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The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The UK is home to an estimated 66 million residents. As a prominent political and cultural superpower for hundreds of years, the United Kingdom truly has much to offer. Some of the greatest authors, artists, musicians, philosophers, actors, and athletes have originated from this relatively small nation. The United Kingdom is the world's 6th biggest tourist destination, with over 40 million visiting in 2018.
In England, the most popular cities to visit are London, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, York, and Canterbury. These cities have witnessed so much history and have inspired the works of poets, novelists, musicians, and artists for hundreds of years. The capital of Wales, Cardiff, is an ancient city known for its Cardiff Castle which was built in 1081. Over in Scotland, the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have so much to offer. These cities are known for their hilltop castles, cathedrals, and fascinating architecture. Belfast in Northern Ireland is known for its Titanic shipyard and the Belfast Castle. Also, Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland is famed for being the site of Bloody Sunday, the “Troubles” murals, and the peace walls separating the neighborhoods.
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The United Kingdom is known for its green rolling hills, rugged coastline, and glacial lakes. Snowdonia National Park in Wales attracts mountain hikers and trekkers. Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is a natural marvel with 40,000 interlocking, hexagonal columns that can rise up to 12 meters (39 feet) high. Isle of Skye in Scotland is acclaimed for its stunning, rocky landslips with cascading blue and green waterfalls. Even just driving through the English countryside is sure to be a delight. There are quaint villages, beautiful manors, and typical British pubs. No matter where you go, we guarantee you will fall in love with the landscape of this elegant country.
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The UK has a bit of a bad reputation for its food culture, but in the past decade things have changed enormously and you can now find some fantastic restaurants and producers across the country. Visitors simply have to try some traditional British snacks, such as a cream tea with scones, cucumber sandwiches and good strong British tea with milk, a full English breakfast, pork pies and much more!
Now that you have some ideas of things to do on your journey to the United Kingdom, it is time to start planning! July and August are the traditional summer months, so they are the hottest and driest months. However, this is the typical summer holiday time for Europeans, so cities will be busy with tourists. If you are looking to avoid crowds, then the best time to visit the United Kingdom is in May, June, or September. Avoiding school holidays, especially at major attractions is also a good ideaschool holidays, especially at major attractions. These months are still warm and dry and an overall great time to visit. Although, no matter the time of year, you will want to bring a rain jacket because the British weather can be unpredictable!
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We are Jacob and Taylor. Travel is our passion and we love sharing our experiences here at The Travelling Souk. Our hope is that you would be inspired by this little blog to try something new, embrace an adventure, and live life to the fullest.