Visit the UK: 2012

British Summer Time

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Image by Richard Croft

British Summer Time (BST) starts every year in the Spring, and ends every year in the Autumn (or the Fall as our American cousins call it), when the UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

St Michael's Mount, near Penzance
Image by Sheila Russell

Penzance in Cornwall, known as Pen Sans ( the Holy Headland) in Kernowek, the ancient Cornish language, is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and in England.

The town is situated in Mount's Bay and faces south-east into the English Channel, giving it a temperate climate, which is milder than most of the rest of the country. Penzance's gardens provide a colourful backdrop to the town from early spring to Late Autumn, with many sub-tropical flowers and palm trees.

The first recorded mention of the town, under the name of Pensans, was in the Assize Roll in1284, although there is evidence of Roman remains in the area.

Surfing at Fistral beach
Image by Geoff Tydeman

Newquay is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall, and is known as the "Surfing Capital of the UK".

Newquay was originally a fishing village catching mostly pilchards, but these days only a small amount of edible crabs and lobsters are caught by the local fishermen. In the last century, the town has blossomed as a holiday resort, with its population swelling five times at the height of the season.

Newquay is particularly popular with families, due to its ten long sandy beaches, and with surfers, due to the powerful, hollow waves and good sized swell at the Fistral Beach.

Porthminster Beach, St Ives
Image by Chris J Dixon

The seaside town of St Ives, Cornwall, is situated on the coast of the Celtic sea, in the South-Western corner of the county.

Originally a thriving fishing port, St Ives is now primarily a popular holiday resort, boasting a rich artistic culture. Many artists live and work in St Ives for the perceived quality of the air and of the light.

The town is well known for its four beaches, for its many galleries, including the Tate Gallery, St Ives, and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, and for its sub-tropical climate.

The Eden Project, Cornwall at night
Image by Neil Kennedy

The Eden Project in Cornwall, the most popular visitor attraction in the region, attracting more than a million visitors a year. It is 1.25 miles from St. Blazey, and 3 miles from St. Austell, the largest town in Cornwall. It is housed in an old Kaolinite (clay) pit.

The Eden Project, which is run as a charity, aims to both provide an entertaining and educational day out for all the family, as well as running social and environmental projects, research into plants and conservation, and providing memorable learning experiences for students of all ages.

The famous signpost at Land's End
Image by Lewis Clarke

Land's End is situated at the most westerly point of Cornwall, which, in turn, is the most westerly county in England.

The name Land's End is used for the headland and cliffs which face the Atlantic Ocean, and for the Visitor Attraction that attracts over 400,000 visitors every year.

Land's End is famous for its iconic signpost that shows the distance, 874 miles, to John o' Groats, the most north-easterly point of the UK, the distance, 3147 miles, to New York across the Atlantic Ocean, and the distance, 28 miles, to the Isles of Scilly. The signpost also shows the current date, so that visitors' photographs are easily dated.

Land's End, Cornwall
Image by Roger Butterfield

Cornwall is England's most westerly and most southerly county. With nearly 300 miles of coastline, some of England's best weather, and a rich history, Cornwall is a major tourist destination.

Cornwall boasts many world famous tourist attractions including Land's End, The Eden Project, and St.Michael's Mount, as well as towns and cities like St. Ives, Newquay, Penzance, and Padstow that are known throughout the world.

Parliament Building, Stormont, Northern Ireland
Image by Ross

Northern Ireland was divided into 26 districts, or councils, for local government purposes by the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972. The councils of the 26 districts are known as either district councils, borough councils, city councils, or and city and district councils.

These 26 districts replaced the six counties and two county boroughs that had been created by the Local Government Act 1898. These six counties and two county boroughs are still used for purposes such as Lieutenancy.