United Kingdom  Travel Guide : Food, hotel, Cost, Weather & geography, History, language, culture, things to see and do and how to reach

You can find about travel advice such as public places & services, best restaurants, activities, sightseen and other key facts of the United Kingdom .

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign country in north-western Europe, off the north-­western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-­eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 93,628 square miles (242,500 km2).The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.[note The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952. The capital is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. The United Kingdom consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. Other than England, the constituent countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.

The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.

The United Kingdom has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the tenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 13th in the world. The UK became the world's first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today the UK remains one of the world's great powers, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally. It is a recognised nuclear state and is ranked sixth globally in military expenditure. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, the United Nations, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a member state of the European Economic Community (EEC) and its successor, the European Union (EU), from 1973 to its withdrawal in 2020.

Foods in United Kingdom :

(1) Shepherd's Pie :

A wholesome and classic British meal, Shepherd’s Pie originated in Scotland and the North of England and is primarily made from minced lamb and potatoes. Many families will make this dish using beef, but then it should actually be referred to as Cottage Pie, as shepherds only herd sheep (duh). 

(2) Beef Wellington : 

Beef Wellington is a fillet of steak coated in patê and then rolled in pastry. Although the dish shares its name with the famous Duke of Wellington, it actually shares no link with the British nobility. In reality, it is thought that Beef Wellington was based around the French dish filet de bœuf en croûte (fillet of beef in pastry).

(3) Fish and Chips  : 

Perhaps nothing is more synonymous with British food than fish and chips. But, unfortunately, this dish can often be a bit disappointing if you don’t get it in the right place. A top tip is to look for chip shops that cook their fish fresh to order- avoid a chippy that displays stacks of precooked fish behind the glass! 

(4) Chicken Tikka Masala : 

Although it may have South Asian roots, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that Chicken Tikka Masala was first created in Britain by a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow. Nowadays, it’s considered one of the country’s most popular dishes and is served in curry houses all over Britain.

(5) Steak and Kidney Pie : 

Or any kind of pie for that matter. Whether they’re covered in pastry or covered in potato, pies feature heavily in British cuisine and are the perfect antidote to the harsh British winter.

Weather & geography in  United Kingdom  :
ritain has a mild climate. It is in the temperate climatic zone and the sea affects the weather. In general, this means that Britain gets cool, wet winters and warm, wet summers. The weather conditions are also very changeable.The United Kingdom straddles the higher mid-latitudes between 49° and 61°N on the western seaboard of Europe. Since the UK is always in or close to the path of the polar front jet stream, frequent changes in pressure and unsettled weather are typical. Many types of weather can be experienced in a single day. In general the climate of the UK is cool and often cloudy and rainy. High temperatures are infrequent.

The climate in the United Kingdom is defined as a oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system, a classification it shares with most of north-west Europe. Regional climates are influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and latitude. Northern Ireland, Wales and western parts of England and Scotland, being closest to the Atlantic Ocean, are generally the mildest, wettest and windiest regions of the UK, and temperature ranges there are seldom extreme. Eastern areas are drier, cooler, and less windy, and also experience the greatest daily and seasonal temperature variations. Northern areas are generally cooler and wetter, and have slightly larger temperature ranges than southern areas.

The UK is mostly under the influence of the maritime polar air mass from the north-west. Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland are the most exposed to the maritime polar air mass which brings cool moist air; the east of Scotland and north-east England are more exposed to the continental polar air mass which brings cold dry air. The south and south-east of England are the least exposed to polar air masses from the north-west, and on occasion see continental tropical air masses from the south, which bring warm dry air in the summer. On average, the temperature ranges from 18 to 25 °C (64 to 77 °F).If the air masses are strong enough in their respective areas during the summer, there can sometimes be a large difference in temperature between the far north of Scotland (including its islands) and the south-east of England – often a difference of 10-15 °C (18-27 °F) but sometimes as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more. In the height of summer the Northern Isles can have temperatures around 15 °C (59 °F), while Cambridge in the East of England, on 25 July 2019, reached 38.7 °C (101.7 °F).

Per day Cost in United Kingdom  :
You should plan to spend around £122 ($169) per day on your vacation in the United Kingdom, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, £30 ($42) on meals for one day and £23 ($32) on local transportation.

History of United Kingdom  :

The Act of Union 1800 added the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.The first decades were marked by Jacobite risings which ended with defeat for the Stuart cause at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In 1763, victory in the Seven Years' War led to the growth of the First British Empire. With defeat by the United States, France and Spain in the War of American Independence, Britain lost its 13 American colonies and rebuilt a Second British Empire based in Asia and Africa. As a result, British culture, and its technological, political, constitutional, and linguistic influence, became worldwide. Politically the central event was the French Revolution and its Napoleonic aftermath from 1793 to 1815, which British elites saw as a profound threat, and worked energetically to form multiple coalitions that finally defeated Napoleon in 1815. The Tories, who came to power in 1783, remained in power (with a short interruption) until 1830. Forces of reform, often emanating from the Evangelical religious elements, opened decades of political reform that broadened the ballot, and opened the economy to free trade. The outstanding political leaders of the 19th century included Palmerston, Disraeli, Gladstone, and Salisbury. Culturally the Victorian era was a time of prosperity and dominant middle-class virtues when Britain dominated the world economy and maintained a generally peaceful century, 1815–1914. The First World War (1914–1918), with Britain in alliance with France, Russia and the United States, was a furious but ultimately successful total war with Germany. The resulting League of Nations was a favourite project in Interwar Britain. However, while the Empire remained strong, as did the London financial markets, the British industrial base began to slip behind Germany and, especially, the United States. Sentiments for peace were so strong that the nation supported appeasement of Hitler's Germany in the late 1930s, until the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 started the Second World War. In the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the U.S. joined Britain as the main Allied powers.

Britain was no longer a military or economic superpower, as seen in the Suez Crisis of 1956. Britain no longer had the wealth to maintain an empire, so it granted independence to almost all its possessions. The new states typically joined the Commonwealth of Nations. The postwar years saw great hardships, alleviated somewhat by large-scale financial aid from the United States, and some from Canada. Prosperity returned in the 1950s. Meanwhile, in 1945–1950 the Labour Party built a welfare state, nationalized many industries, and created the National Health Service. The UK took a strong stand against Communist expansion after 1945, playing a major role in the Cold War and the formation of NATO as an anti-Soviet military alliance with West Germany, France, the U.S., Canada and smaller countries. NATO remains a powerful military coalition. The UK has been a leading member of the United Nations since its founding, as well as numerous other international organizations. In the 1990s neoliberalism led to the privatisation of nationalized industries and significant deregulation of business affairs. London's status as a world financial hub grew continuously. Since the 1990s large-scale devolution movements in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have decentralized political decision-making. Britain has moved back and forth on its economic relationships with Western Europe. It joined the European Economic Community in 1973, thereby weakening economic ties with its Commonwealth. However, the Brexit referendum in 2016 committed the UK to leave the European Union, which it did in 2020.In 1922, Catholic Ireland seceded to become the Irish Free State; a day later, Northern Ireland seceded from the Free State and returned to the United Kingdom. In 1927 the United Kingdom changed its formal title to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, usually shortened to Britain and (after 1945) to the United Kingdom or UK.

Language in United Kingdom  :
 culturally and linguistically diverse, with more than 100 different languages spoken in virtually every borough. The majority of Londoners speak English as their first language, but a good 22% say they speak another main language.
Culture of  United Kingdom  :

British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and the impact of the British Empire. Although British culture is a distinct entity, the individual cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness.British literature is particularly esteemed. The modern novel was invented in Britain, and playwrights, poets, and authors are among its most prominent cultural figures. Britain has also made notable contributions to music, cinema, art, architecture and television. The UK is also the home of the Church of England, the state church and mother church of the Anglican Communion, the third-largest Christian denomination. Britain contains some of the world's oldest universities, has made many contributions to philosophy, science, technology and medicine, and is the birthplace of many prominent scientists and inventions. The Industrial Revolution began in the UK and had a profound effect on the family socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world. As a result of the British Empire significant British influence can be observed in the language, law, culture and institutions of its former colonies, most of which are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. A subset of these states form the Anglosphere, and are among Britain's closest allies. British colonies and dominions influenced British culture in turn, particularly British cuisine. Sport is an important part of British culture, and numerous sports originated in the country including football.The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower", and London has been described as a world cultural capital. A global opinion poll for the BBC saw the UK ranked the third most positively viewed nation in the world (behind Germany and Canada) in 2013 and 2014.

Place to visit in United Kingdom  :
(1) Cambridge

(2) Lake District

(3) Snowdonia

(4) Chester

(5) Cornwall

(6) York

Hotel in United Kingdom :

(1) The Goring Hotel

(2) Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

(3) Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa

(4) Hard Rock Hotel London

How to reach in United Kingdom :

The best bet when flying to England from India is to take a flight from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or Kolkata to the capital London. The city hosts five airports and your flight might land at any of the three important ones, from Heathrow to Stansted or Gatwick.

Travel Guide for United Kingdom  : Food, hotel, Cost, Weather & geography, History, language, culture, things to see and do and how to reach. – Published by The Beyond News (Travelling).