The Best of the UK

London is the capital city of the UK and is also the largest metropolitan area. It is located on the River Thames in south east England.

Historically a settlement in this location has existed for over two thousand years and dates back to before the Roman settlement of Britain.

Over 7.5 million people now live in the 32 boroughs which make up London. in 2012, London will play host to the Olympics - just over a mile from where I live

Did you know that London is the probably the top museum capital of the world? London has museums nobody else has got! It's definitely the top place in the world for visiting top notch art galleries and museums

Visiting an area with children can be problematical unless you have some great guidance on things to do with kids in specific age ranges. This is the section where families can find out what to do in London with babies and toddlers

England is one of the four countries of the UK. Round about 51 million people live in England - many of them in urban centres. England is a mix of big cities, small towns and villages in a green and pleasant land.

Cornwall is the county at the tip of the south-western peninsula of England. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean (west and south) and Irish Sea (north) and borders on to Devon in the east. It has a population of just over half a million people and for the most part of very rural. It's also a very popular holiday destination.

Devon is a popular holiday destination. It is the fourth largest county in England and is situated on the southwest peninsula. Cornwall lies to the west and Somerset and Somerset lie to the East. It has a number of seaside towns on its two coastlines to the north and south. The latter includes part of the world famous Jurassic coast. The county town is Exeter and two other key urban centres are Plymouth and Torbay. The county is predominantly rural with many small villages. It also has areas of moorland on Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor.

Dorset is a county in the South West of England and popular tourist destination. 18 million people a year visit Dorset. It borders the English Channel and lies south of Somerset and Wiltshire and west of Hampshire. The county town is Dorcester and a number of the towns and places in Dorset feature in the Wessex of Thomas Hardy's novels. The County is largely rural with most people living in the towns along the south east coast of the county - in Bournemouth and Poole

Somerset is a county in the South West of England. Its a country of contrasts with Cheddar Gorge, the rolling Mendips and the Somerset Levels. Essentially a rural county with a coastline along the Bristol Channel.

Gloucestershire is a historic county in South West England. The area is largely rural and includes the Cotswold Hills, part of the Wye Valley, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gloucester. Other important towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury.

Wiltshire is in south west England. It is landlocked and largely rural with high downland and wide valleys. It contains Salisbury Plain which is home to the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and the training activities of the British army. Counties which border it are Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

Berkshire is a historic county in the South East of England and is thought to date back to the 840s. Important towns include Reading, Slough, Abingdon and Windsor. The western part of the county is in the valley of the River Kennet while the eastern part of the County lies close to the Thames. The M4 motorway between London and Bristol bisects the county.

Hampshire is a large county bordering the English Channel. It's a popular holiday destination with a number of seaside resorts and the New Forest. It's also an area with a long and important maritime history - Southampton and Portsmouth lie on the coast, although no longer part of the administrative county. The county town is Winchester.

The Isle of Wight is an island off the coast of Hampshire and is a popular holiday destination

Kent is one of "the home counties" and can be found in the southeastern corner of England. Its borders include the River Thames and the North Sea to the north, the Straits of Dover and the English Channel to the south and London, Surrey and East Sussex to the west. Kent is known as "The Garden of England". Just over 1.5 million people live in Kent

Surrey is one of the Home Counties around London. There are parts of London which are conventionally described as Surrey which can make things a bit confusing! The chalk ridge of the North Downs runs from east to west and bisects the county in two. The Thames River Basin lies to the north and the Surrey Hills to the south of the Downs. Guildford is the historic County Town.

Sussex can be found in South East England and borders the English Channel to the south. Kent lies to the east, Surrey to the north and Hampshire to the West. It is divided into two counties East Sussex and West Sussex.

Some 2.6 million people live in the conurbation known as Greater Manchester. It contains two cities - Manchester and Salford and several well known towns which are now metropolitan boroughs. It's the third biggest place in terms of population, after London and the West Midlands in the UK.

Greater Manchester lies north of Cheshire, south of Lancashire, east of Liverpool and west of the Pennines and Yorkshire

It also boast the most well known football club in the world - Manchester United

Cheshire lies to the south of the River Mersey and the two cities of Liverpool and Manchester. It has recently split into a number of smaller areas and is now regarded as a ceremonial county. The Cheshire Plain is largely rural and home to herds of dairy cattle and footballers playing for the major clubs. Chester is the county town and lies to the westnbear the border with Wales.

The County of Lancashire is one of the largest counties in England. It stretches from the Lake District down to the conurbations of Manchester and Liverpool. Its eastern boundary is in the Pennines and to the west the coastline borders the North Sea. It's a largely rural county however in the nineteenth century it was the home of the industrial revolution as technologies were developed to promote the textile industry and the cotton mills.

The Lake District is one of the most picturesque areas of Britain. It is an area of mountains and lakes and contains Scafell Pike which is England's highest peak at a height of 3,209 feet (978 m).

Northumberland, in north east England, is next to the border with Scotland and has been the scene of many battles in the past. 25% of the county is protected by the Northumberland National Park - which includes Hadrian's Wall. The Northumberland Coast borders the North Sea and is also a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Northumberland is the least densely populated county of all the English counties. Just over 300,00 people live in Northumberland and most of the county is very rural. One of its major industries is tourism and it gets over 1 million visitors a year.

There are seven cities in Yorkshire and the Humber: Bradford, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds, Ripon, Sheffield, Wakefield and York; several rivers and a lot of moorland - on the North York Moors and the Pennines

Derbyshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. A significant part of the county is rural with a lot of land either moorland, uplands or peaks. It includes part of the Pennines, a significant part of the Peak District National Park and part of the National Forest. Derby is the county town.

Lincolnshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England and is the second largest in England. The county town is the city of Lincoln. Lincolnshire is predominantly rural and agricultural. Areas within Lincolnshire are known as the Lincolnshire Fens (south Lincolnshire), the Carrs (similar to the Fens but in north Lincolnshire) and the Lincolnshire Wolds. The coastline is industrial around the Humber Estuary while the North Sea has a number of towns which focus on fishing or seaside holidays.

Scotland occupies the northern third of the British mainland and the 790 islands which lie to the north and west of the mainland. The North Sea lies to its East, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west and the Irish Sea to the southwest. Scotland borders England to the South. Scotland was an independent state with its own monarch until 1707 and the Act of Union with England and Ireland.

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and home to the Scottish Parliament. It's the second largest city in Scotland. It is located in Lothian, on the eastern side of the central belt adjacent to the Firth of Forth and very near to the North Sea. In the summer it plays host to the world famous Edinburgh Festival

The Highlands and Islands lie north of the Highland Fault line. This is a geological fault which crosses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east.

Fife is one of the former Pictish Kingdoms and is located in between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay just north of Edinburgh

North Wales lies north of Ceredigion and Powys in mid Wales and west of Cheshire and Shropshire. It's made up of Gywnedd and Ynys Môn (or Anglesey), a large island off the north coast. The area is mainly rural and includes the Snowdonia National Park and a number of castles and other heritage sites.

South Wales lies south of Powys and west of Bristol and the Cotswolds. It includes the two major cities of Wales - Cardiff and Swansea - and the Brecon Beacons National Park

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom but it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland which is situated to the south and west. Its six counties are located in the north-east of the island of Ireland. 1.6million people live in Northern Ireland - which is about 30% of the island of Ireland and 3% of the UK population. The capital city is Belfast.