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Isles Of Scilly

Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly (Cornish: Ynysek Syllan) form an archipelago of islands off the Cornish coast. Traditionally part of Cornwall, the southwesternmost area of the UK, they now have their own local government in the form of a unitary authority and have also been designated the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Their football league is the smallest in the world.

Topography

The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago of five inhabited islands and numerous other small rocky islets (around 140 in total) lying 28 miles (45 km) off Land's End – the most southwesterly point of Great Britain. The five inhabited islands and their population in the 2001 census are St Mary's (1,666), Tresco (180), St Martin's (142), St Agnes and Bryher (population 165 between them); the total population was 2,153. There are many smaller uninhabited islands and rocky islets. The islands' position produces a place of great contrast – the ameliorating effect of the sea means they rarely have frost or snow, which allows local farmers to grow flowers well ahead of those on the island of Britain (the largest agricultural product is cut flowers, mostly daffodils), while the exposure to the Atlantic winds means spectacular winter gales lash the islands from time to time. This is reflected in the landscape, most clearly seen on Tresco where the lush sub-tropical Abbey Gardens on the sheltered southern end of the island contrast with the low heather and bare rock sculpted by the wind on the exposed Northern end. It was featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Southwest.

History

Scilly has been inhabited since stone-age times and its history has been one of subsistence living until this century with people living from the land and the sea. Farming and fishing continue today, but the main industry now is tourism. The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides ("Tin Isles") visited by the Phoenicians and mentioned by the Greeks. It is likely that until relatively recently the Isles were much larger and that as late as Roman times there was only one large island. At certain low tides the sea becomes shallow enough for people to walk between some of the islands. This is possibly one of the sources for stories of drowned lands, e.g., Lyonesse. It is not known at exactly which point the islands stopped speaking Cornish, but it seems to have gone into big decline during the Middle Ages, and lost the language before parts of Penwith. Strangely though, unlike the situation of Irish or Scottish Gaelic, the islands appeared to have lost the old Celtic language before parts of the mainland. During the English Civil War, the isles were a stronghold for the Royalists. It was during this period that the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War started between the isles and the Netherlands. In June 1651, the isles were captured from the Royalists by Admiral Robert Blake for the Parliamentarians. Scilly is famous for its danger to shipping and its many shipwrecks. The wreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovell's ship, HMS Association, in 1707 off the Isles of Scilly due to inaccuracies in navigation led to the development of the method of lunar distances and to the invention of the chronometer by John Harrison, the first reliable methods of determining longitude at sea. The sea has always played a huge part in Scillonian history but it was in the 19th century that Scilly had its maritime heyday. Beaches which are now enjoyed by sunbathers were then factories for shipbuilding; the harbours now full of pleasure boats were once packed with local and visiting fishing and trading boats. One continuing legacy of the isles' past is gig racing, wherein fast rowing boats ("gigs") with crews of six (or in one case, seven) race between the main islands. Gig racing has been said to derive from the race to collect salvage from ships wrecked on the rocks around Scilly, but the race was actually to deliver a pilot onto incoming vessels, to guide them through the hazardous reefs and shallows. (The boats are correctly termed "pilot gigs".) Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson regularly holidayed on the Isles and eventually bought a cottage there as a holiday home. He is buried on St Mary's. See also: Articles on the history of the Isles of Scilly. Articles on the history of the Isles of Scilly Articles on the history of the Isles of Scilly

Football League

The Isles of Scilly feature what is reportedly the smallest national football league in the world. The league's two clubs, Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners, play each other around twenty times a season and compete for two cups as well as the league title. The two share a ground, Garrison field, but travel to the mainland for part of the year to play other non-professional clubs.

Flag

There are primarily two flags used to represent Scilly:
- The flag of the Council of the Isles of Scilly, which incorporates their logo.
- The unofficial Scillonian Cross, voted for by readers of [http://www.scillynews.co.uk/ Scilly News]. An adapted version of the old [http://www.fotw.net/flags/gb-co-is.html#hist Board of Ordnance] flag has also been used, after it was left behind when munitions were removed from the isles. The "[http://www.fotw.net/flags/gb-corn.html#ens Cornish Ensign]" has also been used.

Economy

The principal current economic activity is tourism. The tourist season has been extended into October when many birders arrive. Because of its position, Scilly is the first landing for many migrant birds, including extreme rarities from North America and Siberia. The main transport links with the mainland are currently:
- helicopter services between Penzance Heliport and St Mary's and Tresco
- aeroplane services to St Mary's from various UK airports
- by sea on the Scillonian III, sailing from Penzance harbour The freehold of the islands is the property of the British Crown (except for Hugh Town, on St Mary's, which was sold to the inhabitants in 1949). The crown estate in the islands is administered by the Duchy of Cornwall.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

In 1975, the islands were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The designation covers the entire archipelago, including the uninhabited islands and rocks, and is the smallest such area so designated. The islands of Annet and Samson have large terneries and the islands are well populated by seals. The Scilly Isles are the only British haunt of the White toothed Shrew. The islands are famous amongst birdwatchers, especially twitchers for their almost magnetic abillity to attract rare birds from all corners of the globe. The peak time of year for this is generally in October when it is not unusual for several of the rarest birds in Europe to share this archipelago. One reason for the success of these islands in producing rarities is the extensive coverage these islands get from birdwatchers, but island archipelagos are favoured by rare birds which like to make landfall and eat before continuing their journeys and often arrive on far flung islands first.

External links

-
- [http://www.simplyscilly.co.uk Isles of Scilly Tourist Information Centre Website]
- [http://www.ios-aonb.org.uk/ Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Website]
- [http://www.scillynews.co.uk Scilly News] - Local website with upto date news.
- Isles of Scilly Isles of Scilly Category:Local government districts in Cornwall Category:Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England Isles of Scilly Category:Unitary authorities in England

Cornish language

The Cornish language (in Cornish: Kernowek, Kernewek, Curnoack) is one of the Brythonic group of Celtic languages that includes Welsh, Breton, the extinct Cumbric and perhaps the hypothetical Ivernic. The Celtic languages of Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx are part of the separate Goidelic group. Cornish shares about 80% basic vocabulary with Breton, 75% with Welsh, 35% with Irish, and 35% with Scottish Gaelic. By comparison, Welsh shares about 70% with Breton. The language died out in the late 18th century, and was revived in the 20th century. Currently around 3,500 speak Cornish to a basic conversational level, and 300-400 fluently.

History

The proto-Cornish language came into being after the Southwest Britons of Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall became geographically separated from the West Britons of later Wales after the Battle of Deorham in about 577. The area controlled by the Southwest Britons was progressively reduced by the expansion of Wessex over the next few centuries. Around 930, Cornwall was finally conquered by the Saxon king Athelstan. However, the Cornish language continued to flourish well through the Middle Ages, reaching a peak of about 38,000 speakers (estimated by Ken George) in the 13th century. At the time of the Prayer Book rebellion of 1549, which was a reaction to Parliament passing the first Act of Uniformity, people in many areas of Cornwall did not speak or understand English. (The intention of the Act was to replace worship in Latin with worship in English, which was assumed, by the lawmakers, to be universally spoken throughout England. Instead of simply banning Latin, however, the Act was framed so as to enforce English.) In 1549, this imposition of a new language was sometimes a matter of life and death: many Cornish people protesting against the imposition of an English Prayer book were massacred by the King's army. Their leaders were executed and the people suffered numerous reprisals. Early Modern Cornish was the subject of a study by the Welsh linguist Edward Lhuyd in 1700, and differs from the mediaeval language in having a simpler structure and grammar. By this time the language was already arguably in decline from its earlier heyday, and the situation worsened over the course of the next century. It is often claimed that the last native speaker of Cornish was the Mousehole resident Dolly Pentreath, who died in 1777. Notwithstanding her supposed last words, "Me ne vidn cewsel Sawznek!" ("I don't want to speak English!"), she spoke at least some English as well as Cornish. The last monoglot Cornish speaker is believed to have been Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian. It does, however, appear to be true that Dolly Pentreath spoke Cornish fluently and may have been the last to do so before the revival of the language in the 20th century. There is evidence that Cornish continued, albeit in limited usage by a handful of speakers, throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century. In 1875 six speakers all in their sixties were discovered. Fishermen, for example, were counting fish in the Cornish language into the 1940s. It has been suggested by Cornish linguist Richard Gendall that some dialects of English spoken in Cornwall (especially the dialect of West Penwith, where traditional Cornish was last spoken) display strong lexical and prosodic influences from the Cornish language that almost certainly go back several centuries.

Revival

The first successful attempt to revive Cornish was largely the work of Henry Jenner and Robert Morton Nance in the early part of the twentieth century. This system was called Unified Cornish (Kernewek Unyes) and was based mainly on Middle Cornish (the language of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries — a high point for Cornish literature), with a standardised spelling and an extended vocabulary based largely on Breton and Welsh. For many years, this was the modern Cornish language, and many people still use it today. Shortcomings in Unified Cornish had to do in part with the stiff and archaising literary style Nance had employed, and in part with a realisation that Nance's phonology lacked some distinctions which must have obtained in traditional Cornish. In the 1970s, Tim Saunders raised a number of issues of communicative efficiency, but his initiative had no influence and later developments are entirely independent. In the early 1980s, Richard Gendall, who had worked with Nance, published a new system based on the meagre prose works of Nicholas Boson and John Boson. This system, called Modern Cornish (Curnoack Nowedga) by its proponents, differs from Unified Cornish in using the English-based orthographies of the 17th and 18th centuries, though there are also differences of vocabulary and grammar. Gendall was not the first to perceive that the Unified Cornish standard did have some serious deficiencies, but his anglicised spelling was particularly unpopular, and his frequent revisions discouraged potential supporters. In 1986 Ken George developed a revised orthography (and phonology) for Revived Cornish, which became known as Kernewek Kemmyn (lit. Common Cornish). It was subsequently adopted by the Cornish Language Board as their preferred system. It retained a Middle Cornish base but made the spelling more systematic by applying phonemic orthographic theory, and for the first time set out clear rules relating spelling to pronunciation. The revised system was taken up enthusiastically by the majority of Cornish speakers and learners, and was especially welcomed by teachers. Nevertheless, a minority chose to continue using Unified Cornish. Despite later criticism by Nicholas Williams (see below), Kernewek Kemmyn has retained the support of perhaps 80% of active Cornish speakers. ([http://www.gosw.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/ McKinnon Report, 2000], Table 3.2). In 1995 Nicholas Williams proposed an alternative revision of Unified Cornish known as as Unified Cornish Revised or UCR (Kernowek Unys Amendys). This version adapted the spelling to fit a phonology reconstructed on the basis of Dr. Williams' theories, while keeping as close as possible to the orthographic practices of the medieval scribes. In common with Kernewek Kemmyn, it makes full use of Tudor and Late Cornish prose materials unavailable to Nance. Williams published his English-Cornish Dictionary in this orthography in 2000. Like the other orthographies, UCR also has its adherents and its detractors. It has not however become the standard for all users of Cornish, as its supporters had hoped. In practice these different written forms do not prevent Cornish-speakers from communicating with each other effectively. Cornish has been successfully revived as a viable language for communication. Nevertheless there is still much scope for improving the standard and accuracy of the spoken language.

Current status

In the 20th century a conscious effort was made to revive Cornish as a language for everyday use in speech and writing (see below for further details about the dialects of modern Cornish). It is estimated that there are now approximately 3,500 speakers of Cornish (about 0.7% of the Cornish population) and 300-400 fluent speakers (about 0.07%). It is estimated that in excess of 5,000 more have some knowledge of basic phrases or could understand basic sentences. A few people under the age of 30 have been brought up speaking it. Cornish exists in place names, and a knowledge of the language helps the understanding of old place names. Many Cornish names are adopted for children, pets, houses and boats. There is now an amount of Cornish literature, in which poetry is the most important genre, particularly in oral form or as song. Cornwall County Council has, as policy, a commitment to support the language, and recently passed a motion supporting it being specified within the European charter for regional or minority languages. There are regular periodicals solely in the language such as the monthly An Gannas, An Gowsva, and An Garrick. Radio Cornwall and Pirate FM have regular news broadcasts in Cornish, and sometimes have other programmes and features for learners and enthusiasts. Local newspapers such as the Western Morning News regularly have articles in Cornish, and newspapers such as The Packet, The West Briton and The Cornishman also support the movement. The language has financial sponsorship from many sources, including the Millennium Commission. Increasingly, churches have notices in Cornish and English. The take-up of the language is now becoming so widespread that language organisations are finding it difficult to keep up with demand. These organisations include (in alphabetical order) Agan Tavas (Our Language), the Cornish sub-group of the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, Gorseth Kernow, Kesva an Taves Kernewek (the Cornish Language Board), Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek (the Cornish Language Fellowship), and Teere ha Tavas (Land and Language). One organisation, Dalleth, promoted the language to pre-school children. There are many popular ceremonies, some ancient, some modern, which use the language or are entirely in the language.

Culture

:See Cornish literature Cornwall has many other cultural events associated with the language, including the international Celtic film festival, hosted in St Ives in 1997, with the programme in Cornish, English and French. There have been many films, some televised, made entirely, or significantly, in the language. Some shops, such as Gwynn ha Du, in the town of Liskeard, sell books written in Cornish. Many companies use Cornish names. The overnight physician's service in Cornwall is now called Kernowdoc. Cornish is taught in some schools; it was previously taught at degree level in the University of Wales, though the only existing courses in the language at University level are as part of a course in Cornish Studies at the University of Exeter, or as part of the distance-learning Welsh degree from the University of Wales, Lampeter. The Cornish language has been recognised as a minority language by the UK government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This follows years of pressure by interest groups such as Mebyon Kernow and Kesva an Taves Kernewek. The first complete edition of the New Testament in Cornish, Nicholas Williams' translation of the Testament Noweth agan Arluth ha Savyour Jesu Cryst, was published at Easter 2002 by Spyrys a Gernow (ISBN 0-9535975-4-7); it uses Unified Cornish Revised orthography. The translation was made from the Greek text, and incorporated John Tregear's existing translations with slight revisions. In August 2004, Kesva an Taves Kernewek published its edition of the New Testament in Cornish (ISBN 1-902917-33-2), translated by Keith Syed and Ray Edwards; it uses Kernewek Kemmyn orthography. It was launched in a ceremony in Truro Cathedral attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Celtic Congress and Celtic League also recognise Cornwall as a full member along with Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, and Brittany. The Congress is a group that advocates cooperation amongst the Celtic Nations in order to protect and promote Celtic languages and cultures.

European recognition

On November 5, 2002 in answer to a Parliamentary Question, Local Government and Regions Minister Nick Raynsford said:

"After careful consideration and with the help of the results of an independent academic study on the language commissioned by the government, we have decided to recognise Cornish as falling under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The government will be registering this decision with the Council of Europe.

"The purpose of the Charter is to protect and promote the historical regional or minority languages of Europe. It recognises that some of these languages are in danger of extinction and that protection and encouragement of them contributes to Europe's cultural diversity and historical traditions.

"This is a positive step in acknowledging the symbolic importance the language has for Cornish identity and heritage.

"Cornish will join Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots and Ulster Scots as protected and promoted languages under the Charter, which commits the government to recognise and respect those languages."

Officials will be starting discussions with Cornwall County Council and Cornish language organisations to ensure the views of Cornish speakers and people wanting to learn Cornish are taken into account in implementing the Charter.

Sounds

The pronunciation of traditional Cornish is a matter of conjecture, but varieties of Revived Cornish are more or less agreed about the phonology they use.

The Consonants of Revived Cornish

This is a table of the phonology of Revived Cornish as recommended for the pronunciation of Unified Cornish Revised (UCR) orthography, using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

The Vowels of Revived Cornish

These are tables of the phonology of Revived Cornish as recommended for the pronunciation of Unified Cornish Revised (UCR) orthography, using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

Grammar

Cornish is a member of the Celtic branch of the Indo-European family of languages, and shares many of the characteristics of the other Celtic languages. These include:
- Initial consonant mutation. The first sound of a Cornish word may change according to grammatical context. There are four types of mutation in Cornish (compared to three in Welsh and two in Irish). These are known as soft (b -> v, etc.), hard (b -> p), aspirate (b unchanged, t -> th) and mixed (b -> f). ¹Before unrounded vowels, l, and r (provided it is followed by an unrounded vowel).
²Before rounded vowels, and r (provided it is followed by a rounded vowel).
- inflected (or conjugated) prepositions. A preposition combines with a personal pronoun to give a separate word form. For example, gans (with, by) + my (me) -> genef; gans + ef (him) -> ganso.
- No indefinite article. Cath means "a cat" (there is, however a definite article: an gath means "the cat").
- For other grammatical characteristics of Cornish, see the section on grammar in the Welsh language article, until this section is finished.

Dialects

There are, essentially, four 'dialects' of Cornish. They are not dialects in the normal sense (though regional variations exist to some degree), but rather differences in the manner of revival. See: Revival It is also possible that a variety of Cornish was spoken in Devon as late as the 14th century: Then President of the Devonshire Association, Sir Henry Duke, said in 1922 that "various writers have made (assertions) of the continuance of British occupancy and of the British tongue in South and West Devon to a time well within the reigns of the Plantagenets. Risdon, for example, says that the Celtic tongue was spoken throughout the South Hams in Edward the First's time".

Examples

This table compares some Cornish words (written using UCR and Kernewek Kemmyn orthographies) with equivalents from its sister Brythonic languages of Welsh and Breton.

External links

- [http://www.cornish-language-news.org/ An Burow]Cornish Language News Website
- [http://www.agantavas.org.uk/ Agan Tavas]—The Society for the Promotion of the Cornish language
- [http://www.cswf.org.uk/index.html Uniting the Cornish language]
- [http://www1.fa.knaw.nl/mercator/regionale_dossiers/regional_dossier_cornish_in_uk.htm Cornish - The Cornish Language in education in the United Kingdom]
- [http://www.bibelkernewek.com/ Bibel Kernewek]Cornish Bible Translation Project
- [http://www.cornish-language.org/ Cornish Language Fellowship]
- [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page:Kernewek The >>NEW<< Cornish edition of Wikisource]
- [http://www.evertype.com/celtcong/ International Celtic Congress]
- [http://www.evertype.com/gram/ecd.html English-Cornish Dictionary]
- [http://www.evertype.com/gram/tn.html Testament Noweth]—New Testament in Cornish
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Cornish-english/ Cornish-English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/connected/stories/new_cornwall_language.shtml Blas Kernewek - A Taste of Cornish] - basic Cornish lessons hosted by BBC Cornwall
- [http://www.cornishbible.com/ Downloadable Machine Translation of the Entire Bible into Cornish with English Parallel Text]

References

- [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/cornish/GOSW/education.htm Cornish Language Study] - Cornwall County Council survey of Cornish teaching
- [http://www.cornish-language.org/english/faq.asp Cornish Language Fellowship FAQs] Category:Brythonic languages Category:Cornish language Cornish Category:Minority languages als:Kornisch ja:コーンウォール語 nb:Kornisk språk

Archipelago

An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion and deposition. The word comes from the Aegean Sea (Greek αρχιπέλαγος, Italian Arcipelago), which literally means "chief sea", from Greek arkhi (leader) and pelagos (sea). The Aegean Sea is located between Greece in the west and Turkey in the east. In the Aegean, the Venetian Dukes of the Archipelago ruled from Naxos, 1210–1566. "Archipelago" is also the name of a popular videogame from the early 1990s. The Archipelago Exchange is a fully electronic stock exchange that agreed to merge with the New York Stock Exchange in April 2005 to form the for-profit NYSE Group. "Archipelago" is also the name of an improvisational free-folk group of musicians from New Orleans, and records on the Backporch Revolution label.

List of archipelagoes

- ABC islands
- Aegean islands
- Cyclades
- Dodecanese
- Aleutian Islands
- Alexander Archipelago
- Andaman Islands
- Antilles (West Indies)
- Greater Antilles
- Puerto Rican Islands
- Lesser Antilles
- Leeward Islands
- Windward Islands
- Azores
- Bahama Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Balearic Islands
- Baltic Sea archipelagoes
- Stockholm archipelago
- Turku archipelago
- Åland Islands
- Bight of Bonny islands
- British Isles
- Channel Islands
- Hebrides
- Isles of Scilly
- Orkney Islands
- Shetland Islands
- Canadian Arctic islands
- Belcher Islands
- Chagos Archipelago
- Channel Islands of California
- Chausey
- Chonos Archipelago
- Comoro Islands
- Diego Ramírez Islands
- Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
- Faroe Islands
- Florida Keys
- Fox Islands
- Frisian Islands (or Wadden Islands)
- East Frisian Islands
- North Frisian Islands
- West Frisian Islands
- Furneaux Group
- Galápagos Islands (Colón
- Gothenburg archipelago
- Guayaneco Archipelago
- Japanese Archipelago
- Juan Fernández Islands
- Kerguelen Islands
- Kermadec Islands
- Kornati
- Lakshadweep (Laccadives)
- Lofoten
- Los Roques
- Macaronesia
- Canary Islands
- Cape Verde Islands
- Barlavento
- Sotavento
- Madeira Islands
- Magdalen Islands
- Malay archipelago (the world's largest)
- Maluku Islands
- Philippine Islands
- Sunda Islands
- Greater Sunda Islands
- Lesser Sunda Islands
- Maldives
- Maltese islands
- Mascarene Islands
- Seychelles Islands
- Aldabra Group
- Amirante Islands
- Farquhar Group
- Melanesia
- Bismarck Archipelago
- Fiji Islands
- New Caledonia (Kanaky)
- Loyalty Islands
- Solomon Islands
- Vanuatu (New Hebrides)
- Micronesia
- Caroline Islands
- Gilbert Islands (Kiribati)
- Line Islands
- Mariana Islands
- Marshall Islands
- Ralik Chain
- Ratak Chain
- Palau
- Phoenix Islands
- New Siberian Islands
- Nicobar Islands
- New England and New York islands (Manhattan, City Island, Long Island, Rikers Island, Roosevelt Island, Staten Island, Block Island, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Long Beach Island, Elizabeth Islands)
- Novaya Zemlya islands
- Polynesia
- Cook Islands (Hervey Islands)
- French Polynesia
- Austral Islands
- Gambier Islands
- Marquesas
- Society Islands
- Îles du vent (Windward Islands)
- Îles sous le vent (Leeward Islands)
- Tuamotus
- Hawaiian Islands (Sandwich Islands)
- New Zealand islands (Aotearoa)
- Pitcairn Islands
- Samoan Islands (Navigators' Islands)
- American Samoa (Eastern Samoa)
- Samoa (Western Samoa)
- Tonga Islands (Friendly Islands)
- Tokelau (Union Islands)
- Tuvalu (Ellice Islands)
- Wallis and Futuna Islands
- Horne Islands
- Pontine Islands
- Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii)
- Saint Helena islands
- San Juan Islands
- Solentiname Islands
- South China Sea Islands
- Paracel Islands
- Spratly Islands
- South Orkney Islands
- South Sandwich Islands
- South Shetland Islands
- Svalbard
- Thousand Islands
- Tierra del Fuego
- "The World", an archipelago of artificial islands being constructed off Dubai
- Tuscan Archipelago
- Venice islands

Cornwall

Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow or occasionally Curnow) is a county of England's south-west peninsula, lying west of the River Tamar. Cornwall's county town and only city is Truro, situated at . The county covers an area of 1,376 square miles (3,563 km²), and includes the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles (45 km) offshore. Cornwall has a relatively low population at 513,527, and population density at 144 people per square kilometre (373/mi²). Cornwall is the poorest region in the United Kingdom. Somewhere between 6% and 55% (sources differ) of Cornish people do not consider themselves to be English, and regard Cornwall as a Celtic home nation and Duchy of the UK. It should be noted that Cornwall, the county, has been described as a Duchy on occasion by official bodies, see the constitutional status of Cornwall. The revival of the Cornish language in the 20th century has boosted Cornish cultural identity, and although currently less than 0.1% of the population speak it fluently, it is taught in many schools and used in religious and civic ceremonies.

History

The modern English name is likely to derive from the same root as Wales (Walea, meaning foreigner) combined with its Roman name of Cornubia (see below). (Many maps depicting the region before its conquest by the Saxons even refer to it as West Wales.) It is also proposed that it may derive from the Celtic tribe of the Cornovii. [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/history/ab-hi32.htm]. A people of this name are known, from Roman sources, to have lived in the Outer Powys to Shropshire area of the later Wales and England. One theory suggests that a contingent was sent to the West Country in order to rule the land there and keep out the invading Irish. A similar situation occurred in North Wales. However, there is no evidence for this move west, and Cornish place names of a similar age indicate that there was an independent tribe of Cornovii in the West Country. The Romans knew the area as Cornubia, probably a sub-kingdom of the greater Dumnonia that covered much of the West Country at that time, while in Cornish it was known as Kernow or Curnow; a name which has regained some currency today. It is worthy of note that on many maps produced before the 18th century Cornwall was depicted as a nation of Great Britain; famous example are Gerardus Mercator's Atlas[http://www.walkingtree.com/] and the famous Mappa Mundi. Mappa Mundi Cornwall was the principal source of tin for the civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean, and at one time the Cornish were the world's foremost experts at mining. As Cornwall's reserves of tin began to be exhausted many Cornishmen emigrated to places such as the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa where their skills were in demand. The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 is attributed to Tin miners. The tin mines in Cornwall are now economically worked-out at current prices, but the expertise and culture of the Cornish tin miners lives on in a number of places around the world. It is said that, wherever you may go in the world, if you see a hole in the ground, you'll find a Cornishman at the bottom of it. Several Cornish mining words are in use in English language mining terminology, such as costean, gunnies, and vug. In 1841 there were nine hundreds of Cornwall: Stratton, Lesneweth and Trigg; East and West; Powder; Pydar; Kerrier and Penwith. The shire suffix has been attached to several of these, notably: the first three formed Triggshire; East and West appear to be divisions of Wivelshire; Powdershire and Pydarshire. The old names of Kerrier and Penwith have been re-used for modern local government districts. local government districts Since the decline of tin mining, agriculture and fishing, the area's economy has become increasingly dependent on tourism — some of Britain's most spectacular coastal scenery can be found here. However Cornwall is the poorest county in England and it has been granted Objective 1 status by the EU. A political party, Mebyon Kernow, the MK, or 'Sons of Cornwall', was formed in 1951 to attempt to assert some degree of autonomy (see Cornish nationalism); although increasingly the flag of St. Piran is seen across Cornwall at protests and demonstrations, the party has not achieved significant success at the ballot box, although they do have some councillors. Recently there have been some developments in the recognition of Cornish identity or ethnicity. In 2001 for the first time in the UK the inhabitants of Cornwall could record their ethnicity as Cornish on the national census and in 2004 the schools census in Cornwall carried a Cornish option as a subdivision of white British.

Physical geography

schools census Cornwall, being exposed to the full force of the Atlantic Ocean, is composed entirely of resistant rocks, as less resistant rocks have been eroded away. The centre of the county is largely Devonian sandstone and slate. The north east of the county lies on Carboniferous sandstone. Cornwall is particularly known for its igneous outcrops, which include the granite of Bodmin Moor and the areas around Camborne and Land's End, and the dark green serpentine of the Lizard Peninsula. The granite forms high treeless moors on which sheep graze, and the characteristic Cornish cliffs. Cornwall is the southernmost county of the British Isles, and therefore has a relatively warm and sunny climate. However, being unprotected from the Atlantic it also has more extreme weather. The average annual temperature for most of the county is 10.2 to 12 degrees Celsius (50 to 54 °F), with slightly lower temperatures on the moors . The county has relatively high rainfall, though less than more northern areas of the west coast, at 1051 to 1290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year . Most of the county enjoys over 1541 hours of sunshine per year .

Politics

hour Parliamentary representation for Cornwall is dominated by the Liberal Democrats. Currently all five of the Cornish MPs are Liberal Democrat. Two of the current MPs — Andrew George, MP for St Ives; and Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall — repeated their Parliamentary oaths in Cornish. The local councils also have a large portion of Lib Dem members. Most local Liberal Democrat MPs and councillors strongly support moves for devolved agencies and governance to Cornwall, as do some Welsh nationalists. Although Cornwall is a county of England, an independence movement exists that seeks more autonomy. Additionally some groups and individuals question the constitutional status of Cornwall and its relation to the Duchy of Cornwall. Cornish nationalists have organised into two political parties: Mebyon Kernow and the Cornish Nationalist Party. In addition to the political parties the Cornish Stannary Parliament acts as a pressure group on Cornish constitutional issues and Cornwall 2000 the Human Rights organisation works with Cornish cultural issues. In November 2000 the Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed. It is a cross-party organisation including representatives from the private, public and voluntary sectors, of all political parties and none. Between 5 March 2000 and December 2001, the campaign for a Cornish Assembly collected the signatures of 41,650 Cornish residents endorsing the Declaration for a Cornish Assembly, in total 50,546 including people outside Cornwall. The British government however has no plans to devolve more power to Cornwall and the issue does not receive much political or media attention. Cornwall is one of the smaller counties by population and has around a fifth of the population of what is the smallest region of England.

Flag

Image:cornwallflag22.PNG
Saint Piran's Flag

There is some dispute about whether the patron saint of Cornwall is Saint Michael, Saint Petroc or Saint Piran. Saint Piran is the most popular of the three; his emblem (a vertical white cross on a black background) is recognised as the flag of Cornwall, and his day (March 5) is celebrated by Cornish people around the world. The Saint Piran's Flag even features on the packaging for Ginster's Cornish pasties to advertise their status as a Cornwall-based company.

Demographics

Cornish pasties Cornwall's population is 513,527, and population density 144 people per square kilometre, ranking the county 40th and 41st respectively compared to the other 47 counties of England. Cornwall has a relatively high level of population growth, however, at 11.2% in the 1980s and 5.3% in the 1990s, giving it the fifth highest population growth of the English counties . The natural change has been a small population decline, and the population increase is due to immigration into the county . Cornwall has a relatively high retired population, with 22.9% of pensionable age, compared to 20.3% for the United Kingdom . This may be due to a combination of Cornwall's rural and coastal geography, popular as a retirement location, and due to the emigration of younger residents to more economically diverse areas.

Economy

Cornwall is the poorest region in the United Kingdom. The GDP is 62% of the national average . Cornwall is one of four UK regions that qualifies for poverty-related grants from the EU (European Social Fund). Today, the Cornish economy depends heavily on its successful tourist industry, which makes up around a quarter of the Cornish economy. In particular, Newquay is a popular destination for surfers. In recent years, the Eden Project has been a major financial success. Other industries are fishing, although this has been significantly damaged by EU fishing policies, and agriculture, which has also declined significantly. Mining of tin and copper was also an industry, but today no longer exists, and several defunct mines have applied for status as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Culture

UNESCO

Language

The Cornish language is closely related to Welsh and Breton, and less so to Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx. It continued as a living Celtic language until 1777 and the death of Dolly Pentreath, the last person thought to have used only the Cornish language (although this is disputed on a number of counts). The publication of Henry Jenner's "Handbook of the Cornish Language" in 1904 caused a resurgence of interest in the Cornish language and efforts are being made to revive it. Although there has never been a census, there are some 2,000 Cornish speakers, 100–150 of whom are fluent. It has recently been officially recognised by the UK government as a minority language. Some Cornish surnames are prefixed by Tre, Pol, or Pen, as indicated in the rhyme "by Tre, Pol and Pen ye shall know Cornishmen." These come from Cornish language words meaning, respectively, town (or farm), pool, and head.

Cornish studies and literary references

The Institute of Cornish Studies, established in 1970, is a branch of the University of Exeter, and now part of the Combined Universities in Cornwall Campus at Tremough, Penryn. Philip Payton, professor Cornish studies, has written a history of Cornwall as well as editing the Cornish studies series, and other academics, including Mark Stoyle of the University of Southampton and John Angarrack of the human rights organisation Cornwall 2000, have also produced work on Cornish culture. A detailed overview of literature is provided by A. M. Kent's 'The Literature of Cornwall'. It covers everything from Medieval mystery plays to more recent literary works that draw on the Cornish landscape. Notable Cornish writers include Arthur Quiller-Couch alias "Q", the deaf short story writer, Jack Clemo and D. M. Thomas acclaimed author and poet. Cornwall also produced a substantial amount of passion plays during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language. Daphne du Maurier lived in Cornwall and set many of her novels there, including Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and The House on the Strand. She is also noted for writing Vanishing Cornwall. Charles de Lint's novel The Little Country, Winston Graham's series Poldark, Kate Tremayne's Adam Loveday series, Susan Cooper's novels Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch, Mary Wesley's The Camomile Lawn and Gilbert and Sullivan's musical The Pirates of Penzance are all set in Cornwall.

Religion

Traditionally, the Cornish have been nonconformists, in religion. Celtic Christianity was a feature of Cornwall and many Cornish saints are commemorated in legends, churches and place names. The Methodism of John Wesley also proved to be very popular with the working classes in Cornwall in the 18th century. Cornwall has shared in the post-World War II decline in British religious feeling. In 2003, a campaign group was formed called Fry an Spyrys (free the spirit in Cornish) [http://www.freethespirit.org.uk/]. It is dedicated to disestablishing the Church of England in Cornwall.

Music and festivals

Cornwall has a rich and vibrant folk music tradition which has survived into the present. Cornwall is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Plays, the Furry Dance in Helston, and Obby Oss in Padstow. Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth's folk festival.

Sports and games

Cornwall has its own unique form of wrestling related to Breton wrestling. Cornwall's other county sport is hurling, a kind of medieval football played with a silver ball. Hurling is distinct from Irish Hurling. The sport now takes place in St Columb and St Ives although hurling of a silver ball is part of the beating the bounds ceremony at Bodmin every five years. Rugby has a larger following in Cornwall than football, with the Cornish Pirates RFC, Launceston RFC and Redruth RFC in the national leagues. The county team often drawing very large crowds of supporters, dubbed Trelawny's Army. Due to its large coastline, various maritime sports are popular in Cornwall, notably sailing and surfing. International events in both are held in Cornwall. Cornwall will host the Inter-Celtic Watersports Festival in 2006. Rock climbing on the sea cliffs and inland cliffs has been popular since the pioneeering work of A. W. Andrews and others in the early 1900s, and is now highly developed. Euchre is a popular card game in Cornwall, it is normally a game for four players consisting of two teams. Its origins are unclear but some claim it is a Cornish game. There are several leagues in Cornwall at present.

Food

Cornwall is famous for its pasties (a pastry dish - traditionally a Cornish Pasty contains meat and vegetables, often peppered), but saffron buns, Cornish Heavy (Hevva) Cake, Cornish fairings (biscuit), Cornish fudge and Cornish ice cream are also quite common. Cornwall with the South West shares clotted cream and many types of cider. There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall – the St Austell brewery is the best-known – including a stout and there is some small scale production of wine. Rodda's cream (a creamery based in Cornwall) is eaten by the queen at Christmas.

Settlements

Christmas This is a list of the main towns and cities in the county; for a complete list of settlements see list of places in Cornwall.
- Bodmin, Bude
- Camborne
- Falmouth
- Hayle, Helston
- Launceston, Liskeard
- Newquay
- Penzance
- Redruth
- Saltash, St Austell, St Ives
- Truro
- Wadebridge

Transport

Cornwall borders the county of Devon at the River Tamar. Major road links between Cornwall and the rest of England are the A38 which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge, and the A30 which crosses the border south of Launceston. A car ferry also links Plymouth with the town of Torpoint on the opposite side of the Hamoaze. A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1859) provides the only other major transport link. Newquay has an airport which has flights from London Gatwick, London Stansted, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Dublin, Birmingham, Durham Tees Valley and a flight to Málaga has recently been announced. The airport shares RAF St. Mawgan's runways and facilities; however, this is under threat as the Ministry of Defence is planning to mothball the base.

Places of interest

The Isles of Scilly have in some periods been served by the same county administration as Cornwall, but are today a separate Unitary Authority. Some secessionists have found the phrase "English Heritage" to be controversial, and in 2003, there has been a general move to replace these signs, and the Tudor Rose with the Cornish flag, after a group started removing them.

External links

- [http://www.cornwalltouristboard.co.uk/ The official Cornwall Tourist Board]
- [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/ Cornwall County Council] See a Time Line of Cornish History and Made in Cornwall.
- [http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/ The South West Coast Path National Trail]
- [http://www.marjon.ac.uk/cornish-history/index.htm Cornish History]
- [http://www.institutes.ex.ac.uk/ics/ The Institute of Cornish Studies]
- [http://telematics.ex.ac.uk/realcornwall/index.asp Real Cornwall] Explores the themes of Food & Drink, People & Places, Sports & Games and Arts & Media.
- [http://www.an-daras.com/ An Daras Cornish culture]
- [http://www.cuc.ac.uk/ Combined Universities in Cornwall]
- [http://www.senedhkernow.com/ Campaign for a Cornish Assembly]
- [http://www.westbriton.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144124&command=newPage/ This is Cornwall] Local news
- [http://www.cornwall24.co.uk/ Cornwall 24] Independent Cornish news site with topical debate
- [http://www.geocities.com/cornishnews/ Cornishnews] The news in Cornish
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/cornish_nation_01.shtml The Cornish: A Neglected Nation?] By Dr Mark Stoyle
- [http://www.kernowtgg.co.uk/ Tyr Gwyr Gweryn] A different view of Cornish history
- [http://www.zawn.freeserve.co.uk/ The Trevithick Society] A charitable organisation involved in Industrial Archaeology and the industrial past in Cornwall
- [http://www.londoncornish.co.uk/ The London Cornish Association]
- [http://www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk/ Cornish World] Cornwall's biggest independent magazine
- [http://www.cumpas.co.uk/index.php/ Cumpas] A charitable organisation which aims to protect, research and promote traditional Cornish music
- [http://www.cornwall-rfu.org.uk/ Cornwall Rugby Union] Home to the Cornish Rugby Football Union
- [http://www.newquay-airport.co.uk/ Newquay Airport's homepage]
- [http://blerg.net/maps/campsites.php Campsites in Cornwall] A map displaying the locations of campsites in Cornwall
- [http://www.cornwallsmba.org.uk Cornwall County Short Mat Bowling Association] Website for sport of Short Mat Bowls played by 1300 people in 64 clubs in Cornwall
- [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jlsymo/cansw.htm Cornish Association of NSW, Australia] Cornish Association of New South Wales, Australia.
- [http://www.soskernow.co.uk Soskernow] Friends of Cornwall

References

# Office for National Statistics, 2003 [http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0506/grant.htm Population estimates]. # Office for National Statistics, 2001. [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/Facts/fact2.htm Population Change in England by County 1981-2000]. # Office for National Statistics, 2001. [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/Facts/fact74.htm Births, Deaths and Natural Change in Cornwall 1974 - 2001]. # Office for National Statistics, 1996. [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/Transport/Ltp/Tables/Table004.htm % of Population of Pension Age (1996)]. # Met Office, 2000. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/averages/19712000/tmean/17.gif Annual average temperature for the United Kingdom]. # Met Office, 2000. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/averages/19712000/rr/17.gif Annual average rainfall for the United Kingdom]. # Met Office, 2000. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/averages/19712000/ss/17.gif Annual average sunshine for the United Kingdom]. # The Economist, May 28th-June 3rd 2005 # [http://education.guardian.co.uk/further/story/0,5500,1479952,00.html Guardian, Tuesday May 10, 2005]
Category:Former countries Category:Sovereignty movements Cornwall ja:コーンウォール simple:Cornwall

UÇK

UÇK is an acronym used by two Albanian guerrilla movements from 1992 to 2001:
- The most well known group is Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës (Albanian for the Kosovo Liberation Army - KLA), which operated in Kosovo from 1995 to 1999. (The name was in use from 1992, but the guerrilla did not start its armed uprising before 1995.)
- Not so well known is Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare (Albanian for National Liberation Army), which operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2000 and 2001. This movement is often confused with the KLA because of its identical (Albanian) acronym, and because many of the NLA soldiers were KLA veterans.

External links

- [http://www.kosovo.com/kla2.html KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY - Freedom Fighters or...] Truth in facts and testimonies
- [http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=519 Ibrahim Rugova: Victory of the Passive Resistance?] Category:History of Kosovo

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority, which has a single-tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area. This is opposed to a two-tier system where local government functions are divided between different authorities. Typically unitary authorities cover large towns or cities, which are large enough to be independent of county or regional administration. Or sometimes they consist of counties which have no lower level of administration.

New Zealand

In New Zealand a unitary authority is a territorial authority (district or city) which also performs the functions of a regional council. New Zealand has four unitary authorities: Gisborne District, Nelson City, Tasman District and Marlborough District. The Chatham Islands Council is not usually considered a unitary authority, although it acts as a regional council for the purposes of the Resource Management Act.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, unitary authorities are local authorities which form a single tier of local government, and are responsible for almost all local government functions within their areas. This is opposed to the two-tier system of local government which still exists in most of England, where local government functions are divided between county councils and district councils. Until 1996 a similar two-tier system existed in Scotland and Wales but this has now been replaced by a fully unitary system. A unitary system has existed in Northern Ireland since 1973. Although most of England is still two-tier, during the 1990s, many cities and large towns became unitary authorities and thus independent from county councils, with the local council taking over both county and district functions. In addition in some small English counties such as Rutland, Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight, the county council is a unitary authority without any districts. In practice most unitary authorities in the UK are not entirely unitary, as they often run some services on a joint basis with other authorities, these typically include policing, fire services, and sometimes public transport. In addition some unitary authorities contain civil parishes, which effectively form another limited tier of local government.

History

When county councils were first established in 1889, a type of unitary authority was created called a County Borough which was independent of county council administration. County Boroughs typically covered large towns and cities. However in 1974 County Boroughs were abolished and a two-tier system was put in place everywhere. By the 1990s it was clear that the two-tier system was in many places complicated and inefficient. Many large councils re-gained their unitary status throughout the 1990s, effectively returning to the pre-1974 system, although the County Boroughs were re-named 'unitary authorities'. The term 'unitary authority' itself first surfaced in the Redcliffe-Maud Report, to describe the sort of authority the report recommended cover most of England.

Creation of unitary authorities

Unitary authorities can be created by statutory instruments, so do not require separate legislation, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1992. Typically a district of a non-metropolitan county is designated as a new non-metropolitan county, but without a county council. The borders of the original county are adjusted to exclude the unitary authority area. In common usage unitary authority areas are not usually referred to as counties, although there are exceptions such as the Herefordshire and Rutland, which are reinstatements of counties lost in the 1974 reorganisation; and the Isle of Wight, (the first Unitary Authority created after the 1992 Act, and arguably one of the simplest and least controversial to create) which was, and remains, a separate county, but now with only a single council. In some cases, such as the boroughs of metropolitan counties and Berkshire a different process was followed, where the county council was abolished, and its functions merely transferred to the districts. Scotland and Wales consistently use unitary authorities. They have been becoming common in England since the 1990s. However the two-tier arrangement (increasing to three-tiers, for the remaining county administrations) has remained in a different form due to the introduction of a regional level of administration. London boroughs and the City of London are also counted as unitary authorities. Listings of unitary authorities in England can be found by region, or in Subdivisions of England.

Other countries

Similar institituions exist in other countries, which although not called unitary authorities, are similar in concept.

Canada

More commonly referred to as single-tier municipalities, they exist as a single level of government in a province that otherwise has two levels of local government. One should not confuse municipalities in provinces with no upper-level of local government as single-tier municipalities, as these are the only level of local government in that province. Structure of a single-tier municipality varies, and while most function as cities with no upper level of government, some function as counties or regional municipalities with no lower municipal subdivisons below them. The vast majority of Canadian single-tier municipalities are located in Ontario, where they exist as individual census divisions, as well as separated municipalities.

United States

In the United States an Independent city is roughly equivalent to a unitary authority. The city might be separate from any county government, as in Virginia, or merged with a county government, as is common in Florida. In Alaska, dual-tier (county-municipality) government is rare. In Anchorage, Juneau, and Sitka, city governments are merged with their respective boroughs. In many other areas the only local government is the borough (effectively a unitary authority), and in some sparsely-populated areas there is no local government at all. Category:Politics of New Zealand Category:Local government of the United Kingdom Category:Politics of Canada

Land's End

Land's End is a headland on the Penwith peninsula, located near Penzance, Cornwall, at the extreme south-western tip of the British mainland. Visible from Land's End is the Longships Lighthouse. The Longships, a few miles out, is a serpentine and quartz island. Offshore, midway between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, is the supposed location of the mythical lost land of Lyonesse, referred to in Arthurian literature. Arthurian The name has a particular resonance because it is so often used in outlining the length of Britain when races, walks and charitable events take place between Land's End and the Scottish village John o' Groats (the most northeasterly settlement in mainland Britain). The phrase Land's End to John o' Groats is frequently heard both as a literal journey and as a metaphor for great or all-encompassing distance. There is a theme park at Land's End. Category:Cornwall Category:Penwith Category:Headlands of England Category:Visitor attractions in Cornwall ja:ランズ・エンド (岬)

Extreme points of the United Kingdom

This is a list of the extreme points of the United Kingdom: the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Traditionally the extent of the island of Great Britain has stretched "from Land's End to John o' Groats" (that is, from the extreme south west of England to the far north east of Scotland). Extreme points of the British Isles lying outside the United Kingdom (namely in Jersey and the Republic of Ireland) are also included here for convenience.

United Kingdom

- Northernmost Point — Out Stack, Shetland Islands
- Northernmost Settlement — Skaw, Unst, Shetland Islands
- Southernmost Point — Pednathise Head, Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
- Southernmost Settlement — St Agnes, Isles of Scilly
- Westernmost Point — Rockall¹
- Westernmost Settlement — Manger Beg, County Fermanagh
- Easternmost Point — Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk
- Easternmost Settlement — Lowestoft, Suffolk

British Isles

- Northernmost Point — Out Stack, Shetland Islands
- Northernmost Settlement — Skaw, Unst, Shetland Islands
- Southernmost Point — Les Minquiers Reef, Jersey, Channel Islands
- Southernmost Settlement — Saint Clement, Jersey
- Westernmost Point — Rockall²
- Westernmost Settlement — Dunquin, County Kerry
- Easternmost Point — Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk
- Easternmost Settlement — Lowestoft, Suffolk

Great Britain (mainland)

- Northernmost Point — Dunnet Head () known also as Easter Head, Caithness, Highland, Scotland
- Northernmost Settlement — Scarfskerry, Caithness, Highland, Scotland
- Southernmost Point — Lizard Point, Cornwall
- Southernmost Settlement — Lizard, Cornwall
- Westernmost Point — Corrachadh Mor, Highland 6 Degrees 13 Minutes 36.9 Seconds W.
- Westernmost Settlement — Portuairk, Highland
- Easternmost Point — Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk
- Easternmost Settlement — Lowestoft, Suffolk

England

- Northernmost Point — Marshall Meadows Bay, Northumberland
- Northernmost Settlement — Marshall Meadows, Northumberland
- Southernmost Point — Pednathise Head, Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly
- Southernmost Settlement — St Agnes, Isles of Scilly
- Westernmost Point — Crim Rocks, Isles of Scilly
- Westernmost Settlement — St Agnes, Isles of Scilly
- Easternmost Point — Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk
- Easternmost Settlement — Lowestoft, Suffolk

England (mainland)

- Northernmost Point — Marshall Meadows Bay, Northumberland
- Northernmost Settlement — Marshall Meadows, Northumberland
- Southernmost Point — Lizard Point, Cornwall
- Southernmost Settlement — Lizard, Cornwall
- Westernmost Point — Land's End, Cornwall
- Westernmost Settlement — Sennen Cove, Cornwall
- Easternmost Point — Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk
- Easternmost Settlement — Lowestoft, Suffolk

Scotland

- Northernmost Point — Out Stack, Shetland Islands
- Northernmost Settlement — Skaw, Unst, Shetland Islands
- Southernmost Point — Mull of Galloway, Wigtownshire
- Southernmost Settlement — Cairngaan, Wigtownshire
- Westernmost Point — Rockall³
- Westernmost Settlement — Bhatarsaigh, Outer Hebrides
- Easternmost Point — Bound Skerry, Out Skerries, Shetland Islands
- Easternmost Settlement — Bruray, Out Skerries, Shetland Islands

Scotland (mainland)

- Northernmost Point — Dunnet Head () known also as Easter Head, Caithness, Highland, Scotland
- Northernmost Settlement — Skarfskerry, Caithness,
- Southernmost Point — Mull of Galloway, Wigtownshire
- Southernmost Settlement — Cairngaan, Wigtownshire
- Westernmost Point — Corrachadh Mor, Argyll
- Westernmost Settlement — Portuairk, Argyll
- Easternmost Point — Keith Inch, Aberdeenshire
- Easternmost Settlement — Peterhead, Aberdeenshire

Wales

- Northernmost Point — Middle Mouse, off Anglesey
- Northernmost Settlement — Bull Bay, Anglesey
- Southernmost Point — Flat Holm, Cardiff, off Lavernock Point, Vale of Glamorgan
- Southernmost Settlement — Font-y-Gary, Vale of Glamorgan
- Westernmost Point — Grassholm Island, off Wooltack Point, Pembrokeshire
- Westernmost Settlement — Rhosson, Pembrokeshire
- Easternmost Point — Lady Park Wood, near Monmouth, Monmouthshire
- Easternmost Settlement — Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Wales (mainland)

- Northernmost Point — Point of Ayr, Flintshire
- Northernmost Settlement — Talacre, Flintshire
- Southernmost Point — Rhoose Point, Vale of Glamorgan
- Southernmost Settlement — Font-y-Gary, Vale of Glamorgan
- Westernmost Point — Pen Dal-aderyn, Pembrokeshire
- Westernmost Settlement — Rhosson, Pembrokeshire
- Easternmost Point — Lady Park Wood, near Monmouth, Monmouthshire
- Easternmost Settlement — Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Northern Ireland

- Northernmost Point — Rathlin Island, off Ballycastle Bay, County Antrim
- Northernmost Settlement — Rathlin Island, off Ballycastle Bay, County Antrim
- Southernmost Point — Cranfield Point, County Down
- Southernmost Settlement — Greencastle, County Down
- Westernmost Point — Bradoge Bridge, County Fermanagh
- Westernmost Settlement — Manger Beg, County Fermanagh
- Easternmost Point — Canon Rock, off Ards Peninsula, County Down
- Easternmost Settlement — Portavogie, County Down

Northern Ireland (mainland)

- Northernmost Point — Benbane Head, County Antrim
- Northernmost Settlement — Ballintoy, County Antrim
- Southernmost Point — Cranfield Point, County Down
- Southernmost Settlement — Greencastle, County Down
- Westernmost Point — Bradoge Bridge, County Fermanagh
- Westernmost Settlement — Manger Beg, County Fermanagh
- Easternmost Point — Burr Point, Ards Peninsula, County Down
- Easternmost Settlement — Portavogie, County Down

Notes about Rockall

Rockall is claimed by several countries, including the UK. ¹ If Rockall is not considered part of the UK, Soay, St Kilda, west of the Outer Hebrides, is the westernmost point. ² If Rockall is not considered one of the British Isles, Tearaght Island, off the Dingle Peninsula, is the westernmost point. ³ If Rockall is not considered part of Scotland, Soay, St Kilda, west of the Outer Hebrides, is the westernmost point.

Great Britain

:For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). British Isles (terminology) Great Britain is an island lying off the north-western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom (UK). Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, the three countries which together comprise the entire island and include some outlying islands. Great Britain is also widely, but inaccurately, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Geographical definition

With an area of 218 595km² (84,400 sq.mi) the island of Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles. It is the largest island in Europe, and