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 northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country,spanning Great Britain, the northeast part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with 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 largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a major power with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the second or third highest defence spending in the world.

London - British Airway London Eye, The British Airways London Eye offers a unique opportunity to view all of London from the biggest observation wheel in the world.

London Aquarium - The London Aquarium experience is for anyone and everyone alike. Witness everything from the beauty of the coral reefs and the Indian Ocean to the dark depths of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Westminster Abbey - The Abbey was founded by Edward the Confessor and consecrated in 1065. Every king and queen of England since William the Conqueror has been crowned here with the exception of both Edward V and Edward VIII and many are buried here too.

Bekonscot Model Village ( South East England ) - Bekonscot is different from other model villages; this is an entire miniature kingdom stuck firmly in an idyllic 1930s timewarp. There are six little villages in a 1½ acre miniature landscape of farms and fields, castles and churches, woods, lakes and rolling hills.

Windsor Castle - Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace.

Crealy Great Adventure Parks - in Devon and Cornwall are the South West’s favourite family attractions! Enjoy life’s biggest adventures with slides, rides and huge all weather play areas.

The Bannockburn Heritage Centre - is situated at one of the most important historic sites in Scotland. On the battlefield nearby, in June 1314, King Robert the Bruce routed the forces of King Edward II to win freedom for the Scots from English domination.

King Arthur's Labyrinth - An exciting underground adventure unfolds as you sail along a subterranean river, through the great waterfall, deep inside the spectacular Labyrinth and far into the past .... into a world of myths, legends and storytelling.

Giants Causeway - The famous and unusual rock formations are of basalt, small polygonal stacks resulting from a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago and which now present a stunning panorama.

The UK does not de jure have an official language but the predominant spoken language is English, a West Germanic language descended from Old English which features a large number of borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and Latin. Largely due to the British Empire, the English language has spread across the world, and become the international language of business as well as the most widely taught second language.

Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, is recognised at European level] and is not just a dialect of English. There are also four Celtic languages in use in the UK: Welsh, Irish, Gaelic and Cornish. In the 2001 Census over a fifth of the population of Wales said they could speak Welsh, an increase from the 1991 Census .

In addition, it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh speakers live in England.[134] Over 92,000 people in Scotland had some Gaelic language ability, including 72% of those living in Eilean Siar. Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are also spoken by small groups around the globe with some Gaelic still spoken in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Welsh in Patagonia, Argentina.

English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.

As a result, traditional foods have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish. Other customary dishes, such as fish and chips, which are eaten by tradition in newspaper with salt and malt vinegar, and bangers and mash, which are sausages with mashed potatoes, onions and gravy, are now matched in popularity by potatoes, tomatoes and chillies from the Americas, spices and curries

The Sunday roast is perhaps the most common feature of English cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb, or a roast chicken and assorted vegetables, themselves generally roasted or boiled and served with a gravy. Yorkshire pudding and gravy is now often served as an accompaniment to the main course, although it was originally served first as a "filler".

The full English breakfast (also known as "cooked breakfast" or "fried breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Its contents vary, but it normally consists of a combination of bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, sausages, eggs (fried, scrambled or boiled) and other variations on these ingredients and others. Hash browns are sometimes added, though this is not considered traditional. In general, the domestic breakfast is less elaborate, and most "full English" breakfasts are bought in cafés since having being replaced by cereals. A young child's breakfast might include "soldiers", finger-shaped pieces of bread to be dipped in the yolk of a lightly boiled egg.

The climate of the United Kingdom is classified as a mid-latitude oceanic climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb), with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation throughout the year. The principal factors that influence the country's climate include its northerly latitude (which ranges from 50° to 60° N), the close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and the warming of the surrounding waters by the Gulf Stream. The weather can be notoriously changeable from one day to the next but temperature variations throughout the year are relatively small.

Regional climates in the United Kingdom are influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and latitude. Northern Ireland, Wales and western parts of England and Scotland, being closest to the Atlantic, are generally the mildest, wettest and windiest regions of the UK, and temperature ranges here are seldom extreme.