England

by John Escott

(Adapted book. Beginner level)

Chapter 1. Beautiful England

About twenty-five million people visit England every year. They come from all over the world. Nearly all of them start in London, and some never go out of that great city.

But there are many more exciting and interesting places to see. Many of these places tell you about England and the English people.

There are the beautiful university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, the wonderful Dorset coast, the Lake District, Stonehenge and Windsor Castle.

Visit an English pub. Watch a game of cricket, or see a Shakespeare play at Stratford- upon-Avon. There are lots of different things to do.

England is a beautiful country. But who are the English ...?

Chapter 2. Who are the English?

The name ‘England’ comes from ‘Angle-land’. This was the name the Angle and Saxon people gave it. They came here from Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries.

Before them, the Romans lived here for four hundred years or more. They made houses and roads. And they made a town next to the River Thames, and called it Londinium. Today its name is London.

The Anglo-Saxons came across the North Sea from north-west Germany and southern Denmark. More invaders - the Vikings - came from Denmark and Norway.

In 1066, William of Normandy - the famous William the Conqueror - invaded England, bringing French-speaking people to the country.

In the nineteenth century, thousands of Irish people came to live in England, and many Jewish families came from Eastern Europe and Russia.

All through the twentieth century, people came to live in England. After the Second World War, many came from the West Indies and Asia. In the 1950s, Hungarians came after Russia invaded their country. Then, in the 1980s, people from Vietnam came because they wanted to get away from the war in their country.

Today, nearly fifty million people live in England, and about fifty thousand more come and live here every year.

Many continue to come from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Some come from Eastern Europe.

Chapter 3. Places to visit

Some Cities

London has more than nine million visitors every year. They come and visit some of the most famous buildings in England - the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, the Tate Modern.

You can see some of the most interesting places by getting on one of the special visitors’ buses. You can get off (and on again) at the places you want to visit.

Or you can take a ride on the London Eye (on the left). This big wheel slowly takes you 135 metres above the River Thames. From here you get wonderful views of the city.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s London home. It is at the end of a long road called The Mall. On some days you can see the Queen’s flag - the Royal Standard - above the building. Then you know she is staying at the palace. You can visit some of the rooms in August and September. And most mornings of the year you can watch the soldiers outside ‘change the guard’.

Not far from London is the town of Windsor. Here you can visit one more of the Queen’s homes - Windsor Castle. This wonderful building with its great Round Tower became the home of kings and queens in the time of William the Conqueror. It is Europe’s biggest castle. There was a fire in 1992 and many of the rooms were badly burned. But now they are full of beautiful pictures, tables and chairs again.

Oxford and Cambridge are England’s two most famous university cities. They are full of beautiful old buildings, churches, museums, parks and gardens.

Each city has its river - the Isis (the name for that part of the River Thames) in Oxford, and the Cam in Cambridge. Take a ride on a punt - but driving is not easy!

You can take a ‘walking tour’ of each city, or there are the special open-topped tour buses.

Birmingham is England’s biggest city after London. It is famous for art, music and shopping. There are a lot of good eating places, and they are not expensive. At night the clubs and pubs are noisy, but you can have a good time.

It is the home of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and there is a Sea Life Centre and a Railway Museum to visit.

Liverpool stands on the River Mersey on the north-west coast of England. It was the home of the Beatles pop group in the 1960s. Beatles’ fans can go to see The Beatles Story exhibition, or take a Beatles Tour.

Albert Dock has shops, a museum and an art gallery. Or you can take a ferry boat across the Mersey for good views of the waterfront.

Bath, in the south-west of England, was famous in Roman times and then again in the nineteenth century. The writer Jane Austen lived at 4 Sydney Place between 1801 and 1804.

The city is famous for its Royal Crescent and other beautiful buildings.

One of the many interesting museums to visit is the Museum of Costume.

Theme Parks

For an exciting day, what about going to a theme park?

Alton Towers is 67 kilometres north of Birmingham. It is England’s most famous theme park. Here you can hear the laughs and cries of Chessington World of Adventures in the south of England is full of different ‘rides’. One is Dragon Falls - but be ready to get wet!

Lakes. National parks, and coasts

The Lake District National Park is in Cumbria, in the north-west of England. Sixteen great lakes sit between hills and mountains. Some - Buttermere, Wastwater - are quiet. Some - Windermere, Derwentwater - have lakeside towns and lots of boats.

The writer, William Wordsworth, lived in the Lake District. You can visit his home, Dove Cottage, at Grasmere.

Yorkshire has two wonderful national parks. In the north-west of the county is the Yorkshire Dales National Park. There are hundreds of square kilometres of hills and valleys, with fast-moving rivers and nice little villages.

In the north-east is the North York Moors National Park. You can ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway or drive through beautiful country to Whitby or Robin Hood’s Bay on the coast.

In the south-west of England is Dartmoor National Park. It is southern England’s biggest area of open country. Look for the Dartmoor ponies, or find a cafe in one of the villages and enjoy a Devon cream tea.

Two of England’s most beautiful coasts are in Northumberland, in the north-east, and in Dorset in the south. Take long walks across high cliffs, or along empty beaches where you can see old castles.

Chapter 4. Going out

Cinema and Theatre

English people like going out to the cinema and they often go to a ‘multi-screen’, with four or five small cinemas inside one building.

Some towns have IMAX theatres. These have very big screens, and the people watching are ‘in the middle’ of everything happening.

English films are famous for making you laugh. There were the Carry On films in the 1950s, and today there is Mr Bean.

And, of course, everybody knows James Bond 007!

England’s most famous writer was William Shakespeare. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and you can visit his house there. You can also visit Shakespeare’s wife’s home, the Ann Hathaway Cottage. It is north-west of the town centre in the little village of Shottery.

You can watch one of Shakespeare’s plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, next to the River Avon.

Today, the English actor and film director Kenneth Branagh brings Shakespeare to the cinema.

London’s West End is famous for its theatres, but go in the afternoon. Tickets are cheaper then.

Many towns and cities in England have theatres, and tickets are not expensive.

Clubs and Music

About half a million young people go ‘clubbing’ in England every weekend. Some of the clubs are famous - Cream in Liverpool, and Ministry of Sound in London - but there are new clubs starting every week.

Sometimes you need to buy tickets, so get there early because tickets sell fast. But go and have a good time!

Look for music concerts because England is famous for some of the world’s greatest pop stars - the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Queen, Phil Collins, the Spice Girls and Oasis.

Eating and Drinking

Why not start the day with the great English Breakfast? Start with egg, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding and fried bread. Then finish with toast and marmalade, and a large pot of tea. You can buy an English Breakfast at nearly all hotels, and at many restaurants and cafes.

An English pub is a good place to stop for lunch and a drink. You can get hot or cold food.

The English like ‘Afternoon Tea’. You can get this at many hotels and restaurants, and there are tea shops in towns all across England.

Fish and chips are a traditional English food, too, so look for fish and chip shops or fish restaurants.

Or you can sit at a table with a drink outside many of the pubs and cafes in England’s towns and cities, and watch the world go by.

Clothes ...

Many of the world’s most famous fashion designers have shops in London. Versace, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein all have shops here.

And every year in February and September, there is an important fashion event. It is called London Fashion Week and people from all over the world come and see England’s wonderful new clothes.

In the 1960s, fashion designer Mary Quant invented the mini-skirt. It ' made her famous all round the world. Later, in the 1970s, came ‘punk’ fashion.

… and shopping

There is Harrods in London, of course - England’s most famous shop. But go to Oxford Street and find many more big shops.

Outside of London there are the big out-of-town shopping centres. Merry Hill Shopping Centre is west of Birmingham. The Metro Centre is ten minutes away from Newcastle. Lakeside, east of London, is next to a large lake and has more than three hundred shops, thirty places to eat, and seven cinemas. And Bluewater, south of London near the Dartford Tunnel, has parks and lakes to look at when you get tired of shopping.

In the shopping streets of most towns you can find big shops. And many English towns have a Market Day when some of the streets are filled with stalls selling food, flowers, dresses, hats, bags, and many other different things.

Chapter 5. Sports ...

English football (‘soccer’) is played every Saturday (and some evenings) between August and April. The Cup Final in May is a big, important match.

Old Trafford in Manchester is the home of the world-famous Manchester United football team. There are tours of Old Trafford on ‘no-match’ days.

Every year, at the end of June, you can watch the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, in Wimbledon, London. Famous tennis players come from all over the world.

The English invented the game of cricket, and many people love watching a village match on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

… and events

Two exciting events every year are the Glastonbury Music Festival and the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Glastonbury Music Festival is in June, at Glastonbury in Somerset. It’s the place to hear pop and rock music in the open air (and sometimes rain!).

Notting Hill Carnival in London is on the last Sunday and Monday in August. There are two exciting and noisy parades to watch, one on Sunday, and one on Monday. You can watch them go through the streets near Portobello Road and Ladbroke Grove.

Chapter 6. Come and visit!

The mystery of Stonehenge, the exciting London Eye, the Beatles Story, rollercoasters, village cricket, Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon, wonderful Windermere ... so many things to see and do.

You can’t see it all in one visit. But you can come back again ... and again ... and again ...

England is always ready to say, ‘Hello! Nice to see you!’

- THE END -

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