Do you speak anything other than English in the UK? What are the British like and when are shops closed in Indonesia?

Compare flight prices to the UK

Language

The United Kingdom, like the United States, for example, has no enacted official language. However, English is the de facto language spoken throughout the British Isles.

Be prepared for very distinctly regional dialects, especially in Scotland and Wales. However, if you apologetically ask the locals to speak more slowly to you, no one will be offended.

Other languages used then include Welsh, Scottish and Irish Gaelic and Cornish, which is spoken in Cornwall. The second most spoken language in the UK after English is Polish.

Book your hotel in advance

History in a nutshell

From the beginning of AD until the collapse of the Roman Empire, much of what is now Britain was under Roman rule, as is still evidenced today, for example by the remains of the famous Hadrian's Wall, which was intended to serve not only as a fortification against the outbreaks of northern tribes and as the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, but also as a place where traders paid sales taxes as they passed through.

From about the 9th century onwards, the two independent kingdoms of Scotland and England existed side by side, to which the Principality of Wales was subsequently annexed in the 13th century. From 1603 Scotland and England (including Wales) were united by personal union, and in 1707 the Act of Union brought them together in a political union called the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In 1800 the Kingdom of Great Britain was then also officially united with the Kingdom of Ireland, which was finally dominated by England in the late 17th century. Following the Irish Rebellion, independence and the partition of Ireland, the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland then became the present-day United Kingdom under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The British Isles were not enough for the British and they could not be left behind in the age of Portuguese and Spanish overseas discoveries, so they began to expand their influence in the world. Gradually, the British colonised half the world, from parts of North, Central and South America and islands in the Caribbean, through much of Africa and the Middle East, to Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Burma and other territories in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Thus the United Kingdom became an empire over which the sun never set.

During the 19th century, the British dominance of the world began to gradually weaken. At the end of the 19th century, dominion status and the right to self-government was granted to Canada, and in the early 20th century to Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. After the Second World War, it became clear that the empire was not sustainable in the future, and so during the second half of the 20th century the era of decolonisation began and the remaining countries of the empire became independent.

To this day, Britain has retained 14 overseas territories which are not an integral part of the United Kingdom but are under the sovereignty of the British Crown. These include Gibraltar, the Falklands and Bermuda.

People

The United Kingdom is home to approximately 68 million people, with the majority living in cities and about four-fifths of the total population living in England.

Thanks largely to its imperial history, the UK has become home to a diverse mix of peoples, cultures and religions.

The largest ethnic group is the English, followed by the Welsh, Scots, Irish, Jews and descendants from various parts of the former British Empire.

The most prominent religion in the United Kingdom is Christianity, particularly the predominant Anglicanism.

Holidays

Britain does not celebrate Independence Day like a large number of other countries; instead, many countries celebrate Independence Day specifically in Britain. National holidays in the United Kingdom are called „bank holiday“as all the country's banks are closed on these days.

Their number varies from one part of the union to another, with England and Wales having 8 public holidays a year, Scotland celebrating 9 and Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man boasting as many as 10 public holidays a year. Nevertheless, these are relatively small numbers of public holidays.

Public holidays in England and Wales

In England and Wales, offices and some shops are closed on these days:

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• Good Friday - Easter (floating date, always during spring)
• Easter Monday - Easter Sunday (floating date, always during spring)
• Early May - always the first Monday in May
• Spring - always the last Monday in May
• Summer - always the last Monday in August
• 25 December - Christmas
• 26 December - Christmas

Holidays in Scotland

In Scotland, offices and some shops are closed on the following days:

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• 2 January - the day after New Year's Day
• Good Friday - Easter (floating date, always during spring)
• Easter Monday - Easter Sunday (floating date, always during spring)
• Early May - always the first Monday in May
• Spring - always the last Monday in May
• Summer - always the last Monday in August
• 30 November - St. Andrew's Day
• 25 December - Christmas Day
• 26 December - Christmas Day

Holidays in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, offices and some shops are closed on the following days:

• 1 January - New Year's Day
• 17 March - St Patrick's Day
• Good Friday - Easter (floating date, always during spring)
• Early May - always the first Monday in May
• Spring - always the last Monday in May
• 12 July - Battle of the Boyne
• Summer - always the last Monday in August
• 25 December - Christmas
• 26 December - Christmas

Shop opening hours

Shops in England and Wales with a sales area of more than 280 square metres must be closed on Easter Sunday and 25 December.

On Sundays, they may be open for no more than 6 hours at a time.

Small shops and any shops in Scotland or Northern Ireland are not affected.

In addition to the official public holidays, the UK also celebrates St Valentine's Day, St John's Night, Guy Fawkes Night, when fireworks and the burning of Guy Fawkes effigies commemorate the failed attempt by Catholic rebels to blow up Parliament; and Halloween and Armistice Day, which commemorates the fallen of both World Wars.

Culture

The British are often said to be cold, which can be considered more of a stereotype; there is certainly an emphasis on manners in the UK.

Saying hello and asking how the other person is doing, which is the simplest form of smalltalk, is just basic here. The very essence of Britishness is illustrated by a sign in a London pub which lists the following beer prices:

• „Beer … £ 10“
• „Beer, please … £ 8“
• „Good evening, could I have one pint of beer, please? … from £ 3.10“

As well as good manners, then, it is also important to remember that the UK is a multicultural country, and this is doubly true for London.

It has been home to people from all over the world since around 1700: French Huguenots, Spanish and Eastern European Jews, northerners and Germans, Moors and others.

Later, people from all corners of the empire began to come here, and they all gave Britain its unique shape today. The gastronomic implications of this are unquestionable, for in London you can sample food from just about every country in the world.

Tourism

Over 35 million tourists visit the UK each year, making it the eighth most visited tourist destination in the world.

While London is bursting at the seams and you'll be wishing that there were already planned fast and slow lanes when you walk down Oxford Street, in other parts of the country you'll hardly see a soul as you stroll through the wild countryside.

Britain simply offers something for everyone, from historic sites to cultural events and bargain shopping to beautiful countryside.

Thanks to the huge number of visitors, tourism is of course at a high level and there probably aren't many types of services you won't find here.

Geography

The United Kingdom covers most of the British Isles, which, in addition to the two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, also comprise a large number of smaller islands. Northern Ireland is separated from Scotland by the Irish Sea.

While the south of the UK is predominantly lowland, the north is dominated by mountains and hills. The Scottish countryside is wild and untamed, offering beautiful scenery and elongated lochs called lochs. At the most famous loch, Loch Ness, visitors can wait for the famous loch monster, Nessie.

Scotland is also home to the UK's highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1,343 metres). While the north-west of England is dominated by mountains and lochs, much of England is made up of plains and lowlands, and the south-west has extensive moorland.