Scotland is situated in the northern part of the island Great Britain.

The ancient name of the

country was “Caledonia”. Many years ago it was an independent country and in 1707 it was
united with England. Scotland is washed by the North Sea in the east and the Atlantic ocean in
the west. This country is bounded by England only. Scotland together with 186 inhabited islands
has a total area of 30,414 square miles. Administratively it is divided into 33 counties.

The population of Scotland is nearly 5,2 million people. The official language of the country is
English, the national one is Scottish Gaelic. The inhabitants of Scotland call themselves Scots.
Scottish surnames usually begin with “Mac”, “Mc”, that means “the descendant of’-Mac Donald,
for example.

The Highlands occupy the northern part of the country. The Grampians are among the oldest
mountains in the world; the highest top of the country is Ben Nevis, it is 1344 metres high. The
Highlands are really beautiful with lovely mountains, valleys, fresh, pure mountain air and
numerous lakes.

The main rivers of Scotland are the Clyde, the Forth, the Tay (the longest). Scotland has a lot of
lovely lakes which are called “lochs” here. The beautiful lake Lomond is the largest but Loch
Ness is known much better thanks to Nessy, a strange dragon like animal, that, people say, lives
here.

The climate of the country is greatly influenced by its position, and nearness to the seas. The
average temperature in January is +3° C and in July is +14 ° C. It often rains in the western part
of the country. The

The flora of Scotland is much affected by the climate of this small country. Oak, pine, fur-tree,
fern, green jnosses, heather grow chiefly along the sea. Birch, rowan and willow can be found in
sheltered areas. England is the southern and the largest component of the United Kingdom. Its
poetic name is “Albion”, the Romans associated it with the term “albus” (white) and identified it
with the Dover chalk cliffs. England has a total area of 50,383 square miles and is divided into
46 counties. The population of England i.; 46 million people.

England is washed by the North Sea in the east, the Irish Sea in the west, the English Channel
and the Strait of Dover in the south. England is bounded by Wales on the west and Scotland in
the north.

The most important rivers are the Thames (215 miles), the Mercy, the Severn (240miles), the
Trent, the Avon and others. The central part of the country is lowland, and in the north of
England the Pennine mountains run from the Scottish borders. The highest point is 893 metres
high.

One of the most beautiful places of England is the Lake District, situated in the north – west side
of the Pennine system. Lake District has 6 large lakes. People come to the lakes for rock-
climbing, swimming, yachting, water skiing. The most famous seaside resorts are Brighton,
Hastings and Margate. These cities are considered to be the most magical corners of the country.

English people say, “There is no climate in England, there’s only weather”. They also say that
they have 3 variants of weather: when it rains in the morning; when it rains in the afternoon or
when it rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say “It’s raining cats and
dogs”. In general the climate of the country is temperate and moist. The average temperature in
winter is -5°C, in summer is +25°C. It often rains in England in all seasons.
The geology and topography of England produce contrasts in landscape. Now the country is
becoming increasingly popular as a tourist area. Its cultural heritage is rich and varied with many
historical buildings, cathedrals, castles.

Stonehenge, an outstanding monument is also in England. How it was built and why is not
known. Perhaps it was built as some kind of religious centre, or may be the position of stones
will tell us about the secret of old astronomers. Stonehenge is now visited by so many tourists
that it has had to be fenced off for its own protection.

The flora of England is rather poor. Heather and oak, lime, beech, fir-tree, ash, chestnut, pine,
elm are most numerous in England. Now country has 10 national parks.

As for the fauna of England it is in general similar to that in Europe. There are foxes, hares,
squirrels in rural areas. Otters and seals nest near the coast. England has nearly 430 kinds of
birds, including many songbirds. There is one kind peculiar to England-the red grouse. River and
lake fish include flat fish, salmon, trout, herring.

The capital of England London (7 mln) is situated on the river Thames. It is the chief port of the
country and an important manufacturing centre, at the same time it is a great cultural centre of
the country, a university city.

The main seaports of the country are London, Bristol, Dover, Liverpool and others. The most
famous and oldest universities of England are in Cambridge and Oxford.

England is a highly industrialized country. It has few mineral resources of which the most
important are coal and oil. The other minerals are copper, lead, zinc, iron ores. The basic
industries of England are ferrous metallurgy, shipbuilding, ship-repairing, automobile and
aircraft industries, mechanical engineering, electronics and electrical engineering, coal-mining,
pharmaceutics. Production of textiles is spread throughout the country, the British wool textile
industry has been important since old times. England is also known for hosiery and lace-making.

Though England is a highly industrialized country, agriculture plays an important role in the
development of the country. England grows fruit: apples, cherries, raspberries, strawberries,
black currants; grain crops: wheat, barley, oats; vegetables : potatoes, turnips, tomatoes, sugar-
beet; flowers, especially tulips, and mushrooms.

The country has a long tradition of sheep production: pig breeding is_carried out4n4he main part
of England. Englishmen are naturally polite, they don’t like to display their emotions in tragic,
difficult situations, they don’t like any boasting. Typical English features are independence, self-
confidence, self-discipline, a strong belief in private property and love for comfort. Every
Englishman is a countryman at heart. The Englishmen like animals very much, especially dogs.

They are fond of theatre. Now it is a tradition to hold in June the annual Dickens’s Festival in
Rochester. More than a thousand people from all the country dressed up in Victorian costumes
line up for a procession through the town. In the theatre you can see the scenes from Dickens’s
novels.

The names of English writers such as Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, William
Shakespeare, Herbert George Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle are well known and loved by the
readers all over the world.
The national emblem of the country is the rose. The saint patron of the country is St. George and
the 23-rd of April is the national English holiday. St. George’s flag has a red cross with extended
horizontals on a white field.

The Scots are very sociable people, they like to spend their free time together, drinking coffee
and talking, singing in chorus at the national music festivals or at fairs. Most Scots are optimists
and usually have a keen sense of humour, they like jokes, funny stories very much.

Many years ago the territory of the country was divided by clans. Each clan has its own tartan,
which both men and women wear. The Scots are great patriots of their country, they keep their
old traditions and customs. Scotsmen are the only nation in Europe where men prefer to wear
kilts not trousers. The men put on skirts or kilts, as they call them, not only to take part in
carnival but do it every holiday.

The most popular musical instrument in Scotland is bagpipe. The Scots have many interesting
traditions. Every year in August-September Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama is held and
it is visited by English and guests from Europe.

Another tradition of the Scots is to hold Highland Games which are very popular in Scotland.
The finest athletes, strong highlanders take part in the competitions, which include throwing the
hammer and tossing the caber which is like a telegraph pole. There is also a competition for the
best dressed Highlander. The traditional custom is Highland dancing. The dancers wear their
national dresses. Music is provided by the bagpipe-another Scottish invention. Golf is the
national sport.

The celebration of New Year is connected with Robert Burns, famous Scottish poet, and his song
“Aid lang syne”. Scotland enriched the world literature with the brilliant writers such as Robert
Louis Stivenson, Archibald Cronin, Walter Scott, and the world famous poet-Robert Burns.
Scotland is also the birthplace of two famous men of science-James Maxwell, a great
mathematician and physicist, and Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

The national emblem of Scotland is the thistle. The people of this country have chosen the thistle
their national emblem, because it saved their land from foreign invaders many years ago.

The 30-th of November is a national Scottish holiday. St. Andrew is the saint patron of Scotland.
St. Andrew’s flag has a white cross on a blue field.