Is everything about the UK always about the ‘stiff upper lip’? Not quite! Here are some of the lighter aspects of the people and the place.
Drinking in an English Bar
1. In England, in pubs or bars, you can have drinks but you are not allowed to get drunk; and in Scotland you are on the wrong side of the law if you are drunk and in possession of a cow.
The “Tube”
2. In London the tube route from Leicester Square to Covent Garden is the most popular tube route for tourists despite the fact that it is actually quicker to cover this distance on foot!
3. The tube system, despite being the first and the largest underground system in the world, is also the most unreliable and the costliest.
4. The 409 escalators in the London subway cover a distance every week which is approximately equivalent to several trips around the globe!
Royal Eccentrics
5. Not surprisingly, it is considered one of the strangest historical facts that Berengaria of Navarre, who was married to King Richard of England, had never once stepped on English soil!
6. Did you know that the Windsor Castle is the oldest royal residence in the world that is still being used by the royal family and that the Buckingham Palace was built in 1702 on the site of an infamous brothel!
7. It is also believed to be haunted by many ghosts including those of Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, King George, and Charles I.
8. The Queen of England, who once enjoyed extensive powers and authority over almost the whole world, and despite all her present majesty and glory, is not allowed to enter the House of Commons simply because she is not its member!
9. And in medieval England even animals were tried in royal courts and punished for damages they inflicted on people or their properties!
Tea Drinking
10. The English are tea addicts: an Englishman drinks more tea than any person of any other nation (over twenty times more than Americans!).
Big Ben is not a clock
11. Contrary to popular belief that Big Ben refers to the world famous clock, it is actually the name of the thirteen ton bell. The tower itself is known as St. Stephen’s Tower.
Where do they come from?
12. That London is one of the cities with the high cultural diversity in the world, can be gauged from the fact that about 25% of the inhabitants of London were born outside of England!
London, London
13. One of the most well-known theatres of The United Kingdom is the Theatre Royal Bristol that has been continuously staging “Cats” since 1766!
14. Did you know that London has had many names in the past? It was called Londonium during the Roman Invasion, Ludenwic in Saxon times, and Ludenburg during the kingdom of Alfred the Great.
15. The London Eye is the tallest observation wheel in the world and each rotation takes about 30 minutes.
16. In the Great Fire of London that wreaked havoc on the city and necessitated massive reconstruction work, the casualty count was only eight!
17. The treasures contained in the British Museum span two million years of world civilization.
The bridge that fell down 1000 years ago
18. You must have heard the “London Bridge is falling down” nursery rhyme. Did you know that this rhyme might be over a thousand years old? The Saxons destroyed London Bridge using boats and ropes to tear it down. People think that is how the rhyme originated.
19. Did you know that the River Thames, which flows through London, has over 200 bridges and 20 tunnels?
Something to keep in mind next time you’re walking back to your hotel near the Tower of London!
What an amazing and endearing part of our exciting world!
Photo of London by harshilshah100
54 responses to “19 Fun Facts about the UK”
Report an inappropriate commentJune 1st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Um, large parts of this article either don’t make sense or are complete rubbish.
For example, ‘One of the most well-known theatres of The United Kingdom is the Theatre Royal Bristol that has been continuously staging “Cats” since 1766!’ No, Cats was only written in the 1980′s and a brief google of ‘Theatre Royal Bristol’ shows that Cats is not playing. I have a suspicion you got that information from an unreliable online source. Wikipedia perhaps?
‘It is also believed to be haunted by many ghosts including those of Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, King George, and Charles I.’ This is unclear but you seem to be suggesting that these ghosts haunt Buckingham Palace, a building that was only built after they died. Also, Buckingham House was built in the early 1700′s, the house was re-built many times before becoming Buckingham Palace in 1837.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Hmm. Very interesting. Ed is right, some parts seem very inaccurate, but some are interesting.
June 15th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Amazing
October 21st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
ummmmmm the two other random people are right. but the rest was kind of useful. thanks but try to check more sites next time exept wikipedia(cause it’s useless)
November 11th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
JUST LEAVE THE POOR PERSON ALONE! they’re trying to give you some really neat facts! No one believes in ghosts, unless they’re weird, so why does it matter? and maybe the play “Cats” is different from the one you’re thinking of. Ever give any consideration to that?
November 11th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
By the way, thank you Grace A. for the article! It was very interesting, and I really enjoyed reading it. Where did you get all the facts anyways?
November 29th, 2009 at 3:08 am
hey ed ive been to england more importantly to Buckingham Palace and yes it is haunted by all of the people you stated. exept Charles I he had his own palace. Buckingham Palace was not in habited by him.
November 29th, 2009 at 3:13 am
Ellie why dont you give people that believe in ghosts i believe in them ive been to a haunted house and i dont mean one at the fair and something tapped me on the shoulder tripped me so i belive in ghost does that make me a wierdo?
December 9th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
hey! (: hahahahaa <3
February 1st, 2010 at 11:02 pm
what is there fashion in the U.K.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
This article is fantastic. These facts are interesting and unusual! Keep up the good work.
April 29th, 2010 at 2:35 am
I am English and this is childish rubbish. I am most insulted that you have condensed my country to this gibberish.
November 27th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Im doin a paper For School and this really helps me spice up my paper (:
December 5th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Thank You!
January 12th, 2011 at 3:53 am
This is funny. I’m English, I stumbled across this and can say 99% is completely wrong…. I’m not going to go into what is wrong as it will take me all night. Any gullible Americans reading this makes sure you also read mine and eds post. Thanks
February 16th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
i lllooovvveee these crazily funny facts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 18th, 2011 at 11:45 am
can i just say that its stupid these facts. i dont have anything against you personally but i find it offensive. If i were to write facts about another country that were wrong, i know that anyone else would be upset. this is what is happening to the world, no one ACTUALLY know different cultures or anything about anyone elses countries un less they actually go there themselves. people should stop looking at the internet for facts about a country, then get them wrong. some of them are facts but the others aren’t. to be a fact it has to be true, some of these aren’t true. but glad you had the guts to do it anyway.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
You kids need to stop.
February 18th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Hi, im bob. and i like to leave loooong comments about how dumb and incorrect these facts are, because i most show how smart i am to the world. In other words, i have no life… *sigh*
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Wow, I need to grow up and be more like the guy above.
March 19th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
These facts are very interesting they helped me with my report on the United Kingdom. Also, you should add more about the Beatles. My Grandma loves them.
May 8th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Why is everything about England London? England is a lot more than London. It would take a thousand years to know the wonders of this country. Seek out the places where the real people live. The great cathedrals, the forests, watermeadows, lakes, ancient hills and valleys, old villages, and friendly people of the shires.
June 14th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Quite a lot of this is nonsense.
July 4th, 2011 at 6:09 am
I AM RESURING YOUR CONTRY
September 27th, 2011 at 3:41 am
I wonder how many people come to this because of hetalia
October 17th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
This was a great site that helped me on a lot of my research! Thank you so much!
October 18th, 2011 at 12:27 am
hello fella hetaloid xDDDDDDDDDD
meee!
November 21st, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Im scottish its not true you can be drunk and in possesion of a cow!
November 24th, 2011 at 8:16 am
Me! Another hetalia fan here!!!!!
November 28th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
anyone know 10 facts to help me with research??? plese help!!!!
December 2nd, 2011 at 8:30 am
I couldn’t help but LOL at the Cats ‘fact’, amazing absolutely amazing, made my day thanks
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Great facts, I would also like to confirm that the 1766 date for Cats at the theatre royal is correct. Infact I am the Senior Artistic Coordinator, and merkin advisor to that same institute. In addition another interesting factoid on said production is that the longest incumbent cast member was the Original ‘Mister Mestofieles’ (Raynyard Munchcumber) who played that role from 1767 – 1872.
February 9th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
I really liked those facts i used a whole load for my school project!!!!!!!!! thank you Grace!
February 9th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
That is a lot of comments on the cat theatre thing!!!!!!!!
February 10th, 2012 at 12:27 am
I HATE HATERS
March 9th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Its very goood stuff
March 20th, 2012 at 12:06 am
Thank you so much! This helps me on a report my mom threw away. I’m extremely hopeful the things I wrote were some of the true ones!
March 20th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
95% of English people believe Americans are stupid. 100% are correct. Thank you for you article, I will use it as evidence.
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:58 am
it is very good$)
March 22nd, 2012 at 3:38 pm
was it fun there because i would like to go one day
March 26th, 2012 at 4:11 am
im jummo and i know it
April 7th, 2012 at 1:23 am
i dont believe this is real
April 18th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with this web page. The title says ” 19 fun facts about the UK”
Excuse my ignorance, but I have been labouring under the missapprehension that The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!
Evey “fact” (Ha Ha) is about England. Just another example of an attempt to marginalise the other UK countries, and why , unfortunately, the English enjoy such a poor reputation throughout the World. This isn’t in any way an attack on the English, just an observation. If you mean England, say England. If you mean the United Kindom, include the other home nations.
May 16th, 2012 at 4:57 am
that is funny and weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 29th, 2012 at 12:41 am
people just calm done
September 13th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks!
September 17th, 2012 at 11:34 am
And where, exactly, is Covenant Garden in London?
September 26th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
cool
September 26th, 2012 at 7:21 pm
i love it . ti is so cool.
October 4th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
omg
crappy facts!!!!!!!!!!!
October 23rd, 2012 at 10:07 am
Should it not be Convent Garden and not COVENANT garden ???
November 7th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
really cool and useful site
November 25th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
hi i love it
December 2nd, 2012 at 11:08 pm
I loved the facts great job!
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