A Closer Look at England

You may listen to the song here: Scarborough Fair

York

York
Opphavsmann: Phototram FlickrThis is a beautiful city, steeped in history, with an impressive cathedral, medieval walls and narrow streets. The city of 200,000 inhabitants attracts people from all over the world. It was an important Roman town named Eboracum. The foundations of the Roman fortress can be seen under today’s cathedral or York Minster, as it is called. Later on the Vikings took over and called the city Jorvik. A reconstruction of the Viking city with all its noise and smells can be seen today underneath the modern shopping centre where the remains of the original town were found. The Vikings also left their mark behind in the names of the streets, e.g. Stonegate, Petergate and Fossgate.
More traces of history are to be found in the Norman castle, Clifford’s Tower, The Shambles, an area of butcher’s shops in medieval times, and the many narrow streets of medieval and Tudor houses.
If you are not interested in history, there are many cafés and pubs and boat trips on the River Ouse. York also has a university and many science and technology companies have established themselves nearby.

Liverpool

Liverpool
Opphavsmann: petecarr Flickr

It was an important port city for 200 years, trading in goods from the Caribbean and America. It was one of the ports of the triangle trade involving African slaves. 9 million emigrants travelled to America from here. The port declined from the 1970s and there was a lot of unemployment and deterioration in the city. In the 1960s and 1970s, Liverpool was the centre of the Mersey Sound with groups like Gerry and the Pacemakers with their hit "Ferry Cross the Mersey" and above all, the Beatles. In 1992, the docklands were restored and today Albert Dock appears as one of the top tourist attractions along with the city's two famous football clubs, Liverpool FC and Everton. Liverpool

Yorkshire

Yorkshire Dales
Opphavsmann: Joe DunckleyThe Yorkshire Moors and Yorkshire Dales with their beautiful countryside are popular holiday areas for walking and potholing. Close by there are also the large industrial and commercial towns of Leeds, the UK's third largest city, and Sheffield and Bradford. Bradford has a large immigrant population where they have their own variant of English. Look in the cutlery drawer at home and you will see what Sheffield is famous for. The Yorkshire landscape has often appeared in films and TV series. Can you name any of them?

Birmingham

Birmingham
Opphavsmann: Steve Oliver

Situated in the Midlands, this is Britain’s second largest city and the centre of industry. It was known as “the Workshop of the World” after the Industrial Revolution and today is an important commercial centre. People from here are known as “Brummies”.

Cambridge

Cambridge, Kings College
Opphavsmann: bdnegin, FlickrHere we find England’s second oldest university, which was founded in 1209. It is an important centre for research and learning. The area around Cambridge is well-known today for high technology industry and is often referred to as “Silicon Fen”. Cambridge

Newcastle Upon Tyne

Newcastle
Opphavsmann: Xavier de JaurequiberryOriginally, a Roman settlement at the east end of Hadrian’s Wall, it later became an important city for the wool trade, shipbuilding and coal mining. Today, these trades have declined and it has become a business centre. People from the area around Newcastle are known as “Geordies”. Car ferries from Norway used to dock here.

Brighton

Brighton, The Royal Pavilion
Opphavsmann: Carmelo AquilinaA seaside and holiday town on the south-east coast, Brighton became popular in the 18th century as a health resort. You might be surprised when you see the exotic Indian architecture of the Royal Pavilion, a royal palace built in the early 19th century.

Manchester

Manchester, Urbis exhibition centre
Opphavsmann: Paolo MargariThe city developed as an important centre for the textile industry, using imported cotton. Most of you will know it for its two famous football teams, Manchester United and Manchester City. Manchester

London

London Eye
Opphavsmann: Anne Scott HagenIt was founded by the Romans and lies on the River Thames. Today it is important world-wide as a financial, business and cultural centre. Millions of tourists visit it every year and in 2012 it will host the Summer Olympic Games. London

Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Opphavsmann: Margaret MooreYou have probably seen a picture of this site at one time or another. It must be one of the most photographed places in Britain, having hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. There is a fascination in these enormous stones. What were they used for? Who built the circle? How did they build it?
Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain in south-west England, in an area which has many Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments including over 300 burial mounds. The construction of the monument started about 3000 BC and continued in several stages. Some of the huge stones weigh up to 50 tons each. Many of them were transported hundreds of miles to the site.
Today the site attracts neo- druids and followers of New Age philosophy for ritual celebrations, especially at the summer and winter solstices, but access to it is strictly controlled.

Devon

Devon,Woolacoombe
Opphavsmann: Anne Scott HagenThis county in the south-west of England has both a north and a south coast. There are many seaside towns which are popular with tourists. The main city is Exeter. Inland, we find the national parks of Dartmoor and Exmoor with their wild landscapes. Keen bird watchers find lots to interest them in this area.

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrians Wall
Opphavsmann: Vincent0923 FlickrConstruction was started by the emperor Hadrian in AD122. It stretches from the east to the west coast and was built to prevent the Scottish tribes from attacking the Roman settlements, or some think it may just have been Hadrian’s way of showing how important he was and that he had Britain under his control. The Romans also built a wall across the narrowest part of Scotland at one time, but Hadrian’s Wall was the main northern boundary of the Roman Empire and is the wall which we can still see parts of today.