England
The Place
Cliché-ridden ideas of England abound: bobbies on the beat and double-decker buses, thatched cottages and country houses, village pubs and cream teas, eccentric aristocrats and people constantly shaking hands, saying "How d'you do?" and discussing the weather. Visitors might be surprised to find that there is no longer smog in London, that it doesn't rain as much as they had heard, that Indian restaurants far outnumber fish-and-chip shops, and that bowler hats are no longer standard dress for city gents.
For all the fuss it has made in world history, for all the language it has distributed about the world, England is a rather small place. The largest of the four constituent elements that make up the United Kingdom, it covers about the same size as New York State or one of New Zealand's islands. But its population of around 49 million is two and a half times New York State's and 15 times the whole of New Zealand. Heavy traffic is therefore to be expected, and getting a seat on a train during rush hour is a rare pleasure.
Yet there are open spaces aplenty. England has an ever-changing landscape, lush and green, often rolling. Its high spots are not particularly high, but they provide incomparable scenery: the Peak District, the Pennine Chain, the South Downs, the Yorkshire and West Country moors and the Lake District. And the sea, often blustery and bracing, is never far away.
