Text 20 Across England to Scotland

Britain is a small, beautiful and crowded country, separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.

Numerous historical and cultural places of interest on its territory remind of the tremendous past of the coun­try.

The island, inhabited by the Celtic tribes (the name Britain probably derives from one of them) long before our era survived the Roman conquest from the first till the fifth centuries of our era, the Anglo-Saxon occupation in the middle of the fifth century, the Danish attacks in the 8th—10th centuries and the Norman invasion in 1066. All these contributed to the evolution of the people who became the English and to the formation of the language that became the English language.

Let's start our tour from the score of Britain, England, from its nearest to the continent part, the Chalk country. The striking feature of this part of England is the gleam­ing whiteness of the Kentish shore which made the Roman invaders name Britain Albion (Lat. — the white land). It is here that the most ancient building of England, Dover Castle, is situated. Within a few miles there is the jewel of medieval architecture, Bodian Castle, now it is turned into an observatory.

Here you can see Pevensey, a Roman fortress. It was here that William of Normandy pitched his tent in the year 1066. From here he marched to Hastings to meet Harold, the Saxon King, and it was here that William be­came the Conqueror and the Normans became the rulers of England.

If you leave the crowded seashore, you'll soon be in the country. The flowers are so bright here, the fields so rich. The villages are kept like models of bygone days or like museums. Wherever you go, there is a tower or an ancient church outlined against the sky.

One of the oldest cities of England is ancient Canter­bury. Canterbury stands on the road of invaders and saw the Romans, the Danes and the Normans passing that way to colonize the country. It is Canterbury and its Cathedral that is the seat of the Archbishop of the Anglican Church. The Cathedral was built by the monks who in 597 of our era came from Rome to peach the Christian faith in the country. The Danes destroyed the cathedral, then the Normans rebuilt it.

The names of famous men Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales and Dickens associate with this ancient place.

Bath is of the greatest interest too as it is the most important Roman relic in England. Bath is the oldest spa (курорт с минеральными водами) in Britain, created by the Romans in the 1st century of our era. The architec­tural ensemble of the town is unique not only in England but in all Europe.

Oxford and Cambridge are the two Great Universities known all over the world. They are situated in the beauti­ful cities of Oxford and Cambridge and date back to 12 and 13 centuries. The industrial England is chiefly in the Midlands with the largest cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhapton, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds.

At last we are in Scotland, the land of mountains lost in clouds, valleys, plains and famous lochs. This is the land of romance and most eventful history. Scotland has her own national heroes, they fought in endless battles against the English.

The Romans never managed to conquer the territory of Scotland and they had to build the Great Roman Wall to protect their camps in the northern part of England. One can see this wall separating England from Scotland even now.

Almost all Scotland's history is associated with and re­flected in many castles and forts that are to be seen all over the country. Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots, was born in one of them, Robert Bruce defeated the English here.

Scotland has her own national dress, the kilt, that should be worn only by men, national instruments and dances, national drink, Scotch. It has its own system of education and law. Edinburgh and Glasgo are the two great centres of Scotland. Robert Burns and Walter Scott sang of the beauty of Scotland and its people in their works.

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