By Sophie Clarke

Great Britain is the official name given to the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales. It is an island lying off the western coast of Europe. Great Britain Is made up of the following: England – The capital is London. Scotland - The capital is Edinburgh. Wales - The capital is Cardiff.

In 1194 A.D., Richard I of England introduced the Cross of St. George, a red cross on a white ground, as the National Flag of England. At this point in the story on the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were separate countries. However, this was soon to change.... In 1536, under Henry VIII, an Act of Union was passed making Wales, in effect a province of England.

After Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became King James I of England. It was a Union of the Crowns, but not yet of the nations. Each country still kept their own parliaments. Early in his reign James attempted to combine England and Scotland in a united kingdom of 'Great Britain'. This was the policy he presented to his first Parliament, called on 22 March The union was resisted. But what flag should be used? A problem arose, which flag should be hoisted on the king's ships. English sailors resented the Scottish colours and the Scots scorned the cross of St. George England. James defied them. On 20 October 1604 he proclaimed a new title for himself as 'King of Great Britain'.

In 1606 the problem was solved... A compromise was the answer and it led to the creation of the first Union Flag. On 12 April 1606, the National Flags of Scotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union 'Jack'. Ashore however, the old flags of England and Scotland continued to be used by their respective countries. A royal decree declared that the ships of the Kingdom of Great Britain "shall bear on their maintops the red cross, commonly called St. George's cross, and the white cross, commonly called St. Andrew's cross."

Great Britain’s land area is 243,000 sq km (93,000 sq miles) – Meaning there is so many places to visit inside the country! Great Britain’s longest river is The Severn, which is 322 km long. The river rises in central Wales and flows through Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester - into the Bristol Channel. Next to the river you can relax in the beautiful Quarry Park, which is the location for the annual Shrewsbury Flower Show. Continuing on the floral theme, due to the proliferation of plants and blooms, particularly in the summer months, Shrewsbury is often referred to as the "Town of Flowers". So be sure to check Shrewsbury out! Population in the GB is very wide, with a total of 64.1 million.

As mentioned in the previous slide, Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the west Midlands of England. It has a population of approximately 72,000 people and is the second largest town in Shropshire, after Telford. Shrewsbury is a historic market town whose town centre has a largely unaltered medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. Because of the history of the county town, it also has it’s own Shrewsbury Museum. Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery at the Music Hall offers you the chance to discover a mix of the old, the new and the curious all within an extraordinary set of buildings. From a medieval town house to an early Victorian public rooms, they span more than 750 years of history.

The temperature in Great Britain Is very unexpected - which is an advantage in a way, as you don’t know how the day will go. Even if it started to rain, there are a lot of great indoor and outdoor activities to enjoy! To be more precise, Great Britain is mostly mild- normally not going much below zero even in the depths of winter, and never much above 25 degrees Celsius in summer. On average, most of the time it is between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius.