30 Facts About the UK You Might Not Know

The UK has a rich and colourful history, and almost every part of the British Isles has a unique story. That is why studying in the UK is about much more than its world class universities and its huge variety of courses. It is about learning about the people and places which make this tiny island in Europe one of the most popular study destinations in the world.

Learn 30 unique facts about the UK below, and arrange a free consultation with SI-UK to get your application started!

30 Facts about the UK

1. London has four UNESCO world heritage sites: Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich, and Westminster Palace, which includes Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church, as well as Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
2. London has over 170 museums, with 11 national museums, including the British Museum.
3. A third of all the UK’s archives are in London, including the National Archives, which dates back to the 11th century and preserves William the Conqueror’s Domesday survey.
4. In the UK, you are never more than 70 miles (113km) from the sea.
5. It is considered an act of treason to put a postage stamp with the queen’s head upside down on an envelope.
6. The UK is the only country not required to name itself on its postage stamps.
7. London was over the past called Londonium, Ludenwic, and Ludenburg.
8. In 1647, Christmas was abolished by the English Parliament.
9. England was part of the shortest war in history; they fought Zanzibar in 1896, who surrendered after 38 minutes.
10. There are over 30,000 people with the name John Smith in England.
11. The Great Fire of London destroyed large parts of the city, but the casualty rate was just eight.
12. Buckingham Palace has its own police station.
13. Windsor Castle is the largest royal home in the world.
14. Placing a stamp bearing the King or Queen’s image upside-down is considered as treason.
15. Macbeth is the most produced play ever written. On average, a performance is staged every 4 hours worldwide.
16. The first fish and chip restaurant was opened in 1860 by a Jewish immigrant.
17. 25% of the people living in London today are born in another country.
18. The London 2012 Olympics was the first time that every country had at least one female athlete.
19. The English invented the world’s earliest railways.
20. William the Conqueror ordered everyone to be in their beds by 8pm.
21. The Queen of the UK legally owns one-sixth of the Earth’s land surface.
22. A beer wave of 388,000 gallons (or 1.4ml) flooded London in 1814 after a huge vat ruptured.
23. In the UK, accents change noticeably every 25 miles (45 km).
24. All horses, donkeys and ponies must have a horse passport in the UK.
25. Nigeria has more English speakers than the UK.
26. In the 16th century, a London law forbade wife beating after 9:00pm, but only because the noise disturbed people’s sleep.
27. The UK and Portugal hold the longest-standing alliance in the world. It was ratified in 1386 and is still in force.
28. At its height, the British Empire was larger than Africa and even comparable in size to the Moon.
29. The King of Norway is 73rd in line to the British throne.
30. Edward VIII, King of the UK in 1936, was a Nazi sympathiser and later argued that bombing England could bring peace by ending WW2.

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