介绍:
Countryside
Many visitors to the UK go straight to London and never venture outside the capital, which is a pity, for there is a huge variety of landscape only a few hours away, in any one of Britain’s largest areas of protected countryside and its national parks.
The Cairngorms
The biggest is the Cairngorms in northern Scotland, with some of the country’s highest mountains and the best place for skiing. Pony-trekking, climbing and fishing are also popular, along with Scotland’s national game, golf. Wildlife enthusiasts are well rewarded because it is the home to the red deer, red squirrel and golden eagle.
The Lake District
On the border in England is the Lake District, originally made famous by local Romantic poet William Wordsworth two hundred years ago. People have been travelling here since 1847, when a railway was built to its biggest lake, Windermere. Children’s writers have found inspiration here, too, and the mountains make for excellent walking, with breathtaking views.
Snowdonia
Wales also has its fair share of spectacular landscape. Snowdonia was one of the first national parks created in 1951. You will find the road signs in two languages and hear Welsh spoken in the local shops. If mountain climbing isn’t your thing, try visiting a castle built by a 13th-century prince, or check out the nearby beaches.
The English Coast
The coastline of England is just as amazing. On some Dorset beaches, you can still find fossils dating back to the Jurassic era — the first marine dinosaur remains were found in the cliffs here in the early 19th century.
The Giant’s Causeway
For the strangest coastal scenery of all, cross the Irish Sea to the Giant’s Causeway, a set of basalt columns formed by volcanic activity sixty million years ago — or, as legend has it, built by warrior giant Finn McCool to walk from Northern Ireland to fight his enemy from Scotland. The stone “steps” aren’t complete because the giant fell asleep — something you’ll probably want to do yourself at the end of an invigorating day in the great British outdoors.
