England
Until recently England was generally thought of as a gentle, fabled land freeze-framed sometime in the 1930s, home of the post office, country pub and vicarage. It’s now better known for vibrant cities with great nightlife and attractions, contrasted with green and pleasant countryside.
From Stonehenge and Tower Bridge to Eton and Oxford, England is loaded with cherished icons of a past era. But it also does modernity with a confidence and panache left over from its days in the never-setting sun. Fashion, fine dining, clubbing, shopping – England’s rates with the world’s best.
England is looking forward into the new century while trying to forget many of the developments of the previous 100 years. That period witnessed the fall of the empire, the loss of its trading base and the nation’s inability to adjust to a diminished role in the modern world – from colonial empire to member of the EC. But while the Family may have taken a right Royal battering, many of the other august institutions at the cornerstone of British life have muddled their way through with a stiff upper lip and a strong sense of protocol
Culture
England’s greatest artistic contributions have come in the fields of theatre, literature and architecture. The country is also, rightly or wrongly, a treasure house of art and sculpture from every age and continent.
Anyone who has studied English literature at school will remember ploughing through Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens and Morrissey, and painful though it might have been at the time, no-one can deny England’s formidable contribution to the Western literary canon. The heavyweights of modern English fiction include Peter Ackroyd, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, AS Byatt, Margaret Drabble, Ian McEwan and Jeanette Winterson.
Most visitors are overwhelmed by the stately homes of the aristocracy, and England’s fine collection of castles and cathedrals. Though motorways, high rise and tawdry suburban development characterise England’s 20th century architectural heritage, modern architects like Sir Norman Foster and Richard Rodgers are creating dramatic and innovative structures like the Tate Modern, Millennium Bridge and the Lloyds of London building.
Though England is not famous for the quality of its cuisine, London’s recent renaissance in quality is spreading to the provinces. In cities travellers will find a remarkable variety of dining options from all over the world, though those on a budget should be wary of eating way too much stodge.
Attractions London
London – the grand resonance of its very name suggests history and might. Its opportunities for entertainment by day and night go on and on and on. It’s a city that exhilarates and intimidates, stimulates and irritates in equal measure, a grubby Monopoly board studded with stellar sights.
London is one of the favourite urban haunts of visitors to Europe because of landmark sights like Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and the historically rich Westminster Abbey. The city also boasts some of the world’s greatest museums and art galleries, and more parkland than most other capitals.
