton Hills in the North York Moors. Jurassic limestone gives the landscape its character. The area contains a rich tapestry of wooded hills and valleys, pastures and rolling farmland, as well as extensive views from the higher ground across the agricultural plains below. On the eastern edge, the River Derwent cuts through the Hills in the Kirkham Gorge, a deep winding valley which was formed as an overflow channel from glacial Lake Pickering.
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Hugh Town
Coordinates: 49°55′00″N 6°19′00″W / 49.9167°N 6.3167°W / 49.9167; -6.3167
Hugh Town (Cornish: Tre Huw) is the main settlement on the Isles of Scilly. The town is situated on the island of St. Mary's It is located on a narrow isthmus which joins the peninsula known as The Garrison with the rest of the island of St. Mary's.
Hugh Town's main street is the main shopping area on the islands and business is quite reliant on tourism. There are also banks, hotels, pubs and a small hospital in the town. There are several beaches. A notable building is the Star Castle, now a hotel.
The main quay of St. Mary's is located in Hugh Town. The Scillonian III ferry to Penzance and the Gry Maritha cargo vessel use the quay.
St. Mary's Airport is located just outside Hugh Town. From there, there are regular flights by helicopter to Penzance, and by 16-seater light aircraft to St Just, Cornwall.
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Inner Hebrides
The Inner Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh, "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of Mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than 30 hectares (74 acres). The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing, and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Combined, the islands have an area of approximately 412,850 hectares (1,594 sq mi), and had a population of 18,257 people in 2001. The population density is therefore a little over 4 persons per km2 (11 persons per square mile).
There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. In the historic period the earliest known settlers were Picts to the north and Gaels in the southern kingdom of Dalriada prior to the islands becoming part of the Suðreyjar kingdom of the Norse, who ruled for over 400 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. Control of the islands was then held by various clan chiefs, principal of whom were the MacLeans, MacLeods and MacDonalds. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had a devastating effect on many communities and it is only in recent years that population levels have ceased to decline.
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Ireland
Coordinates: 53°20′N 08°00′W / 53.333°N 8°W / 53.333; -8
Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɪrlənd] ( listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.
Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
Relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain epitomise Ireland's geography with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the 17th century. Today, it is one of the most deforested areas in Europe. There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland.
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Irish Free State
The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) (6 December 1922–1937) was the state established as a dominion under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand. On the day the Irish Free State was established, it comprised the entire island of Ireland, but Northern Ireland almost immediately exercised its right under the treaty to remove itself from the new state. The Irish Free State effectively replaced both the self-proclaimed Irish Republic (founded 21 January 1919) and the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland. W. T. Cosgrave, the first President of the Irish Free State had led both of these "governments" since August 1922.
The Irish Free State came to an end in 1937, when the citizens voted by referendum to replace the 1922 constitution. It was succeeded by the sovereign, modern state of the Republic of Ireland.
The Easter Rising of 1916, and in particular the decision of the British military authorities to execute many of its leaders after courts martial, generated sympathy for the republican cause in Ireland. Republicans and some independent Nationalists who led opposition to the idea of compulsory military service for Irish men in the conscription crisis of early 1918. The Irish Parliamentary Party, who supported the Allied cause in World War I in response to the passing of the Third Home Rule Bill in 1914 was discredited by the crisis. In the December 1918 general election, a large majority of Irish seats in the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were won by Sinn Féin, with 73 of 105 constituencies returning Sinn Féin members. Sinn Féin was a previously non-violent separatist party founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905. Under Éamon de Valera's leadership from 1917, it had campaigned aggressively for an Irish republic.
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Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( /ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin, pronounced [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]), otherwise known simply as Mann (Manx: Mannin, IPA: [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although the United Kingdom does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is ultimately the responsibility of the Crown (that is, in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. In the 9th century, the Norse began to settle there. A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control. In 1266, the island became part of Scotland as formalised by the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.
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Isle of Wight AONB
The Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on the Isle of Wight, England's largest offshore island.
The designated area of the AONB covers approximately half of the island (189 square kilometres), concentrated around the south-west and north-west coastal areas and including an area of inland downland in the island's east. It also covers around half the coastline including both the Hamstead and Tennyson Heritage Coast areas. The area was designated in 1963.
Coordinates: 50°41′N 1°17′W / 50.683°N 1.283°W / 50.683; -1.283
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Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, French: Bailliage de Jersey ( /ˈdʒɜrzi/, French: [ʒɛʁzɛ]; Jèrriais: Jèrri), is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs.
Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems.
The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. Although the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as 'the Channel Islands', they are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the British Crown from the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It is not part of the United Kingdom, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK but the United Kingdom is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey. Jersey is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods.
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Kent Downs
Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover. It is renowned for its natural beauty.
Among the named parts of the Downs are:
Coordinates: 51°17′N 0°35′E / 51.29°N 0.58°E / 51.29; 0.58
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Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain (including both modern-day England and Wales) and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. It had a land border with the Kingdom of Scotland to the north. At the start of the period its capital and chief royal residence was Winchester, but Westminster and Gloucester were accorded almost equal status, with Westminster gradually gaining preference.
England as a state began on 12 July 927 after a gathering of kings from throughout Britain at Eamont Bridge, Cumbria, but broadly traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the Heptarchy of petty states that followed and ultimately united. The Norman invasion of Wales from 1067–1283 (formalised with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284) put Wales in England's control, and Wales came under English law with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. On 1 May 1707, England was united with Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707. Though no longer a sovereign state, modern England continues as one of the countries of the United Kingdom.
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Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland (Irish: Ríoghacht Éireann) refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171. King Henry VIII was recognised as monarch of Ireland by some Protestant powers in Europe, although not by the Catholic monarchies in Europe. However his daughter Mary I was recognised as Queen of Ireland by the pope in 1555. The separate Kingdom of Ireland ceased to exist when Ireland joined with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.
The papal bull Laudabiliter of Pope Adrian IV was decreed in 1155. It granted the Angevin King Henry II of England who ruled from Anjou in France, the title Dominus Hibernae. Laudabiliter enabled the king to invade Ireland, in order to bring the country into the European sphere. In return, Henry was required to remit a penny per hearth of the tax roll to the Pope. This was reconfirmed by Adrian's successor Pope Alexander III in 1172.
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Liskeard
Coordinates: 50°27′13″N 4°27′54″W / 50.4536°N 4.4651°W / 50.4536; -4.4651
Liskeardi/lɪsˈkɑrd/ (Cornish: Lys Kerwyd or Lyskerrys) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, 14 miles (23 km) west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. The town is at the head of the Looe valley in the ancient hundred of West Wivelshire and has a population of 8,656. Liskeard was the base of the former Caradon District Council and it still has a town council.
The placename element Lis, along with ancient privileges accorded the town, indicates that the settlement was once a high status 'court'. A Norman castle was built here after the Conquest, which eventually fell into disuse in the later Middle Ages. By 1538 when visited by John Leland only a few insignificant remains were to be seen. Sir Richard Carew writing in 1602 concurred;
Liskeard was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall. The market charter was granted by Richard, Earl of Cornwall (brother of Henry III) in 1240. Since then, it has been an important centre for agriculture. The seal of the borough of Liskeard was Ar. a fleur-de-lis and perched thereon and respecting each other two birds in chief two annulets and in flank two feathers.
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Looe
Coordinates: 50°21′13″N 4°27′14″W / 50.3535°N 4.4540°W / 50.3535; -4.4540
Looe (Cornish: Logh) is a small coastal town, fishing port and civil parish in the former Caradon district of south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 (2001 census). Looe is divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe and West Looe being connected by a bridge. The town is approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city of Plymouth and seven miles (11 km) south of Liskeard.
The town is situated around a small harbour and along the steep-sided valley of the River Looe which flows between East and West Looe to the sea beside a sandy beach. Off shore to the west, opposite the stonier Hannafore beach, lies the picturesque St George's Island, commonly known as Looe Island.
Archeological evidence, such as the so-called Giant's Hedge and the stone circle at Bin Down (from the Cornish "Bin Dun", meaning "hill fort") on a hill above East Looe, indicates that the area around Looe was inhabited as early as 1000 BC.
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Lostwithiel
Coordinates: 50°24′27″N 4°40′11″W / 50.40741°N 4.66964°W / 50.40741; -4.66964
Lostwithiel (Cornish: Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739. The name Lostwithiel comes from the Cornish "lostwydhyel" which means "tail of a wooded area".
The origin of the name Lostwithiel is a subject much debated. In the 16th century it was thought that the name came from the Roman name Uzella, translated as Les Uchel in Cornish. In the 17th century popular opinion was that the name came from a translation of Lost (a tail) and Withiel (a lion), the lion in question being the lord who lived in the castle.
Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydhyel meaning "tail-end of the woodland". The view from Restormel Castle looking towards the town shows how this may have come to be.
Lostwithiel is a historic borough. The Lostwithiel constituency elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons, but was disenfranchised by the Reform Act 1832. It remained a municipal borough until the 1960s, when it became a civil parish.
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Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit of the hills affords a panorama of the Severn valley with the hills of Herefordshire and the Welsh mountains, parts of thirteen counties, the Bristol Channel, and the cathedrals of Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford.
They are known for their spring water - initially made famous by the region's many holy wells, and later through the development of the 19th century spa town of Great Malvern, a process which culminated in the production of the modern bottled drinking water.
The Malvern Hills have been designated as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by the Countryside Agency.
Management of the hills is the responsibility of the Malvern Hills Conservators.
The name Malvern probably comes from the ancient British language meaning 'Bare-Hill', the nearest modern equivalent being the Welsh moelfryn (bald hill). It has been known as Malferna (11th century), Malverne (12th century), and Much Malvern (16–17th century).
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Marazion
Coordinates: 50°07′30″N 5°28′34″W / 50.125°N 5.476°W / 50.125; -5.476
Marazion (Cornish: Marghasyow) is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the shore of Mount's Bay, two miles (3 km) east of Penzance and one mile (1.6 km) east of Long Rock.
St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore from Marazion. At low water a causeway links it to the town and at high water passenger boats carry visitors between Marazion and St Michael's Mount.
Marazion is a thriving tourist resort with an active community of artists who produce and sell paintings and pottery in the town's numerous art galleries.
Remains of an ancient bronze furnace, discovered near the town, tend to prove that tin smelting was practised here at an early period. Marazion is one of the towns claiming to be Britain's oldest town.[citation needed] Marazion was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1088 and is the oldest chartered town in Britain, having been granted this status by King Henry III in 1257.
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Mendip
Mendip is a local government district of Somerset in England. The Mendip district covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km2) ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 110,000. The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet but the largest town (three times larger than Shepton Mallet) is Frome, pronounced "Froome" and spelt that way until about 1890.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Glastonbury and Wells, along with Frome, Shepton Mallet, Street urban districts, and Frome Rural District, Shepton Mallet Rural District, Wells Rural District, and part of Axbridge Rural District and part of Clutton Rural District.
Several explanations for the name "Mendip" have been suggested. Its earliest known form is Mendepe in 1185. One suggestion is that it is derived from the medieval term "Myne-deepes". However, A D Mills derives its meaning from Celtic monith, meaning mountain or hill, with an uncertain second element, perhaps Old English yppe in the sense of upland, or plateau.
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Mid Devon
Coordinates: 50°54′00″N 3°29′24″W / 50.900°N 3.490°W / 50.900; -3.490
Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tiverton.
The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Tiverton and Crediton urban district together with Tiverton Rural District, and Crediton Rural District. It was originally called Tiverton District, but was renamed in 1978 by resolution of the district council. The main Town in Mid Devon is Tiverton, it is a major, busy town set in the heart of Devon.
Mid Devon shares borders with several other Devon districts as well as the county of Somerset. Neighbouring districts include Exeter, East Devon, North Devon, Teignbridge, West Devon and Torridge.
Several rivers run through the district of Mid Devon, including the Exe, the Culm and the Yeo.
Raddon Top (772 ft.) is a landmark for 20 miles around. Westcote tells us that there was an earthwork on the summit, practically ploughed down even in his day. The views from here are superb, even for Devon.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (
i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Newlyn
Coordinates: 50°06′04″N 5°33′11″W / 50.101°N 5.553°W / 50.101; -5.553
Newlyn (Cornish: Lulyn) is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish, and is the southernmost town on the British mainland (though not the most southerly settlement). The principal industry in Newlyn is fishing.
The settlement is recorded as Nulyn in 1279 and as Lulyn in 1290, and the name is thought to be derived from the Cornish for "pool for a fleet of boats" which is thought to refer to the shallows offshore also called Gwavas Lake, traditionally the principal mooring for the fishing fleet in the area.
Before the rise of Newlyn as an important settlement the landing rights and most property within the Newlyn area were owned by the Manor of Alverton. Newlyn's history has been strongly linked to its role as a major fishing port. The natural protection afforded by the Gwavas Lake (an area of seawater in Mounts Bay) led to many local fishermen using this area as a preferred landing site. Newlyn harbour is first recorded in 1435 by the Bishop of Exeter; later large-scale improvements to the harbour led to Newlyn becoming the predominant fishing port in Mounts Bay.
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Newquay
Coordinates: 50°24′43″N 5°04′33″W / 50.4120°N 5.0757°W / 50.4120; -5.0757
Newquay (Cornish: Tewyn Plustry/Towan Blystra) is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Bodmin and 12 miles (19 km) north of Truro.
The town is bounded to the west by the River Gannel and its associated salt marsh, and to the east by the Porth Valley. Newquay has been expanding inland (south) since it was founded.
In 2001, the census recorded a permanent population of 19,562.
There are some pre-historic burial mounds and an embankment on the area now known as The Barrowfields, 400 m (1,300 ft) from Trevelgue. There were once up to fifteen barrows, but now only a few remain. Excavations here have revealed charred cooking pots and a coarse pottery burial urn containing remains of a Bronze Age chieftain, who was buried here up to 3,500 years ago.
In 1987, evidence of a Bronze Age village was found at Trethellan Farm, a site that overlooks the River Gannel.
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Nidderdale
Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.
The only town in the dale is Pateley Bridge. Other settlements include Wath, Ramsgill, Lofthouse, and Middlesmoor above Pateley Bridge, and Bewerley, Glasshouses, Summerbridge, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley, Kettlesing and Felliscliffe below Pateley.
Nidderdale was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1994. In addition to Nidderdale itself (above Hampsthwaite), the AONB includes part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley and part of lower Wensleydale, including Jervaulx Abbey and the side valleys west of the River Ure.
Nidderdale was historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Since 1974 it has fallen within the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire.
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Norfolk Coast AONB
The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers over 450 km2 of coastal and agricultural land from the The Wash in the west through coastal marshes and cliffs to the sand dunes at Winterton in the east.
The area includes; Hunstanton, Wells-next-the-Sea, Blakeney, Blakeney Point, Sheringham, Cromer and Mundesley. The terrain behind the coast is rolling chalk land and glacial moraine, including the almost 300 foot (90m) high Cromer Ridge. East of Weybourne there is severe coastal erosion.
National Nature Reserves in the AONB include the world-famous bird reserves at Cley Marshes and Titchwell. The Winterton Dunes are one of the country's finest dune systems. The Heritage Coast stretch of the AONB is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a candidate Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area. The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trail pass through the AONB.
Coordinates: 52°58′N 0°59′E / 52.97°N 0.98°E / 52.97; 0.98
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Norrard Rocks
Coordinates: 49°57′12″N 6°22′12″W / 49.9533°N 6.3700°W / 49.9533; -6.3700
The Norrard (Northern) Rocks are a group of small uninhabited granite rocks in the north–western part of the Isles of Scilly, to the west of Bryher and Samson and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for their breeding seabird colonies. They are permanently closed to landings from boat passengers. The vegetation on the islands is limited by the extreme exposure and only six species of flowering plants have been recorded.
The islands and rocks in order of area:
Gweal (Cornish: Gwithial, meaning place of trees) (grid reference SV866152) 5.82 hectares (14.4 acres) and 32 metres (105 ft) high
Gweal is a small rocky island consisting of two hills linked by a boulder beach, just off the west coast of Bryher and is an occasional pupping site for grey seal. Plants recorded are sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima ), rock sea–spurry (Spergularia rupicola), common scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis), thrift (Armeria maritima) and tree mallow (Lavatera arborea).
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North Devon
Coordinates: 51°04′52″N 4°03′29″W / 51.081°N 4.058°W / 51.081; -4.058
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the Barnstaple municipal borough, the Ilfracombe and Lynton urban districts, and Barnstaple Rural District and South Molton Rural District.
The wider geographic area of North Devon is divided between North Devon District and the district of Torridge, based in Bideford.
North Devon is popular with retired people. The 2001 census showed 15 454 (18%) people aged 14 years and under, 54 413 (62%) aged 15–64 and 17 651 (20%) aged 65 and over. For comparison, the same age distributions across England are 19%, 65% and 16% respectively. People over 65 helped to live at home is below the national average. Life expectancy for men, at 76.9, is close to the national average, and increasing more slowly than throughout England. Female life expectancy is good at 82.1; and rising in line with England. There is a gap of 6 years in the life expectancy of people in the highest fifth of wards and the lowest fifth.
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North Dorset
North Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. It is largely rural, but includes the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset is in the River Stour valley and is called the Blackmore Vale. The economy of North Dorset is largely dairy agriculture based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the municipal boroughs of Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Blandford Rural District, Shaftesbury Rural District and Sturminster Rural District.
At the 2001 UK census North Dorset had a population of 61,905, a rise of 8,300 from 1991, with 25,248 households.
North Dorset is home to North Dorset Rugby Football Club
Coordinates: 50°51′38.92″N 2°9′41.77″W / 50.8608111°N 2.1616028°W / 50.8608111; -2.1616028
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North Pennines
The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north-south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and to the south by the Stainmore Gap.
The North Pennines was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988 for its moorland scenery, the product of centuries of farming and leadmining. At almost 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) it is the second largest of the 49 AONBs in the United Kingdom.
The landscape of the North Pennines AONB is one of open heather moors between deep dales, upland rivers, hay meadows and stone-built villages, some of which contain the legacies of a mining and industrial past. The area shares a boundary with the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the south and extends as far as the Tyne Valley, just south of Hadrian's Wall in the north.
In the North Pennines are: 40% of the UK's upland hay meadows; 30% of England's upland heathland and 27% of its blanket bog; 80% of England's Black Grouse; Short-eared Owl, Ring Ouzel, Common Snipe and Common Redshank; 36% of the AONB designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Red squirrels, otters and rare arctic alpine plants; 22,000 pairs of breeding waders and England's biggest waterfall - High Force.
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North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare.
North Somerset borders the local government areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Mendip and Sedgemoor. North Somerset contains the parliamentary constituencies of Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset.
Between 1 April 1974 and 31 March 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon (named after Woodspring Priory, an isolated mediaeval church near the coast just north east of Weston-super-Mare). The district of Woodspring was formed from the municipal boroughs of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead urban districts, Long Ashton Rural District, and part of Axbridge Rural District.
Though the government proposed that the new unitary area be known as "North West Somerset" from 1 April 1996, the council voted instead to adopt the name "North Somerset" and so the name "North West Somerset" was never widely used. There remained some legal doubt as to whether the council had validly changed the name to "North Somerset", but in 2005 the council passed a resolution to put the matter beyond doubt.
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North Wessex Downs
Coordinates: 51°10′19″N 1°49′30″W / 51.172°N 1.825°W / 51.172; -1.825
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name North Wessex Downs is not a traditional one, the area covered being better known by various overlapping local names, including the Berkshire Downs, the White Horse Hills, the Lambourn Downs, the Marlborough Downs, the Vale of Pewsey and Savernake Forest.
The AONB covers an area of some 1,730 km2 (670 sq mi). It takes the form of a horse shoe on its side, with the open end facing east, surrounding the town of Newbury and the River Kennet watershed. The northern arm reaches as far east as the suburbs of Reading, mid-Berkshire, whilst the southern arm similarly reaches Basingstoke in northern Hampshire. The western extreme of the AONB reaches as far as Calne and Devizes. The highest points are the 297m (974 ft) summit of Walbury Hill, situated southwest of Hungerford in West Berkshire, close to the Hampshire border, and the Milk Hill-Tan Hill ridge east of Devizes, mid-Wiltshire, at 295m (968 ft) above sea level.
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Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann pronounced [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ( listen), Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann or Norlin Airlan) is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. As of 2001, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of the United Kingdom. Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, Northern Ireland is largely self-governing. According to the agreement, Northern Ireland co-operates with the rest of Ireland – from which it was partitioned in 1921 — on some policy areas, while other areas are reserved for the Government of the United Kingdom, though the Republic of Ireland "may put forward views and proposals".
Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter inter-communal conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom, and generally see themselves as British, while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule, and generally see themselves as Irish. Additionally, people from both sides of the community may describe themselves as Northern Irish. Since 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns.
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Northumberland Coast
The Northumberland Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covering 39 miles of coastline from Berwick-Upon-Tweed to the River Coquet estuary in the north-east of England. Features include: Alnmouth, Bamburgh, Beadnell, Budle Bay, Cocklawburn Beach, Craster, Dunstanburgh Castle, the Farne Islands, Lindisfarne, Seahouses and Amble.
The coastal area is situated to the east of the A1 road. It is sparsely populated and includes sandy beaches, sand dunes, rugged cliffs and isolated islands. It includes two National Nature Reserves. Fortresses and peel towers along the coast are evidence of past conflicts between the English and Scots in this border area. Coal fields are nearby and 'sea coal' is washed up on the beaches.
Coordinates: 55°35′18″N 1°39′51″W / 55.58833°N 1.66417°W / 55.58833; -1.66417
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Norway
Norwayi/ˈnɔrweɪ/ (Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.
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Old Grimsby
Coordinates: 49°58′N 6°20′W / 49.96°N 6.33°W / 49.96; -06.33
Old Grimsby is a coastal village on Tresco, one of the Isles of Scilly, located off the coast off Cornwall, England. The village has a quay, at the southern end of which is the Blockhouse, a 16th-century fort built to defend the harbour from attack.
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Orkney
Orkney (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh) also known as the Orkney Islands (and sometimes "the Orkneys", a name which locals disparage), is an archipelago in northern Scotland, 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises approximately 70 islands of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, known as the "Mainland" has an area of 523.25 square kilometres (202.03 sq mi) making it the sixth largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall.
The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Outer Hebrides
Coordinates: 57°46′N 7°01′W / 57.76°N 7.02°W / 57.76; -7.02
The Outer Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Siar, IPA: [nə ˈhelanən ˈʃiəɾ]) also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch and the Sea of the Hebrides. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority.
Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from ancient metamorphic rocks and the climate is mild and oceanic. The 15 inhabited islands have a total population of about 26,500 and there are more than 50 substantial uninhabited islands. From Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis is roughly 210 kilometres (130 mi).
There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. The Western Isles became part of the Norse kingdom of the Suðreyjar, which lasted for over 400 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. Control of the islands was then held by clan chiefs, principal of whom were the MacLeods, MacDonalds, Mackenzies and MacNeils. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had a devastating effect on many communities and it is only in recent years that population levels have ceased to decline. Much of the land is now under local control and commercial activity is based on tourism, crofting, fishing, and weaving.
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Padstow
Coordinates: 50°32′17″N 4°56′17″W / 50.538°N 4.938°W / 50.538; -4.938
Padstow (Cornish: Lannwedhenek) is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the 2001 census.
Padstow was originally named Petroc-stow, Petroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place', after the Welsh missionary Saint Petroc, who landed at Trebetherick around AD 500. After his death a monastery (Lanwethinoc, the church of Wethinoc an earlier holy man) was established here which was of great importance until the town was raided by the Vikings in 981 (the Vikings laid waste "Petroces stow" (probably Padstow) according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). Either as a result of this attack or later the monks moved inland to Bodmin taking with them the relics of St Petroc. The cult of St Petroc was important both in Padstow and Bodmin.
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Penwith
Penwith (Cornish: Pennwydh) was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the peninsula, being the most westerly district on mainland England. The district was named after one of the ancient administrative hundreds of Cornwall which derives from the two Cornish words, penn meaning 'headland' and wydh meaning 'at the end'. The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of Penzance and St. Ives boroughs, St Just urban district, and West Penwith Rural District. It was abolished on 1 April 2009 by the formation of a Cornwall unitary authority as part of structural changes to local government in England.
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Penzance
Coordinates: 50°07′08″N 5°32′13″W / 50.119°N 5.537°W / 50.119; -5.537
Penzance ( /pɛnˈzæns/; Cornish: Pensans; also Penzans) is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles (120 km) west of Plymouth and 300 miles (500 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The town's location gives it a temperate climate, milder than most of the rest of Britain.
Granted various Royal Charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated in 1614, it has a population of 21,168.
Penzance (Pensans), or "holy headland" in the Cornish language, is a reference to the location of a chapel nowadays called St Anthony's that is said to have stood over a thousand years ago on the headland to the west of what became Penzance Harbour. There are no early documents mentioning an actual dedication to St Anthony which seems to depend entirely on tradition and may be groundless. The only remaining object from this chapel is a carved figure, now largely eroded, known as "St Raffidy" which can be found in the churchyard of the parish church of St Mary's near the original site of the chapel. Until the 1930s this history was also reflected in the choice of symbol for the town, the severed "holy head" of St John the Baptist. It can still be seen on the civic regalia of the Mayor of Penzance and on several important landmarks in the town.
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Penzance Heliport
Penzance Heliport (IATA: PZE, ICAO: EGHK) is located 0.6 NM (1.1 km; 0.69 mi) northeast of Penzance, Cornwall. The heliport has scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly, which connect to the railway network at Penzance railway station by a special bus service. The heliport has a single concrete landing pad, which is 30 × 30 m (98 × 98 ft), inside a 373 × 45 m (1,224 × 148 ft) grass strip, 08/26.
Services started in 1 May 1964 when BEA Helicopters Limited operated the first service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly with a Sikorsky S-61. The construction of the heliport cost £88,000 (£1,329,143 as of 2012),
The heliport was opened formally on 1 September 1964 by Councillor Alfred Beckerleg, the Mayor of Penzance with the Lady Mayoress.
British International Helicopters has announced that it intends to re-locate the mainland base and sell the Penzance site to a supermarket chain. Services will continue until October 2011.
The replacement site is proposed to be at St Erth.
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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Plymouth
Plymouthi/ˈplɪməθ/ is a city and unitary authority area on the south coast of Devon, England, about 190 miles (310 km) south-west of London. It is situated between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound. Since 1967, the City of Plymouth has included the suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock, which are on the east side of the River Plym.
Plymouth's history goes back to the Bronze Age, when its first settlement grew at Mount Batten. This settlement continued to grow as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until the more prosperous village of Sutton, the current Plymouth, surpassed it. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers left Plymouth for the New World and established Plymouth Colony – the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America. During the English Civil War the town was held by the Parliamentarians and was besieged between 1642 and 1646.
Throughout the Industrial Revolution, Plymouth grew as a major commercial shipping port, handling imports and passengers from the Americas, while the neighbouring town of Devonport grew as an important Royal Naval shipbuilding and dockyard town. In 1914 the three neighbouring and independent towns, viz., the county borough of Plymouth, the county borough of Devonport, and the urban district of East Stonehouse were merged to form a single County Borough. The new, merged town took the name of Plymouth which, in 1928, achieved city status. The city's naval importance later led to its targeting and partial destruction during World War II, an act known as the Plymouth Blitz. After the war the city centre was completely rebuilt.
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Pont Pill
Coordinates: 50°20′02″N 4°37′26″W / 50.334°N 4.624°W / 50.334; -4.624
Pont Creek, or Pont Pill as it is more commonly known, joins the River Fowey at Penleath Point just below the memorial to Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch at the north-east corner of Fowey harbour. Pont Pill is a tidal river and is only navigable at high water.
Unspoiled by development, Pont Pill is popular with bird watchers, walkers, sailors and sport fishermen. The best way to see Pont Pill is by small boat at high water when it is possible to reach the bridge a mile-and-a-half upriver at the end of the navigable water.
Walkers can see Pont Pill from hills that surround the river by following a section of the South West Coast Path between Bodinnick and Fowey.
Pont Pill is thought by many local people to be part of the inspiration for Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger's adventures in The Wind in the Willows because author Kenneth Grahame holidayed in nearby Lerryn. Grahame's time spent near the river may have inspired the bedtime stories he told to his son, and later developed into the famous children's book.
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Port Navas Creek
Port Navas Creek /Porthnavas Creek is one of seven creeks off the Helford River in Cornwall, United Kingdom, it splits into three heads with the village of Porth Navas on the west one, Trenarth Bridge on the middle and the east one is near Budock Veane
Most of the creek is located in Ordnance Survey grid SW75x27x.
The main section is just over 1 km in length, with the bit to Porth Navas coming off about half way along.
The creek is well known for the oyster beds.
The Helford River Children's Sailing Trust is based in the creek.
A focal point of Port Navas is Port Navas Quay - a grade II listed site which has been degraded. A campaign group has been set up to protect and preserve the Quay and to reverse environmental damage in the wider Helford River area.
Coordinates: 50°06′03″N 5°08′27″W / 50.1009°N 5.1409°W / 50.1009; -5.1409
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Porthleven
Coordinates: 50°04′05″N 5°18′58″W / 50.068°N 5.316°W / 50.068; -5.316
Porthleven is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the most southerly port on the island of Great Britain, and was originally developed as a harbour of refuge, when this part of the Cornish coastline was recognised as a black spot for wrecks in days of sail. Nearby Loe Bar was particularly infamous, with swimmers and surfers being warned off the area to this day.
Historically and for local government purposes, Porthleven was included within the town boundaries of nearby Helston. After years of growth, it now has its own town council. Its population recorded by the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 3,190.
Including tourists and surfers would swell that number considerably. Porthleven has exploited its location and exposure to powerful swells to become one of the best-known and highly-regarded surfing spots in Britain. Waves often exceeding 2 metres break on the shallow reef that was shaped by blasting the harbour. Due to the prevailing westerly winds it was very easy for a ship under sail to get trapped in the bay and be cast up on the rocks at the small fishing coves of Mullion, Kynance and the Lizard.
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Purbeck District
Purbeck is a local government district in Dorset, England. The district is named after the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula that forms a large proportion of the district's area. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along the River Frome. The district council is based in the town of Wareham, which is itself north of the River Frome.
The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, from the former municipal borough of Wareham, Swanage urban district and Wareham and Purbeck Rural District.
Its name is recorded in 948 AD as Anglo-Saxon Purbicinga = "of the people of Purbic", where Purbic may be a former Celtic name, or may contain a supposed Anglo-Saxon word *pur = "male lamb".
Coordinates: 50°41′9.60″N 2°6′35.71″W / 50.686°N 2.1099194°W / 50.686; -2.1099194
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Redruth
Coordinates: 50°13′59″N 5°13′26″W / 50.233°N 5.224°W / 50.233; -5.224
Redruth (Cornish: Resrudh, pronunciation: /rəˈdruːð/ rə-DROODH) is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road (now the A30), and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west of Falmouth. Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an Urban District.
The name Redruth (pronounced 'Re-drooth') derives from its Cornish name, Rhyd-ruth. Rhyd an older form of 'Res', which is a Cornish equivalent to a ford (across a river), a common Celtic word : Old Cornish rid; Welsh rhyd (Old Welsh rit); Old Breton rit or ret, Gaulish ritu-, all from Indo-European *prtus derived word in -tu from the root *per « to cross, to go through »; Proto-Germanic *furdúz (English ford, German Furt); Latin portus, all related to the Celtic word. It is the -ruth (and not the Red- part of the name) which means the colour red.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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River Cober
Coordinates: 50°05′N 5°17′W / 50.083°N 5.283°W / 50.083; -5.283
The River Cober (Cornish: Dowr Cogher) is a short river in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It rises near Porkellis Moor in the former Kerrier District and runs to the west of the town of Helston before entering the largest natural lake in Cornwall – Loe Pool. The water is impounded by the natural barrier, Loe Bar, and the river system can be traced several kilometres out into Mount’s Bay. Mining activity of over one hundred years in the river catchment, ceased in 1938, in the Wendron and Porkellis mining districts; and the engine house of Castle Wary (also known as Wheal Pool), near Nansloe can still be seen on the east side of the river below Helston. The lower reaches of river was canalised in 1946 and a causeway built over Loe Marsh in 1987.
A common belief is that until the 13th century the River Cober ran directly to sea, until its mouth became blocked by a deposition of sand which formed Loe Bar and created Loe Pool. Loe Bar was more likely created by eustatic sea level rise after the last ice age. The rising sea level pushed a large amount of sediment into the mouth of the river, blocking it and creating a barrier beach. Loe Bar consists mainly of flint, a rock not found in Cornwall; the nearest onshore source is in east Devon, 120 miles away. The most likely source of flint is found offshore; the drowned terraces of a former river that flowed between England and France and is now under the English Channel. There is no evidence that Helston was a sea port.
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River Fal
The River Fal (Cornish: Dowr Fala) flows through Cornwall, United Kingdom, rising on the Goss Moor (between St. Columb and St Austell) and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. On or near the banks of the Fal are the castles of Pendennis and St Mawes as well as Trelissick Garden. The River Fal separates the Roseland peninsula from the rest of Cornwall. Like most of its kind on the south coast of Cornwall and Devon, the Fal estuary is a classic ria, or drowned river valley.
The origin and meaning of the name of the river are unknown. The earliest occurrences of the name are in documents of 969 and 1049 AD. Falmouth, a town which was named Smithwick until the 17th century, is named after the River Fal. The word Fal in Cornish may refer to a prince, or on the other hand to a spade or shovel.
The river mouth and Falmouth harbour served as an anchorage in the immediate years after the Second World War for scores of laid-up Royal Navy vessels (including battleships, carriers, and cruisers) awaiting sale for scrap. Its size and depth of water made it ideal for this use.[citation needed]
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River Fowey
The River Fowey (i/ˈfɔɪ/ FOY; Cornish: Fowy) is a river in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
It rises about 1-mile (1.6 km) north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, not far from one of its tributaries rising at Dozmary Pool and Colliford Lake, passes Lanhydrock House, Restormel Castle and Lostwithiel, then broadens at Milltown before joining the English Channel at Fowey. It is only navigable by larger craft for the last 7 miles (11 km). There is a ferry between Fowey and Bodinnick. The first road crossing going upstream is in Lostwithiel. The river has seven tributaries, the largest being the River Lerryn. The section of the Fowey Valley between Doublebois and Bodmin Parkway railway station is known as the Glynn Valley (from Glynn House, Cardinham). The valley is the route of both the A38 trunk road and the railway line (built by the Cornwall Railway in 1859). The railway line is carried on eight stone viaducts along this stretch (see Cornwall Railway viaducts).
The upper reaches of the Fowey are mainly moorland giving way to woodland and farmland, predominantly livestock. This means that 63.6% of the catchment is grassland, with a further 18.3% woodland and 10.7% arable land. Of the remaining 7.5%, 2.6% is urban or built-up areas, 2.5% is mountain, heath and bog and the remainder is inland waters.
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River Lynher
Coordinates: 50°22′44″N 4°15′50″W / 50.379°N 4.264°W / 50.379; -4.264
The River Lynher (Cornish: Avon Lynnhir, Dowr Lyner) (or St Germans River) flows through east Cornwall, UK, passing St Germans and enters the River Tamar at the Hamoaze, which in turn flows into Plymouth Sound.
The river is approximately 21 miles (34 km long), rising at a height of approximately 920 feet (280m) on Bodmin Moor and flowing into the Tamar Estuary near Plymouth. It has four main tributaries, the largest of which is the River Tiddy. The smaller tributaries include Deans Brook, Withey Brook, Marke Valley and Darleyford streams and Kelly Brook.
The Lynher and its tributaries are largely used for rod and line fishing, particularly for brown trout and Atlantic salmon.
Its estuary is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and also a Special Protection Area. Many species of animals can be found here, including the kingfisher, otter, dipper, avocet, and black-tailed godwit; the triangular club-rush (scirpus) also grows on the banks. The estuary, along with the Tamar–Tavy Estuary system and St John's Lake, form the Tamar Estuaries Complex Special Protection Area (SPA), as well as forming part of the Plymouth Sound and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
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River Truro
Coordinates: 50°15′25″N 5°02′42″W / 50.257°N 5.045°W / 50.257; -5.045
The River Truro is a river in the city of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK. It is the product of the convergence of the two rivers named Kenwyn and Allen which run under the city: the River Truro (named after the city) flows into the River Fal, estuarial waters where wildlife is abundant, and then out into the Carrick Roads. The river is navigable up to Truro.
The river valleys form a bowl surrounding the city on the north, east and west and open to the Truro River in the south. The fairly steep-sided bowl in which Truro is located, along with high precipitation swelling the rivers and a spring tide in the River Fal, were major causes of flooding in 1988 which caused large amounts of damage to the city centre. Since then, flood defences have been constructed around the city, including an emergency dam at New Mill on the River Kenwyn and a tidal barrier on the Truro River, to prevent future problems.
The river from the city to the village of Malpas, including Lambe Creek and Calenick Creek, form Malpas Estuary SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). It is an important habitat of tidal mudflats, which are feeding grounds for wildfowl and wading birds. The banks of the estuary are also noted for its flora.
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River Valency
The River Valency (Cornish: Dowr an Velynjy) is located in north Cornwall with many tributaries, and after running past Lesnewth cuts a valley before entering the sea at the harbour of the village of Boscastle. One of its tributaries is the River Jordan, which it joins in Boscastle just before the B3263 road bridge.
The Valency valley is steep-sided and the sides of the lower section are wooded. The valley has been flooded many times, most seriously in the Boscastle flood of 2004 when significant channel erosion occurred. (Heavy rainfall for 7 hours over a wide area in the afternoon of 16 August 2004 led to severe flooding and structural damage.)
The name has been explained as a corruption of the Cornish Melinjy (i.e. Melin-Chy = Mill-house) from the mill which existed in mediaeval times.
Coordinates: 50°41′30″N 4°42′01″W / 50.6916°N 4.7004°W / 50.6916; -4.7004
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Saltash
Coordinates: 50°24′29″N 4°12′43″W / 50.408°N 4.212°W / 50.408; -4.212
Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 14,964. It lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as "the gateway to Cornwall". Saltash means ash tree by the salt mill. Saltash is the largest town within the East Cornwall area and is one of the largest in Cornwall.
Saltash is the location of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge, opened by HRH Prince Albert on May 2, 1859. It takes the railway line across the River Tamar. Alongside it is the Tamar Bridge, a toll bridge carrying the A38 trunk road, which in 2001 became the first suspension bridge to be widened whilst remaining open to traffic.
Saltash railway station is close to the town centre. It was hoped that the empty buildings could be restored as a visitor centre for the bridge, but they have instead been purchased by a property developer. The station is served by a regular train service, with some direct High Speed services to and from London Paddington.
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Scotland
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba ([ˈalˠ̪apə] listen (help·info))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
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Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels. Historically the area was known as the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor.
Sedgemoor has given its name to a local government district formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal borough of Bridgwater, the Burnham-on-Sea urban district, Bridgwater Rural District and part of Axbridge Rural District. The district covers a larger area than the historical Sedgemoor, extending north of the Polden Hills across the Somerset Levels to the Mendip Hills.
Sedgemoor does not mean "sedge moor", but is instead "marsh of a man called Sicga" from the Old Norse personal name Sicga and Old English mor "moor". The name was recorded as Secgamere in 1165.
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Shetland
Coordinates: 60°18′14″N 1°16′08″W / 60.3038°N 1.2689°W / 60.3038; -1.2689 Shetland (/ˈʃɛtlənd/) (from Middle Scots Ȝetland) is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast of Orkney and 280 km (170 mi) southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is 1,468 km2 (567 sq mi) and the population totalled 22,210 in 2009. Comprising the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament, Shetland is also one of the 32 council areas of Scotland; the islands' administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick.
The largest island, known simply as "Mainland", has an area of 967 km2 (373 sq mi), making it the third-largest Scottish island and the fifth-largest of the British Isles. There are an additional 15 inhabited islands. The archipelago has an oceanic climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low, rolling hills.
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Siberia
Coordinates: 60°0′N 105°0′E / 60°N 105°E / 60; 105
Siberia (/saɪˈbɪəriə/; Russian: Сиби́рь, tr. Sibir'; IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ] ( listen)) is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th to 19th centuries.
Encompassing much of the Eurasian Steppe, the territory of Siberia extends eastward from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of Mongolia and China. Siberia makes up about 77% of Russia's territory (13.1 million square kilometres), but has only 28% (40 million people) of Russia's population.
Some sources say that the word Siberia originates from the Turkic for "sleeping land". Another version is that this name was the ancient tribal name of the Sabirs, Turkic nomads later assimilated to Siberian Tatars. The modern usage of the name appeared in the Russian language after the conquest of the Siberian Khanate.
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Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very near to the firth. The firth comprises part of the Irish Sea.
The coastline is characterised by lowland hills and small mountains. It is a mainly rural area with fishing and hill farming (as well as some arable farming) still playing a large part in the local economy, although tourism is increasing. It has also been used for the location of films such as The Wicker Man (starring Edward Woodward), which was filmed around Kirkcudbright.
The Solway Coast was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1964. Construction of Robin Rigg Wind Farm began in the firth in 2007.
The water itself is generally benign with no notable hazards excepting some large areas of salt and mud flats, which often contain dangerous patches of quicksand that move frequently. It is recommended[by whom?] that visitors do not attempt to navigate them without expert guidance.
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Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset (i/ˈsʌmərsɛt/ or /ˈsʌmərsɨt/) in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the River Severn. Its traditional northern border is the River Avon, but the administrative boundary has crept southwards with the creation and expansion of the City of Bristol, and latterly the county of Avon and its successor unitary authorities to the north. Somerset's county town, Taunton, is in the south.
Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. There is evidence of human occupation from Palaeolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion.
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South Hams
South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England with its headquarters in the town of Totnes. It contains the towns of Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Ivybridge, Salcombe — the largest of which is Ivybridge with a population of 16,056.
To the north it includes part of Dartmoor National Park, to the east borders Torbay, and to the west Plymouth. It contains some of the most unspoilt coastline on the south coast, including the promontories of Start Point, and Bolt Head. The entire coastline, along with the lower Avon and Dart valleys, form most of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The South Hams, along with nearby Broadsands in Paignton, is the last British refuge of the Cirl Bunting.
The South Hams were originally part of the Brythonic (Celtic) Kingdom of Dumnonia later reduced to the modern boundary at the River Tamar as Cornwall presumably during the tenth century reign of Æthelstan. Post-Roman settlement on coastal promontory hillforts, such as Burgh Island, follows the established pattern of trading — of tin in particular — found across the western, so-called 'Celtic', Atlantic coastal regions. In the later Anglo-Saxon era the South Hams was a feudal estate consisting of all of the land between the River Plym and River Dart and south of Dartmoor with the English Channel forming the southern boundary. There is some evidence that Cornish was spoken and understood in the area until the late Middle Ages.
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South Somerset
South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England.
The South Somerset district covers and area of 370 square miles (958 km2) ranging from the borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district is Yeovil.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil, adopting its present name in 1985. It was formed by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Chard, Yeovil, along with Crewkerne and Ilminster urban districts and the Chard Rural District, Langport Rural District, Wincanton Rural District and Yeovil Rural District.
The Council covers the whole of the Yeovil constituency, and part of Somerton and Frome.
It is currently Liberal Democrat controlled, and has Beacon Council status.
Its main towns include:
County schools (those which are not independent) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county are operated by Somerset County Council.
For a full list of schools see: List of schools in Somerset
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South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering 9,200 square miles (23,828 km2) and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Five million people live there. The region includes the area often known as the West Country, and much of Wessex. The size of the region is shown by the fact that the northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall. The largest city is Bristol. Other major urban centres include Plymouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Exeter, Bath, and the South East Dorset conurbation of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.
The region includes two National Parks and four World Heritage Sites, including Stonehenge.
Traditionally, the South West of England has been well known for producing Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar, for Devon cream teas, Cornish pasties, and for cider. It is also well known as the home of the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and also Cornwall's surfing beaches.
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Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport (IATA: SOU, ICAO: EGHI) is an airport in the UK, located 3.5 NM (6.5 km; 4.0 mi) north north-east of Southampton, in the Borough of Eastleigh within Hampshire, England.
The airport is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates five other UK airports, and is itself owned by ADI Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and GIC Special Investments, that is led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.
The airport handled 1,762,076 passengers during 2011, a 1.6% increase compared with 2010, making it the 18th busiest airport in the UK. Southampton Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P690) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
The airport's runway is built over the remains of a Roman villa. It was excavated in May 1925 but the villa had been robbed of much of its material.
The site's connection with aviation can be traced back to 1910 when pioneer pilot Edwin Rowland Moon used the meadows belonging to North Stoneham Farm as a take-off and landing spot for his monoplane, Moonbeam Mk II. In 2010, the airport arranged a series of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first flight at the airport.
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Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct identity from that of the rest of England. The special cultural, political and economic characteristics of "the South" are, however, not universally agreed upon, nor are its geographical limits and stereotypes of the South mask the cultural, physical and historical differences within this region. For government purposes Southern England is divided in South West England, South East England, Greater London, and the East of England. Combined, these have a total area of 62,042 square kilometres (23,955 sq mi), and a population of 26 million.
The term "southern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England, leading to confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas.
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St Austell
Coordinates: 50°20′17″N 4°47′42″W / 50.338°N 4.795°W / 50.338; -4.795
St Austell ( /sɨnt ˈɔːstəl/; Cornish: Austol) is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles (16 km) south of Bodmin and 30 miles (48 km) west of the border with Devon at Saltash. The town is known locally as "Snozzle"
St Austell is the largest town in Cornwall: in the 2001 census, the population was 22,658 (larger than the county town, Truro, which had a population of 20,920). St Austell civil parish (see below) is entirely urban in character.
One of the earliest references to St Austell is in John Leland's Itinerary, where he says "At S. Austelles is nothing notable but the paroch chirch".
Not long after William Cookworthy discovered china clay in Tregonning, the same mineral was found in greater quantity in the hills north of St Austell town.Clay mining soon took over from tin and copper mining as the principal industry in the area, and this eventually contributed enormously to the growth of the town. The clay industry really only came into its own during the mid 19th to early 20th century, at a time when the falling prices of tin and other metals forced many mines to close down or convert to clay mining. The success and high profitability of the industry attracted many families whose breadwinner had been put out of work by the depression in the local metal mining industry, and increased the population of the town considerably. This meant that more shops and businesses took root, providing more jobs and improving trade. This, along with other factors, led to St Austell becoming one of the ten most important commercial centres of Cornwall.
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St Blazey
Coordinates: 50°21′40″N 4°42′58″W / 50.3611°N 4.7162°W / 50.3611; -4.7162
St Blazey (Cornish: Lanndreth) is a small town in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The hamlet of Biscovey and the settlements of St Blazey Gate, Bodelva and West Par lie within the parish boundaries.
Once an important engineering centre for the local mine and railway industries, the parish is now dominated by the Eden Project.
St Blazey is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east of St Austell, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Tywardreath and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Par.
The town takes is name from Armenian Saint Blaise and holds a precession and service on his feasts day, February 3.
A Iron Age hillfort Prideaux Castle lies a mile to the north west of the town in the parish of Luxulyan.
The Biscovey Stone is the shaft ancient Celtic cross. It was inscribed but the text is no longer readable. There are several theories about the stone, one says it dates from around 600 AD to show the Saxon advance into the county, another puts the date at around 900 AD. The head is thought to have been removed during the reformation. The stone served as a gate post near the St Blazey turnpike gate. In 1896 it was moved to St Mary's Church, Biscovey.
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St Columb Major
Coordinates: 50°25′55″N 4°56′24″W / 50.432°N 4.940°W / 50.432; -4.940
St Columb Major (Cornish: Synt Colom Veur / Synt Colom gwartha) is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as St Columb, it is situated approximately seven miles (11 km) southwest of Wadebridge and six miles (10 km) east of Newquay The designation Major distinguishes it from the smaller settlement and parish of St Columb Minor on the coast.
Twice a year the town plays host to "hurling", a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall but now only played in St Columb and St Ives. It is played on Shrove Tuesday and then again on the Saturday eleven days later. The game involves two teams of several hundred people (the 'townsmen' and the 'countrymen') who endeavour to carry a silver ball made of apple wood to goals set two miles (3 km) apart, making the parish the largest pitch for a ball game anywhere in the world.[citation needed]
Monuments that date from this period include: Castle an Dinas, an Iron Age hillfort.; the Nine Maidens stone row, the largest row of standing stones in Cornwall; the Devil's Quoit (sometimes recorded as King Arthur's Quoit); and King Arthur's Stone (this long lost stone is said to be not far from the Devil's Quoit near St. Columb, on the edge of the Goss moor). It was a large stone with four deeply-impressed horseshoe marks. Legend has it that the marks were made by the horse upon which Arthur rode when he resided at Castle An Dinas and hunted on the moors.
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St Mawes
Coordinates: 50°09′28″N 5°01′06″W / 50.15779°N 5.01835°W / 50.15779; -5.01835
St Mawes (Cornish: Lannvowsedh) is a small town opposite Falmouth, on the Roseland Peninsula on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the east bank of the Carrick Roads, a large waterway created after the Ice Age from an ancient valley which flooded as the melt waters caused the sea level to rise dramatically, creating an immense natural harbour, often claimed to be the third largest in the world. The town is in the civil parish of St Just in Roseland.
St Mawes is the home of St Mawes Sailing Club. There is an excellent year-round ferry service to Falmouth, which is less than a mile away by boat, but due to its proximity to the Fal estuary it is some 30 miles away by road. The Place Ferry links the South West Coast Path and operates from Good Friday to the end of October. It was once a busy fishing port, but the trade declined during the 20th century.
The town of St Mawes is a popular tourist location, with many properties in the town being holiday accommodation or "second homes".[citation needed]
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Stroud District
Coordinates: 51°44′53″N 2°12′58″W / 51.748°N 2.216°W / 51.748; -2.216
Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the outskirts of the town.
The district is mixed and consists of part of the Cotswolds and an area of the flat, fertile valley of the River Severn. The town of Stroud is by some way the largest in the area. The southern portion of the district is served mostly by its own market towns, chief among which are Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on April 1, 1974, by a merger of Nailsworth and Stroud urban districts, Dursley Rural District, Stroud Rural District, and parts of Gloucester Rural District, Sodbury Rural District and Thornbury Rural District.
The area is rich in Iron Age and Roman remnants and is of particular interest to archaeologists for its Neolithic burial grounds, of which there are over 100. Much of its wealth was built on the cloth industry during the Victorian era, and its many mills, most of which are now listed buildings, survive as testament to this.
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Surrey Hills AONB
The Surrey Hills is a 422 km2 (163 sq mi) Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), located in Surrey, England. The AONB was designated in 1958 and covers one quarter of the county of Surrey. The Surrey Hills AONB adjoins the Kent Downs AONB to the east and the Wealden portion of the former Sussex Downs AONB (now South Downs National Park) in the south west.
The highest summit of the Surrey Hills AONB is Leith Hill near Coldharbour, at 294 metres (965 ft) above sea level, or 314 metres (1,030 ft) above when Leith Hill Tower is considered. It is part of the Greensand Ridge, which traverses the AONB from west to east, and is the highest point in south-east England.
The Surrey Hills area has three long-distance walks running through it. These are the North Downs Way, the Greensand Way and the Pilgrims' Way. Blackheath Common is also part of this area.
The northern ridge of these hills is predominantly formed by chalk and the southern ridges are predominantly greensand. They provide a haven for many rare plants and insects. Parts of the area are owned and managed by the National Trust, including Ranmore Common, Leith Hill and Box Hill.
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Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane is a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council is based in Taunton.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District, and Wellington Rural District.
Taunton Deane was granted borough status in 1975, perpetuating the mayoralty of Taunton.
The district was given the name of an alternate form of the Taunton Deane Hundred.
Settlements in bold have a town charter or a population over 2,500.
Part of the former Taunton Municipal Borough is unparished.
The town of Taunton (which for population estimates includes the unparished area - or former municipal borough - plus the neighbouring parishes of Bishop's Hull, Comeytrowe, Norton Fitzwarren, Staplegrove, Trull and West Monkton) had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001.
Taunton forms part of the larger borough of Taunton Deane which also includes the town of Wellington and surrounding villages. Taunton Deane had an estimated population of 102,600 in 2001.
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Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and St Rumon, was destroyed by Danish raiders in 997 and rebuilt under Lyfing, the second abbot. The church was further rebuilt in 1285 and the greater part of the abbey between 1457 and 1458.
The abbey was founded in 961 by Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon, and completed by his son Ordulf in 981, in which year the charter of confirmation was granted by King Ethelred II. It was endowed with lands in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, and became one of the richest abbeys in the west of England.
Lyfing and his successor Ealdred both became bishops of Worcester, and the latter is said to have crowned William the Conqueror. The thirty-sixth abbot, John Dynynton, was granted leave in 1458 to use the mitre and other pontificalia; and the thirty-ninth, Richard Banham or Baynham, was made a lord of Parliament by Henry VIII in 1513. Twenty-five years later the last abbot, John Peryn, with twenty monks, surrendered the abbey to the king, receiving a pension of a hundred pounds. The abbey revenues at the time of the Dissolution (1536–1541) were estimated at £902.
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Teignbridge
Coordinates: 50°34′55″N 3°37′41″W / 50.582°N 3.628°W / 50.582; -3.628
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot.
Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Dawlish and Teignmouth. It is named for the old Teignbridge hundred.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth urban districts along with Newton Abbot Rural District and part of St Thomas Rural District.
Teignbridge contains the following towns and villages:
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Tewkesbury Borough
Tewkesbury is a local government district and borough in Gloucestershire, in the West Country of England. It is named after its main town, Tewkesbury. Other places in the borough include Ashchurch, Bishop's Cleeve, Churchdown and Winchcombe.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the municipal borough of Tewkesbury, along with Cheltenham Rural District and part of Gloucester Rural District.
Gloucestershire Airport is in the borough, near to Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Coordinates: 52°0′0″N 2°10′0″W / 52°N 2.166667°W / 52; -2.166667
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Teän
Coordinates: 49°58′05″N 6°18′44″W / 49.9680°N 6.3123°W / 49.9680; -6.3123
Teän ( /ˈtiː.ən/ TEE-ən; sometimes written Tean without the diaeresis) is one of the uninhabited islands to the north of the Isles of Scilly archipelago between Tresco, 1.5 km to the west and St Martin's 300 m to the east. Approximately 16 ha in area the island consists of a series of granite tors with the highest point, Great Hill, rising to 40 m at the eastern end. The low lying land is overlain with glacial till and outwash gravels with glacial erratics abundant on the north coast beaches which indicates the southern limit of outwash from an ice sheet for which it is designated a Geological Conservation Review site.
There is evidence of occupation from the Bronze Age to the early 19th century and the island was still being grazed in 1945. An early Christian chapel exists on the island, it is possibly named after a Saint Theon.
The island lies within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast, and is in the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust which has an Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement.
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Torbay
Torbay ( /tɔrˈbeɪ/) is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the westernmost end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, roughly equidistant from the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Consisting of the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, and part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998. Tourist authorities call it the "English Riviera" on account of its beaches and mild climate; it is a popular area with holiday makers.
That Torbay has been inhabited since paleolithic times is shown by human bones and tools found in Kents Cavern in Torquay. A maxilla fragment known as Kents Cavern 4 may be the oldest example of a modern human in Europe, dating back to 37,000–40,000 years ago.Roman soldiers are known to have visited Torquay during the period when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire, leaving offerings at a curious rock formation in Kent's Cavern, known as "The Face".
Both Brixham and Paignton appear in the Domesday Book of 1086 and Paignton was given the status of a borough having a market and fair in 1294. The first major building in Torquay was Torre Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1196.
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Torpoint
Coordinates: 50°22′34″N 4°12′18″W / 50.376°N 4.205°W / 50.376; -4.205
Torpoint (Cornish: Penntorr) is a civil parish and town on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar.
Torpoint has a population of 8,457 (2001 census). In the Cornish language Torpoint is called Penntorr (local folk band Pentorr have taken their name from this).
Torpoint is linked to Plymouth (and Devonport) by the Torpoint Ferry. The three vessels that operate the service are chain ferries – that is, they are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on fixed chains which lie across the bed of the river. The journey takes about seven minutes.
It is said that Torpoint's name is derived from Tar Point, a name given because of the initial industry on the west bank of the Hamoaze. However this is actually a nickname given by workers, Torpoint meaning "rocky headland".
Torpoint is an eighteenth-century planned town. The grid-based design for the town was commissioned by Reginald Pole Carew in the Parish of Antony in 1774. His family continued to have a strong influence in the area, having become the Carew Poles, and still reside at their family seat, Antony House.
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Torridge
Coordinates: 50°53′35″N 4°15′54″W / 50.893°N 4.265°W / 50.893; -4.265
Torridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Bideford. Other towns and villages in the district include Holsworthy, Great Torrington, Hartland and Westward Ho!. The Island of Lundy is administratively part of the District. To the south of the district bordering Cornwall, near Welcombe, the rugged coastine has a wild untouched beauty, due to its accessibility, but the South West Coast Path is well defined.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the boroughs of Bideford and Great Torrington, the Northam urban district, Bideford Rural District, Holsworthy Rural District and Torrington Rural District. It is named after the River Torridge.
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Tresco Abbey Gardens
Coordinates: 49°56′52″N 06°19′57″W / 49.94778°N 6.3325°W / 49.94778; -6.3325
Tresco Abbey Gardens are located on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom.
A Benedictine abbey was founded here in 964 AD, although the majority of what remains today comes from the Priory of St Nicholas founded by monks from Tavistock Abbey in 1114.
The gardens were established by the nineteenth-century proprietor of the island, Augustus Smith. Because of the mild winter climate, the long hours of summer sunshine, and the high walls and hedges around the garden protecting it from the Atlantic winds, the garden is home to exotic plants from all over the world: the Mediterranean, South America, South Africa and Australasia.
The Entrance fee is £10/head.
The Valhalla collection is within Tresco Abbey Garden containing some 30 figureheads, as well as name-boards and other decorative carvings from the days of sail. The collection was built up by Augustus Smith. At Valhalla most of the figureheads date from the middle and end of the 19th century and come from merchant sailing vessels or early steamships that were wrecked on the Isles of Scilly.
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Tresco Heliport
Tresco Heliport (IATA: TSO, ICAO: EGHT) is a heliport located on the island of Tresco, in the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast of England, UK.
Tresco Heliport has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P677) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee. The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.
Tresco's principal industry is tourism, and the heliport supports this by enabling scheduled helicopter service to and from the mainland. Without the presence of the heliport, visitors to the island from the mainland would need to transfer to the inter-island boat service from the main island of St. Mary's. The heliport is owned and operated by Tresco Estates, who lease the island from the Duchy of Cornwall.
Tresco Heliport was opened by John King, Baron King of Wartnaby, Chairman of British Airways, on 26 April 1983.
On summer weekdays the heliport receives up to six flights a day from Penzance Heliport on the mainland, declining to two services a day in winter. Passengers are conveyed from the heliport to their resort or destination on a passenger carrying trailer drawn by a farm tractor. A footpath from one of the main landing beaches, at Carn Near, to the Abbey Gardens crosses the heliport landing field; it is closed by warning lights and bells a few minutes before a helicopter is due to land at the heliport, and opened again after the helicopter has taken off.
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Truro
Coordinates: 50°15′36″N 5°03′04″W / 50.260°N 5.051°W / 50.260; -5.051
Truro ( /ˈtrʊəroʊ/; Cornish: Truru) is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census population of 20,920. It is the only city in the county, and the most southern city in Great Britain. People from Truro are known as Truronians.
Truro initially grew as an important centre of trade from its port and then as a stannary town for the mining industry. The city is well known for its cathedral (completed in 1910), cobbled streets, open spaces and Georgian architecture. Places of interest include the Royal Cornwall Museum, the Hall for Cornwall, Cornwall's Courts of Justice and Cornwall Council.
The origin of Truro's name is debated. It is said to be derived from the Cornish tri-veru meaning "three rivers", but references such as the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names reject this theory. At best, the "tru" part could mean "three", though this is doubtful. An expert on Cornish place-names, Oliver Padel, in his book A popular dictionary of Cornish place-names wrote that the 'three rivers' meaning is "possible".
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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Wadebridge
Coordinates: 50°31′05″N 4°53′06″W / 50.518°N 4.885°W / 50.518; -4.885
Wadebridge (Cornish: Ponsrys) is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel 5 miles (8.0 km) upstream from Padstow.
For many years Wadebridge was a traffic-congested town (through which the route of the A39 trunk road passed) but in 1993 the Wadebridge bypass was opened together with the Egloshayle bypass causing the two settlements to regain much of their former charm. The main shopping street in Wadebridge (Molesworth Street) has subsequently become pedestrianized through an inner link road, allowing traffic free shopping. The permanent population is 6222 (Census 2001). The main offices of the former North Cornwall District Council were at Trenant Road, Wadebridge.
The initial settlement of Wade (the name of Wadebridge before the bridge was built) came about due to a ford in the River Camel (Camel probably meaning "crooked one"). The early crossing had two chapels either side of the river "Kings" chapel on the north side and "St Michael's" on the south side. People would pray for a safe crossing at one of the chapels before wading across at low tide, once they had made it the other side they would give thanks to God in the other chapel. In 1312 a licence was granted for Wade to commence with a market. The Reverend Thomas Lovibond (the vicar of Egloshayle) started to become distressed at the number of humans and animals that had died during the crossing of the river Camel so he planned the building of a bridge which was completed in 1468. Wade was now known as Wadebridge.
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Wales
Walesi/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.
During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.
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West Devon
West Devon is a local government district and borough in Devon, England. Towns in the district include Chagford, Okehampton, Princetown, and Tavistock, where the council is based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the previous municipal borough of Okehampton, Okehampton Rural District, and Tavistock Rural District.
Coordinates: 50°38′N 4°06′W / 50.633°N 4.1°W / 50.633; -4.1
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West Dorset
Coordinates: 50°47′20″N 2°35′53″W / 50.7889°N 2.5980°W / 50.7889; -2.5980
West Dorset is a local government district and parliamentary constituency in Dorset, England. Its council is based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with Sherborne urban district, and the rural districts of Beaminster, Bridport, Dorchester and Sherborne.
In the Census 2001 West Dorset registered a population of 92,350, estimated to be 94,000 as of 2004[update]. The population structure reflects the rural nature of the district. 52% of the population are female. The area is a popular retirement area which also exports young people due the low choice of career options. This is reflected in the age structure, with 12.3% of the population over 75, compared to 7.5% in England; 51.7% are between 15 and 59, compared to 59.1% in England. 34.4% of dwellings are pensioner households, compared to 23.8% in England.
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West Somerset
West Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covers a largely rural area, with a population of 35,075 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in 2009, the population of West Somerset has the oldest average age in the United Kingdom at 52. The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead (population 10,000) and Watchet (4,400).
The council's administrative headquarters is located in the village of Williton, with an additional office in Minehead.
The district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the previous urban districts of Minehead and Watchet, along with Dulverton Rural District and Williton Rural District.
There are 33 Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset, the oldest being Culbone Church, which is one of the smallest churches in England, and pre-Norman in origin and Tarr Steps which may originate in the Bronze Age, although others date them from around 1400.Dunster has the greatest concentration of Grade I listed buildings including Dunster Castle, the Yarn Market, Gallox Bridge and Priory Church of St George. Other sites include manor houses such as Nettlecombe Court and Orchard Wyndham. The most recent buildings included in the list are Crowcombe Court which was completed in 1739 and the Church of St John the Baptist in Carhampton which was rebuilt in 1863. There are numerous religious structures in Somerset, with the largest number being Anglican parish churches, dating from Norman or medieval eras. Some of the churches are included in the Somerset towers, a collection of distinctive, mostly spireless Gothic church towers.
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Wiltshire
Wiltshire ( /ˈwɪltʃər/ or /ˈwɪltʃɪər/, formerly /ˈwɪlʃər/; or the County of Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km2 (1,346 square miles). The ancient county town was Wilton, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council and its successor Wiltshire Council (from 2009) have been based at Trowbridge.
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trust's Stourhead, near Mere.
The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the former county town of Wilton, itself named after the river Wylye, one of eight rivers which drain the county.
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Augustus Smith
Augustus John Smith (15 September 1804 – 31 July 1872) was governor of the Isles of Scilly for over thirty years, and was largely responsible for the economy of the islands as it is today.
Smith was born at Ashlyns Hall, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, and went into banking. He became known locally as a philanthropist, doing his best to improve educational standards in his home district. In 1834 he acquired the lease on the Isles of Scilly from the Duchy of Cornwall for £20,000, and set about changing the islanders' way of life, expelling those who could not find a job locally and evacuating some of the smaller islands, where small populations were farming at barely subsistence level.
In 1861, Augustus Smith Esq., M.P. published "A True and Faithful History of the Family of Smith, Originally Cradled at Wiverton and Cropwell-Butler, in the Parish of Titheby, and more recently established at Nottingham, in the County of Nottingham". As the long winded title suggests, it traces the family name from its early beginnings and purports "the county of Nottingham may justly be considered as the fatherland of Smiths, who have always abounded within its borders."
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Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.[citation needed]
The main traditional language of Brittany is Breton (Brezhoneg) and is spoken in Western Brittany. Today Breton is spoken by approximately 365,000 people, of whom about 240,000 speak it fluently. Another linguistic minority is present in Brittany, namely speakers of the Gallo language; Gallo is only spoken in Eastern Brittany, where Breton has virtually never been. Breton is closely related to the Brythonic languages Cornish (closely) and Welsh (more distantly) while the Gallo language is a Romance language of the langue d'oil family. Bretons' native language is mainly French nowadays.
Brittany and its people are included as one of the six Celtic nations. Ethnically, along with the Cornish and Welsh, the Bretons are the last vestiges of the ancient British. The actual number of ethnic Bretons in Brittany and France as a whole is difficult to assess as the French government does not make such statistics. The present day population of Brittany based on a January 2007 estimate is 4,365,500.
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British people
British people (also referred to as the British, Britons, or informally as Brits or Britishers) are citizens or natives of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, of any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants.British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by birth in the UK or by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, the term British people refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth.
Although early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French Empire, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain; Britishness became "superimposed on much older identities", of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resist notions of a homogenised British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by unionists.
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Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in Northern and Western Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.
The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory or region. It is not synonymous with "sovereign state".
The six territories recognised as Celtic nations are Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Ireland (Éire), the Isle of Man (Mannin), Scotland (Alba), and Wales (Cymru). Each of these regions has a Celtic language that is either still spoken or was spoken into modern times. In addition, areas of north-western Spain, particularly Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias, are sometimes identified as Celtic, due to the unique culture of the region. Unlike the others, however, no Celtic language has been spoken there in modern times. Before the expansions of the Roman Republic and Germanic tribes, a significant part of Europe was Celtic.
Each of the six nations has its own Celtic language. In Wales, Scotland, Brittany, and Ireland, these have been spoken continuously through time, while Cornwall and the Isle of Man have languages that were spoken into modern times but later died as spoken community languages. In both of the latter regions, however, revitalization movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and produced a number of native speakers.
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Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell (c. November 1650 – 22 October or 23 October 1707), was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in the Isles of Scilly. He also served as MP for Rochester from 1695 until his death.
The unusual Christian name of Cloudesley was the surname of his maternal grandmother Lucy Cloudisley, who was the daughter of Thomas Cloudisley. His father, John Shovel, a gentleman, was descended from a family who had property and standing in Norwich and his mother was descended from local gentry. Although not poor, the Shovells were by no means wealthy.
In 1653, when Cloudesley was three, his father died. He left £100 to each of his three sons, Nathaniel, Thomas and Cloudesley. Cloudesley's widowed mother, Anne Jenkinson, remarried John Flaxman. In 1691 Cloudesley Shovell married Elizabeth, Lady Narborough (née Hill), the widow of his former commander, Rear Admiral Sir John Narborough. Through her, he had two stepsons Sir John Narborough, 1st Baronet, and James Narborough) who both entered naval careers and died, aged 23 and 22, in the sinking of HMS Association in 1707. Shovell and his wife had two daughters: Elizabeth and Anne. Elizabeth married first the 1st Baron Romney whilst Anne married John Blackwood. Elizabeth Shovell, the former Lady Narborough, is buried in St Paulinus Church, Crayford, where there is a memorial to her and her husband. Cloudesley Shovell is also mentioned on the memorial to his Narborough stepsons in Knowlton Church. Their memorial displays a rendition of the grounding of HMS Association.
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Cnut the Great
Cnut the Great (Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki;c. 985 or 995 – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F. Cantor has made the paradoxical statement that he was "the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history".
Cnut was of Danish and Slavic descent. His father was Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark (which gave Cnut the patronym Sweynsson, Old Norse Sveinsson). Cnut's mother was the daughter of the first duke of the Polans, Mieszko I; her name may have been Świętosława (see: Sigrid Storråda), but the Oxford DNB article on Cnut states that her name is unknown.
As a prince of Denmark, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut held this power-base together by uniting Danes and Englishmen under cultural bonds of wealth and custom, rather than sheer brutality. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. The Swedish city Sigtuna was held by Cnut. He had coins struck which called him king there, but there is no narrative record of his occupation.
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Cornish people
The Cornish (Cornish: Kernowyon) are a people associated with Cornwall, a county in the South West of England, in the United Kingdom, which is seen in some respects as distinct from the rest of England and having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the UK such as Wales as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe. It has been long argued that the Cornish represent a distinct ethnic group within the UK, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons who inhabited southern and central Great Britain prior to the Roman conquest, and some in the county today continue to assert a distinct identity, separately or in addition to English or British identities. Cornish identity has been adopted by migrants into Cornwall, as well as by emigrant and descendant communities from Cornwall, the latter sometimes referred to as the Cornish diaspora. Although not included as an explicit option in the UK census, the numbers of those claiming Cornish ethnic and national identity are officially recognised and recorded.
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David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English association footballer who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons, clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.
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English people
The English (from Old English: Englisc) are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens. Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, a Germanic people originally from Northern Germany who migrated to Britain.
Historically, the English population is descended from several genetically similar peoples—the earlier Britons (or Brythons), the Germanic tribes that settled in the area, including Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons, who founded what was to become England (from the Old English Englaland), and the later Danes, Normans and other groups. Following the Act of Union in 1707, in which the Kingdom of England became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain, English customs and identity became closely aligned with British customs and identity.
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Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068/1069 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106. A later tradition called him Beauclerc for his scholarly interests— he could read Latin and put his learning to effective use— and Lion of Justice for refinements which he brought about in the royal administration, which he rendered the most effective in Europe, rationalizing the itinerant court, and his public espousal of the Anglo-Saxon legal tradition.
Henry's reign established deep roots for the Anglo-Norman realm, in part through his dynastic (and personal) choice of a Scottish princess who represented the lineage of Edmund Ironside for queen. His succession was hurriedly confirmed while his brother Robert was away on the First Crusade, and the beginning of his reign was occupied by wars with Robert for control of England and Normandy. He successfully reunited the two realms again after their separation on his father's death in 1087. Upon his succession he granted the baronage a Charter of Liberties, which linked his rule of law to the Anglo-Saxon tradition, forming a basis for subsequent limitations to the rights of English kings and presaged Magna Carta, which subjected the king to law.
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Irish people
The Irish people (Irish: Muintir na hÉireann or na hÉireannaigh; Ulster-Scots: Airisch or Airish fowk) are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years (according to archaeological studies, see Prehistoric Ireland). The Irish people's earliest ancestors are recorded in legends – they are claimed to be descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians.Lebor Gabála Érenn, a book of Irish mythology tells that Tuatha Dé Dananns were Scythian descendants.
The main groups that interacted with the Irish in the Middle Ages include the Picts, Scots, and the Vikings. Due to this contact, Icelanders are noted for having some Irish descent. The Anglo-Norman invasion of the High Middle Ages, the English plantations and the subsequent English rule of the country introduced the Normans and Flemish into Ireland. Welsh, Picts, Bretons, and small parties of Gauls and even Anglo-Saxons are known in Ireland from much earlier times.
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King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.
The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). Some Welsh and Breton tales and poems relating the story of Arthur date from earlier than this work; in these works, Arthur appears either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in 1138) was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown.
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Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (23 April 1598 – 10 August 1653) was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy. His first name is also spelled as Maerten.
Born in Brill, Tromp was the first son of Harpert Maertensz, a naval officer who became captain of the Olifantstromp, from the name of which ship probably the family name "Tromp" is derived, first appearing in documents in 1607. His mother washed sailor's shirts to supplement the family income. At the age of nine, Tromp went to sea with his father and was in 1607 present in a squadron covering the Dutch main fleet fighting the Battle of Gibraltar.
Three years later, his father having been discharged from service because of a navy reorganisation, they sailed together on their merchantman to Guinea, when they were attacked by seven ships of the English pirate Peter Easton. Tromp's father was slain by a cannonball. According to legend the 12-year old boy rallied the crew of the ship with the cry "Won't you avenge my father's death?" But the pirates seized him and sold him on the slave market of Salé. Two years later however, Easton, moved by pity, ordered his redemption. Set free, he supported his mother and three sisters by working in a Rotterdam shipyard, went to sea again at 19, shortly worked for the navy, but having rejoined the merchant fleet was captured once more in 1621 — this time by Barbary corsairs off Tunis. He was kept as a slave until the age of 24, and by then had so impressed the Bey of Tunis and corsair John Ward, with his skills in gunnery and navigation that the latter offered him a position in his fleet. When Tromp refused, the Bey was even more impressed by this show of character and allowed him to leave as a free man.
wn.com/Maarten_Tromp -
Manx people
The Manx (Manx: Manninee) are an ethnic group coming from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea in northern Europe. They are often described as a Celtic people, though they have had a mixed background including Norse and English influences.
According to the 2006 interim census, the Isle of Man is home to 80,058 people, of whom 26,218 reside in the island's capital Douglas. Most of the population is born in the British Isles, with 47.6% born in the Isle of Man, 37.2% born in England, 3.4% in Scotland, 2.1% in Northern Ireland, 2.1% in the Republic of Ireland, 1.2% in Wales and 0.3% born in the Channel Islands, with 6.1% of people being born elsewhere in the world.
Manx people living in the UK were commonly grouped by the 2001 census under "White British". As well as major immigration from England, the Isle of Man has had many Irish residents, and to a lesser degree, Scottish and Welsh people. The extremely high proportion of foreigners to natives has mostly corrupted local culture and vernacular speech, replacing it with a generic northern english culture and accent.[citation needed]
wn.com/Manx_people -
Olaf I of Norway
Olaf Tryggvason (Old Norse: Óláfr Tryggvason, Norwegian: Olav Tryggvason) (960s – 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark and Ranrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.
Olaf played an important part in the often forcible, on pain of torture or death, conversion of the Norse to Christianity. He is said to have built the first church in Norway (in 995) and to have founded the city of Trondheim (in 997). A statue of Olaf Tryggvason is located in the city's central plaza.
Historical information about Olaf is sparse. He is mentioned in some contemporary English sources, and some skaldic poems. The oldest narrative source mentioning him briefly is Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (c. 1070). In the 1190s, two sagas of Olaf Tryggvason were written in Iceland, by Oddr Snorrason and Gunnlaugr Leifsson. Snorri Sturluson gives an extensive account of Olaf in Heimskringla, (c. 1230), using Oddr Snorrason's saga as his main source. The accuracy of these late sources is not taken at face value by modern historians and their validity is a topic of some debate. The following account is mainly based on the late saga sources.
wn.com/Olaf_I_of_Norway -
Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
wn.com/Phoenicia -
Priscillian
Priscillian (died 385) was bishop of Ávila and a theologian from Roman Gallaecia (in the Iberian Peninsula), the first person in the history of Christianity to be executed for heresy (though the civil charges were for the practice of magic). He founded an ascetic group that, in spite of persecution, continued to subsist in Hispania and Gaul until the later 6th century. Tractates by Priscillian and close followers, which had seemed certainly lost, were recovered in 1885 and published in 1889.
The principal and almost contemporary source for the career of Priscillian is the Gallic chronicler Sulpicius Severus, who characterized him (Chronica II.46) as noble and rich, a layman who had devoted his life to study, vain of his classical pagan education, already being looked on with misgivings (see Gregory of Tours). He was an ascetic mystic and regarded the Christian life as continual intercourse with God. His favourite idea was Saint Paul`s "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" (I Corinthians 6:19) and he argued that to make himself a fit habitation for the divine a man must, besides holding the Catholic faith and doing works of love, renounce marriage and earthly honour, and practise a hard asceticism. It was on the question of continence in, if not renunciation of, marriage, that he came into conflict with the authorities, and his influence among growing numbers of followers threatened the authority of the church when the bishops Instantius and Salvian were won over by his eloquence and his severely ascetic example.
wn.com/Priscillian -
Romanichal
The Romanichals (also Romnichals) are a Romani sub-group in the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world.
Romanichals are thought to have arrived in Britain in the 16th century. They are closely related to the Welsh Kale and Romani groups in continental Europe.
The word "Romanichal" is derived from Romani chal, where chal is Angloromani for "child".
Romanichal are found across the United Kingdom, particularly England, Lowland Scotland and Wales. The Romanichal diaspora emigrated from the UK, to other parts of the English-speaking world. There are now more people of Romanichal descent in the United States than Britain, based on some estimates.
They are also found in smaller numbers in South Africa, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The Romani people in England are thought to have spoken the Romani language until the nineteenth century, when it was replaced by English and Angloromani, a creole language that combines the syntax and grammar of English with the Romani lexicon. All Romanichals also speak English.
wn.com/Romanichal -
Scottish people
The Scottish people (Scots Gaelic: Albannaich), or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse. Later the Normans also had some influence.
In modern use, "Scottish people" or "Scots" is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, family ancestral or genetic origins are from within Scotland. The Latin word Scotti originally applied to a particular, 5th century, Goidelic tribe that inhabited Ireland. Though sometimes considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has also been used for the Scottish people, though this usage is current primarily outside Scotland.
There are people of Scottish descent in many countries other than Scotland. Emigration, influenced by factors such as the Highland and Lowland Clearances, Scottish participation in the British Empire, and latterly industrial decline and unemployment, resulted in Scottish people being found throughout the world. Large populations of Scottish people settled the new-world lands of North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. There is a Scottish presence at a particularly high rate in Canada, which has the second largest population of descended Scots ancestry, after the United States. They took with them their Scottish languages and culture.
wn.com/Scottish_people -
Snorri Sturluson
Snorre Sturluson (1179 – 23 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda, which consists of Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a narrative of Norse mythology, the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language, and the Háttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egil's saga.
As a historian and mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the theory (in the Prose Edda) that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funeral sites develop cults (see euhemerism). As people call upon the dead war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship, they begin to venerate the figure. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god. He also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others.[citation needed]
wn.com/Snorri_Sturluson -
Sweyn Asleifsson
Sweyn Asleifsson (c. 1115 - 1171) was twelfth century Viking who appeared in the Orkneyinga Saga.
Sweyn (or Sveinn) was born in Caithness in the early twelfth century, to Olaf Hrolfsson and his wife Åsleik. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, he came to prominence when he murdered Earl Paul of Orkney's cup-bearer c. 1134 in a quarrel over a drinking game, and fled to Tiree to take refuge with Holdbodi Hundason.
In 1140, Holdbodi called on Sweyn to join him raiding the coast of Wales, but they were beaten off, Holdbodi withdrawing to the Isle of Man and Sweyn to Lewis. In the early summer of 1141, Sweyn arrived in Man to join Holdbodi, but the Hebridean had been persuaded to join forces with the Norman-Welsh lord Robert who had defeated them in the previous year, and attacked Sweyn. This created a feud between the former friends.
Some years later, after falling out with his own captains (led by his brother-in-law Thorbjorn Thorsteinsson), Sweyn was driven out of Orkney by Rognvald Kali Kolsson, but King David I persuaded them to make peace.
wn.com/Sweyn_Asleifsson -
Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots (Ulster-Scots: tha Ulstèr-Scotch [fowk]) are an ethnic group that has lived on the island of Ireland since the 17th Century, and are predominantly citizens of the United Kingdom. Their ancestors were Scots from the Scottish Lowlands and English people from counties close to Scotland, many being from the "Border Reivers" culture. These people migrated to the island of Ireland in large numbers with the Plantation of Ulster, a planned process of colonisation which took place under the auspices of James VI of Scotland and I of England on land often confiscated from the Irish nobility, most extensively in the Province of Ulster. The term "Ulster-Scots" refers to both these colonists of the 17th century and, less commonly, to the Gallowglass who began to arrive from what is now northwest Scotland centuries earlier.
Ulster-Scots were largely descended from colonists from Galloway, Ayrshire, and the Scottish Borders Country, although some descend from people further north in the Scottish Lowlands and the Highlands. Ulster-Scots emigrated in significant numbers to the United States and all corners of the then-worldwide British Empire — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa — and to a lesser extent to Argentina and Chile. Scotch-Irish is a traditional term for Ulster Scots who later emigrated to what is now the United States; "Scots-Irish" is a more recent form of the American term, and is not to be confused with Irish-Scots, i.e., recent Irish immigrants to Scotland.
wn.com/Ulster_Scots_people -
Welsh people
The Welsh people (Welsh: Cymry) are an ethnic group and nation native to Wales and associated with the Welsh language. Welsh people historically spoke the Welsh language; however, in recent years English has predominated in most of Wales.
John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have been spoken in Wales far longer. The term Welsh people applies to people from Wales and people of Welsh ancestry perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and shared ancestral origins. Today Wales is a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of people living in Wales are British citizens.
An analysis of the geography of Welsh surnames commissioned by the Welsh Government found that 718,000 people, or nearly 35% of the Welsh population, have a family name of Welsh origin, compared with 5.3% in the rest of the United Kingdom, 4.7% in New Zealand, 4.1% in Australia, and 3.8% in the United States, with an estimated 16.3 million people in the countries studied having Welsh ancestry.
wn.com/Welsh_people -
Will Wagstaff
William Wagstaff, commonly known as Will Wagstaff, is a leading ornithologist and naturalist in the Isles of Scilly, and also an author. His popular guided wildlife walks have made him both a well-known and popular figure in the islands. Originally from South Wales, Wagstaff has lived on the Isles of Scilly since 1981. He has had an active role in conservation work around the islands for more than 20 years, and has led guided wildlife walks there since 1985. He is currently Honorary President and Chairman of the Isles of Scilly Bird Group and regularly presents slideshows and leads other events on the islands. He is a Tour Leader for Island Holidays and runs the Island Wildlife Tours group. He is part of the Travelling Naturalist group.
Wagstaff also works in other parts of the world, such as Florida and the Falkland Islands. Wagstaff wrote Falkland Islands: The Bradt Travel Guide in 2001.
wn.com/Will_Wagstaff
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The Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:47
- Updated: 19 Feb 2013
The Isles of Scilly Destination report from Travel Today
http://wn.com/The_Isles_of_Scilly
The Isles of Scilly Destination report from Travel Today
Isles of Scilly Travel 2011 film
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:11
- Updated: 21 Feb 2013
2011 Steamship Group promotional film
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_Travel_2011_film
Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:34
- Updated: 05 Feb 2013
Join Phil Vickery as he discovers the beauty of more of our great British isles.
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly
Join Phil Vickery as he discovers the beauty of more of our great British isles.
- published: 16 Jan 2012
- views: 508
- author: Tim Sutcliffe
Landing in the Scilly Isles Full Version
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:43
- Updated: 11 Feb 2013
A Dash 6 Twin Otter landing in the Scilly Isles on runway 15. You get a very nice view of all the islands as we come in for final approach. Airline is Skybus. Route: SOU - ISC Aircraft: Dash 6 Twin Otter Time: 1hr 25 Reg: G-BIHO
http://wn.com/Landing_in_the_Scilly_Isles_Full_Version
A Dash 6 Twin Otter landing in the Scilly Isles on runway 15. You get a very nice view of all the islands as we come in for final approach. Airline is Skybus. Route: SOU - ISC Aircraft: Dash 6 Twin Otter Time: 1hr 25 Reg: G-BIHO
- published: 13 Nov 2011
- views: 2443
- author: MrJCF987
St Martin's - the Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:50
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
Crystal clear waters, idyllic beaches and a prevailing sense of calm make St Martins a delight. Lots of wonderful sandy beaches, along with the island's famous flower fields, can be found on the sheltered south side of the island, while in the rockier north you can follow coastal paths along heathery cliff tops and look out over the stunningly beautiful seascape.
http://wn.com/St_Martin's_the_Isles_of_Scilly
Crystal clear waters, idyllic beaches and a prevailing sense of calm make St Martins a delight. Lots of wonderful sandy beaches, along with the island's famous flower fields, can be found on the sheltered south side of the island, while in the rockier north you can follow coastal paths along heathery cliff tops and look out over the stunningly beautiful seascape.
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 1752
- author: simplyscilly
ADIDAS DREAM BIG - ISLES OF SCILLY- 1/4 ORIGINAL FULL VERS.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:02
- Updated: 13 Feb 2013
The World's Smallest Football Teams "Dream Big" in a Film Project for Adidas Football The world's biggest football stars meet the world's smallest football teams, in Adidas' new football campaign for 2008, a film project called "Dream Big". Rather than focusing on the big football superpowe...
http://wn.com/ADIDAS_DREAM_BIG_ISLES_OF_SCILLY_1_4_ORIGINAL_FULL_VERS
The World's Smallest Football Teams "Dream Big" in a Film Project for Adidas Football The world's biggest football stars meet the world's smallest football teams, in Adidas' new football campaign for 2008, a film project called "Dream Big". Rather than focusing on the big football superpowe...
- published: 26 May 2008
- views: 37729
- author: winandsingh
The Isles of Scilly in Autumn.wmv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:51
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
The island of St. Mary's on the Isles of Scilly. Filmed on 8th October 2010, this is one of a group of islands located approximately 30 miles South-West from Lands End of the SW coast of England. Five of the islands are inhabited with a population of 2000 people
http://wn.com/The_Isles_of_Scilly_in_Autumnwmv
The island of St. Mary's on the Isles of Scilly. Filmed on 8th October 2010, this is one of a group of islands located approximately 30 miles South-West from Lands End of the SW coast of England. Five of the islands are inhabited with a population of 2000 people
- published: 08 Oct 2010
- views: 1439
- author: Vinny Powell
The Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:31
- Updated: 16 Jan 2013
The Isles of Scilly are like nowhere else in England. A beautiful cluster of islands just of the coast of Cornwall but a world apart. St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, Bryher, St. Agnes. Each with its own character, white sandy beaches, breathtaking views and wildlife. Stay in idyllic guesthouses and B&Bs;, discover unique hotels and self catering cottages or get back to nature with a camping holiday. Great pubs, restaurants and cafes are always just a short walk away. Simply Scilly -- islands to treasure.
http://wn.com/The_Isles_of_Scilly
The Isles of Scilly are like nowhere else in England. A beautiful cluster of islands just of the coast of Cornwall but a world apart. St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, Bryher, St. Agnes. Each with its own character, white sandy beaches, breathtaking views and wildlife. Stay in idyllic guesthouses and B&Bs;, discover unique hotels and self catering cottages or get back to nature with a camping holiday. Great pubs, restaurants and cafes are always just a short walk away. Simply Scilly -- islands to treasure.
- published: 23 Dec 2012
- views: 17015
- author: simplyscilly
Isles of Scilly Landscape and Nature
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:00
- Updated: 13 Feb 2013
The Isles of Scilly, landscape, flora and fauna Photography (C) Rosemary Bowyer 2011. Classical guitar music "Capricho Arabe" by Francisco Tarrega played by Mariano Miranda www.guitarramiranda.com
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_Landscape_and_Nature
The Isles of Scilly, landscape, flora and fauna Photography (C) Rosemary Bowyer 2011. Classical guitar music "Capricho Arabe" by Francisco Tarrega played by Mariano Miranda www.guitarramiranda.com
- published: 30 Dec 2011
- views: 1066
- author: Rosemary Bowyer
ADIDAS DREAM BIG -ISLES OF SCILLY- 3/4 ORIGINAL FULL VERS.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:52
- Updated: 15 Feb 2013
The World's Smallest Football Teams "Dream Big" in a Film Project for Adidas Football The world's biggest football stars meet the world's smallest football teams, in Adidas' new football campaign for 2008, a film project called "Dream Big". Rather than focusing on the big football superpowe...
http://wn.com/ADIDAS_DREAM_BIG_-ISLES_OF_SCILLY_3_4_ORIGINAL_FULL_VERS
The World's Smallest Football Teams "Dream Big" in a Film Project for Adidas Football The world's biggest football stars meet the world's smallest football teams, in Adidas' new football campaign for 2008, a film project called "Dream Big". Rather than focusing on the big football superpowe...
- published: 26 May 2008
- views: 28621
- author: winandsingh
St Agnes - the Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:56
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
On the most southwesterly edge of the Isles of Scilly, St Agnes is totally unspoilt and astonishingly peaceful.This is an island of wonderful contrasts, from rocky outcrops on its exposed west side to paradise beaches in its more sheltered coves; the tranquillity of the sandbar between St Agnes and Gugh is particularly magical.
http://wn.com/St_Agnes_the_Isles_of_Scilly
On the most southwesterly edge of the Isles of Scilly, St Agnes is totally unspoilt and astonishingly peaceful.This is an island of wonderful contrasts, from rocky outcrops on its exposed west side to paradise beaches in its more sheltered coves; the tranquillity of the sandbar between St Agnes and Gugh is particularly magical.
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 1200
- author: simplyscilly
St Mary's - the Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:20
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
With its air and sea links to the mainland, St Mary's is likely to be your first stop on Scilly. It is the biggest and most populated island and, with its shops, school and hospital, it is the hub of Scillonian life. Yet outside the hustle and bustle of Hugh Town, St Mary's still has its fair share of dreamy beaches, complete with white sand, tranquil waters and stunning seascapes.
http://wn.com/St_Mary's_the_Isles_of_Scilly
With its air and sea links to the mainland, St Mary's is likely to be your first stop on Scilly. It is the biggest and most populated island and, with its shops, school and hospital, it is the hub of Scillonian life. Yet outside the hustle and bustle of Hugh Town, St Mary's still has its fair share of dreamy beaches, complete with white sand, tranquil waters and stunning seascapes.
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 1331
- author: simplyscilly
Bryher - The Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:22
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
Bryher island, the Isles of Scilly. Located off the coast of Cornwall Bryher is a rugged yet deeply beautiful island -- the perfect place to enjoy a taste of untamed Scilly. Explore its rocky coves, laze on its sandy beaches or hike up one of its small granite hills for some of the best views on the islands. Its fame has spread far and wide: the luxurious Hell Bay hotel has won many an award, while Jamie Oliver voted the diminutive Fraggle Rock Bar "Best British Boozer"
http://wn.com/Bryher_The_Isles_of_Scilly
Bryher island, the Isles of Scilly. Located off the coast of Cornwall Bryher is a rugged yet deeply beautiful island -- the perfect place to enjoy a taste of untamed Scilly. Explore its rocky coves, laze on its sandy beaches or hike up one of its small granite hills for some of the best views on the islands. Its fame has spread far and wide: the luxurious Hell Bay hotel has won many an award, while Jamie Oliver voted the diminutive Fraggle Rock Bar "Best British Boozer"
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 1744
- author: simplyscilly
ST. MARYS - Isles of Scilly - Jonas Edmundo's Scilly Walks - EPISODE 1 / 5
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:28
- Updated: 18 Jan 2013
JONAS BEGINS HIS SCILLY WALKS SERIES OF mr-e-tours WITH A TRAMP ALONG THE COASTAL PATHS OF ST. MARYS - THE LEAST SMALLEST OF THE ISLES OF SCILLY. FOLLOW JONAS AS HE DISCOVERS THE HIDDEN DELIGHTS OF EACH OF THE 5 1/2 POPULATED FORTUNATE ISLES. HD Re-UPLOAD - COMMENTS COPIED OVER + VIEWS www.mr-e-tours - Virtual Tours 4 The Great Outdoors*
http://wn.com/ST_MARYS_Isles_of_Scilly_Jonas_Edmundo's_Scilly_Walks_EPISODE_1_5
JONAS BEGINS HIS SCILLY WALKS SERIES OF mr-e-tours WITH A TRAMP ALONG THE COASTAL PATHS OF ST. MARYS - THE LEAST SMALLEST OF THE ISLES OF SCILLY. FOLLOW JONAS AS HE DISCOVERS THE HIDDEN DELIGHTS OF EACH OF THE 5 1/2 POPULATED FORTUNATE ISLES. HD Re-UPLOAD - COMMENTS COPIED OVER + VIEWS www.mr-e-tours - Virtual Tours 4 The Great Outdoors*
- published: 20 Apr 2011
- views: 2156
- author: MrEtours
End of an Era - Isles of Scilly Helicopter Service
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:42
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
On 31st October 2012, British International Helicopters ceased service on the longest running helicopter service in the world, running between the Isles of Scilly and the UK mainland. I have many happy memories of family holidays to the Scillies on good old G-BCEB and I'm sad to see the service come to an end. Here is a short clip from the Six O Clock News on 30th October covering the story. (All copyright remains with BBC News) Apologies for the jerkiness of the video. I may try and re-capture it if I can. It is on iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk Press release from British International: www.islesofscillyhelicopter.com
http://wn.com/End_of_an_Era_Isles_of_Scilly_Helicopter_Service
On 31st October 2012, British International Helicopters ceased service on the longest running helicopter service in the world, running between the Isles of Scilly and the UK mainland. I have many happy memories of family holidays to the Scillies on good old G-BCEB and I'm sad to see the service come to an end. Here is a short clip from the Six O Clock News on 30th October covering the story. (All copyright remains with BBC News) Apologies for the jerkiness of the video. I may try and re-capture it if I can. It is on iPlayer here: www.bbc.co.uk Press release from British International: www.islesofscillyhelicopter.com
- published: 31 Oct 2012
- views: 505
- author: Alex Bowyer
Isles of Scilly Skybus Takeoff Exeter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:16
- Updated: 25 Apr 2012
A isles of scilly skybus DHC-6 Departing runway 08 at Exeter International Airport, This was going back to the isles of scilly.
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_Skybus_Takeoff_Exeter
A isles of scilly skybus DHC-6 Departing runway 08 at Exeter International Airport, This was going back to the isles of scilly.
- published: 08 Jun 2009
- views: 1603
- author: AirportVids
The Isles of Scilly from the air
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:38
- Updated: 15 Aug 2012
For www.intocornwall.com - View the Isles of Scilly from above in this short video which gives an aerial view of the islands.
http://wn.com/The_Isles_of_Scilly_from_the_air
For www.intocornwall.com - View the Isles of Scilly from above in this short video which gives an aerial view of the islands.
- published: 24 Feb 2011
- views: 1255
- author: intocornwall
Live Wire : E-Day 2009 Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:44
- Updated: 17 May 2012
This film explains where the residents on the Isles of Scilly get their electricity from and how the undersea electric cable linking the islands to the mainland is backed-up by a power station on St Mary's, which helps to ensure that the lights are always kept on. This film was made for Energy Saving Day (E-Day) and explains how E-Day will be able to show any changes in demand in real-time during E-Day 2009 (Tuesday 6th October, 2009). With thanks to Colin Hicks of Western Power Distribution for permission to film at the St Mary's power station, to Richie Chritopher for explaining how electricity is made so clearly and simply, and to Tom Tapper and Ben Meaker from Nice and Serious for working so hard whilst filming and editting "Live Wire". Dr Matt Prescott www www.twitter.com
http://wn.com/Live_Wire_E-Day_2009_Isles_of_Scilly
This film explains where the residents on the Isles of Scilly get their electricity from and how the undersea electric cable linking the islands to the mainland is backed-up by a power station on St Mary's, which helps to ensure that the lights are always kept on. This film was made for Energy Saving Day (E-Day) and explains how E-Day will be able to show any changes in demand in real-time during E-Day 2009 (Tuesday 6th October, 2009). With thanks to Colin Hicks of Western Power Distribution for permission to film at the St Mary's power station, to Richie Chritopher for explaining how electricity is made so clearly and simply, and to Tom Tapper and Ben Meaker from Nice and Serious for working so hard whilst filming and editting "Live Wire". Dr Matt Prescott www www.twitter.com
- published: 29 Jul 2009
- views: 2367
- author: Matt Prescott
Isles of Scilly April 2008 (part one) St Mary's
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:44
- Updated: 22 Feb 2013
Our visit to the Isles of Scilly 6th April 2008. Part one is of the helicopter flight from Penzance to St Mary's Island. The B & B we stayed at and a walk on St Mary's Island from Old Town Bay along the coast path to Porthcressa Beach.
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_April_2008_part_one_St_Mary's
Our visit to the Isles of Scilly 6th April 2008. Part one is of the helicopter flight from Penzance to St Mary's Island. The B & B we stayed at and a walk on St Mary's Island from Old Town Bay along the coast path to Porthcressa Beach.
- published: 09 Apr 2008
- views: 7223
- author: Frank Clemens
Skybus at St.Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:48
- Updated: 03 Aug 2011
Skybus flights from St.Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly,Aug 2010
http://wn.com/Skybus_at_StMary's_Airport,_Isles_of_Scilly
Skybus flights from St.Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly,Aug 2010
- published: 04 Sep 2010
- views: 1344
- author: alan dyson
Isles of Scilly shanty singers, Bone Idol sing One More Pull
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:08
- Updated: 14 Jul 2012
Bone Idol Scilly singers at Perranporth sea shanty festival 2010
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_shanty_singers,_Bone_Idol_sing_One_More_Pull
Bone Idol Scilly singers at Perranporth sea shanty festival 2010
- published: 28 Apr 2010
- views: 3563
- author: PIXAIR1
Isles of Scilly Skybus Twin otter Landing Exeter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:49
- Updated: 25 Apr 2012
Isles of Scilly Skybus Dash 6 Landing Exeter International Airport Runway 08. ATC included and Taxi past included
http://wn.com/Isles_of_Scilly_Skybus_Twin_otter_Landing_Exeter
Isles of Scilly Skybus Dash 6 Landing Exeter International Airport Runway 08. ATC included and Taxi past included
- published: 31 May 2010
- views: 738
- author: AirportVids
'Isles of Scilly' Accommodation - B&B; and Self cater suites option.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:03
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
www.scillyaccommodation.com A brief video of some of the many things to do on a relaxing 'Isles of Scilly holiday' possibly why so many visitors come back time and time again. Deluxe Bed and Breakfast , Self catering appartments and suites only 3 minutes from Hugh town, St.Mary's the main island. www.scillyaccommodation.com ezinearticles.com
http://wn.com/'Isles_of_Scilly'_Accommodation_B&B;_and_Self_cater_suites_option
www.scillyaccommodation.com A brief video of some of the many things to do on a relaxing 'Isles of Scilly holiday' possibly why so many visitors come back time and time again. Deluxe Bed and Breakfast , Self catering appartments and suites only 3 minutes from Hugh town, St.Mary's the main island. www.scillyaccommodation.com ezinearticles.com
- published: 19 Nov 2008
- views: 6467
- author: divescilly
photo: Creative Commons / John Harrison
25 Feb 2013
Just like Angelina Jolie's right leg last year, Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway's apparently 'alert' nipples inspired their own Twitter account and a flurry of cheeky hashtags last night ... Anne Hathaway's seemingly pointy nipples attracted a lot of attention ... Poor Anne Hathaway, she's not been served well by fashion of late ... House of Holland Stripe Skinny Jeans £138 ... 36 Awards Season 2013 It's that time of year again......(size: 4.9Kb)
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer
26 Feb 2013
Scientists have found proof of a sunken continent in the Indian Ocean. According to a study published in Nature Geoscience, the continent “was separated from Madagascar and fragmented into a ribbon-like configuration by a series of mid-ocean ridge jumps during the opening of the Mascarene ocean basin.” ... on the beach of Mauritius.....(size: 3.6Kb)
photo: USAF / Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez
26 Feb 2013
The age of machine guns, steam-powered battle ships, and tanks replaced the era of flintlock muskets, sailing wooden ships, and cannonballs ... As national leaders felt more emboldened and invincible, mainly due to the mechanization of weaponry and even war itself, so did their citizen armies ... One-sided imperial conflicts fought by modern technologically nations left killing fields numbering into millions of deaths....(size: 4.8Kb)
photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office
27 Feb 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the country's top brass on Wednesday to drastically upgrade the armed forces in the next few years as part of response to attempts by the United States and NATO to "tip the strategic balance" in the world ... plans to create a new missile defense system in Europe and the potential expansion of NATO to former Soviet republics....(size: 2.3Kb)
photo: AP / Ibrahim Zayed
26 Feb 2013
LUXOR, Egypt — A hot air balloon flying over Egypt’s ancient city of Luxor caught fire and crashed into a sugar cane field on Tuesday, killing at least 19 foreign tourists in one of the world’s deadliest ballooning accidents and handing a new blow to Egypt’s ailing tourism industry ... Three survivors — two British tourists and the Egyptian pilots — were taken to a local hospital, but one of the Britons later died of injuries....(size: 6.2Kb)
U~T San Diego
24 Feb 2013
Isles of Scilly, England — “I’ve been in the dungeon for 23 years!” ... 1,600) on the Isles of Scilly, inhabited since the Stone Age. Known as “Dungeon Dave,” his first visit to Scilly (pronounced “silly,” which means “blessed” or “holy”) was for his sister’s wedding in 1986 ... “Most of life here revolves more around boats than cars ... Visitors from overseas tend to do London; this end of England — Cornwall, Scilly — really is unknown....(size: 3.0Kb)
U~T San Diego
22 Feb 2013
Isles of Scilly, England — “I’ve been in the dungeon for 23 years!” ... 1,600) on the Isles of Scilly, inhabited since the Stone Age. Known as “Dungeon Dave,” his first visit to Scilly (pronounced “silly,” which means “blessed” or “holy”) was for his sister’s wedding in 1986 ... “Most of life here revolves more around boats than cars ... Visitors from overseas tend to do London; this end of England — Cornwall, Scilly — really is unknown....(size: 3.2Kb)
The Guardian
16 Feb 2013
Scilly is a stunning archipelago off the south-west tip of Cornwall offering a unique, far-flung getaway from the UK mainland ... 'I tell visitors that they are standing at the last point in south-west Britain," says Sam Hicks who, with his family, runs Troytown farm and campsite (1, click on the larger map to see the numbers) on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly....(size: 11.7Kb)
noodls
15 Feb 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 15 February 2013. On February 14th 2013, the Council of the Isles of Scilly Transport Committee approved increases to fees and charges for the airport to ensure that it is properly financed, managed and maintained in the future in accordance with is a 20-year asset replacement plan ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk....(size: 2.7Kb)
BBC News
14 Feb 2013
The former Prime Minister Harold Wilson had a deep affection for the Isles of Scilly where he had a holiday home ... on the Isles of Scilly....(size: 0.8Kb)
noodls
12 Feb 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 12 February 2013 ... This workshop is free of charge ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk....(size: 1.0Kb)
noodls
07 Feb 2013
noodls
30 Jan 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 30 January 2013 ... the skies above Scilly really are?. The Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership ... darkness of Scilly's skies. Big >Scilly Star Count 2013 is part of a nationwide ... aonb@scilly.gov.uk ... with the Council of the Isles of Scilly's Life Long Learning team ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk. ...(size: 3.3Kb)
noodls
29 Jan 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 29 January 2013. On the morning of the 29th January the Council of the Isles of Scilly received a complaint from the former headteacher of the Five Islands School regarding the audit report conducted by Cornwall Council auditors ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk....(size: 2.6Kb)
noodls
23 Jan 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 23 January 2013. This week a Magistrate's Court session will be held on the Isles of Scilly for 10 people who have defaulted on their Council Tax ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk ......(size: 2.0Kb)
BBC News
23 Jan 2013
An Ofsted report has downgraded the status of the Five Islands School on the Isles of Scilly ... Ben Julian, the chair of governors, said the report agrees with their own private findings in September ... In its report Ofsted said "Significant changes in senior leadership and governance since the last inspection unsettled staff and the school community, hindering the rate of improvement in the school."....(size: 2.5Kb)
noodls
21 Jan 2013
Isle of Scilly Council) Released on 21 January 2013 ... Alice wrote to the Prime Minister explaining her concerns regarding the future of Scilly's transport infrastructure and received a response from 10 Downing Street informing her that her letter had been forwarded to the Department for Transport in Westminster ... This noodl was issued by Isle of Scilly Council and was initially posted at www.scilly.gov.uk....(size: 2.4Kb)
BBC News
17 Jan 2013
Rats will be killed on two islands in the Isles of Scilly as part of a 25-year project to help protect seabirds ... David Mawer, senior conservation warden, Isles of Scilly wildlife trust said ... HLF has awarded the project £269,100, alongside EU Life fund £460,255, with further contributions from Isles of Scilly AONB Sustainable Development Fund, The Duchy of Cornwall, Isle of Scilly Wildlife Trust and Natural England....(size: 2.3Kb)
"Scilly" redirects here. For the area of Surrey, see Scilly Isles, Surrey. For the atoll in the Society Islands, sometimes called Scilly Atoll, see Manuae (Society Islands).
 Map of the Isles of Scilly. |
|
 Location in relation to Cornwall |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Celtic Sea, 45 km (28 mi) off the coast of Cornwall, England |
| Coordinates | 49°56′10″N 6°19′22″W / 49.93611°N 6.32278°W / 49.93611; -6.32278Coordinates: 49°56′10″N 6°19′22″W / 49.93611°N 6.32278°W / 49.93611; -6.32278 |
| Total islands | 5 inhabited, 140 others |
| Major islands | St Mary's, Tresco, St Martin's, Bryher, St Agnes |
| Area | 16.03 km2 (6.189 sq mi) (Ranked 323rd) |
| Country | |
|
United Kingdom
|
|
| Status | Sui generis, Unitary |
| Capital city | Hugh Town |
| Leadership | Cllr. Mrs. Julia Day |
| Executive | Philip Hygate BA, FRSA |
| MP | Andrew George |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2,100 (Ranked 326th) (as of 2010 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | 99.6% White British |
The Isles of Scilly ( /ˈsɪli/; Cornish: Syllan or Enesek Syllan) form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.
Since 1890 the Islands have had a unitary authority separate from Cornwall's, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall. This council is currently known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. The adjective "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Isles of Scilly also form part of the Duchy of Cornwall. Tourism forms a large segment of the Islands economies, along with farming and agriculture. Culturally the Islands share much with neighbouring Cornwall's distinct Celtic culture, as well as strong linguistic ties.
Contents |
History[link]
Ancient history[link]
Scilly has been inhabited since the Stone Age and its history has been one of subsistence living until the early 20th century. Farming and fishing continue today, but the main industry now is tourism.
The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides (Tin Isles) visited by the Phoenicians and mentioned by the Greeks. However, the archipelago itself does not contain much tin—it may be that they were used as a staging post from the mainland.
It is likely that until relatively recent times the Isles were much larger with many of them joined into one island, named Ennor. Rising sea levels flooded the central plain around 400–500 AD, forming the current islands.[1]
Evidence for the older large island includes:
- A description in Roman times describes Scilly as "Scillonia insula" in the singular, as if there were a single island or an island much bigger than any of the others.
- Remains of a prehistoric farm have been found on Nornour, which is now a small rocky skerry far too small for farming.[2][3]
- At certain low tides the sea becomes shallow enough for people to walk between some of the islands. This is possibly one of the sources for stories of drowned lands, e.g. Lyonesse.
- Ancient field walls are visible below the high tide line off some of the islands (e.g. Samson).
- Some of the Cornish language place names also appear to reflect past shorelines, and former land areas.[4]
- The whole of southern England has been steadily sinking in opposition to post-glacial rebound in Scotland: this has caused the rias (drowned river valleys) on the southern Cornish coast, e.g. River Fal and the Tamar Estuary.
Offshore, midway between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, is the supposed location of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature. This may be a folk memory of inundated lands, but this legend is also common amongst the Brythonic peoples; the legend of Ys is a parallel and cognate legend in Brittany.
Scilly has been identified as the place of exile of two heretical 4th century bishops, Instantius and Tiberianus, who were followers of Priscillian.[5]
Norse and Norman period[link]
In 995 Olaf Tryggvason would become King Olaf I of Norway. Born c. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars. In 986 however, he (supposedly) met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly. In Snorri Sturluson's Royal Sagas of Norway, it is stated that this seer told him:
Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens. When thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptised.
The legend continues that, as the seer foretold, Olaf was attacked by a group of mutineers upon returning to his ships. As soon as he had recovered from his wounds, he let himself be baptised. He then stopped raiding Christian cities and lived in England and Ireland. In 995 he used an opportunity to return to Norway. When he arrived, the Haakon Jarl was already facing a revolt. Olaf Tryggvason persuaded the rebels to accept him as their king, and Jarl Haakon was murdered by his own slave, while he was hiding from the rebels in a pig sty.
With the Norman Conquest, the Isles of Scilly came more under centralised control. About twenty years later, the Domesday survey was conducted. The islands would have formed part of the "Exeter Domesday" circuit, which included Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
In the mid-12th century there was reportedly a Viking attack on the Isles of Scilly, called Syllingar by the Norse,[6] recorded in the Orkneyinga saga— Sweyn Asleifsson "went south, under Ireland, and seized a barge belonging to some monks in Syllingar and plundered it."[6] (Chap LXXIII)
- "...the three chiefs—Swein , Þorbjörn and Eirik—went out on a plundering expedition. They went first to the Suðreyar [Hebrides], and all along the west to the Syllingar, where they gained a great victory in Maríuhöfn on Columba's-mass [9 June], and took much booty. Then they returned to the Orkneys."[6]
"Maríuhöfn", literally means "Mary's Harbour/Haven". The name does not make it clear if it referred to a harbour on a larger island than today's St Mary's, or a whole island.
It is generally considered that Cornwall, and possibly the Isles of Scilly, came under the dominion of the English Crown late in the reign of Athelstan. In early times one group of islands was in the possession of a confederacy of hermits. King Henry I gave it to the abbey of Tavistock who established a priory on Tresco, which was abolished at the Reformation.[7]
Later Middle Ages and early modern period[link]
At the turn of the 14th century, the Abbot and convent of Tavistock Abbey petitioned the king, saying they
- "state that they hold certain isles in the sea between Cornwall and Ireland, of which the largest is called Scilly, to which ships come passing between France, Normandy, Spain, Bayonne, Gascony, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Cornwall: and, because they feel that in the event of a war breaking out between the kings of England and France, or between any of the other places mentioned, they would not have enough power to do justice to these sailors, they ask that they might exchange these islands for lands in Devon, saving the churches on the islands appropriated to them."[8]
William le Poer, coroner of Scilly, is recorded in 1305 as being worried about the extent of wrecking in the islands, and sending a petition to the King. The names provide a wide variety of origins, e.g. Robert and Henry Sage (English), Richard de Tregenestre (Cornish), Ace de Veldre (French), Davy Gogch (possibly Welsh, or Cornish), and Adam le Fuiz Yaldicz (Spanish?).
It is not known at what point the islands' inhabitants stopped speaking Cornish, but the language seems to have gone into decline in Cornwall as a whole since the Late Middle Ages although was still dominant between the islands and Bodmin at the time of the reformation but suffered an accelerated decline thereafter. The islands appear to have lost the old Celtic language before parts of Penwith on the mainland, in contrast to the history of Irish or Scottish Gaelic.
During the English Civil War, the Parliamentarians captured the isles, only to see their garrison mutiny and return the isles to the Royalists. By 1651, the Royalist governor, Sir John Grenville, was using the islands as a base for privateering raids on Commonwealth and Dutch shipping. The Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp sailed to the isles and on arriving on 30 May 1651 demanded compensation. In absence of compensation or a satisfactory reply, he declared war on England in June. It was during this period that the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War started between the isles and the Netherlands.
In June 1651, Admiral Robert Blake recaptured the isles for the Parliamentarians. Blake's initial attack on Old Grimsby failed, but the next attacks succeeded in taking Tresco and Bryher. Blake placed a battery on Tresco to fire on St Mary's, but one of the guns exploded, killing its crew and injuring Blake himself. A second battery proved more successful. Subsequently, Grenville and Blake negotiated terms that permitted the Royalists to surrender honourably. The Parliamentary forces then set to fortifying the islands. They built Cromwell's Castle—a gun platform on the west side of Tresco—using materials scavenged from an earlier gun platform further up the hill. Although this poorly-sited earlier platform dated back to the 1550s, it is now referred to as King Charles's Castle.
During the night of the 22 October 1707 the isles were the scene of the Scilly naval disaster, when out of a fleet of Royal Navy 21 ships commanded by Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, 6 were driven onto the cliffs; 4 of these were wrecked, with the loss of at least 1,450 dead, including the admiral, who was murdered by robbers on the beach. The probable cause was poor navigation.
The islands appear to have been raided frequently by Barbary pirates.
Governors of Scilly[link]
Since 1539 the Isles of Scilly have been administrated as a part of the Duchy of Cornwall. An early governor of Scilly was Thomas Godolphin, whose son Francis received a lease on the Isles in 1568. They were styled Governors of Scilly and the Godolphins and their Osborne relatives held this position until 1834. In 1834 Augustus John Smith acquired the lease from the Duchy for £20,000. Smith created the title Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly for himself, and many of his actions were unpopular. The lease remained in his family until it expired for most of the Isles in 1920 when ownership reverted to the Duchy of Cornwall. Today, the Dorrien-Smith estate still holds the lease for the island of Tresco.
- 1568–1608 Sir Francis Godolphin (1540–1608)
- 1608–1613 Sir William Godolphin of Godolphin (1567–1613)
- 1613–1636 William Godolphin (1611–1636)
- 1636–1643 Sidney Godolphin (1610–1643)
- 1643–1667 Sir Francis Godolphin of Godolphin (1605–1667)
- 1667–1712 Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (1645–1712)
- 1712–1766 Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin (1678–1766)
- 1766–1785 Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds (1713–1789)
- 1785–1799 Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds (1751–1799)
- 1799–1831 George Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds (1775–1838)
- 1834–1872 Augustus John Smith (1804–1872)
- 1872–1918 Thomas Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith
- 1918–1920 Arthur Algernon Dorrien-Smith
Geography[link]
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago of five inhabited islands and numerous other small rocky islets (around 140 in total) lying 45 km (28 mi) off Land's End. They are all composed of granite rock of early Permian age, an exposed part of the Cornubian batholith.
The islands' position produces a place of great contrast—the ameliorating effect of the sea means they rarely have frost or snow, which allows local farmers to grow flowers well ahead of those in mainland Britain. The chief agricultural product is cut flowers, mostly daffodils. Exposure to Atlantic winds means that spectacular winter gales lash the islands from time to time. This is reflected in the landscape, most clearly seen on Tresco where the lush sub-tropical Abbey Gardens on the sheltered southern end of the island contrast with the low heather and bare rock sculpted by the wind on the exposed northern end.
As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose thrift (Armeria maritima) as the "county flower" of the islands.[9][2]
This table provides an overview of the most important islands:
| Island | Population (Census 2001) |
Area (km²) | Main settlement |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's | 1,666 | 6.29 | Hugh Town |
| Tresco | 180 | 2.97 | New Grimsby |
| St Martin's (with White Island) | 142 | 2.37 | Higher Town |
| St Agnes (with Gugh) | 73 | 1.48 | Saint Agnes |
| Bryher (with Gweal) | 92 | 1.32 | Bryher |
| Samson | -(1) | 0.38 | |
| Annet | – | 0.21 | |
| St. Helen's | – | 0.20 | |
| Teän | – | 0.16 | |
| Great Ganilly | – | 0.13 | |
| remaining 45 islets | – | 0.50 | |
| Isles of Scilly | 2,153 | 16.03 | Hugh Town |
(1) inhabited until 1855
In 1975, the islands were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The designation covers the entire archipelago, including the uninhabited islands and rocks, and is the smallest such area in the UK. The islands of Annet and Samson have large terneries and the islands are well populated by seals. The Isles of Scilly are the only British haunt of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura suaveolens).
The islands are famous amongst birdwatchers, especially twitchers for their almost magnetic ability to attract rare birds from all corners of the globe. The peak time of year for this is generally in October when it is not unusual for several of the rarest birds in Europe to share this archipelago. One reason for the success of these islands in producing rarities is the extensive coverage these islands get from birdwatchers, but archipelagos are often favoured by rare birds which like to make landfall and eat there before continuing their journeys and often arrive on far flung islands first.
Climate[link]
The Isles of Scilly have a temperate Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), amongst the mildest and warmest climates in the United Kingdom. The average annual temperature is 11.6 °C (53 °F) in comparison to London, where it is 11.0 °C (52 °F). Winters are amongst the warmest in the country due to the southerly latitude and moderating effects of the ocean. Summers are not as warm as on the mainland. They are perhaps the sunniest areas in the UK with on average 7.6 hours per day in July. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −6.4 °C on 13 January 1987 and the highest was 27.8 °C on 16 August 1947.[10] The maximum snowfall was 23 cm (9 inches) on 12 January 1987. The Isles of Scilly, where there are on average less than 2 days of air frost per year, are in the USDA Hardiness zone 10, is the only area in the UK that is in this zone. In Scilly there is on average less than 1 day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year and it is in the AHS Heat Zone 1.
| Climate data for Isles Of Scilly | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 9 (48) |
9 (48) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
14 (57) |
17 (63) |
19 (66) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
15 (59) |
12 (54) |
10 (50) |
13.8 (56.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6 (43) |
6 (43) |
7 (45) |
7 (45) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
14 (57) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
9 (48) |
7 (45) |
9.3 (48.7) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 91 (3.58) |
71 (2.8) |
69 (2.72) |
46 (1.81) |
56 (2.2) |
49 (1.93) |
61 (2.4) |
64 (2.52) |
67 (2.64) |
80 (3.15) |
96 (3.78) |
94 (3.7) |
844 (33.23) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 22 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 200 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 61 | 83 | 135 | 186 | 229 | 229 | 238 | 225 | 164 | 121 | 77 | 57 | 1,805 |
| Source: Climate Data for Isles of Scilly[11] | |||||||||||||
Government[link]
National government[link]
The phrase "England and Cornwall" (or the Latin equivalent Anglia et Cornubia) remained in use after the Norman Conquest. Before the Tudor period, laws were typically designated as taking effect in Anglia et Cornubia. A similar situation exists today with the Isles of Scilly within Cornwall (i.e. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly). Both the relationship of Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly, and the constitutional status of Cornwall are a matter of some debate.
Politically, the islands are part of England, one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. They are represented in the United Kingdom Parliament as part of the St Ives constituency
As part of the United Kingdom, the islands are part of the European Union and are represented in the European Parliament as part of the multi-member South West England constituency.
Local government[link]
Historically, the Isles of Scilly were administered as one of the hundreds of Cornwall, although the Cornwall quarter sessions had limited jurisdiction there. The archipelago is part of the Duchy of Cornwall, the Duke being the heir to the British throne, and he is allowed special rights and privileges in the islands.
The Local Government Act 1888 allowed the Local Government Board to establish in the Isles of Scilly "councils and other local authorities separate from those of the county of Cornwall"... "for the application to the islands of any act touching local government." Accordingly, in 1890 the Isles of Scilly Rural District Council (the RDC) was formed as a sui generis unitary authority, outside the administrative county of Cornwall. Cornwall County Council provided some services to the Isles, for which the RDC made financial contributions. Section 265 of the Local Government Act of 1972 allowed for the continued existence of the RDC, but renamed as the Council of the Isles of Scilly.[12][13]
This unusual status also means that much administrative law (for example relating to the functions of local authorities, the health service and other public bodies) that applies in the rest of England applies in modified form in the islands.[14]
The Council of the Isles of Scilly is a separate unitary authority to the Cornwall Council unitary authority, and as such the islands are not part of the administrative county of Cornwall. However the islands are still considered to be part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall. Some areas of local government are shared with Cornwall, such as health, and the two councils submitted a joint bid for a Cornwall and Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership.
With a total population of just over 2,000, the council represents fewer inhabitants than many English parish councils, and is by far the smallest English unitary council. The latest elections took place on the 4 June 2009; there were 21 elected councillors (all independent), 13 elected by St Mary's residents and two each elected by residents of Bryher, St Martins, St Agnes and Tresco. There are also some 164 staff employed by the council. These numbers are significant in that almost 10 per cent of the population is directly linked to the council as either an employee or councillor.[15]
For judicial purposes, shrievalty and lieutenancy purposes the Isles of Scilly are "deemed to form part of the county of Cornwall".[16]
Flags[link]
There are primarily two flags used to represent Scilly:
- The flag of the Council of the Isles of Scilly, which incorporates their logo.[17]
- The unofficial Scillonian Cross, voted for by readers of Scilly News in 2002.[17][18]
An adapted version of the old Board of Ordnance flag has also been used, after it was left behind when munitions were removed from the isles. The Cornish Ensign has also been used.[17][19]
Education[link]
Main article: List of schools on the Isles Of Scilly
Education is available on the islands up to age 16. There is one school, the Five Islands School, which provides primary schooling at sites on St Agnes, St Mary's, St Martin's and Tresco, and secondary schooling at a site on St Mary's. Secondary students from outside St Mary's live at a school boarding house (Mundesley House) during the week. In 2004, 92.9% of pupils (26 out of 28) achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grade C and above, compared to the English average of 53.7%.[20] Sixteen to eighteen year olds are entitled to a free sixth form place at a state school or sixth form college on the mainland, and are provided with free flights and a grant towards accommodation. Post eighteen, suitably qualified students attend universities and colleges on the mainland.
Economy[link]
Historical context[link]
Since the mid-eighteenth century the Scillonian economy has relied on trade with the mainland and beyond as a means of sustaining its population. Over the years the nature of this trade has varied, due to wider economic and political factors that have seen the rise and fall of industries such as kelp harvesting, pilotage, smuggling, fishing, shipbuilding and, latterly, flower farming. In a study of the Scillionian economy by Neate in 1987, it was found that many farms on the islands were struggling to remain profitable due to increasing costs and strong competition from overseas producers resulting in a diversification into tourism. Recent statistics suggest that agriculture on the islands now represents less than 2 percent of all employment.[21][22][23]
Tourism[link]
Today, tourism is estimated to account for 85 per cent of the islands' income. The islands have been successful in attracting this investment due to their special environment, favourable summer climate, relaxed culture, efficient co-ordination of tourism providers and good transport links by sea and air to the mainland, uncommon in scale to similar sized island communities.[24][25] The majority of visitors stay on St Mary's, which has a concentration of holiday accommodation and other amenities. Of the other inhabited islands, Tresco is run as a timeshare resort, and is consequently the most obviously tourist-oriented. Bryher and St Martin's are more unspoilt, although each has a hotel and other accommodation. St Agnes has no hotel and is the least developed of the inhabited islands.
However the level of dependency on tourism is high, even by the standards of other island communities. “The concentration [on] a small number of sectors is typical of most similarly sized UK island communities. However, it is the degree of concentration, which is distinctive along with the overall importance of tourism within the economy as a whole and the very limited manufacturing base that stands out.”[22]
Tourism is also a highly seasonal industry owing to its reliance on outdoor recreation, and the low level of tourist activity in winter causes a near shut-down of the islands during that season. However, the tourist season benefits from an extended period of business in October when many birdwatchers (or birders) arrive.
Ornithology[link]
Because of its position, Scilly is the first landing for many migrant birds, including extreme rarities from North America and Siberia. Scilly is situated far into the Atlantic Ocean, so many American vagrant birds will make first European landfall in the archipelago.
Scilly is responsible for many firsts for Britain, and is particularly good at producing vagrant American passerines. If an extremely rare bird turns up, the island will see a significant increase in numbers of birders. This type of birding, chasing after rare birds, is called 'twitching'.
The islands are home to ornithologist Will Wagstaff.
Employment[link]
The predominance of tourism means that "tourism is by far the main sector throughout each of the individual islands, in terms of employment... [and] this is much greater than other remote and rural areas in the United Kingdom”. Tourism accounts for approximately 63 per cent of all employment.[22]
Businesses dependent on tourism, with the exception of a few hotels, tend to be small enterprises typically employing fewer than 4 people; many of these are family run, suggesting an entrepreneurial culture amongst the local population.[22] However, much of the work generated by this, with the exception of management, is low skilled and thus poorly paid, especially for those involved in cleaning, catering and retail.[26]
Because of the seasonality of tourism, many jobs on the islands are seasonal and part time, so work cannot be guaranteed throughout the year. Some islanders take up other temporary jobs ‘out of season’ to compensate for this. Due to a lack of local casual labour at peak holiday times, many of the larger employers accommodate guest workers, who come to the islands for the summer to have a ‘working holiday’.
Taxation[link]
The islands were not subject to Income Tax until 1954, and there was no motor vehicle excise duty levied until 1971.[27]
Transport[link]
The islands are linked to the mainland by both air and sea services, and rely on boat services for inter-island connections.
St. Mary's is the only island with a significant road network; in 2005 there were 619 cars and vans on St Mary's. The island also has taxis and a community bus service. Vehicles on the islands are exempt from annual MOT tests.[28][29][30]
By air, the islands are served by St. Mary's Airport on the main island of St. Mary's and by Tresco Heliport on the island of Tresco. The following air services currently operate:
- Helicopter services, operated by British International Helicopters, from Penzance Heliport to St. Mary's Airport and Tresco Heliport.[31] In 1983, a helicopter crash claimed 20 lives on this service.
- Fixed-wing aircraft services, operated by Isles of Scilly Skybus, from Land's End, Newquay, Exeter, Bristol and Southampton to St Mary's Airport.[32]
By sea, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company provides a passenger and cargo service from Penzance to St Mary's, which is currently operated by the Scillonian III passenger ferry, supported by the Gry Maritha cargo vessel. The other islands are linked to St. Mary's by a network of inter-island launches.[33]
Tenure[link]
The freehold of the islands is the property of the Duchy of Cornwall (except for Hugh Town on St Mary's, which was sold to the inhabitants in 1949). The duchy also holds 3,921 acres (16 km2) as duchy property, part of the duchy's landholding.[34] All the uninhabited islands, islets and rocks and much of the untenanted land on the inhabited islands is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, which leases these lands from the Duchy for the rent of one daffodil per year.[35] The Trust currently has four full-time salaried staff and twelve trustees, who are all residents of the Isles. The full Trust Board is responsible for policy whilst a Management Team is responsible for day to day administration. Its small income and the small number of staff have led to the Trust adopting a policy of recruiting volunteers to help it carry out its extensive work programme. While volunteers of all ages are welcome, most are young people who are studying for qualifications in related fields, such as conservation and land management.
Limited housing availability is a contentious yet critical issue for the Isles of Scilly, especially as it affects the feasibility of residency on the islands. Few properties are privately owned, with many units being let by the Duchy of Cornwall, the Council, and a few by housing associations. The management of these subsequently affects the possibility of residency on the islands.[36]
Housing demand outstrips supply; a problem compounded by restrictions on further development designed to protect the islands' unique environment and prevent the infrastructural carrying capacity from being exceeded. This has pushed up the prices of the few private properties that become available and, significantly for the majority of the island's population, it has also had an impact on the rental sector where rates have likewise drastically increased.[37][38]
High housing costs pose significant problems for the local population, especially as local incomes (in Cornwall) are only 70% of the national average, whilst house prices are almost £5,000 higher than the national average. This in turn affects the retention of ‘key workers’ and the younger generation, which has a consequent impact upon the viability of the school(s) and other essential community services.[24][38]
The limited access to housing provokes strong local politics. It is often assumed that tourism is to blame for this, attracting incomers to the area who can afford to outbid locals for available housing. Many buildings are used for tourist accommodation which reduces the number available for local residents. Second homes are also thought to account for a significant proportion of the housing stock, leaving many buildings empty for much of the year.[39]
Culture[link]
Sport[link]
One continuing legacy of the isles' past is gig racing, wherein fast rowing boats ("gigs") with crews of six (or in one case, seven) race between the main islands. Gig racing has been said to derive from the race to collect salvage from shipwrecks on the rocks around Scilly, but the race was actually to deliver a pilot onto incoming vessels, to guide them through the hazardous reefs and shallows. (The boats are correctly termed "pilot gigs"). The World Pilot Gig Championships take place every year over the May Day bank holiday weekend. The event originally involved crews from the Islands and a few crews from Cornwall, but in the intervening years the amount of pilot gigs attending has increased with crews coming from all over the South-West and some from even further afield.[40]
The Isles of Scilly feature what is reportedly the smallest football league in the world, the Isles of Scilly Football League. The league's two clubs, Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners, play each other seventeen times a season and compete for two cups as well as the league title. The league was a launching pad for the adidas "Dream Big" Campaign[41] in which a number of famous professional footballers (including David Beckham) arrive on the island to coach the local children's side. The two share a ground, Garrison Field, but travel to the mainland for part of the year to play other non-professional clubs.
In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of the Isles of Scilly were the most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 32% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.[42]
Media[link]
There is a small transmitter relay on St.Mary's island, which covers BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 & 4 as well as BBC Radio Cornwall. Radio Scilly, a community radio station, launched in September 2007. Freeview has been receivable on the islands since 5 August 2009 when the Redruth transmitting station was upgraded for digital signal.[43]
The amateur radio station M1IOS also operates on the islands as a permanent resident. The islands have their own designator among radio amateurs, EU-011, for the popular Islands on the Air (IOTA) award, issued by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).
There is no local newspaper; "The Scillonian" and "The Islander" are published quarterly which report matters of local interest. A maximum ADSL speed of 8Mbit/s is available to all of the inhabited islands.
The Isles of Scilly were featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of South West England. Since 2007 the islands have featured in the BBC series An Island Parish, following various real life stories and featuring in particular the newly appointed Chaplain to the Isles of Scilly. A 12-part series was filmed in 2007 and debuted on BBC2 in January 2008.[44] This has since been followed by further series.
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "Ancient Sites on the Isles of Scilly". Cornwall in focus. http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/history/ennor.php. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
- ^ a b Thorgrim. "Nornour". http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=7614. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ Dudley, Dorothy. "Excavations on Nor'Nour in the Isles of Scilly, 1962-6", in The Archaeological Journal, CXXIV, 1967 (includes the description of over 250 Roman fibulae found at the site)
- ^ Weatherhill, Craig (2007) Cornish Placenames and Language. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure.
- ^ "Priscillianus and Priscillianism". Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of Sixth Century. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Priscillianus%20and%20Priscillianism,%20Priscillian. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
- ^ Cornish Church Guide; p. 194
- ^ National Archives
- ^ "County flower of Isles of Scilly". Plantlife International – The Wild Plant Conservation Charity. http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-discovering-plants-county-flowers-england-islesofscilly.htm. Retrieved 7 April 2006.
- ^ "Local Climate Profile" (PDF). Council of the Isles of Scilly. 28 May 2009. http://www.scilly.gov.uk/Council%20of%20the%20Isles%20of%20Scilly/Local%20Climate%20profile%20(%20IOS).pdf. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Average Weather for Isles of Scilly, ENG — Temperature and Precipitation". http://www.climatetemp.info/united-kingdom/isles-of-scilly.html.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly Cornwall through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10076742&c_id=10171878. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly RD Cornwall through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10026210&c_id=10001043. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
- ^ Examples include the Health and Social Care Act 2003, section 198 and the Environment Act 1995, section 117.
- ^ "Council of the Isles of Scilly Corporate Assessment December 2002" (PDF). Audit Commission. http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Products/CPA-CORP-ASSESS-REPORT/5B3C6E84-EA60-4359-A9F5-4A0FC538812D/IslesofScillyCARpt.pdf. Retrieved 21 January 2007.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c.70) section 216(2)
- ^ a b c "Isles of Scilly (United Kingdom)". fotw.net. http://www.fotw.net/flags/gb-co-is.html. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
- ^ "How Do You Get A Scillonian Cross". Scilly Archive. http://news.scillyarchive.com/2003/04/how-do-you-get-scillonian-cross_25.html. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
- ^ "Cornwall (United Kingdom)". fotw.net. http://www.fotw.net/flags/gb-corn.html. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
- ^ School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables 2004 Department for education and skills; retrieved on 31 July 2010.
- ^ Gibson, F, My Scillionian Home... its past, its present, its future, St Ives, 1980
- ^ a b c d Isles of Scilly Integrated Area Plan 2001–2004, Isles of Scilly Partnership 2001
- ^ Neate, S, The role of tourism in sustaining farm structures and communities on the Isles of Scilly in M Bouquet and M Winter (eds) Who From Their Labours Rest? Conflict and practice in rural tourism Aldershot, 1987
- ^ a b Isles of Scilly Local Plan: A 2020 Vision, Council of the Isles of Scilly, 2004
- ^ Isles of Scilly 2004, imagine..., Isles of Scilly Tourist Board, 2004
- ^ J.Urry, The Tourist Gaze (2nd edition), London, 2002
- ^ "Travel: Living in a world of their own: On the shortest day of the year, Simon Calder took the high road to Shetland and Frank Barrett took the low road to the Scillies, as Britain's extremities made ready for Christmas". The Independent (UK). 24 December 1993. http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/travel-living-in-a-world-of-their-own-on-the-shortest-day-of-the-year-simon-calder-took-the-high-road-to-shetland-and-frank-barrett-took-the-low-road-to-the-scillies-as-britains-extremities-made-ready-for-christmas-1469283.html.
- ^ Motor Vehicles (tests) Regulations 1981 (SI 1981/1694)
- ^ "A Sustainable Energy Strategy for the Isles of Scilly". Council of the Isles of Scilly. November 2007. pp. 13, 21. http://www.scilly.gov.uk/Council%20of%20the%20Isles%20of%20Scilly/Planning/IOS%20Sustainable%20Energy%20Strategy%20final.pdf. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "Travel Information". ScillyOnLine. http://www.scillyonline.co.uk/travel.html. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
- ^ "British International home page". British International Ltd.. http://www.islesofscillyhelicopter.com/. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
- ^ "Skybus Timetables". Skybus. http://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/timetable_skybus.asp. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "Isles of Scilly Travel – Travel by sea". Isles of Scilly Travel. http://www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/sea.htm. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
- ^ Mitchel, Sandy. Duchy of Cornwall – Prince Charles' Backyard – Prince Charles – Not Your Typical Radical. National Geographic Magazine. May 2006:96–115. Map ref 104. Map source Duchy of Cornwall Property Services Department Sandy Mitchell. "Prince Charles not your typical radical". National Geographic. http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0605/feature3/index.html. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Duchy of Cornwall website
- ^ Martin D, 'Heaven and Hell', in Inside Housing, 31 October 2004
- ^ Sub Regional Housing Markets in the South West, South West Housing Board, 2004
- ^ a b S. Fleming et al., “In from the cold” A report on Cornwall’s Affordable Housing Crisis, Liberal Democrats, Penzance, 2003
- ^ The Cornishman, Islanders in dispute with Duchy over housing policy, 19 August 2004
- ^ Rick Persich, Chairman World Pilot Gigs Championships Committee.. "World Pilot Gig Championships – Isles of Scilly". http://www.worldgigs.co.uk/. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ Beth Hilton (30 October 2007). "Beckham and Gerrard make surprise visit". Scilly News » Blog Archive ». http://www.scillynews.co.uk/2007/10/beckham-and-gerrard-make-surprise-visit/. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "Active People Survey – national factsheet appendix (Microsoft Excel)". Sport England. http://www.sportengland.org/national_factsheet_appendix_(all_las_ranked)_v2.xls. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
- ^ "Wes country". Freeview. http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Switchover/West-Country. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "An Island Parish". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/listings/programmes.shtml?day=yesterday&service_id=4224&filename=20070115/20070115_2030_4224_16817_30. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
Further reading[link]
- Woodley, George (1822) A View of the Present State of the Scilly Islands: exhibiting their vast importance to the British empire, the improvements of which they are susceptible, and a particular account of the means lately adopted for the amelioration of the condition of the inhabitants, by the establishment and extension of their fisheries. 344 p. London: Rivington
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Isles of Scilly |
- Isles of Scilly travel guide from Wikitravel
- Isles of Scilly Tourist Information Centre Website
- Travel website about the Scilly Isles
- Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Website
- Council of the Isles of Scilly
- Map sources for Isles of Scilly
- Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Scilly
- Isles of Scilly at the Open Directory Project
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
