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Hardknott Pass is a hill pass between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England. The tarmac-surfaced road, which is the most direct route from the central Lake District to West Cumbria, shares the title of steepest road in England with Rosedale Chimney Bank in North Yorkshire. It has a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).
The pass takes its name from Hard Knott which is derived from the Old Norse harthr (hard) and knutr (craggy hill).
A single track road runs between Eskdale in the west to the edge of the neighbouring Wrynose Pass in the east. On the western side is Harter Fell and the remains of Hardknott Roman Fort (200 metres (660 ft) above sea level).
The Hardknott Pass stands at a maximum elevation of 393 m (1,289 ft). The road descends steeply at a gradient of 30% (1 in 3) into the Duddon Valley. At the eastern end of the pass is Cockley Beck farm, built in the 1860s and owned by the National Trust. The route from Hardknott leads eastward towards the Wrynose Pass and Ambleside.
The pass is described as one of the most challenging roads in Britain. A series of hairpin bends make visibility difficult in various places, and the road surface is in poor condition and slippery when wet. The pass is often closed in winter due to ice that makes the route impassable for vehicles. Traffic ascending the pass has priority as advised by the Highway Code.
The challenging 1 in 3 gradients, steeper than the mountain stages of European bicycle races including the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, draw endurance cyclists. It is part of the annual Fred Whitton Challenge, a 112-mile ride around the Lake District. An "average" cyclist who was trained over six weeks for a 2019 Eurosport documentary called England's Toughest Climb failed to complete the route.
A road over the pass was built by the Romans around AD 110 to link the coastal fort and baths at Ravenglass with their garrisons at Ambleside and Kendal. The Romans called this road the Tenth Highway. The road fell into disrepair after the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, becoming an unpaved packhorse route used to transport lead and agricultural goods. By the early Middle Ages, it was known as the Waingate ("cart road") or Wainscarth ("cart pass"): there is an 1138 record of a party of monks traversing it in an oxcart. Hardknott pass and its surrounding area fell within the domain of the Lords of Millom, being situated between the headwaters of the Esk and Duddon. Grazing and hunting rights were given to the monks of Furness Abbey by the Lords of Millom in the 13th century, which they held until the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41).
In the 1880s an association of hoteliers, the English Lake District Association, financed improvements to the road in the hope of encouraging tourist excursions by carriage; by 1891 the scheme was judged to be "not the success that was anticipated". Nevertheless, the route had some popularity with cyclists and early motorists, with the Cyclists' Touring Club 1911 Guide to North-West England describing the old coach road as "difficult going West, cruel coming East". The first motor vehicles were taken over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes, from the Eskdale side, in 1913.
In 1936, the Cumberland Highways Committee considered, and rejected, a proposal to make the pass more accessible to motorised vehicles by laying down a new road surface and making other improvements. However, during the Second World War the War Office used the area for tank training, completely destroying the existing road surface. After the war the damage was repaired and the road tarmaced. A decade after the local government had rejected opening the highway to vehicles, the war's legacy had inadvertently created a direct motor route between Ambleside and Eskdale for the first time.
The courses of the Roman and modern roads are not identical. The Roman highway is to the north of the modern road on the western side of the pass and to the south on the eastern side.
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is primarily famous for the Cumbrian Mountains, its lake and coastal scenery, and for its literary associations with William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets, Beatrix Potter, and John Ruskin.
The Cumbrian mountains, or fells, include England's tallest mountains: Scafell Pike (978 m (3,209 ft)), Helvellyn (950 m (3,120 ft)), Skiddaw (931 m (3,054 ft)), and Cross Fell (893 m (2,930 ft)), which all have a topographical prominence of more than 600m. The region contains sixteen major lakes. They include Windermere, which with a length of 18 km (11 miles) and an area of 14.73 km2 (5.69 square miles) is both the longest and largest lake in England, and Wast Water, which at 79 metres (259 ft) is the deepest lake in England.
The Lake District National Park was established in 1951, and covers an area of 2,362 km2 (912 square miles), the bulk of the region. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
National Park
The Lake District National Park includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was designated a national park on 9 May 1951, a month after the Peak District, the first UK national park. It retained its original boundaries until 2016 when it was extended by 3% in the direction of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to incorporate areas land of high landscape value around the Lune Valley.
The national park received 18.14 million tourist visitors in 2022. This equates to 29.15 million tourist days, counting visits of greater than three hours. It is the largest of the thirteen national parks in England and Wales and the second largest in the UK after the Cairngorms National Park. Its aim is to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce. The area of the national park, with the exception of the 2016 extension, was designated a World Heritage Site in 2017 as a cultural landscape. This was the fourth attempt to list the park, after two attempts in the 1980s and one in 2012 failed.
The park is governed by the National Park Authority, which is based at offices in Kendal. It runs a visitor centre on Windermere at a former country house called Brockhole, Coniston Boating Centre, and Information Centres. The Park Authority has 20 members: six appointed by Westmorland and Furness Council, four by Cumberland Council, and ten by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
Human geography
The precise extent of the Lake District was not defined traditionally, but is slightly larger than that of the National Park[citation needed], the total area of which is about 2,362 square kilometres (912 sq mi). The park extends just over 51 kilometres (32 mi) from east to west and nearly 64 kilometres (40 mi) from north to south, with areas such as the Lake District Peninsulas to the south lying outside the National Park.
Settlement
There are only a few major settlements within this mountainous area: the towns of Keswick, Windermere, Ambleside, and Bowness-on-Windermere are the four largest. Significant settlements close to the boundary of the national park include Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Ulverston, Dalton-in-Furness, Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Penrith, Millom and Grange-over-Sands; each of these has important economic links with the area. Other villages are Coniston, Threlkeld, Glenridding, Pooley Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Grasmere, Newby Bridge, Staveley, Lindale, Gosforth and Hawkshead. The economies of almost all are intimately linked with tourism. Beyond these are a scattering of hamlets and many isolated farmsteads, some of which are still tied to agriculture;[citation needed] others now function as part of the tourist economy.
Communications
Roads
The Lake District is very nearly contained within a box of trunk routes and major A roads. It is flanked to the east by the A6 road, which runs from Kendal to Penrith (though the National Park extension approved in 2015 is east of the A6); across its southern fringes by the A590, which connects the M6 to Barrow-in-Furness, and the A5092, and across its northern edge by the A66 trunk road between Penrith and Workington. The A595 (linking the A66 with the A5092) forms the park boundary from Calder Bridge to Holmrook, then crosses the coastal plain of the park until turning inland at the Whicham Valley, forming much of the park boundary again until joining the A5092 at Grizebeck.
Besides these, a few A roads penetrate the area itself, notably the A591 which runs north-westwards from Kendal to Windermere and then on to Keswick. It continues up the east side of Bassenthwaite Lake. "The A591, Grasmere, Lake District" was short-listed in the 2011 Google Street View awards in the Most Romantic Street category. The A593 and A5084 link the Ambleside and Coniston areas with the A590 to the south whilst the A592 and A5074 similarly link Windermere with the A590. The A592 also continues northwards from Windermere to Ullswater and Penrith by way of the Kirkstone Pass.
Some valleys which are not penetrated by A roads are served by B roads. The B5289 serves Lorton Vale and Buttermere and links via the Honister Pass with Borrowdale. The B5292 ascends the Whinlatter Pass from Lorton Vale before dropping down to Braithwaite near Keswick. The B5322 serves the valley of St John's in the Vale whilst Great Langdale is served by the B5343. Other valleys such as Little Langdale, Eskdale and Dunnerdale are served by minor roads. The last of these is connected with the first two by the Wrynose and Hardknott passes respectively; both of these passes are known for their steep gradients and are together one of the most popular climbs in the United Kingdom for cycling enthusiasts. A minor road through the Newlands Valley connects via Newlands Hause with the B5289 at Buttermere. Wasdale is served by a cul-de-sac minor road,[a] as is Longsleddale and the valleys at Haweswater and Kentmere. There are networks of minor roads in the lower-lying southern part of the area, connecting numerous communities between Kendal, Windermere, and Coniston.
Railways and ferries
The West Coast Main Line skirts the eastern edge of the Lake District and the Cumbrian Coast Line passes through the southern and western fringes of the area. A single railway line, the Windermere Branch Line, penetrates from Kendal to Windermere via Staveley. Railways once served Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston (closed to passengers in 1958) and another ran from Penrith to Cockermouth via Keswick (closed west of Keswick in 1966 and completely in 1972). Part of the track of the latter is used by the improved A66 trunk road.
The Cumbrian Coast line has three stations within the boundaries of the national park (and additionally Drigg, about a third of a mile from the park boundary). The line gives railway enthusiasts and others a flavour of a pre-Beeching railway line, with features like manually operated level crossing gates, as well as giving a good connection to the steam railway into Eskdale and providing access for cyclists and serious walkers to the Western Fells.
The narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway runs from Ravenglass on the west coast up Eskdale as far as Dalegarth Station near the hamlet of Boot, catering for tourists. Another heritage railway, the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, runs between Lake Windermere and Haverthwaite, and tourists can connect at Lakeside with the boats up the lake to Bowness.
A vehicle-carrying cable ferry, the Windermere Ferry, runs frequent services across Windermere. There are also seasonal passenger boats on Coniston Water, Derwent Water, and Ullswater.
Footpaths and bridleways
There are many paths over which the public has a right of way, all of which are signposted at their origin on public roads and at some other points. Within the area of the National Park in 2012 there were 2,159 km (1,342 mi) of public footpaths, 875 km (544 mi) of public bridleways, 15 km (9 mi) of restricted byways and 30 km (19 mi) of byways open to all traffic. There is also a general "right to roam" in open country, which includes approximately 50% of the national park.
Many of these tracks arose centuries ago and were used either as ridge highways (such as along High Street) or as passes for travelling across the ridges between settlements in the valleys. Historically these paths were not planned for reaching summits, but more recently they are used by fell walkers for that purpose. The Coast to Coast Walk, which crosses the north of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, traverses the national park from west to east.
Bridleways are intended for horse riding and walkers, with cyclists also permitted to use them. Cyclists must give way to all other bridleway users. Motor vehicles are only allowed on "byways open to all traffic" (green lanes) but in practice Traffic Regulation Orders have been brought in on several prohibiting motor traffic, although a system of permits operates on Gatesgarth Pass.
Land ownership
Most of the land within the national park is in private ownership, with about 55% registered as agricultural land. Landowners include:
Individual farmers and other private landowners, with more than half of the agricultural land farmed by the owners.
The National Trust owns around 25% of the total area (including some lakes and land of significant landscape value).
The Forestry Commission and other investors in forests and woodland.
United Utilities (owns 8%)
Lake District National Park Authority (owns 3.9%)
Physical geography
The Lake District is a roughly circular upland massif, deeply dissected by a broadly radial pattern of major valleys which are largely the result of repeated glaciations over the last 2 million years. The apparent radial pattern is not from a central dome, but from an axial watershed extending from St Bees Head in the west to Shap in the east. Most of these valleys display the U-shaped cross-section characteristic of glacial origin and often contain long narrow lakes in bedrock hollows, with tracts of relatively flat ground at their infilled heads, or where they are divided by lateral tributaries (Buttermere-Crummock Water; Derwent Water-Bassenthwaite Lake).[b] Smaller lakes known as tarns occupy glacial cirques at higher elevations. It is the abundance of both which has led to the area becoming known as the Lake District.
Many of the higher fells are rocky, while moorland predominates lower down. Vegetation cover in better-drained areas includes bracken and heather, although much of the land is boggy, due to the high rainfall. Deciduous native woodland occurs on many of the steeper slopes below the tree line, but with native oak supplemented by extensive conifer plantations in many areas, particularly Grizedale Forest in the generally lower southern part of the area. The Lake District extends to the sea to the west and south.
The highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike (978m/3210'), has a far-reaching view on a clear day, ranging from the Galloway Hills of Scotland, the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Snowdonia in Wales.
Cumbrian Mountains
Lake District is located in the Lake DistrictScafell PikeScafell PikeScafellScafellScafellScafellHelvellynHelvellynSkiddawSkiddawHigh StreetHigh StreetGrasmoorGrasmoorConiston Old ManConiston Old ManGreat GableGreat GableKendalKendalPenrithPenrithKeswickKeswickAmblesideAmblesideCockermouthCockermouthWindermereWindermereGrasmereGrasmere
Major fells and towns shown within the National Park
Lake District
The mountains (or 'fells') of the Lake District are known as the "Cumbrian Mountains", "Cumbrian Fells" or "Lakeland Fells". The four highest fells exceed 3,000 feet (914 m). These are:
Scafell Pike, 978 m (3,209 ft)
Scafell, 965 m (3,166 ft)
Helvellyn, 951 m (3,120 ft)
Skiddaw, 931 m (3,054 ft)
Northern Fells
The Northern Fells are a clearly defined range of hills contained within a 13 km (8 mi) diameter circle between Keswick in the southwest and Caldbeck in the northeast. They culminate in the 931 m (3,054 ft) peak of Skiddaw. Other notable peaks are Blencathra (also known as Saddleback) (868 m (2,848 ft)) and Carrock Fell. Bassenthwaite Lake occupies the valley between this massif and the North Western Fells.
North Western Fells
The North Western Fells lie between Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite Lake to the east and Buttermere and Lorton Vale to the west. Their southernmost point is at Honister Pass. This area includes the Derwent Fells above the Newlands Valley and hills to the north amongst which are Dale Head, Robinson. To the north stand Grasmoor, highest in the range at 852 m (2,795 ft), Grisedale Pike and the hills around the valley of Coledale, and in the far northwest is Thornthwaite Forest and Lord's Seat. The fells in this area are rounded Skiddaw slate, with few tarns and relatively few rock faces.
Western Fells
The Western Fells lie between Buttermere and Wasdale, with Sty Head forming the apex of a large triangle. Ennerdale bisects the area, which consists of the High Stile ridge north of Ennerdale, the Loweswater Fells in the far northwest, the Pillar group in the southwest, and Great Gable (899 m (2,949 ft)) near Sty Head. Other tops include Seatallan, Haystacks and Kirk Fell. This area is craggy and steep, with the impressive pinnacle of Pillar Rock its showpiece. Wastwater, located in this part, is England's deepest lake.
Central Fells
The Central Fells are lower in elevation than surrounding areas of fell, peaking at 762 m (2,500 ft) at High Raise. They take the form of a ridge running between Derwent Water in the west and Thirlmere in the east, from Keswick in the north to Langdale Pikes in the south. A spur extends southeast to Loughrigg Fell above Ambleside. The central ridge running north over High Seat is exceptionally boggy.
Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells consist of a long north-to-south ridge, the Helvellyn range, running from Clough Head to Seat Sandal with the 950 m (3,118 ft) Helvellyn at its highest point. The western slopes of these summits tend to be grassy, with rocky corries and crags on the eastern side. The Fairfield group lies to the south of the range and forms a similar pattern with towering rock faces and hidden valleys spilling into the Patterdale valley. It culminates in the height of Red Screes overlooking the Kirkstone Pass.
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells refers to all of the Lakeland fells to the east of Ullswater and the A592 road running south to Windermere. At 828 m (2,717 ft), the peak known as High Street is the highest point on a complex ridge that runs broadly north-south and overlooks the hidden valley of Haweswater to its east. In the north of this region are the lower fells of Martindale Common and Bampton Common whilst in the south are the fells overlooking the Kentmere valley. Further to the east, beyond Mardale and Longsleddale is Shap Fell, an extensive area consisting of high moorland, more rolling and Pennine in nature than the mountains to the west.
Southern Fells
The Southern Fells occupy the southwestern quarter of the Lake District. They can be regarded as comprising a northern grouping between Wasdale, Eskdale, and the two Langdale valleys, a southeastern group east of Dunnerdale and south of Little Langdale, and a southwestern group bounded by Eskdale to the north and Dunnerdale to the east.
The first group includes England's highest mountains: Scafell Pike in the centre, at 978 m (3,209 ft) and Scafell one mile (1.6 km) to the southwest. Though it is slightly lower, Scafell has a 700 ft (210 m) rockface, Scafell Crag, on its northern side. This group also includes the Wastwater Screes overlooking Wasdale, the Glaramara ridge overlooking Borrowdale, the three tops of Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Esk Pike. The core of the area is drained by the infant River Esk. Collectively these are some of the Lake District's most rugged hillsides.
The second group, otherwise known as the Furness Fells or Coniston Fells, have as their northern boundary the steep and narrow Hardknott and Wrynose passes. The highest are Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How which slightly exceed 800 m (2,600 ft).
The third group to the west of the Duddon includes Harter Fell and the long ridge leading over Whitfell to Black Combe and the sea. The south of this region consists of lower forests and knolls, with Kirkby Moor on the southern boundary. The southwestern Lake District ends near the Furness peninsula and Barrow-in-Furness, a town which many Lake District residents rely on for basic amenities.
Southeastern area
The southeastern area is the territory between Coniston Water and Windermere and east of Windermere towards Kendal and south to Lindale. There are no high summits in this area which are mainly low hills, knolls and limestone cuestas such as Gummer's How and Whitbarrow. Indeed, it rises only as high as 333 m (1,093 ft) at Top o' Selside east of Coniston Water; the wide expanse of Grizedale Forest stands between the two lakes. Kendal and Morecambe Bay stand at the eastern and southern edges of the area.
Valleys
The main radial valleys are (clockwise from the south) Dunnerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale, Ennerdale, the Vale of Lorton, and Buttermere valley, the Derwent Valley and Borrowdale, the Ullswater valley, Haweswater valley, Longsleddale, the Kentmere valley, those converging on the head of Windermere - Grasmere, Great Langdale and Little Langdale, and the Coniston Water valley. The valleys break the mountains up into blocks, which have been described by various authors in different ways. The most frequently encountered approach is that made popular by Alfred Wainwright who published seven separate area guides to the Lakeland Fells.
Only one of the lakes in the Lake District is called by that name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Buttermere are meres, tarns and waters, with mere being the least common and water being the most common. The major lakes and reservoirs in the National Park are given below.
Bassenthwaite Lake
Brotherswater
Buttermere
Coniston Water
Crummock Water
Derwent Water
Devoke Water
Elter Water
Ennerdale Water
Esthwaite Water
Grasmere
Haweswater Reservoir
Hayeswater
Loweswater
Rydal Water
Thirlmere
Ullswater
Wast Water
Windermere
Woodlands
Below the tree line are wooded areas, including British and European native oak woodlands and introduced softwood plantations. The woodlands provide habitats for native English wildlife. The native red squirrel is found in the Lake District and a few other parts of England. In parts of the Lake District, the rainfall is higher than in any other part of England. This gives Atlantic mosses, ferns, lichen, and liverworts the chance to grow. There is some ancient woodland in the National Park. Management of the woodlands varies: some are coppiced, some pollarded, some left to grow naturally, and some provide grazing and shelter.
Coast
The Lake District extends to the coast of the Irish Sea from Drigg in the north to Silecroft in the south, encompassing the estuaries of the Esk and its tributaries, the Irt and the Mite. The intertidal zone of the combined estuaries includes sand, shingle and mudflats, and saltmarsh. The dune systems on either side of the estuary are protected as nature reserves; Drigg Dunes and Gullery to the north and Eskmeals Dunes[31] to the south. South of the estuary, the coast is formed in low cliffs of glacial till, sands, and gravels.
The district also extends to the tidal waters of Morecambe Bay and several of its estuaries alongside the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas, designated on M6 motorway signposts as the "Lake District Peninsulas", and the southern portions of which lie outside the park. These are the Duddon Estuary, the Leven Estuary, and the western banks and tidal flats of the Kent Estuary. These areas are each characterised by sand and mudflats of scenic and wildlife interest. The coast is backed by extensive flats of raised marine deposits left when the relative sea level was higher.
HELIFLITE SHARES
(2008) Keystone Helicopter/ Sikorsky -76C
PNE - November 04, 2019
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Copyright 2019
Paul Kanagie
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the only landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
Unlike the United Kingdom, traffic in Gibraltar drives on the right, as it shares a land border with Spain. Traffic formerly drove on the left; the change to driving on the right was made at 5.00 a.m. on 16 June 1929.
The Royal Gibraltar Police have an eclectic mix of vehicles that form the fleet. A Suzuki Supercarry, Kord Kuga, Citroen Picasso, Ford Transit and at the end a Mitsubishi Shogun are parked outside the Royal Gibrlatar Police headquarters.
They have a very short address: Royal Gibraltar Police HQ, New Mole House, Rosia Road, Gibraltar
This is Church Street, Blackpool. I had not realised that my wife and myself had wandered in to a shared space area and was taken by surprise to find a bus driving towards me. Another bus followed a few moments later.
Ginger shares a moment with my granddaughter
Published at www.soupornuts.com/sharing-for-personal-growth-and-develo...
And here's one I really, really LOVE! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWBudXP_svQ
and this one: quote-pics.blogspot.com/
and here: www.a1phototips.com/dog-photography-tips
and here: www.psychoticresumes.com/2008/11/how-not-to-ask-for-help/
What happens when you look at graffiti and street art as unlimited art forms instead of urban phenomena? Concrete Canvas does just that; investigating the media the artists work with, the canvases they work on, the themes that arise through their work, and the way their art redefines the spaces in which it is set.
Concrete Canvas is filled with stunning photos of works from new and exciting artists, as well as established names, including Ron English, Phlegm, Daim, Invader Seize Happywallmaker and more. It examines how the curation of public space is affecting our cities and moving art into the future.
Global Street Art is the largest online archive of street art photography. Here, its founder Lee Bofkin shares some of his best stories of documenting street art, which variously feature big guns, massive dogs and lots of abandoned buildings.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1844037827
Merci Lee Bofkin
Thank you very much for all comments, favorites and shares. I really appreciate it! Feel free to check out my site. / www.frays.de / motorsport.frays.de / + follow me on Twitter – @chrisfrays + Facebook
The Sunday school of the Third Moravian Church of Philadelphia used share certificates like this to raise funds for the purchase of a church bell. The sale of all 2,500 shares at 10 cents each would have raised $250, and perhaps that would have covered the cost of a bell in the 1870s, which is when these certificates were issued.
For another nineteenth-century fundraising strategy that involved buying bricks rather than shares, see The Owner of This Card Has Purchased One Brick in the People's Church, Boston, Mass., ca. 1880 (below). And for a more recent fundraiser, see Buy a Block, Benefit of the Longfellow Community Building (below).
Third Moravian Church Sunday School, Harrowgate, Philadelphia.
2,500 shares. 10 cents each.
This is to certify that John Diehne is entitled to one shares in the bell of the Third Moravian Church at Harrogate, Philadelphia.
Chas. Thieley, president.
J. Lietz, secretary,
Senseman & Son, Printers, 416 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, joined by gold medal swimmer Mark Spitz and U.S.A. Gymnastics President Steve Penny, shares a laugh with Olympic gymnast Bart Conner during a preliminary round of men's gymnastics at Olympic Park in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, on August 6, 2016, as the Secretary and his fellow members of the U.S. Presidential Delegation attend the Summer Olympics.
Florence shares a little snuggle time with Charlotte before the other children arrive.
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Charlotte is a vintage/mod Living Fluff # 1143 (1971-1972) wearing the vintage Velvet Blush # 1737 (1970-1971).
Florence is a Fashionably Floral Silkstone (2015) wearing a Randall Craig RTW sweater (2007?) with the vintage Red Gathered Skirt of the Pak Cotton Mix & Match Group (1962-1963) and a Silkstone brooch.
Muriel is a vintage Bubble Cut # 850 (this doll is somewhere between 1963-1967, and is a Lolaxs' restored doll) wearing a Randall Craig RTW sweater dress (2006) with the belt from the Silkstone Dusk to Dawn Gift Set (2001).
Colette is a Fashion Editor Silkstone (2001) on an FR Tall Handspeak body, wearing the FR Reigning Grace dress (2015).
In this picture:
Barbie’s New Dream House # 4092 (1964-1966).
*(My Dream House came with the original, illustrated wrapping. Stapled to this wrapping is a receipt from Korvette’s, dated October 10th 1964. It was purchased in Chicago, or in the suburbs of Chicago. The seller was the daughter of the original owner, her mother, and she also played with it as a child. I like that I am the third owner of this house.)
The coffee table is Mattel Modern (1958).
The sofa is by Maryann Roy of Welcome Home Doll Furnishings.
The chair from miniCHAIR on Etsy.
The fabulous cushions are by Wandy of WandysWhims on Etsy.
Nintendo shares up more than 50% up since Pokemon Go release - BBC News #Pokemon, #Nintendo, #Game, #Players, #Smartphone, #Creatures, #App, #Release, #Anti, #Gay, #Google #Contfeed
Check out here >> cofd.co/cwfqo
Is a country located partly on the European Continent and partly on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers 301,338 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.2 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country in Europe, and the twenty-third most populous in the world.
The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of European cultures and peoples, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the political centre of Western civilisation, as the capital of the Roman Empire. After its decline, Italy would endure numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Normans and later, the Byzantines, among others. Centuries later, Italy would become the birthplace of the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan), but was unified in 1861, a tumultuous period in history known as the "Risorgimento". In the late 19th century, through World War I, and to World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, the Dodecanese and a concession in Tianjin, China.
Modern Italy is a democratic republic and the world's eighteenth most developed country, with the eighth or tenth highest quality of life index rating in the world. Italy enjoys a very high standard of living, and has a high nominal GDP per capita. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Italy is also a member of the G8 and G20. It has the world's seventh-largest nominal GDP, tenth highest GDP (PPP) and the fifth highest government budget in the world. It is also a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the Council of Europe, and the Western European Union. Italy, on addition to this, has the world's eight-largest defence budget and shares NATO's nuclear weapons.
Italy, especially Rome, has an important place in political, military and cultural affairs, with worldwide organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Glocal Forum, and the NATO Defence College being headquartered in the country and the city. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, and Italy has been classified in a study as being the eleventh greatest worldwide national power. The country has a high public education level, high labour force, is a globalised nation, and also has 2009's sixth best international reputation. Italy also has the world's nineteenth highest life expectancy, and the world's second best healthcare system. It is the world's fifth most visited country, with over 43.7 million international arrivals, and boasts a long tradition of excellence in all the arts and sciences, including the fact that Italy has the world's greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to date.
History
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Italy
Geography
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Italy
Other info
Oficial name:
Repubblica Italiana
Formation:
Unification 17 March 1861
- Republic 2 June 1946
Area:
301.338 km2
Inhabitants:
58.450.000
Languages:
Albanian, Arbëreshë [aae] 80,000 (1963 L. Newmark). Ethnic population: 260,000 (1976 M. Stephens). Southern; Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Molise, Sicily. Alternate names: Arbëreshë. Dialects: Sicilian Albanian, Calabrian Albanian, Central Mountain Albanian, Campo Marino Albanian. Speakers say the four Italian dialects are not inherently intelligible with each other. Lexical similarity 45% with Tosk Albanian. Classification: Indo-European, Albanian, Tosk
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Bavarian [bar] 258,885 in Italy (2000 WCD). South Bavarian is in the Bavarian Alps, Tyrol, Styria, including Heanzian dialect of Burgenland, Carinthia, northern Italy, and part of Gottschee; Central Bavarian is in the Alps and Lower Austria and Salzburg; North Bavarian in the north of Regensburg, to Nuremburg and Western Bohemia, Czech Republic. Alternate names: Bayerisch, Bavarian Austrian. Dialects: Central Bavarian, North Bavarian, South Bavarian. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Bavarian-Austrian
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Catalan-Valencian-Balear [cat] 20,000 in Alghero (1996). Alghero, northwest coast on Sardinia. Dialects: Algherese. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, East Iberian
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Cimbrian [cim] 2,230. Population includes 500 in Lusernese Cimbrian in Trentino Alto Oolige 40 km southeast from Trento, plus 1,500 Sette Comuni Cimbrian (40% of Roana (Rowan), 70% of Messaselva di Roana Rotzo) in Veneto around 60 km north of Vicenza (1978 H. Kloss), and 230 or 65% of Giazza (Ijetzan) Veneto, 43 km northeast of Verona (1992 R. Zamponi). There were 22,700 speakers in Sieben Gemeinde and 12,400 in Dreizehn Gemeinde in 1854. Northeast Italy, Sette and Tredici Comuni (Sieben and Dreizehn Gemeinde) south of Trent, towns of Giazza (Glietzen, Ljetzen), Roana (Rabam), Lusern, some in Venetia Province. Alternate names: Tzimbro, Zimbrisch. Dialects: Lusernese Cimbrian, Tredici Communi Cimbrian (Tauch), Sette Comuni Cimbrian. Structural and intelligibility differences indicate that the 3 dialects listed could be considered separate languages. Lusernese Cimbrian is heavily influenced by Italian. Heavily influenced by Bajuwarisch dialects. It is sometimes considered to be a dialect of South Bavarian. Different from Bavarian, Walser, and Mocheno. No written influence from Standard German. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Bavarian-Austrian
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Corsican [cos] 1,000 in Italy (1990). Maddalena Island, northeast coast of Sardinia. Alternate names: Corso, Corsu, Corse, Corsi. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Southern, Corsican
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Croatian [hrv] 3,500 in Italy (N. Vincent in B. Comrie 1987). Molise, southern, villages of Montemitro, San Felice del Molise, Acquaviva-Collecroce. Dialects: Croatian. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, South, Western
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Emiliano-Romagnolo [eml] 2,000,000 in Emilia-Romagna (2003). Population total all countries: 2,020,112. Northwest Italy, region of Piacenza to that of Ravenna, and between the Po and the Adriatic and the Apennines, in the territories of Emilia and Romagna, southern Pianura Padana (all provinces), southern Lombardia (Provinces Mantova and Pavia), northern Toscana (Lunigiana), northern Marche (Province Pesaro). Also spoken in San Marino. Alternate names: Emiliano, Emilian, Sammarinese. Dialects: Western Emiliano, Central Emiliano, Eastern Emiliano, Northern Romagnolo, Southern Romagnolo, Mantovano, Vogherese-Pavese, Lunigiano. A structurally separate language from Italian (F.B. Agard). Related to Lombard (R.A. Hall 1974:29, S. Fleischman 1992, OIEL 3:339). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
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Franco-Provençal [frp] 70,000 in Italy (1971 census). Population includes 700 Faetar speakers (1995 Naomi Nagy). Northwest Italy, Aosta Valley. A small speech community also in Faeto and Celle S. Vito in the Province of Foggia in Apulia, and Guardia Piemontese in Calabria, Cosenza. Covers a huge area. Dialects: Valle D'aosta (Patoé Valdoten, Valdotain, Valdostano), Faeto (Faetar), Celle San Vito. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, Southeastern
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French [fra] 100,000 in Italy (1987 Harris). Aosta Valley. Alternate names: Français. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
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Friulian [fur] 794,000 (2000). Northeast and adjacent areas, northern Friuli-Venezia-Giulia on the borders of the Austrian Province of Corinthia and the Republic of Slovenia. Alternate names: Furlan, Frioulan, Frioulian, Priulian, Friulano. Dialects: East Central Friulian, Western Friulian, Carnico. Friulian, Ladin, and Romansch are separate languages (R. A. Hall, Jr. 1978, personal communication). F. B. Agard considers it to be structurally closer to Italian than to Romansch (personal communication 1981). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Rhaetian
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German, Standard [deu] 225,000 in Italy (1987 Vincent in B. Comrie). Northern, Trentino-Alto Adige, South Tyrol, Province of Bolzano. Alternate names: Tedesco. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German
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Greek [ell] 20,000 in Italy (1987 Vincent in B. Comrie). Southern, east of Reggio; Salento (Colimera, Sternatía, Zollino) and Aspromonte (Bova, Condofuri, Palizzi, Roccoforte, Roghudi). Alternate names: Greco. Dialects: Salento, Aspromonte. Classification: Indo-European, Greek, Attic
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Italian [ita] 55,000,000 in Italy. Population includes some of whom are native bilinguals of Italian and regional varieties, and some of whom may use Italian as second language. Population total all countries: 61,489,984. Also spoken in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Germany, Israel, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Vatican State. Alternate names: Italiano. Dialects: Tuscan, Abruzzese, Pugliese, Umbrian, Laziale, Central Marchigiano, Cicolano-Reatino-Aquilano, Molisano. Regional varieties coexist with the standard language; some are inherently unintelligible (Nida) to speakers of other varieties unless they have learned them. Aquilano, Molisano, and Pugliese are very different from the other Italian 'dialects'. Piemontese and Sicilian are distinct enough to be separate languages (F. B. Agard 1981, personal communication). Venetian and Lombard are also very different (Philippe Cousson 1981, personal communication). Neapolitan is reported to be unintelligible to speakers of Standard Italian. Northern varieties are closer to French and Occitan than to standard or southern varieties (Agard, N. Vincent). Lexical similarity 89% with French, 87% with Catalan, 85% with Sardinian, 82% with Spanish, 78% with Rheto-Romance, 77% with Rumanian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Italo-Dalmatian
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Italian Sign Language [ise] Alternate names: Lingua Italiana Dei Segni, Lis. Dialects: Partially intelligible with French Sign Language. Not intelligible with American Sign Language. Regional differences, but signers from different regions seem to communicate fluently. Classification: Deaf sign language
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Judeo-Italian [itk] 200. Alternate names: Italkian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Italo-Dalmatian
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Ladin [lld] 30,000 in Italy (2001 census). Ethnic population: 38,000. Autonomous province of Bolzano or Southern Tyrol (German Südtirol, Italian Alto Adige), in the Valleys of Gherdëina (Italian Val Gardena, German Grödnertal) and of Badia (Italian Val Badia, German Gadertal); autonomous province of Trento (Trient) or Trentino, in the Valley of Fascia (Italian Val di Fassa, German Fassatal) and in the province of Belluno in Fodom (Italian Livinallongo, German Buchenstein) and in Anpezo (Italian Ampezzo, around Cortina d'Ampezzo). Also spoken in USA. Alternate names: Dolomite, Rhaeto-Romance. Dialects: Atesino, Cadorino, Nones (Nones Blot, Nonesh, Parlata Trentina, Nonese), Gardenese (Grüdno, Grödnerisch), Fassano, Badiotto (Gadertalisch), Marebbano (Ennebergisch), Livinallese, Ampezzano. Friulian, Ladin (in Italy), and Romansch (in Switzerland) are separate languages (R. A. Hall, Jr. 1978, personal communication). Seven dialects. The dialect of Val di Fassa is taught in schools. Distinct from Ladino (Dzhudezmo, Judeo-Spanish). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Rhaetian
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Ligurian [lij] 1,915,749 in Italy (2000 WCD). Population total all countries: 1,920,849. Liguria, northern Italy; east and west of Genoa along the Riviera and mountain hinterland, St. Pietro and St. Antioch, islands off southwest coast of Sardinia, cities of Carloforte and Calasetta in Sardinia. Also spoken in France, Monaco. Alternate names: Líguru, Ligure. Dialects: Genoese (Genoan, Genovese). Ligurian is closer to Piemontese, Lombard, and French than to Standard Italian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
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Lombard [lmo] 8,830,855 in Italy (2000 WCD). Population total all countries: 9,133,855. Milan, Lombardy, 3 valleys of Graubünden (Val Mesolcina, Val Bregaglia, Val Poschiavo), northern Italy. Western Lombard varieties also in Sicily. Ticino is in Switzerland. Also spoken in Switzerland, USA. Alternate names: Lombardo. Dialects: Milanese, Eastern Lombard, Western Lombard (Piazza Armerina, Novara, Nicosia, San Fratello), Alpine Lombard, Novarese Lombard, Trentino Western, Latin Fiamazzo, Latin Anaunico, Bergamasco, Ticinese (Ticino). A group of dialects, some of which may be separate languages. Western Lombard dialects (of Ticino and Graubnnden) are inherently intelligible to each other's speakers. Speakers in more conservative valleys may have to use some kind of 'standard' dialect to communicate with speakers of other dialects of Lombard. Very different from Standard Italian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
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Mócheno [mhn] 1,900 (1992 Raoul Zamponi). Population includes 400 Fierozzo, 1,000 Palú, 460 Gereut. Valle del Fersina (Trentino). Dialects: Fierozzo (Florutz), Palú (Palai), Frassilongo (Gereut). Speakers can partially understand Bavarian, Cimbrian, or Standard German. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Bavarian-Austrian
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Napoletano-Calabrese [nap] 7,047,399 (1976). Campania and Calabria provinces, southern Italy. Alternate names: Neapolitan-Calabrese. Dialects: Napoletano (Neapolitan, Tirrenic), Northern Calabrese-Lucano (Lucanian, Basilicatan). Limited inherent intelligibility of Standard Italian. Neapolitan and Calabrese are reported to be very different from each other. Southern Calabrian is reported to be a dialect of Sicilian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Italo-Dalmatian
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Piemontese [pms] 3,106,620 in Italy (2000 WCD). Northwest Italy, Piedmont, except for the Provençal- and Franco-Provençal-speaking Alpine valleys. Also spoken in Australia, USA. Alternate names: Piemontèis, Piedmontese. Dialects: High Piemontese (Alto Piemontese), Low Piemontese (Basso Piemontese). Distinct enough from Standard Italian to be considered a separate language. Considerable French influence. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
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Provençal [prv] 100,000 in Italy (1990 P. Blanchet). Upper valleys of the Italian Piedmont (Val Mairo, Val Varacho, Val d'Esturo, Entraigas, Limoun, Vinai, Pignerol, Sestriero), Guardia Piemontese in Calabria. Alternate names: Provenzale. Dialects: Transalpin. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, Oc
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Romani, Balkan [rmn] 5,000 Arlija in Italy (1990). Dialects: Arlija (Erli). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Balkan
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Romani, Sinte [rmo] 14,000 in Italy (1980). Population includes 10,000 Manouche, 4,000 Slovenian-Croatian. North Italy. Dialects: Piedmont Sintí, Slovenian-Croatian, Manouche. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Northern
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Romani, Vlax [rmy] 4,000 in Italy. Population includes 1,000 to 3,000 Kalderash, 1,000 Lovari. Dialects: Kalderash, Lovari. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Vlax
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Sardinian, Campidanese [sro] 345,180 (2000 WCD). Southern Sardinia. Alternate names: Sardu, Campidanese, Campidese, South Sardinian. Dialects: Cagliare (Cagliari, Cagliaritan), Arborense, Sub-Barbaricino, Western Campidenese, Central Campidanese, Ogliastrino, Sulcitano, Meridionale, Sarrabense. Cagliaritan is the dialect of Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. Campidanese is quite distinct from the other Sardinian languages. Lexical similarity 62% between Cagliare and Standard Italian, 73% with Logudorese, 66% with Gallurese. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Southern, Sardinian
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Sardinian, Gallurese [sdn] Gallurese is in northeastern Sardinia. Alternate names: Northeastern Sardinian, Gallurese. Dialects: Lexical similarity 83% with Standard Italian, 81% with Sassarese, 70% with Logudorese, 66% with Cagliare. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Southern, Sardinian
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Sardinian, Logudorese [src] 1,500,000 (1977 M. Ibba, Rutgers University). Population includes all Sardinian languages. Central Sardinia. Alternate names: Sard, Sardarese, Logudorese, Central Sardinian. Dialects: Nuorese, Northern Logudorese, Barbaricino, Southwestern Logudorese. No one form of Sardinian is selected as standard for literary purposes. Logudorese is quite different from other Sardinian varieties. Lexical similarity 68% with Standard Italian, 73% with Sassarese and Cagliare, 70% with Gallurese. 'Sardinian' has 85% lexical similarity with Italian, 80% with French, 78% with Portuguese, 76% with Spanish, 74% with Rumanian and Rheto-Romance. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Southern, Sardinian
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Sardinian, Sassarese [sdc] Northwestern Sardinia. Alternate names: Northwestern Sardinian, Sassarese. Dialects: Lexical similarity 81% with Gallurese, 76% with Standard Italian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Southern, Sardinian
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Sicilian [scn] 4,832,520 (2000 WCD). Sicily, an island off the southern mainland. Alternate names: Calabro-Sicilian, Sicilianu, Siculu. Dialects: Western Sicilian (Palermo, Trapani, Central-Western Agrigentino), Central Metafonetica, Southeast Metafonetica, Eastern Nonmetafonetica, Messinese, Isole Eolie, Pantesco, Southern Calabro. Distinct enough from Standard Italian to be considered a separate language. Pugliese (see Italian) and Southern Calabrese are reported to be dialects of Sicilian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Italo-Dalmatian
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Slovenian [slv] 100,000 in Italy (N. Vincent in B. Comrie 1987). The provinces of Trieste and Gorizia in northeast near Slovenia border. Alternate names: Slovene. Dialects: Primorski, Cividale, Resia. Classification: Indo-European, Slavic, South, Western
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Venetian [vec] 2,180,387 in Italy (2000 WCD). Northern Italy, city of Venice, area of the Tre Venezie; Venezia Eugànea westward to Verona, southward to the Po, and eastward to the border of the Fruili; Venezia Tridentina, in the Adige valley and neighboring mountain regions to the north of Trent; and Venezia Giulia, east of the Friuli, and including Trieste. Bisiacco is spoken in Gorizia Province. Also spoken in Croatia, Slovenia. Alternate names: Veneto, Venet. Dialects: Istrian, Triestino, Venetian Proper, Bisiacco. Distinct from Standard Italian. Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
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Walser [wae] 3,400 in Italy (1978 Fazzini). Valle d'Aosta: Val Lesa (Gressoney, Issime, Gaby); Piemonte: Valsesie (Alagna, Rima S. Siuseppe, Rimelle), Novara: Valle Anzacxa (Macugnage); Val Formazza (Formazza, Pomatt). 9 communities in Italy, and 4 former ones. Alternate names: Walscher. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic
Capital city:
Roma
Meaning country name:
From Latin Italia, the name having entered Latin from a non-Latin source. The etymology of Italia probably directly relates to an ancient Greek word italos (bull), from PIE *wet; the Greek word follows the sound-changes from Proto-Indo-European to Greek, but the Latin equivalent vitulus (young bull) from this root, does not. Speakers of ancient Oscan called Italy Viteliu, also from PIE *wet. Varro wrote that the region got its name from the excellence and abundance of its cattle (italos, "bull" hence italia). Some disagree with this etymology. Compare Italus.
Friagi or Friaz' in Old Russian: from the Byzantine appellation for the medieval Franks.
Valland (variant in Icelandic): land of "valer", (an Old Norse name for Celts, later also used for the Romanized tribes).
Włochy (Polish) and Olaszország (Hungarian): from Gothic walh, the same root as in Valland, see details under "Wallachia" below.
Description Flag:
The flag of Italy (often referred to in Italian as Il Tricolore) is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical bands of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side.
The first entity to use the Italian flag was the Cispadane Republic in 1796, after Napoleon's army crossed Italy. During this time, many small republics based on the Jacobian model, were formed and almost all used the French tricolour with different colours. The colours chosen by the Cispadane Republic were red and white, the colours of the Flag of Milan, and green which was the colour of the uniform of the Lombard Legion .
Some have tried to attribute some particular values to the colours and a common interpretation is that the green represents the country's plains and the hills; white, the snowy Alps; and red, the blood spilt in the Italian Independence wars. A more religious interpretation is that the green represents hope, the white represents faith and the red represents charity. This interpretation references the three theological virtues.
Coat of arms:
The Coat of Arms of the Italian Republic depicted here has been the symbol of the Italian Republic since May 5, 1948. Technically it is a pictorial image rather than a coat of arms, as it was not designed to obey traditional heraldic rules.
The emblem comprises a white five-pointed star, with a red border, superimposed on a five-spoked cogwheel which stands between an olive on its left and a branch of oak on its right; the branches in turn are bound by a red ribbon bearing the legend "REPUBBLICA ITALIANA" (Italian Republic in Italian).
The star is an ancient symbol for the personification of Italy (Italia Turrita), usually shining on her head, and was a symbol of the Kingdom of Italy from 1890; The steel cogwheel refers to the first article of the Constitution of Italy, which says that "Italy is a democratic Republic based on work"; its shape recalls also a mural crown, another symbol used for the personification of Italy;
The olive branch stands for the Republic’s desire for peace, internal and international, and refers to Article 11 of the Constitution ("Italy rejects war [...]");
The oak branch stands for the strength and dignity of the Italian people.
Oak and olive trees are also characteristic of the Italian landscape.
National Anthem: Il Canto degli Italiani
Italian lyrics
Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
che schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.
CORO:
Stringiamoci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamoci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò!
Noi fummo da secoli
calpesti, derisi,
perché non siam popolo,
perché siam divisi.
Raccolgaci un'unica
bandiera, una speme:
di fonderci insieme
già l'ora suonò.
CORO
Uniamoci, amiamoci,
l'unione e l'amore
rivelano ai popoli
le vie del Signore.
Giuriamo far libero
il suolo natio:
uniti, per Dio,
chi vincer ci può?
CORO
Dall'Alpi a Sicilia
Dovunque è Legnano,
Ogn'uom di Ferruccio
Ha il core, ha la mano,
I bimbi d'Italia
Si chiaman Balilla,
Il suon d'ogni squilla
I Vespri suonò.
CORO
Son giunchi che piegano
Le spade vendute:
Già l'Aquila d'Austria
Le penne ha perdute.
Il sangue d'Italia,
Il sangue Polacco,
Bevé, col cosacco,
Ma il cor le bruciò.
CORO
English
English translation
Brothers of Italy,
Italy has awakened,
with Scipio's helmet
binding her head.
Where is Victory?
Let her bow down,
For God has made her
Rome's slave.
CHORUS:
Let us join in cohort,
We are ready to die!
We are ready to die!
Italy has called!
Let us join in cohort,
We are ready to die!
We are ready to die!
Italy has called!
We were for centuries
Downtrodden and derided,
because we are not one people,
because we are divided.
Let one flag, one hope
gather us all.
The hour has struck
for us to join together!
CHORUS
Let us unite and love one another;
Union and love
Show the people
The way of the Lord
Let us swear to free
Our native soil;
United under God,
Who can defeat us?
CHORUS
From the Alps to Sicily,
Legnano is everywhere;
Every man has the heart
and hand of Ferruccio
The children of Italy
Are all called Balilla;
Every trumpet blast
sounds the Vespers.
CHORUS
Mercenary swords,
they're feeble reeds.
The Austrian eagle
Has already lost its plumes.
The blood of Italy
and the Polish blood
Was drank, along with the Cossack,
But it burned her heart.
CHORUS
Internet Page: www.quirinale.it
Italy in diferent languages
eng: Italy
arg | ast | bre | cos | eus | fao | fin | glg | ina | ita | jav | kal | lat | mlg | nor | nso | pap | roh | ron | rup | smo | spa | sqi: Italia
bam | bis | cor | hat | ibo | mos: Itali
fra | fur | jnf | nrm: Italie
por | rms | sme | tet: Itália
afr | lim | nld: Italië
cat | oci | srd: Itàlia
crh | gag | kaa: İtaliya / Италия
deu | ltz | nds: Italien / Italien
hrv | lit | slv: Italija
lin | que | tgl: Italya
dan | swe: Italien
dje | hau: Italiya
dsb | hsb: Italska
est | vor: Itaalia
kin | run: Ubutariyano
lld-fas | lld-grd: Talia
tur | zza: İtalya
aze: İtaliya / Италија
bos: Italija / Италија
ces: Itálie
csb: Italskô; Jitalskô; Jitaliô
cym: Yr Eidal
epo: Italujo; Italio
frp: Étalie
frr: Itaalien
fry: Itaalje
gla: An Eadailt
gle: An Iodáil / An Iodáil
glv: Yn Iddaal
haw: ʻIkalia
hun: Olaszország
ind: Italia / ايتاليا
isl: Ítalía; Valland
kmr: Îtalî / Итали / ئیتالی
kur: Îtalya / ئیتالیا
lav: Itālija
liv: Itāļmō
lld-bad: Talia; Italia
mlt: Italja
mol: Italia / Италия
mri: Ītari
msa: Itali / ايتالي
nbl: i-Ithali
non: Ítalía; Ítalíaland
pol: Włochy
rmy: Italiya / इतालिया
sag: Italïi
scn: Italia; Talia
slk: Taliansko
slo: Italia / Италиа; Italzem / Италзем
smg: Italėjė
som: Talyaani
swa: Uitaliani; Italia
szl: Wuochy
tah: ʻItāria
ton: ʻItali
tsn: Itale
tuk: Italiýa / Италия
uzb: Italiya / Италия
vie: Ý Đại Lợi; Ý
vol: Litaliyän
wln: Itåleye
wol: Itaali
xho: i-Itali
zul: i-Italiya; iTaliyana
chu: Италія (Italīja)
alt | bul | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | rus | tyv | udm: Италия (Italija)
che | chv | mon | oss: Итали (Itali)
ady | kbd: Италие (Italie)
abq: Италия (Itałija)
bak: Италия / İtaliya
bel: Італія / Italija
chm: Италий (Italij)
kaz: Италия / Ïtalïya / يتاليا
mkd: Италија (Italija)
srp: Италија / Italija
tat: Италия / İtaliä
tgk: Итолиё / ایتالیا / Itolijo; Италия / ایتلیه / Italija
ukr: Італія (Italija)
xal: Италь (Ital')
ara: إيطاليا (Īṭāliyā)
ckb: ئیتالیا / Îtalya; ئیتالستان / Îtalistan
fas: ایتالیا / Itâliyâ; ایطالیا / Itâliyâ
prs: ایتالیا (Ītāliyā); اتالیا (Itāliyā)
pus: ايټاليا (Īṫāliyā); ايټاليه (Īṫāliyâ); اټالیا (Iṫāliyā); ايټالي (Īṫālī); ايتاليا (Ītāliyā); ايطاليا (Īṭāliyā)
uig: ئىتالىيە / Italiye / Италия
urd: اٹلی (Iṫalī); اتالیہ (Itāliyâ)
div: އިޓަލީ (Iṫalī)
syr: ܐܝܛܠܝܐ (Īṭaliyā)
heb: איטליה (Îṭalyah); איטאליה (Îṭâlyah)
lad: איטאליה / Italia
yid: איטאַליע (Italye)
amh: ጣልያን (Ṭalyan); ኢጣልያ (Iṭalya)
tir: ኢጣልያ (Iṭalya)
ell-dhi: Ιταλία (Italía)
ell-kat: Ἰταλία (Italía)
hye: Իտալիա (Italia)
kat: იტალია (Italia)
hin | mar | nep: इटली (Iṭalī)
ben: ইতালি (Itāli); ইতালী (Itālī)
pan: ਇਟਲੀ (Iṭalī)
kan: ಇಟಲಿ (Iṭali)
mal: ഇറ്റലി (Iṟṟali)
tam: இத்தாலி (Ittāli)
tel: ఇటలీ (Iṭalī)
zho: 意大利 (Yìdàlì)
yue: 意大利 (Yidaaihleih)
jpn: イタリア (Itaria)
kor: 이탈리아 (Itallia)
bod: དགྱིའི་དའ་རླིས་ (dGyi'i.da'.rlis.); ཨི་ཏ་ལི་ (I.ta.li.); ཨེ་ཏ་ལི་ (E.ta.li.); ཡི་ཏ་ལི་ (Yi.ta.li.)
dzo: ཨྀཊ་ལི་ (Īṭa.li.)
mya: အီတလီ (Itáli)
tha: อิตาลี (Itālī)
lao: ອິຕາລີ (Itālī)
khm: អ៊ីតាលី (Ītālī); អ៊ិតាលី (Itālī)
Be
Anyone go, Kaley Cuoco! On her cover shot about the October Issue associated with Shape, the Massive Bang Theory celebrity, 29, looks nicely toned and tan, nevertheless her Instagram nourish reveals the hilarious behind-the-scenes truth: stark suntan lines.
Sharing some sort of close-up shot...
tsceleb.com/kaley-cuoco-proudly-shares-major-tan-lines-in...
...and shares! ♥
(Please see Part 1 and Part 2 in my Photostream)
Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has an area of 1104 km2 and shares its northern border with the Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million Hongkongers of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.
After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong became a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. The territory has developed into a major global trade hub and financial centre. The 44th-largest economy in the world, Hong Kong ranks top 10 in GDP (PPP) per capita, but also has the most severe income inequality among advanced economies. Hong Kong is one of the three most important financial centres alongside New York and London, and the world's number one tourist destination city. The territory has been named the freest market economy. The service economy, characterised by free trade and low taxation, has been regarded as one of the world's most laissez-faire economic policies, and the currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th most traded currency in the world.
The Hong Kong Basic Law empowers the region to develop relations and make agreements directly with foreign states and regions, as well as international organizations, in a broad range of appropriate fields. It is an independent member of APEC, the IMF, WTO, FIFA and International Olympic Committee among others.
Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world's most vertical cities. Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail. Air pollution remains a serious problem. Loose emissions standards have resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates. Nevertheless, Hongkongers enjoy the world's longest or second longest life expectancies.
NAME
It is not known who was responsible for the Romanisation of the name "Hong Kong" but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name 香港, meaning "Fragrant Harbour". Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (香港仔, Sidney Lau: heung1gong2 jai2, Jyutping: hoeng1gong2 zai2, or Hiong1gong3 zai3 in a form of Hakka, literally means "Little Hong Kong")—between Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. As those early contacts are likely to have been with Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人), it is equally probable that the early Romanisation was a faithful execution of their speech, i.e. hong1, not heung1. Detailed and accurate Romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.
The reference to fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories, lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of the Victoria Harbour.
In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed and the name, Hong Kong, was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The full official name, after 1997, is "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website; however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames: the most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive night-view of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
HISTORY
PRE-BRITISH
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue (Viets) to Hong Kong. Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang dynasty in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.
ANCIENT CHINA
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu. In Qin dynasty, the territory was ruled by Panyu County(番禺縣) up till Jin Dynasty.
The area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Viet), founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the collapse of the short-lived Qin dynasty. When the kingdom of Nanyue was conquered by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han dynasty.
IMPERIAL CHINA
Started from Jin dynasty to early period of Tang dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Bao'an County (寶安縣). In Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also a salt production centre, where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
Under the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong (Canton) region flourished as a regional trading centre. In 736 AD, the first Emperor of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun in western Hong Kong to defend the coastal area of the region. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in the modern-day New Territories under the Northern Song dynasty. After their defeat by the Mongols, the Southern Song court briefly moved to modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site), before its final defeat at the Battle of Yamen.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Dongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the area was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) before it was colonized by the British government. The indigenous inhabitants of what is now Hong Kong are identified with several ethnicities, including Punti, Hakka, Tanka) and Hoklo.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea. From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.
BRITSH CROWN COLONY 1842–1941
In 1839, the refusal of Qing authorities to support opium imports caused the outbreak of the First Opium War between the British Empire and the Qing Empire. Qing's defeat resulted in the occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces on 20 January 1841. It was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. While a dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification, on 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking. The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of the Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe alike. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas, such as the Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. There were, however, a small number of Chinese elites whom the British governors relied on, such as Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as communicators and mediators between the government and local population.
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's oldest higher education institute. While there was an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained peaceful. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under his tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1941–45
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with the British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 in what was regarded by locals as Black Christmas.
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong Dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong Dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when Britain resumed control of the colony on 30 August 1945.
ECONOMY
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world's greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism, but has since instituted a regime of regulations including a minimum wage. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom every year since 1995. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world and has a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading centre for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre in the 1990s, but was greatly affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and again in 2003 by the SARS outbreak. A revival of external and domestic demand has led to a strong recovery, as cost decreases strengthened the competitiveness of Hong Kong exports and a long deflationary period ended. Government intervention, initiated by the later colonial governments and continued since 1997, has steadily increased, with the introduction of export credit guarantees, a compulsory pension scheme, a minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, and a state mortgage backer.
The territory has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Imports account for more than 90% of Hong Kong's food supply, including nearly all of the meat and rice available there. Agricultural activity - relatively unimportant to Hong Kong's economy and contributing just 0.1% of its GDP - primarily consists of growing premium food and flower varieties. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity, with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. It is the world's largest re-export centre. Much of Hong Kong's exports consist of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed via Hong Kong. Its physical location has allowed the city to establish a transportation and logistics infrastructure that includes the world's second busiest container port and the world's busiest airport for international cargo. Even before the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong had established extensive trade and investment ties with the mainland, which now enable it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1% for the fourth straight year of decline. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for over 90% of its GDP, while industry constitutes 9%. Inflation was at 2.5% in 2007. Hong Kong's largest export markets are mainland China, the United States, and Japan.
As of 2010 Hong Kong is the eighth most expensive city for expatriates, falling from fifth position in the previous year. Hong Kong is ranked fourth in terms of the highest percentage of millionaire households, behind Switzerland, Qatar, and Singapore with 8.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars. Hong Kong is also ranked second in the world by the most billionaires per capita (one per 132,075 people), behind Monaco. In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked second in the Ease of Doing Business Index, behind Singapore.
Hong Kong is ranked No. 1 in the world in the Crony Capitalism Index by the Economist.
In 2014, Hong Kong was the eleventh most popular destination for international tourists among countries and territories worldwide, with a total of 27.8 million visitors contributing a total of US$38,376 million in international tourism receipts. Hong Kong is also the most popular city for tourists, nearly two times of its nearest competitor Macau.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The territory's population in mid-2015 is 7.30 million, with an average annual growth rate of 0.8% over the previous 5 years. The current population of Hong Kong comprises 91% ethnic Chinese. A major part of Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originated from the neighbouring Guangdong province, from where many fled during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the communist rule in China.
Residents of the Mainland do not automatically receive the Right of Abode, and many may not enter the territory freely. Like other non-natives, they may apply for the Right of Abode after seven years of continuous residency. Some of the rights may also be acquired by marriage (e.g., the right to work), but these do not include the right to vote or stand for office. However, the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year, is a significant contributor to its population growth – a daily quota of 150 Mainland Chinese with family ties in Hong Kong are granted a "one way permit". Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 81.2 years for males and 86.9 years for females as of 2014, making it the highest life expectancy in the world.
About 91% of the people of Hong Kong are of Chinese descent, the majority of whom are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Hong Kong's Han majority originate mainly from the Guangzhou and Taishan regions in Guangdong province. The remaining 6.9% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese. There is a South Asian population of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese; some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in the city's commercial and financial sector. In 2011, 133,377 foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and 132,935 from the Philippines were working in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's de facto official language is Cantonese, a variety of Chinese originating from Guangdong province to the north of Hong Kong. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1 percent of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 Handover, an increase in immigrants from communist China and greater interaction with the mainland's economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.
RELIGION
A majority of residents of Hong Kong have no religious affiliation, professing a form of agnosticism or atheism. According to the US Department of State 43 percent of the population practices some form of religion. Some figures put it higher, according to a Gallup poll, 64% of Hong Kong residents do not believe in any religion, and possibly 80% of Hong Kong claim no religion. In Hong Kong teaching evolution won out in curriculum dispute about whether to teach other explanations, and that creationism and intelligent design will form no part of the senior secondary biology curriculum.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of religious freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. Hong Kong's main religions are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism; a local religious scholar in contact with major denominations estimates there are approximately 1.5 million Buddhists and Taoists. A Christian community of around 833,000 forms about 11.7% of the total population; Protestants forms a larger number than Roman Catholics at a rate of 4:3, although smaller Christian communities exist, including the Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches each freely appoint their own bishops, unlike in mainland China. There are also Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Bahá'í communities. The practice of Falun Gong is tolerated.
PERSONAL INCOME
Statistically Hong Kong's income gap is the greatest in Asia Pacific. According to a report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient, at 0.53, was the highest in Asia and "relatively high by international standards". However, the government has stressed that income disparity does not equate to worsening of the poverty situation, and that the Gini coefficient is not strictly comparable between regions. The government has named economic restructuring, changes in household sizes, and the increase of high-income jobs as factors that have skewed the Gini coefficient.
WIKIPEDIA
The R5 shares some of the routing with the R10 and parallels it down to Green Street Green but this goes clockwise whereas the R10 goes anti clockwise with a double run in the middle of the routing.
Metrobus have had the route for a couple of years and have settled in very nicely. Both routes have some of the tightest roads around with bigger houses and woodlands dominating surroundings. I'd love to see how much skill the drivers need to navigate these roads.
A service is provided once every 75 minutes which makes snapping one hard to come by but it's fair given the R10 does the opposite direction and how far out it goes.
YX61ENE (164) is leaving Orpington Station working a circular route to Knockholt via Halstead and Cudham. Based at Orpington (MB) Garage.
12k shares by Taboola Sponsored Links YOU MIGHT LIKE Russians Call It White Swan; Americans Call It Black Knave EnglishRussia The Most Exciting MMORPG You've Ever Played. Don't miss this! Sparta Online Game 10 Biggest Social Media "oops" Moments for Celebrities OldCatLady The Bengal Famine: How the British engineered the worst genocide in human history for profit World Observer Facts All Women Should Know About Ovarian Cancer EmpowHER 10 Crazy Billionaire Habits MyFirstClassLife Russia and US to hold urgent talks to ensure they do not end up in 'conflict' in Syria after Putin defies West to launch air strikes - and they all hit anti-Assad forces rather than ISIS Russia began airstrikes on three provinces in support of President Assad All areas targeted are held by moderate rebels backed by U.S-led coalition U.S. was only given hour notice of strikes, which killed at least 36 civilians John Kerry met with Russian Foreign Minister and pair agreed to hold talks 'as soon as possible' to ensure they don't get into conflict in war-torn Syria See latest news from Russia's air strikes in Syria By SIMON TOMLINSON and EMMA GLANFIELD FOR MAILONLINE and LARISSA BROWN, DEFENCE REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 08:58 GMT, 30 September 2015 | UPDATED: 01:04 GMT, 1 October 2015 12k shares 4.4k View comments Russia and the U.S. have agreed to hold urgent military talks to ensure they do not end up 'in conflict' after Vladimir Putin launched airstrikes on Syria. More than 20 Russian fighter jets launched an attack on three provinces in Syria yesterday, after the U.S. was given just one hours' notice to remove its planes and officials from the area. The move increased tensions between the two countries, after concerns were raised that the airstrikes were only targeting anti-government rebels, many of whom are backed by the U.S.-led coalition, instead of ISIS-held areas. Syrian opposition chief Khaled Khoja said 36 civilians had been killed in the attacks, which also apparently targeted a CIA-vetted Syrian rebel group that was receiving U.S. missiles. Last night, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a strained press conference alongside Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with the pair confirming urgent 'de-confliction' talks will be held. Scroll down for video Russian jets have begun raids in Syria after apparently only giving the U.S. an hour to remove its planes and officials from the area. Pictured: Footage shows rockets hitting the Homs province of Syria today +35 Airstrikes: Russian jets have begun raids in Syria after apparently only giving the U.S. an hour to remove its planes and officials from the area. Pictured: Footage shows rockets hitting the Homs province of Syria Explosion: The Russian Defence Ministry said it carried out 20 flights over Syria on Wednesday but concerns were raised they were targeting anti-government rebels, many of whom are backed by the U.S.-led coalition +35 Explosion: The Russian Defence Ministry said it carried out 20 flights over Syria on Wednesday but concerns were raised they were targeting anti-government rebels, many of whom are backed by the U.S.-led coalition Read more: dailym.ai/1GjzIeV Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook - on.fb.me/1VoYXc2 Like on.fb.me/1igqszr Visit bit.ly/1kYmijb
Only when we see ourselves in our true human context, as members of a race which is intended to be one organism and “one body,” will we begin to understand the positive importance not only of the successes but of the failures and accidents in our lives. My successes are not my own. The way to them was prepared by others. The fruit of my labors is not my own: for I am preparing the way for the achievements of another. Nor are my failures my own. They may spring from the failure of another, but they are also compensated for by another’s achievement. Therefore the meaning of my life is not to be looked for merely in the sum total of my achievements. It is seen only in the complete integration of my achievements and failures with the achievements and failures of my own generation, and society, and time. It is seen, above all, in my own integration in Christ.
— Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955) p 16
Puerto Plata Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola B&W April 1991 Lady in White Bra and Panties
A somewhat uncommon vehicle in the Wright Millennium range is the Meridian. Built on a MAN NL273F it shares the same styling as the rest of the range but with the odd subtle difference or two - such as the offside vent grille, no vents at the rear, where the window profile along the side jumps up towards the rear of the bus which is done by an upwards curve, and of course the MAN badges on the front and rear. SJ09 GDV is seemingly acting as a demonstrator as it has gone around two or three different companies now, though currently it is with Stagecoach. Seen here on Fishergate running the 111 service to Leyland which was formerly a Fishwicks service until the company folded. I had tried getting photos of this vehicle at the bus station but they didn't come out well, so I hopped on my bike and caught up with it along the way out of the city centre.
This cat shares my home since last Saturday but you rarely see him, thus the "ghost cat". He is thought to be about six months old and was rescued together with several other semi feral cats from a farm. After a few days at the rescue centre he was handed over to a foster home where he was supposed to be socialized. The rescue centre called me a few days ago and asked me if I was prepared to give this young male a home, at least for a couple of weeks, as he couldn't stay at his former foster home any longer. They told me that he was friendly but still quite careful with people. That turned out to be the understatement of the year. He is okay with Fynn, even with Cleo, but he tries to avoid me (and every other human) completely. Usually he hides somewhere in the house and only comes out when he thinks that I'm not around. Today I have managed for the first time to get slightly closer to him. That was only possible because I hardly moved and because Fynn was with me. The ghost cat even shortly sniffed my hand before he disappeared again, probably surprised by his own courage. It's a difficult situation but I hope that I can help him to gain some confidence in humans.
A couple shares a kiss under an umbrella in the rain on an out of the way street in Chinatown.
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It's really no secret that Doyers Street is one of my favorite streets in lower Manhattan. It's an alley (or very narrow street) that is usually photographed from an entirely different angle. In fact, the fact that it has a sharp angle in it goes along with its colorful history. Its angle was known as "the Bloody Angle" for part of the 20th century due to gang violence.
This is just around the bend from the angle and also across from one of my favorite noodle shops in Chinatown. I love moments like this that are so completely candid but somehow feel cinematic. I had just walked out from the above-mentioned noodle shop when I was met with this scene. It was too perfect to not quickly capture, of course.
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Although it shares its name with a bad Vauxhall from 1978 and is not as attractive as other Liverpool cinemas that have come and gone, it's still a nice building. There's not much in Tuebrook as it is, so its sad to see this go.
No text but I took it!
Portmahomack is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about three miles (five kilometres) from the village at the end of the Tarbat Peninsula. Ballone Castle lies about one mile (1.5 kilometres) from the village.
There is evidence of early settlement, and the area seems to have been the site of significant activity during the time of the Picts, early Christianity and the Vikings. The village is situated on a sandy bay and has a small harbour designed by Thomas Telford: it shares with Hunstanton the unusual distinction of being on the east coast but facing west. Portmahomack lies inside the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation with the associated dolphin and whale watching activity.
The village has a primary school, golf course, hotel, a number of places to eat and a shop with a sub-post office. The nearest rail access is at Fearn railway station and the nearest commercial airport is at Inverness Airport. The nearest town with full services is Tain lying approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) west. Tain also has rail access. The hamlet of Rockfield is nearby and is accessed via the village of Portmahomack.
Situated nine miles (fourteen kilometres) east of Tain on the northern coast of the Tarbat Peninsula, Portmahomack has long been known to be on the site of early settlements. The earliest evidence of habitation is provided by shell middens pointing to settlement as early as one or two thousand years BCE.
There are the remains of an Iron Age broch a little to the west of the village. Finds of elaborate early Christian carved stones dating to the 8th–9th centuries (including one with an inscription), in and around the churchyard, had long suggested that Portmahomack was the site of an important early church in the sixth-seventh century.
In 1822 Rev Grant, minister of Boharn, described "a beautiful square fortification of about 100 paces of a side" near Blàr a' Chath, north of the village. It was tentatively identified as a Roman camp in 1949 by O. G. S. Crawford although he did not visit the site and no trace was found of its existence during a later visit.
It had apparently been defaced by 1872 during land reclamation, but in Crawford's opinion there may be some traces of the Roman camp still visible or to be discovered.
It has been suggested that the supposed camp was visited by emperor Septimius Severus, based on remarks made by the Roman historian Cassius Dio: "Severus did not desist until he approached the extremity of the island".
Portmahomack is the site of the first confirmed Pictish monastery and the subject between 1994 and 2007 of one of the largest archaeological investigations in Scotland directed by Martin Carver (b. 1941). The fields surrounding the redundant St Colman's church were the focus of the 13-year investigation. What the archaeologists uncovered were: an early medieval enclosure ditch, burial ground, remnants of a stone church, and carved stone fragments in the Pictish style.
The monastery began around 550 AD and was destroyed by fire in about 800 AD. It had a burial ground with cist and head-support burials, a stone church, at least four monumental stone crosses and workshops making church plate and early Christian books. The making of vellum in an early medieval site was detected for the first time here by Cecily Spall of FAS Ltd.
Over two hundred pieces of sculpture have been found, some of it broken up in a layer of burning suggesting that the monastic buildings were violently destroyed, possibly in a Viking raid, about the year 800.
The present restored building, adapted to house a museum after lying empty for a number of years, has been shown by archaeological investigation to be itself a monument of great interest, of multi-phase construction, the oldest part (the east wall of the crypt) having been built as early as the 9th century. The museum and visitor centre in the remodeled parish church is managed by the Tarbat Historic Trust.
Recent research on the ancient trench around the local monastery found organic samples in the date range from 140 AD to 590 AD. The area enclosed by the ditch may have been a "settlement, craft-working centre and/or hub of a Pictish community", connected to the possible Roman fortification in Port a Chaistell.
The Battle of Tarbat Ness was a land battle fought (c 1030–1040) between Thorfinn the Mighty, Earl (Jarl) of Caithness and the King of Scotland.
In the Battle of Tarbat in the 1480s, a raiding party from the Clan Mackay of Strathnaver were cornered in the Tarbat church by the Clan Ross, who killed many of them before setting fire to the church.
During the 17th century, cod, skate ling, halibut, lobsters and turbot were fished in great quantities until the end of the 18th century. Over 100 ships are reported to have exported grain from the harbor. Herring exports peaked between 1850 and 1890, and brought increased employment and prosperity to the region. At the end of the 19th century, the growing number of steam trawlers in the area led to the decline of the herring industry. The construction of the Balintore harbour, south of Portmahomack, also contributed to reduced shipping activity at Portmahomack. The export of grain from the harbor ended during the 1930s.
Today, Portmahomack is a tourist destination with its traditional harbour, swimming beach, golf, dolphin watching, fishing and other watersports. It has a permanent population of between 500 and 600 residents. In the former parish church the Tarbat Discovery Centre, designed by exhibition consultants Higgins Gardner & Partners, houses displays on local history, and many of the finds from several seasons of excavation within the church itself, and in the fields surrounding the churchyard. It also houses the Peter Fraser Archive of memorabilia relating to Peter Fraser, wartime prime minister of New Zealand, who was born and grew up in Hill of Fearn, seven miles (eleven kilometres) distant from Portmahomack.
Notable among these are a large collection of fragments of Pictish stone sculpture, many of them superbly carved with figures of ecclesiastics, fantastic and realistic animals, 'Celtic' interlace and key-pattern, and other motifs. The large elaborate late seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century bell-turret on the west gable of the church is an unusual and distinctive feature.
Some important Pictish carved stones from Portmahomack are on display in the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh with replicas in the Tarbat Discovery Centre.
Two other important historic buildings in Portmahomack are adjoining 'girnals' (storehouses), built in the late 17th century and 1779, overlooking the harbour (restored as housing). The former is one of the oldest such buildings to survive in Scotland. The village also features a number of attractive 18th/early 19th century houses lining the shore.
Portmahomack was a favourite holiday location for Lord Reith (John Reith, 1st Baron Reith), Director-General of the BBC, who holidayed in the Blue House, still aptly painted blue and located on the seafront, near the harbour.
The murder-mystery writer Anne Perry lived adjacent to the village for a number of years.
John Shepherd-Barron, the inventor of the ATM (Auto-Teller Machine), lived in the nearby community of Geanies until his death in 2010.
Professor Thomas Summers West, was a famous son of the Village with an Exhibition held in his name at the Tarbat Discovery Centre in 2011.
The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.
The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.
The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.
Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.
Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".
Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".
Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West. Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way. The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes.
Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities. Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land. In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.
In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.
When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected. This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms. Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.
The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.
Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.
According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".
The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.
For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.
In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.
A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.
Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.
The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.
Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.
There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.
Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.
The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.
These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.
The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.
Climate
The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.
Places of interest
An Teallach
Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)
Arrochar Alps
Balmoral Castle
Balquhidder
Battlefield of Culloden
Beinn Alligin
Beinn Eighe
Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station
Ben Lomond
Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)
Cairngorms National Park
Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore
Cairngorm Mountains
Caledonian Canal
Cape Wrath
Carrick Castle
Castle Stalker
Castle Tioram
Chanonry Point
Conic Hill
Culloden Moor
Dunadd
Duart Castle
Durness
Eilean Donan
Fingal's Cave (Staffa)
Fort George
Glen Coe
Glen Etive
Glen Kinglas
Glen Lyon
Glen Orchy
Glenshee Ski Centre
Glen Shiel
Glen Spean
Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)
Grampian Mountains
Hebrides
Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.
Highland Wildlife Park
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Jail
Inverness Castle
Inverewe Garden
Iona Abbey
Isle of Staffa
Kilchurn Castle
Kilmartin Glen
Liathach
Lecht Ski Centre
Loch Alsh
Loch Ard
Loch Awe
Loch Assynt
Loch Earn
Loch Etive
Loch Fyne
Loch Goil
Loch Katrine
Loch Leven
Loch Linnhe
Loch Lochy
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lubnaig
Loch Maree
Loch Morar
Loch Morlich
Loch Ness
Loch Nevis
Loch Rannoch
Loch Tay
Lochranza
Luss
Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)
Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran
Rannoch Moor
Red Cuillin
Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83
River Carron, Wester Ross
River Spey
River Tay
Ross and Cromarty
Smoo Cave
Stob Coire a' Chàirn
Stac Polly
Strathspey Railway
Sutherland
Tor Castle
Torridon Hills
Urquhart Castle
West Highland Line (scenic railway)
West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)
Wester Ross
"G.E. Shares Rise as Quarterly Profit Beats Expectations" by REUTERS via NYT t.co/CYjbTJjqpu (via Twitter twitter.com/felipemassone/status/655097335001804800)
A couple shares a warm embrace, smiling happily at each other while standing together near a quiet road. The atmosphere is serene, with clouds overhead and greenery in the background.
Is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres.Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.
The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent sovereign state before 1 May 1707 when it entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain. This union resulted from the Treaty of Union agreed in 1706 and enacted by the twin Acts of Union passed by the Parliaments of both countries, despite widespread protest across Scotland. Scotland's legal system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and in private law.
The continued existence of legal, educational and religious institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the Union. Although Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state, issues surrounding devolution and independence continue to be debated. After the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, the first ever pro-independence Scottish Government was elected in 2007 when the Scottish National Party formed a minority administration.
Etymology
Scotland is from the Latin Scoti, the term applied to Gaels, people from what is now Scotland and Ireland, both pirates and the Dal Riada who had come from Ireland to reside in the Northwest of what is now Scotland, in contrast, for example, to the Picts. Accordingly, the Late Latin word Scotia (land of the Gaels) was initially used to refer to Ireland. However, by the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba. The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.
History
please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Scotland
Geography
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Scotland
Other info
Oficial name:
Scotland
Alba
Unification :
Lands north of Forth united under Bridei m. Beli c. 685
- Dál Riata incorporated by Óengus m. Fergusa c. 741
- Lothian and Strathclyde finally incorporated on accession of David I 1124 (confirmed Treaty of York, 1237)
- Galloway incorporated 1234/5
- Orkney and Shetland annexed 1472
Area:
78.782 km2
Inhabitants:
6.200.000
Languages:
Scotish, Gaelic, English
Capital city:
Edimbourgh
Meaning country name:
Land of the Scots, from Old English Scottas, "inhabitants of Ireland." Old English borrowed the word from late Latin Scotti, of unknown origin. It may possibly have come from an Irish term of scorn, scuit. After the departure of the Romans from Britain in 423, an Irish tribe invaded Scotland, and the name came with them. It later extended to other Irish who settled in the northern regions of Britain.
Alba (Gaelic name): The Scots- and Irish-Gaelic name for Scotland derives from the same Celtic root as the name Albion, which designates sometimes the entire island of Great Britain and sometimes the country of England, Scotland's southern neighbour. The term arguably derives from an early Indo-European word meaning 'white', generally held to refer to the cliffs of white chalk around the English town of Dover, ironically located at the furthest end of Great Britain from Scotland itself. Others take it to come from the same root as "the Alps", possibly being an ancient word for mountain.
Caledonia, an old Latin name for Scotland, deriving from the Caledonii tribe. Caledonia in Greek also means "good waters".
Description Flag:
The flag of Scotland features a white saltire, a crux decussate (X-shaped cross) representing the cross of the Christian martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, on a blue field. It is named the Saltire or the Saint Andrew's Cross. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Azure, a saltire argent.
The flag of Scotland is one of the oldest flags in the world, traditionally dating back to the 9th century.
Coat of arms:
The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.
Motto:
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh" (Scottish Gaelic)
"Wha daur meddle wi me?" (Scots)
National Anthem: Flower of Scotland
O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves
lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
Those days are past now,
And in the past
they must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
Tae think again.
Gaelic
O Fhlùir na h-Alba,
cuin a chì sinn
an seòrsa laoich
a sheas gu bàs 'son
am bileag feòir is fraoich,
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
's a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin?
Na cnuic tha lomnochd
's tha duilleach Foghair
mar bhrat air làr,
am fearann caillte
dan tug na seòid ud gràdh,
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
's a ruaig e dhachaigh
air chaochladh smaoin.
Tha 'n eachdraidh dùinte
ach air dìochuimhne
chan fheum i bhith,
is faodaidh sinn èirigh
gu bhith nar Rìoghachd a-rìs
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
's a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin.
O Fhlùir na h-Alba,
cuin a chì sinn
an seòrsa laoich
a sheas gu bàs 'son
am bileag feòir is fraoich,
a sheas an aghaidh
feachd uailleil Iomhair
's a ruaig e dhachaidh
air chaochladh smaoin?
Internet Page: www.scotland.org
Scotland in diferent languages
eng | sco: Scotland
afr | dan | fao | isl | non: Skotland
cos | ita | lld | roh: Scozia
ast | glg | spa: Escocia
deu | ltz | nds: Schottland / Schottland
cat | oci: Escòcia
dsb | hsb: Šotiska
hrv | slv: Škotska
kaa | uzb: Shotlandiya / Шотландия
nor | swe: Skottland
tur | zza: İskoçya
arg: Escozia
aze: Şotlandiya / Шотландија
bos: Škotska / Шкотска
bre: Skos; Bro-Skos
ces: Skotsko
cor: Alban
cym: Yr Alban
epo: Skotujo; Skotio; Skotlando
est: Šotimaa
eus: Eskozia
fin: Skotlanti
fra: Écosse
frr: Schåtlönj
fry: Skotlân
gla: Alba
gle: An Albain / An Albain; Alba / Alba
glv: Nalbin
hat: Ekòs
hun: Skócia
ina: Scotia
ind: Skotlandia / سكوتلنديا
jav: Skotlandia
kmr: Şotlandî / Шотланди / شۆتلاندی; Êskotlandî / Ескотланди / ئێسکۆتلاندی
kur: Sikotlende / سکۆتلەندە; Skotland / سکۆتلاند; Îskoçya / ئیسکۆچیا
lat: Scotia; Caledonia
lav: Skotija
lim: Sjotland
lin: Ekósi
lit: Škotija
mlg: Ekôsy
mlt: Skozja
mol: Scoţia / Скоция
mri: Koterana
msa: Scotland / سكوتلند
nld: Schotland
nrm: Êcosse
pol: Szkocja
por: Escócia
que: Iskusya
ron: Scoţia
rup: Scotlandia
slk: Škótsko
slo: Sxkotia / Шкотиа; Sxkotzem / Шкотзем
sme: Skotlánda
smg: Škotėjė
sqi: Skocia; Skotlanda
ssw: iSikhwahlande
swa: Uskoti
szl: Škocyjo
tet: Eskósia
tgl: Eskosya
tpi: Skotlan
tuk: Şotlandiýa / Шотландия
vie: Tô Cách Lan; Scốt-len
vor: Sotimaa
wln: Scôsse / Sicôsse; Escôsse
xho: iSkotlani
zul: iSikhohlandi; iSikotilandi
alt | bul | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | rus | tyv: Шотландия (Šotlandija)
abq: Шотландия (Šotłandija)
bak: Шотландия / Şotlandiya
bel: Шатландыя / Šatłandyja; Шатляндыя / Šatlandyja; Шкоцыя / Škocyja
chm: Шотландий (Šotlandij)
kaz: Шотландия / Şotlandïya / شوتلانديا
mkd: Шкотска (Škotska)
mon: Шотланд (Šotland)
oss: Шотланди (Šotlandi)
srp: Шкотска / Škotska
tat: Шотландия / Şotlandiä
tgk: Шотландия / شاتلنیه / Şotlandija
ukr: Шотландія (Šotlandija)
ara: سكوتلندا (Sikūtlandā); إسكتلندا (Iskutlandā); أسكتلندا (Askutlandā); إسكوتلندا (Iskūtlandā); إسكوتلندة (Iskūtlandâ)
fas: اسکاتلند / Eskâtland; اسکاتلاند / Eskâtlând
prs: سکاتلند (Skātland)
pus: سکاتلنډ (Skātlənḋ); سکاټلېنډ (Skāṫlenḋ)
uig: شوتلاندىيە / Shotlandiye / Шотландия
urd: اسکاچستان (Iskāčistān); سکاٹلینڈ (Sakāṫlænḋ); اسکاٹلینڈ (Iskāṫlænḋ)
heb: סקוטלנד (Sqôṭland); סקוטלאנד (Sqôṭlând)
yid: שאָטלאַנד (Šotland)
amh | tir: ስኮትላንድ (Skotland)
ell: Σκωτία (Skōtía); Σκοτία (Skotía)
hye: Շոտլանդիա (Šotlandia)
kat: შოტლანდია (Šotlandia)
hin: स्कॉट्लैंड (Skŏṭlæṁḍ)
ben: স্কটল্যান্ড (Skôṭlænḍ)
pan: ਸਕਾਟਲੈਂਡ (Skāṭlæ̃ḍ)
kan: ಸ್ಕಾಟ್ಲೆಂಡ್ (Skāṭleṁḍ)
mal: സ്കോട്ട്ലന്റ് (Skōṭṭlanṟ)
tam: ஸ்காட்லாந்து (Skāṭlāntu)
zho: 蘇格蘭/苏格兰 (Sūgélán)
jpn: スコットランド (Sukottorando)
kor: 스코틀랜드 (Seukoteullaendeu)
bod: སུའུ་ཀེ་ལན་ (Su'u.ke.lan.)
tha: สกอตแลนด (Sakɔ̄tlǣn[d]); สก็อตแลนด (Sakɔtlǣn[d])
lao: ສະກອັດ (Sakɔt)
khm: អេកូស (Ekūs)
Hardknott Pass is a hill pass between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England. The tarmac-surfaced road, which is the most direct route from the central Lake District to West Cumbria, shares the title of steepest road in England with Rosedale Chimney Bank in North Yorkshire. It has a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).
The pass takes its name from Hard Knott which is derived from the Old Norse harthr (hard) and knutr (craggy hill).
A single track road runs between Eskdale in the west to the edge of the neighbouring Wrynose Pass in the east. On the western side is Harter Fell and the remains of Hardknott Roman Fort (200 metres (660 ft) above sea level).
The Hardknott Pass stands at a maximum elevation of 393 m (1,289 ft). The road descends steeply at a gradient of 30% (1 in 3) into the Duddon Valley. At the eastern end of the pass is Cockley Beck farm, built in the 1860s and owned by the National Trust. The route from Hardknott leads eastward towards the Wrynose Pass and Ambleside.
The pass is described as one of the most challenging roads in Britain. A series of hairpin bends make visibility difficult in various places, and the road surface is in poor condition and slippery when wet. The pass is often closed in winter due to ice that makes the route impassable for vehicles. Traffic ascending the pass has priority as advised by the Highway Code.
The challenging 1 in 3 gradients, steeper than the mountain stages of European bicycle races including the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, draw endurance cyclists. It is part of the annual Fred Whitton Challenge, a 112-mile ride around the Lake District. An "average" cyclist who was trained over six weeks for a 2019 Eurosport documentary called England's Toughest Climb failed to complete the route.
A road over the pass was built by the Romans around AD 110 to link the coastal fort and baths at Ravenglass with their garrisons at Ambleside and Kendal. The Romans called this road the Tenth Highway. The road fell into disrepair after the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, becoming an unpaved packhorse route used to transport lead and agricultural goods. By the early Middle Ages, it was known as the Waingate ("cart road") or Wainscarth ("cart pass"): there is an 1138 record of a party of monks traversing it in an oxcart. Hardknott pass and its surrounding area fell within the domain of the Lords of Millom, being situated between the headwaters of the Esk and Duddon. Grazing and hunting rights were given to the monks of Furness Abbey by the Lords of Millom in the 13th century, which they held until the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41).
In the 1880s an association of hoteliers, the English Lake District Association, financed improvements to the road in the hope of encouraging tourist excursions by carriage; by 1891 the scheme was judged to be "not the success that was anticipated". Nevertheless, the route had some popularity with cyclists and early motorists, with the Cyclists' Touring Club 1911 Guide to North-West England describing the old coach road as "difficult going West, cruel coming East". The first motor vehicles were taken over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes, from the Eskdale side, in 1913.
In 1936, the Cumberland Highways Committee considered, and rejected, a proposal to make the pass more accessible to motorised vehicles by laying down a new road surface and making other improvements. However, during the Second World War the War Office used the area for tank training, completely destroying the existing road surface. After the war the damage was repaired and the road tarmaced. A decade after the local government had rejected opening the highway to vehicles, the war's legacy had inadvertently created a direct motor route between Ambleside and Eskdale for the first time.
The courses of the Roman and modern roads are not identical. The Roman highway is to the north of the modern road on the western side of the pass and to the south on the eastern side.
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is primarily famous for the Cumbrian Mountains, its lake and coastal scenery, and for its literary associations with William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets, Beatrix Potter, and John Ruskin.
The Cumbrian mountains, or fells, include England's tallest mountains: Scafell Pike (978 m (3,209 ft)), Helvellyn (950 m (3,120 ft)), Skiddaw (931 m (3,054 ft)), and Cross Fell (893 m (2,930 ft)), which all have a topographical prominence of more than 600m. The region contains sixteen major lakes. They include Windermere, which with a length of 18 km (11 miles) and an area of 14.73 km2 (5.69 square miles) is both the longest and largest lake in England, and Wast Water, which at 79 metres (259 ft) is the deepest lake in England.
The Lake District National Park was established in 1951, and covers an area of 2,362 km2 (912 square miles), the bulk of the region. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
National Park
The Lake District National Park includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was designated a national park on 9 May 1951, a month after the Peak District, the first UK national park. It retained its original boundaries until 2016 when it was extended by 3% in the direction of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to incorporate areas land of high landscape value around the Lune Valley.
The national park received 18.14 million tourist visitors in 2022. This equates to 29.15 million tourist days, counting visits of greater than three hours. It is the largest of the thirteen national parks in England and Wales and the second largest in the UK after the Cairngorms National Park. Its aim is to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce. The area of the national park, with the exception of the 2016 extension, was designated a World Heritage Site in 2017 as a cultural landscape. This was the fourth attempt to list the park, after two attempts in the 1980s and one in 2012 failed.
The park is governed by the National Park Authority, which is based at offices in Kendal. It runs a visitor centre on Windermere at a former country house called Brockhole, Coniston Boating Centre, and Information Centres. The Park Authority has 20 members: six appointed by Westmorland and Furness Council, four by Cumberland Council, and ten by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
Human geography
The precise extent of the Lake District was not defined traditionally, but is slightly larger than that of the National Park[citation needed], the total area of which is about 2,362 square kilometres (912 sq mi). The park extends just over 51 kilometres (32 mi) from east to west and nearly 64 kilometres (40 mi) from north to south, with areas such as the Lake District Peninsulas to the south lying outside the National Park.
Settlement
There are only a few major settlements within this mountainous area: the towns of Keswick, Windermere, Ambleside, and Bowness-on-Windermere are the four largest. Significant settlements close to the boundary of the national park include Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Ulverston, Dalton-in-Furness, Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Penrith, Millom and Grange-over-Sands; each of these has important economic links with the area. Other villages are Coniston, Threlkeld, Glenridding, Pooley Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Grasmere, Newby Bridge, Staveley, Lindale, Gosforth and Hawkshead. The economies of almost all are intimately linked with tourism. Beyond these are a scattering of hamlets and many isolated farmsteads, some of which are still tied to agriculture;[citation needed] others now function as part of the tourist economy.
Communications
Roads
The Lake District is very nearly contained within a box of trunk routes and major A roads. It is flanked to the east by the A6 road, which runs from Kendal to Penrith (though the National Park extension approved in 2015 is east of the A6); across its southern fringes by the A590, which connects the M6 to Barrow-in-Furness, and the A5092, and across its northern edge by the A66 trunk road between Penrith and Workington. The A595 (linking the A66 with the A5092) forms the park boundary from Calder Bridge to Holmrook, then crosses the coastal plain of the park until turning inland at the Whicham Valley, forming much of the park boundary again until joining the A5092 at Grizebeck.
Besides these, a few A roads penetrate the area itself, notably the A591 which runs north-westwards from Kendal to Windermere and then on to Keswick. It continues up the east side of Bassenthwaite Lake. "The A591, Grasmere, Lake District" was short-listed in the 2011 Google Street View awards in the Most Romantic Street category. The A593 and A5084 link the Ambleside and Coniston areas with the A590 to the south whilst the A592 and A5074 similarly link Windermere with the A590. The A592 also continues northwards from Windermere to Ullswater and Penrith by way of the Kirkstone Pass.
Some valleys which are not penetrated by A roads are served by B roads. The B5289 serves Lorton Vale and Buttermere and links via the Honister Pass with Borrowdale. The B5292 ascends the Whinlatter Pass from Lorton Vale before dropping down to Braithwaite near Keswick. The B5322 serves the valley of St John's in the Vale whilst Great Langdale is served by the B5343. Other valleys such as Little Langdale, Eskdale and Dunnerdale are served by minor roads. The last of these is connected with the first two by the Wrynose and Hardknott passes respectively; both of these passes are known for their steep gradients and are together one of the most popular climbs in the United Kingdom for cycling enthusiasts. A minor road through the Newlands Valley connects via Newlands Hause with the B5289 at Buttermere. Wasdale is served by a cul-de-sac minor road,[a] as is Longsleddale and the valleys at Haweswater and Kentmere. There are networks of minor roads in the lower-lying southern part of the area, connecting numerous communities between Kendal, Windermere, and Coniston.
Railways and ferries
The West Coast Main Line skirts the eastern edge of the Lake District and the Cumbrian Coast Line passes through the southern and western fringes of the area. A single railway line, the Windermere Branch Line, penetrates from Kendal to Windermere via Staveley. Railways once served Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston (closed to passengers in 1958) and another ran from Penrith to Cockermouth via Keswick (closed west of Keswick in 1966 and completely in 1972). Part of the track of the latter is used by the improved A66 trunk road.
The Cumbrian Coast line has three stations within the boundaries of the national park (and additionally Drigg, about a third of a mile from the park boundary). The line gives railway enthusiasts and others a flavour of a pre-Beeching railway line, with features like manually operated level crossing gates, as well as giving a good connection to the steam railway into Eskdale and providing access for cyclists and serious walkers to the Western Fells.
The narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway runs from Ravenglass on the west coast up Eskdale as far as Dalegarth Station near the hamlet of Boot, catering for tourists. Another heritage railway, the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, runs between Lake Windermere and Haverthwaite, and tourists can connect at Lakeside with the boats up the lake to Bowness.
A vehicle-carrying cable ferry, the Windermere Ferry, runs frequent services across Windermere. There are also seasonal passenger boats on Coniston Water, Derwent Water, and Ullswater.
Footpaths and bridleways
There are many paths over which the public has a right of way, all of which are signposted at their origin on public roads and at some other points. Within the area of the National Park in 2012 there were 2,159 km (1,342 mi) of public footpaths, 875 km (544 mi) of public bridleways, 15 km (9 mi) of restricted byways and 30 km (19 mi) of byways open to all traffic. There is also a general "right to roam" in open country, which includes approximately 50% of the national park.
Many of these tracks arose centuries ago and were used either as ridge highways (such as along High Street) or as passes for travelling across the ridges between settlements in the valleys. Historically these paths were not planned for reaching summits, but more recently they are used by fell walkers for that purpose. The Coast to Coast Walk, which crosses the north of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, traverses the national park from west to east.
Bridleways are intended for horse riding and walkers, with cyclists also permitted to use them. Cyclists must give way to all other bridleway users. Motor vehicles are only allowed on "byways open to all traffic" (green lanes) but in practice Traffic Regulation Orders have been brought in on several prohibiting motor traffic, although a system of permits operates on Gatesgarth Pass.
Land ownership
Most of the land within the national park is in private ownership, with about 55% registered as agricultural land. Landowners include:
Individual farmers and other private landowners, with more than half of the agricultural land farmed by the owners.
The National Trust owns around 25% of the total area (including some lakes and land of significant landscape value).
The Forestry Commission and other investors in forests and woodland.
United Utilities (owns 8%)
Lake District National Park Authority (owns 3.9%)
Physical geography
The Lake District is a roughly circular upland massif, deeply dissected by a broadly radial pattern of major valleys which are largely the result of repeated glaciations over the last 2 million years. The apparent radial pattern is not from a central dome, but from an axial watershed extending from St Bees Head in the west to Shap in the east. Most of these valleys display the U-shaped cross-section characteristic of glacial origin and often contain long narrow lakes in bedrock hollows, with tracts of relatively flat ground at their infilled heads, or where they are divided by lateral tributaries (Buttermere-Crummock Water; Derwent Water-Bassenthwaite Lake).[b] Smaller lakes known as tarns occupy glacial cirques at higher elevations. It is the abundance of both which has led to the area becoming known as the Lake District.
Many of the higher fells are rocky, while moorland predominates lower down. Vegetation cover in better-drained areas includes bracken and heather, although much of the land is boggy, due to the high rainfall. Deciduous native woodland occurs on many of the steeper slopes below the tree line, but with native oak supplemented by extensive conifer plantations in many areas, particularly Grizedale Forest in the generally lower southern part of the area. The Lake District extends to the sea to the west and south.
The highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike (978m/3210'), has a far-reaching view on a clear day, ranging from the Galloway Hills of Scotland, the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Snowdonia in Wales.
Cumbrian Mountains
Lake District is located in the Lake DistrictScafell PikeScafell PikeScafellScafellScafellScafellHelvellynHelvellynSkiddawSkiddawHigh StreetHigh StreetGrasmoorGrasmoorConiston Old ManConiston Old ManGreat GableGreat GableKendalKendalPenrithPenrithKeswickKeswickAmblesideAmblesideCockermouthCockermouthWindermereWindermereGrasmereGrasmere
Major fells and towns shown within the National Park
Lake District
The mountains (or 'fells') of the Lake District are known as the "Cumbrian Mountains", "Cumbrian Fells" or "Lakeland Fells". The four highest fells exceed 3,000 feet (914 m). These are:
Scafell Pike, 978 m (3,209 ft)
Scafell, 965 m (3,166 ft)
Helvellyn, 951 m (3,120 ft)
Skiddaw, 931 m (3,054 ft)
Northern Fells
The Northern Fells are a clearly defined range of hills contained within a 13 km (8 mi) diameter circle between Keswick in the southwest and Caldbeck in the northeast. They culminate in the 931 m (3,054 ft) peak of Skiddaw. Other notable peaks are Blencathra (also known as Saddleback) (868 m (2,848 ft)) and Carrock Fell. Bassenthwaite Lake occupies the valley between this massif and the North Western Fells.
North Western Fells
The North Western Fells lie between Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite Lake to the east and Buttermere and Lorton Vale to the west. Their southernmost point is at Honister Pass. This area includes the Derwent Fells above the Newlands Valley and hills to the north amongst which are Dale Head, Robinson. To the north stand Grasmoor, highest in the range at 852 m (2,795 ft), Grisedale Pike and the hills around the valley of Coledale, and in the far northwest is Thornthwaite Forest and Lord's Seat. The fells in this area are rounded Skiddaw slate, with few tarns and relatively few rock faces.
Western Fells
The Western Fells lie between Buttermere and Wasdale, with Sty Head forming the apex of a large triangle. Ennerdale bisects the area, which consists of the High Stile ridge north of Ennerdale, the Loweswater Fells in the far northwest, the Pillar group in the southwest, and Great Gable (899 m (2,949 ft)) near Sty Head. Other tops include Seatallan, Haystacks and Kirk Fell. This area is craggy and steep, with the impressive pinnacle of Pillar Rock its showpiece. Wastwater, located in this part, is England's deepest lake.
Central Fells
The Central Fells are lower in elevation than surrounding areas of fell, peaking at 762 m (2,500 ft) at High Raise. They take the form of a ridge running between Derwent Water in the west and Thirlmere in the east, from Keswick in the north to Langdale Pikes in the south. A spur extends southeast to Loughrigg Fell above Ambleside. The central ridge running north over High Seat is exceptionally boggy.
Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells consist of a long north-to-south ridge, the Helvellyn range, running from Clough Head to Seat Sandal with the 950 m (3,118 ft) Helvellyn at its highest point. The western slopes of these summits tend to be grassy, with rocky corries and crags on the eastern side. The Fairfield group lies to the south of the range and forms a similar pattern with towering rock faces and hidden valleys spilling into the Patterdale valley. It culminates in the height of Red Screes overlooking the Kirkstone Pass.
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells refers to all of the Lakeland fells to the east of Ullswater and the A592 road running south to Windermere. At 828 m (2,717 ft), the peak known as High Street is the highest point on a complex ridge that runs broadly north-south and overlooks the hidden valley of Haweswater to its east. In the north of this region are the lower fells of Martindale Common and Bampton Common whilst in the south are the fells overlooking the Kentmere valley. Further to the east, beyond Mardale and Longsleddale is Shap Fell, an extensive area consisting of high moorland, more rolling and Pennine in nature than the mountains to the west.
Southern Fells
The Southern Fells occupy the southwestern quarter of the Lake District. They can be regarded as comprising a northern grouping between Wasdale, Eskdale, and the two Langdale valleys, a southeastern group east of Dunnerdale and south of Little Langdale, and a southwestern group bounded by Eskdale to the north and Dunnerdale to the east.
The first group includes England's highest mountains: Scafell Pike in the centre, at 978 m (3,209 ft) and Scafell one mile (1.6 km) to the southwest. Though it is slightly lower, Scafell has a 700 ft (210 m) rockface, Scafell Crag, on its northern side. This group also includes the Wastwater Screes overlooking Wasdale, the Glaramara ridge overlooking Borrowdale, the three tops of Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Esk Pike. The core of the area is drained by the infant River Esk. Collectively these are some of the Lake District's most rugged hillsides.
The second group, otherwise known as the Furness Fells or Coniston Fells, have as their northern boundary the steep and narrow Hardknott and Wrynose passes. The highest are Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How which slightly exceed 800 m (2,600 ft).
The third group to the west of the Duddon includes Harter Fell and the long ridge leading over Whitfell to Black Combe and the sea. The south of this region consists of lower forests and knolls, with Kirkby Moor on the southern boundary. The southwestern Lake District ends near the Furness peninsula and Barrow-in-Furness, a town which many Lake District residents rely on for basic amenities.
Southeastern area
The southeastern area is the territory between Coniston Water and Windermere and east of Windermere towards Kendal and south to Lindale. There are no high summits in this area which are mainly low hills, knolls and limestone cuestas such as Gummer's How and Whitbarrow. Indeed, it rises only as high as 333 m (1,093 ft) at Top o' Selside east of Coniston Water; the wide expanse of Grizedale Forest stands between the two lakes. Kendal and Morecambe Bay stand at the eastern and southern edges of the area.
Valleys
The main radial valleys are (clockwise from the south) Dunnerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale, Ennerdale, the Vale of Lorton, and Buttermere valley, the Derwent Valley and Borrowdale, the Ullswater valley, Haweswater valley, Longsleddale, the Kentmere valley, those converging on the head of Windermere - Grasmere, Great Langdale and Little Langdale, and the Coniston Water valley. The valleys break the mountains up into blocks, which have been described by various authors in different ways. The most frequently encountered approach is that made popular by Alfred Wainwright who published seven separate area guides to the Lakeland Fells.
Only one of the lakes in the Lake District is called by that name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Buttermere are meres, tarns and waters, with mere being the least common and water being the most common. The major lakes and reservoirs in the National Park are given below.
Bassenthwaite Lake
Brotherswater
Buttermere
Coniston Water
Crummock Water
Derwent Water
Devoke Water
Elter Water
Ennerdale Water
Esthwaite Water
Grasmere
Haweswater Reservoir
Hayeswater
Loweswater
Rydal Water
Thirlmere
Ullswater
Wast Water
Windermere
Woodlands
Below the tree line are wooded areas, including British and European native oak woodlands and introduced softwood plantations. The woodlands provide habitats for native English wildlife. The native red squirrel is found in the Lake District and a few other parts of England. In parts of the Lake District, the rainfall is higher than in any other part of England. This gives Atlantic mosses, ferns, lichen, and liverworts the chance to grow. There is some ancient woodland in the National Park. Management of the woodlands varies: some are coppiced, some pollarded, some left to grow naturally, and some provide grazing and shelter.
Coast
The Lake District extends to the coast of the Irish Sea from Drigg in the north to Silecroft in the south, encompassing the estuaries of the Esk and its tributaries, the Irt and the Mite. The intertidal zone of the combined estuaries includes sand, shingle and mudflats, and saltmarsh. The dune systems on either side of the estuary are protected as nature reserves; Drigg Dunes and Gullery to the north and Eskmeals Dunes[31] to the south. South of the estuary, the coast is formed in low cliffs of glacial till, sands, and gravels.
The district also extends to the tidal waters of Morecambe Bay and several of its estuaries alongside the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas, designated on M6 motorway signposts as the "Lake District Peninsulas", and the southern portions of which lie outside the park. These are the Duddon Estuary, the Leven Estuary, and the western banks and tidal flats of the Kent Estuary. These areas are each characterised by sand and mudflats of scenic and wildlife interest. The coast is backed by extensive flats of raised marine deposits left when the relative sea level was higher.
M.I.A. shares new track ‘Borders’
| Plaincut | bit.ly/1DfNmQD
M.I.A. teased a new song Thursday on her Instagram account, and now she’s dropped the track in full. It’s called “Borders” and is available now on…http://bit.ly/218yH6f
Inspector Neil Humphreys shares a joke with some newly weds.
Saturday, 28 May 2016, saw the launch of a new horse road safety campaign in central Manchester. The event was attended by the GMP and Lancashire uniformed mounted officers with their police horses. Cheshire Police rural officers where also came along.
The launch supported the British Horse Society’s Dead Slow campaign.
In the five years since the launch of the charity’s horse accidents website, over 2,000 reports of road incidents involving horses across the UK have been reported to the charity. Of these, 36 caused rider deaths, and 181 resulted in a horse dying from their injuries or being put to sleep.
In Greater Manchester alone, 28 road incidents have been reported to the charity to date, causing the death of one horse and the serious injury of a rider.
The campaign falls under GMP’s Operation Considerate, an initiative urging all road users to show others more respect on the roads.
Greater Manchester Police will be hosting driver horse awareness events across the region, and is supporting the BHS Dead Slow key messaging on their horseboxes to raise awareness.
Horse accidents can be reported to the BHS via the website www.horseaccidents.org.uk.
For more information about Policing in Greater Manchester please visit www.gmp.police.uk
To report crime call police on 101 the national non-emergency number.
You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
Shares this pink building with a "dairy" (seven day, convenience store). They are mainly called dairies here (although a few are called Superette), but to our cousins across the ditch (Tasman Sea) in Australia a dairy is a place where cows are milked or where milk is processed,
20022+20032 shares the shed at Wath with 47371 and a Tinsley based 56, which is I think 56002. Outside the traction had changed with the 76's gone for nearly a year. Time was running out though, and the shed would have closed by the end of January 1983.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse:
Pigeon Point's 115-foot tower shares the title of tallest west coast lighthouse with California's Point Arena Lighthouse, and is similar in design to those at Bodie Island and Currituck Beach in North Carolina, Morris Island in South Carolina, and Yaquina Head in Oregon, though the heights of the towers differ. The first-order Fresnel lens used in the Pigeon Point Lighthouse was manufactured in Paris by the firm of Henry-Lepaute and is made of 1,008 separate prisms. Revolving at a rate of one revolution every four minutes, the lens' twenty-four flash panels produce a characteristic of one flash every ten seconds. The jewel-like lens was not introduced to lighthouse service at Pigeon Point. It first served in the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (an older tower, not the current tower) until it was extinguished during the Civil War, removed from the tower, and later recovered and transferred to Pigeon Point. The small building attached to the base of the tower contains an office on one side and an oil storage room on the opposite side of the central hallway. In the early 1900s, a separate oil house, which now contains an historic display on the lighthouse, was built away from the tower as a safety measure for storing the volatile kerosene fuel then used as an illuminant. About the same time, the original signal house was replaced by the fog signal building, which stands today.
My Official Website:
*all of my images are copyrighted and cannot be used/reproduced in any way or form without my permission, if you would like to use my pictures please notify me via flickr mail. Thanks for dropping by on my photostream**
A volunteer shares a tender moment with Goldie, a sweet, scared little Lab mix with a misaligned jaw. It's believed that her jaw is misaligned because she suffered a blow to the face (shovel or similar instrument). Her muzzle is a bit odd looking from this angle, but she's healing slowly. Did I mention that she's also a senior? She needs a home in time for Christmas. She's very timid, but she has every right to be. People are so terrible, but capturing a moment like this really makes the world seem a whole lot brighter.
If you or someone you know would like to adopt/foster Goldie, please go to IHWN Animal Haven.
Copyright © Paw Prints Charming/Hillary Kladke
Do NOT use without permission!
Gateshead is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares the Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges with Newcastle upon Tyne.
Historically part of County Durham, under the Local Government Act 1888 the town was made a county borough, meaning it was administered independently of the county council.
In the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 196,151.
Gateshead is first mentioned in Latin translation in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People as ad caput caprae ("at the goat's head"). This interpretation is consistent with the later English attestations of the name, among them Gatesheued (c. 1190), literally "goat's head" but in the context of a place-name meaning 'headland or hill frequented by (wild) goats'. Although other derivations have been mooted, it is this that is given by the standard authorities.
A Brittonic predecessor, named with the element *gabro-, 'goat' (c.f. Welsh gafr), may underlie the name. Gateshead might have been the Roman-British fort of Gabrosentum.
There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where the Swing Bridge now stands, since Roman times.
The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of the Venerable Bede who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068 William the Conqueror defeated the forces of Edgar the Ætheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare's Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell and Sheriff Hill).
During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham. At this time the area was largely forest with some agricultural land. The forest was the subject of Gateshead's first charter, granted in the 12th century by Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham. An alternative spelling may be "Gatishevede", as seen in a legal record, dated 1430.
Throughout the Industrial Revolution the population of Gateshead expanded rapidly; between 1801 and 1901 the increase was over 100,000. This expansion resulted in the spread southwards of the town.
In 1854, a catastrophic explosion on the quayside destroyed most of Gateshead's medieval heritage, and caused widespread damage on the Newcastle side of the river.
Sir Joseph Swan lived at Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead from 1869 to 1883, where his experiments led to the invention of the electric light bulb. The house was the first in the world to be wired for domestic electric light.
In 1889 one of the largest employers (Hawks, Crawshay and Sons) closed down and unemployment has since been a burden. Up to the Second World War there were repeated newspaper reports of the unemployed sending deputations to the council to provide work. The depression years of the 1920s and 1930s created even more joblessness and the Team Valley Trading Estate was built in the mid-1930s to alleviate the situation.
In the late noughties, Gateshead Council started to regenerate the town, with the long-term aim of making Gateshead a city. The most extensive transformation occurred in the Quayside, with almost all the structures there being constructed or refurbished in this time.
In the early 2010s, regeneration refocused on the town centre. The £150 million Trinity Square development opened in May 2013, it incorporates student accommodation, a cinema, health centre and shops. It was nominated for the Carbuncle Cup in September 2014. The cup was however awarded to another development which involved Tesco, Woolwich Central.
Is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of the United Kingdom.
Northern Ireland consists of six of the traditional nine counties of the historic Irish province of Ulster. It was created as a distinct division of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920,though its constitutional roots lie in the 1800 Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. For over 50 years it had its own devolved government and parliament. These institutions were suspended in 1972 and abolished in 1973. Repeated attempts to restore self-government finally resulted in the establishment of the present-day Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly operates on consociational democracy principles requiring cross-community support.
Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict—The Troubles—between those claiming to represent nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and those claiming to represent unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, while nationalists wish it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland. Since the signing of the "Good Friday Agreement" in 1998, most of the paramilitary groups involved in the Troubles have ceased their armed campaigns.
Due to its unique history, the issue of the symbolism, name and description of Northern Ireland is complex, and similarly the issue of citizenship and identity. In general, Unionists consider themselves British and Nationalists see themselves as Irish, though these identities are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
History
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Northern_Ireland
Geography
Please go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ireland
Other info
Oficial name:
Tuaisceart Éireann
Norlin Airlann
Establishment
- Government of Ireland Act 1920
Area:
13.843 km2
Inhabitants:
2.000.000
Languages:
Irish and English
Capital city:
Belfast
Meaning island name:
After Éire from Proto-Celtic *Īweriū "the fertile place" or "Place of Éire (Eriu)" a Celtic fertility goddess. Often mistakenly derived as "Land of Iron", or from a reflex of Proto-Indo-European *arya, or from variations of the Irish word for west (modern Irish iar, iarthar).
Hibernia (ancient name and Latin variant): apparently assimilated to Latin hibernus (wintry).
Ireland is known as Eirinn in Scottish Gaelic, from a grammatical case of Éire. In fellow Celtic language Welsh it is Iwerddon, in Cornish it is Ywerdhon or Worthen and in Breton it is Iwerzhon.
In Gaelic bardic tradition Ireland is also known by the poetical names of Banbha (meaning piglet) and Fódhla. In Gaelic myth, Ériu, Banbha and Fódla were three goddesses who greeted the Milesians upon their arrival in Ireland, and who granted them custodianship of the island
Description Flag:
The "Ulster Banner" is the official name that was given to the flag, which can be referred to as "the flag of Northern Ireland", the "Northern Ireland flag", the "Red Hand Flag" or as the "Ulster Flag" (not to be confused with the provincial Flag of Ulster). The Ulster Banner was the official flag that was used to represent the Government of Northern Ireland from 1953 to 1973. In common with other British flags, any civic status of the flag was not defined in a de jure manner.
In 1924, the Government of Northern Ireland was granted arms by Royal Warrant and had the right to display these arms on a flag or banner. This right was exercised for the Coronation in 1953. Between 1953 and 1972, this flag was the arms of the Government of Northern Ireland. It ceased to have official government sanction when the Parliament of Northern Ireland was dissolved by the British government under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, but remains the only flag to date which represents Northern Ireland at international level in sport. and the flag of the province of Ulster, with the addition of a crown to symbolise the loyalty of Ulster unionists to the British Monarchy. As with the flag of the province of Ulster, it contains the Red Hand of Ulster at the centre. There is a dispute as to the meaning of the star, with some maintaining it is the Star of David, and others say it represents the six counties that make up Northern Ireland.
The flag is used within the unionist community, along with the Union Flag. A variation of the flag places the Union Flag in the Canton, and defaced with the red hand and the outline of a map of Northern Ireland on the Union Flag. It is regularly displayed by fans of the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also used to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, the Northern Ireland national football team.
Coat of arms:
The Coat of Arms of Northern Ireland was granted to the Government of Northern Ireland in 1924, after the Irish Free State had separated from the United Kingdom.
Neville Rodwell Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms, had designed the great seal and flag of Northern Ireland in 1923. In January 1924 he held discussions with Northern Ireland officials in London regarding the coat of arms. The final design was completed by Wilkinson's deputy Thomas Ulick Sadleir for approval by the Northern Ireland cabinet in April 1924. The artwork was approved and the Royal warrant signed by George V and issued through the Home Office on August 2, 1924 and registered in the Register of Arms in Dublin as follows:
Royal Warrant Government of Northern Ireland
Argent a cross gules, overall on a six pointed star of the field ensigned by an Imperial crown proper a dexter hand couped at the wrist of the second.
Given at our Court of St. James in the 15th year of our reign 2nd August 1924 by His Majesty's command.
This was the same design as the Flag of Northern Ireland which had been designed in the previous year.
The supporters were granted in 1925, and consist of a gold lion supporting a banner of the Irish coat of arms — Azure a harp Or stringed Argent, meaning a gold harp, stringed silver, on a blue background, as represented in the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom; and a white elk with gold antlers and hooves supporting a banner of the arms of the De Burgo Earls of Ulster, the basis for the Flag of Ulster.
In 1971 the College of Arms in London added the compartment on which the supporters stand. The Latin motto Quis separabit (Who shall separate). The motto was first used by the Order of St. Patrick in the 18th Century, and was also used by the British Army regiment, the Royal Ulster Rifles. More recently, the motto has been used by the proscribed paramilitary group known as the Ulster Defence Association (the UDA).
When the Government of Northern Ireland was prorogued in 1972 the arms went out of official use. The grant has not been rescinded, but the arms are considered historical, as the body to which the arms were granted no longer exists and so cannot be used unless regranted to another armiger.
Motto:
" Quis separabit? "
National Anthem: Londonderry Air
'Oh! shrive me, father - haste, haste, and shrive me,
'Ere sets yon dread and flaring sun;
'Its beams of peace, - nay, of sense, deprive me,
'Since yet the holy work's undone.'
The sage, the wand'rer's anguish balming,
Soothed her heart to rest once more;
And pardon's promise torture calming,
The Pilgrim told her sorrows o'er.
The charms that caus'd in life's young morning,
The woes the sad one had deplor'd,
Were now, alas! no more adorning,
The lips that pardon sweet implor'd:-
But oh! those eyes, so mildly beaming,
Once seen, not Saints could e'er forget! -
And soon the Father's tears were streaming,
When Devorgilla's gaze he met!
Gone, gone, was all the pride of beauty,
That scorn'd and broke the bridal vow,
And gave to passion all the duty
So bold a heart would e'er allow;
Yet all so humbly, all so mildly,
The weeping fair her fault confess'd,
Tho' youth had viewed her wand'ring wildly,
That age could ne'er deny her rest.
The tale of woe full sadly ended,
The word of peace the Father said,
While balmy tear-drops fast descended,
And droop'd the suppliant sinner's head.
The rose in gloom long drear and mourning,
Not welcomes more the sun's mild ray,
Than Breffni's Princess hail'd returning
The gleam of rest that shriving-day.
The first writer, after Petrie's publication, to set verses to the tune was Alfred Perceval Graves, in the late 1870's. His song was entitled 'Would I Were Erin's Apple Blossom o'er You.' Graves later stated '.....that setting was, to my mind, too much in the style of church music, and was not, I believe, a success in consequence.' (ref Audley, below).
Would I were Erin's apple-blossom o'er you,
Or Erin's rose, in all its beauty blown,
To drop my richest petals down before you,
Within the garden where you walk alone;
In hope you'd turn and pluck a little posy,
With loving fingers through my foliage pressed,
And kiss it close and set it blushing rosy
To sigh out all its sweetness on your breast.
Would I might take a pigeon's flight towards you,
And perch beside your window-pane above,
And murmur how my heart of hearts it hoards you,
O hundred thousand treasures of my love;
In hope you'd stretch your slender hand and take me,
And smooth my wildly-fluttering wings to rest,
And lift me to your loving lips and make me
My bower of blisses in your loving breast.
And when the dew no longer pearls your roses,
Nor gems your footprint on the glittering lawn,
I'd follow you into the forest closes
In the fond image of your sportive fawn;
Till you should woo me 'neath the wavering cover
With coaxing call and friendly hands and eyes,
Where never yet a happy human lover
His head has pillowed—mine to emparadise.
Irish Love Song
The tune was first called "Londonderry Air" in 1894 when Katherine Tynan Hinkson set the words of her "Irish Love Song" to it:
Would God I were the tender apple blossom
That floats and falls from off the twisted bough
To lie and faint within your silken bosom
Within your silken bosom as that does now.
Or would I were a little burnish'd apple
For you to pluck me, gliding by so cold
While sun and shade you robe of lawn will dapple
Your robe of lawn, and you hair's spun gold.
Yea, would to God I were among the roses
That lean to kiss you as you float between
While on the lowest branch a bud uncloses
A bud uncloses, to touch you, queen.
Nay, since you will not love, would I were growing
A happy daisy, in the garden path
That so your silver foot might press me going
Might press me going even unto deat
Use as a hymn tune
As with a good many folk tunes, Londonderry Air is also used a hymn tune; most notably for "I cannot tell" [1], written by William Young Fullerton.
I cannot tell why He Whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world is come.
I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world is here.
I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendour
When He the Savior, Savior of the world is known.
I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth, will answer:
At last the Savior, Savior of the world is King
It was also used as a setting for "I would be true" by Howard Arnold Walter at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales:
I would be true, for there are those that trust me.
I would be pure, for there are those that care.
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer.
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all, the foe, the friendless.
I would be giving, and forget the gift,
I would be humble, for I know my weakness,
I would look up, laugh, love and live.
Internet Page: www.northernireland.gov.uk
www.discovernorthernireland.com
N.Ireland in diferent languages
eng: Northern Ireland
afr | lim | nld: Noord-Ierland
cat | ina | ita: Irlanda del Nord
roh-enb | roh-eno | roh-gri: Irlanda dal Nord
ast | spa: Irlanda del Norte
dan | swe: Nordirland
deu | ltz: Nordirland / Nordirland
fra | nrm: Irlande du Nord
glg | tet: Irlanda Norte
kin | run: Irilande y’uburaruko
arg: Irlanda d’o Norte
aze: Şimali İrlandiya / Шимали Ирландија
bam: Irilandi Saheliyanfan
bos: Severna Irska / Северна Ирска
bre: Norzh-Iwerzhon
ces: Severní Irsko
cor: Iwerdhon Gledh
cos: Irlanda tramuntana
cym: Gogledd Iwerddon
dsb: Pódpołnocna Irska
epo: Nord-Irlando
est: Põhja-Iirimaa
eus: Ipar Irlanda
fao: Norðurírland
fin: Pohjois-Irlanti
fry: Noard-Ierlân
gla: Èirinn a Tuath
gle: Tuaisceart Éireann / Tuaisceart Éireann
glv: Nerin Hwoaie
hat: Iland dinò
hau: Ireland ta Arewa
hrv: Sjeverna Irska
hsb: Sewjerna Irska
hun: Észak-Írország
ibo: Aialand Ugwu
ind: Irlandia Utara / ايرلنديا اوتارا
isl: Norður-Írland
jav: Irlandia Utara
kaa: Arqa İrlandiya / Арқа Ирландия
kmr: Îrlandî ya Bakur / Ирланди йа Бакӧр’ / ئیرلاندیا باکوڕ; Îrlandî ya Şimalê / Ирланди йа Шьмале / ئیرلاندیا شمالی
kur: Îrlandaya Bakur / ئیرلاندایا باکور
lat: Irlandia Septentrionalis; Hibernia Septentrionalis
lav: Ziemeļīrija
lin: Irlandi ya Nola
lit: Šiaurės Airija
lld: Irlanda dl Nord
mlg: Irlandy Avaratra
mlt: Irlanda ta’ Fuq
mol: Irlanda de Nord / Ирланда де Норд
mri: Airangi ki te Raki
msa: Ireland Utara / ايرلند اوتارا
nds: Noordirland / Noordirland
nor: Nord-Irland
oci: Irlanda del Nòrd
pol: Irlandia Północna
por: Irlanda do Norte
que: Chinchay Ilanda
rmy: Nordutno Irland / नोर्दुत्नो इर्लान्द
roh-srs: Irlanda dil Nord
ron: Irlanda de Nord
rup: Irlanda di Aratsile
scn: Irlanna dû Nord
sco: Northren Ireland
slk: Severné Írsko
slo: Severju Irlandia / Северйу Ирландиа
slv: Severna Irska
sme: Davvi-Irlánda
smg: Šiauris Airėjė
smo: Aialani i Matu
som: Ayrlaandada Waqooyi
sqi: Irlanda Veriore
srd: Irlanda de Susu
swa: Ireland ya Kaskazini
szl: Irlandja Půunocno
tgl: Hilagang Irlandiya
tpi: Noten Aialan
tuk: Demirgazyk Irlandiýa / Демиргазык Ирландия
tur: Kuzey İrlanda
uzb: Shimoliy Irlandiya / Шимолий Ирландия
vie: Bắc Ái Nhĩ Lan; Bắc Ai-len
wln: Bijhe Irlande
wol: Irlaand bu Noor
zza: İrlanda Zımey
abq: Северна Ирландия (Severna Irłandija)
alt: Тӱндӱк Ирландия (Tündük Irlandija)
bak: Төньяҡ Ирландия / Tönyaķ İrlandiya
bel: Паўночная Ірландыя / Paŭnočnaja Irłandyja; Паўночная Ірляндыя / Paŭnočnaja Irlandyja
bul: Северна Ирландия (Severna Irlandija)
che: Къилбседера Ирланди (Q̣ilbsedera Irlandi)
chm: Йӱдвел Ирландий (Jüdvel Irlandij)
chv: Ҫурҫӗр Ирланди (Śurśĕr Irlandi)
kaz: Солтүстік Ирландия / Soltüstik Ïrlandïya / سولتۇستىك يرلانديا
kbd: Севернэ Ирландие (Severnă Irlandie)
kir: Түндүк Ирландия (Tündük Irlandija)
kjh: Севернай Ирландия (Severnaj Irlandija)
kom: Севернӧй Ирландия (Severnöj Irlandija)
krc: Север Ирландия (Sever Irlandija)
kum: Темиркъазыкъ Ирландия (Temirqazyq Irlandija)
mkd: Северна Ирска (Severna Irska)
mon: Умард Ирланд (Umard Irland)
oss: Цӕгат Ирланди (Cägat Irlandi)
rus: Северная Ирландия (Severnaja Irlandija)
srp: Северна Ирска / Severna Irska
tat: Төньяк Ирландия / Tönyaq İrlandiä
tgk: Ирландияи Шимолӣ / ایرلندیۀ شمالی / Irlandijai Şimolī
tyv: Соңгу-Ирландия (Soṅgu-Irlandija)
ukr: Північна Ірландія (Pivnična Irlandija)
ara: آيرلندا الشمالية (Āyirlandā š-Šimālīyâ); إيرلندا الشمالية (Īrlandā š-Šimālīyâ); إرلندة الشمالية (Irlandâtu š-Šimālīyâ); إرلندا الشمالية (Irlandā š-Šimālīyâ)
fas: ایرلند شمالی / Irlande Šemâli; ایرلاند شمالی / Irlânde Šemâli
pus: شمالي آيرلېنډ (Šimālī Āyrlenḋ); شمالي آيرلېند (Šimālī Āyrlend); شمالي آئرلېنډ (Šimālī Āʾirlenḋ); شمالي آئرلېند (Šimālī Āʾirlend)
snd: اتر آئرلينڊ (Utaru Āʾirlenḍa)
uig: شىمالىي ئىرلاندىيە / Shimaliy Irlandiye / Шималий Ирландия
urd: شمالی آئرستان (Šimālī Āʾiristān); شمالی آئرلینڈ / شمالی آئرلینڈ (Šimālī Āʾirlænḋ); شمالی آیرلینڈ (Šimālī Āyarlænḋ)
heb: צפון אירלנד (Tsəfôn Îrland); צפון אירלאנד (Tsəfôn Îrlând); אירלנד הצפונית (Îrland ha-Tsəfônît); אירלאנד הצפונית (Îrlând ha-Tsəfônît)
yid: צפֿון אירלאַנד (Tsofn Irland)
amh: ሰሜን አየርላንድ (Sämen Ăyärland)
ell-dhi: Βόρεια Ιρλανδία (Vóreia Irlandía)
ell-kat: Βόρειος Ἰρλανδία (Vóreios Irlandía)
hye: Հյուսիսային Իռլանդիա (Hyousisayin Iṙlandia)
kat: ჩრდილოეთ ირლანდია (Č̣rdiloeṭ Irlandia)
hin: उत्तर आयरलैंड (Uttar Āyarlæṁḍ)
ben: উত্তর আয়ারল্যান্ড (Uttar Āyārlæṇḍ); উত্তর আয়ারল্যাণ্ড (Uttar Āyārlæṇḍ)
kan: ಉತ್ತರ ಐರ್ಲೆಂಡ್ (Uttara Airleṁḍ)
mal: ഉത്തര അയര്ലന്റ് (Uttara Ayarlanṟ)
tam: வட அயர்லாந்து (Vaṭa Ayarlāntu)
zho: 北愛爾蘭/北爱尔兰 (Běi Ài'ěrlán)
yue: 北愛爾蘭/北爱尔兰 (Bāk Oiyíhlàahn)
jpn: 北アイルランド (Kita Airurando)
kor: 북아일랜드 (Buk Aillaendeu)
dzo: བྱང་ཨའིརི་ལེནཌ་ (Byaṅ A'iri.lenḍ.)
mya: မ္ရောက္အုိင္ယာလန္ (Myouʿ Aĩyalã)
tha: ไอร์แลนด์เหนือ (Ai[r]lǣn[d] [h]Nʉ̄a)
lao: ອຽກລັງເໜືອ (Aẏklâṅ [h]Nʉ̄a)
khm: អៀរឡង់ខាងជើង (Ierḷăṅ Kʰāṅčøṅ)
Somewhere... sometime... spirits are all connected... synchronized... that everyone is made for the others...
Like a hidden guard, shares your thoughts, shares your feelings, and is there for you to give you encouragement, support and advices, or even just make you feel better...
For every matter shown on your way, there will be always a healing spirit knows what you feel... sometimes maybe because they’re more wise or with more experiences, or sometimes just because they’re being them !!
As the lovely lady I’ve met in my new job, I’m new there, a little confused, and want to show them what I can do... for some reason she discovered me, she’s there for me, to give that dose of words to make me speak... at the same time, I’m there for her, as she feels that she can’t open her heart to anyone except me...
As a lot of my friends here... always make me feel happy........ and I always make them smile....... I wonder why !!! .... why ? :))
Every meeting in our lives is arranged for some reason, more we are connected... more we can make our lives better and joyful... so, don’t worry about anything, be sure that whatever you face in your life, there is always a soul can feel you, and will be there for you just in the right time... at the same time, YOU are the healing spirit for another... even if you didn’t know that... and so on...
And Life is Beautiful ♥ ... Connect it :)
William Hogarth, London 1697 - 1764
Nachher - After (1764)
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
"Before" the first of these two works by the British artist William Hogarth owes much to a tradition of painting that developed in France in the 18th century, in which attractive young men and women flirt in idyllic outdoor settings.
"Before" shares these characteristics. In a shaded glade, a charmingly coy mistress makes a show of embarrassment at the advances of a handsome young gallant. If one looks closely there are hints at what is to come: rosy apples tumble from the girl's apron, the young man's knee is suggestively placed - is that a bulge in his trousers that catches the light? But it is superficially all rather polite and the physical realities of sex are discreetly hidden.
"After" turns all this on its head. Here the protagonists' clothing is in disarray and their faces flushed. The expressions that Hogarth gives the pair are superbly telling: the girl seems anxious and seeks reassurance from her beau, who stares into the middle distance, his face a mask of post-coital bewilderment. The haste of their coupling is suggested by her stockings which are still held up by their garters. Her mottled inner thighs are exposed and - most surprisingly - the man's unbuttoned breeches reveal a tuft of pubic hair and his penis, chafed red from its exertions.
Although all this is implicit in "Before", where we know exactly what the young man is proposing, the candour of "After" is wholly unexpected. Not that early 18th century England was a particularly sexually repressed society. There was a lusty literary tradition of which John Cleland's 1740s novel Fanny Hill is perhaps the most famous example. Prints were made of the sex scenes from this book, scenes which make "After" look restrained in comparison. But one simply does not expect such frankness in a painting of this period. Indeed when the work first came to the Fitzwilliam the man's genitalia had politely been painted over.
Is there a moral here? Is the girl in "After", with her apples spread over the floor, to be seen as a fallen woman, a new Eve? Are we, as viewers, supposed to lament this hasty, opportunistic coupling? Or are we simply meant to be amused? To enjoy a witty subversion of a popular genre? Or even just a slightly smutty belly laugh?
There is no internal evidence in either painting to suggest that the couple's lovemaking will have any lasting consequence. Once they have got their breath back and rearranged their clothes, there is no reason to believe that either will suffer as a result of what has happened.
But contemporary anxieties about the the vulnerability of young women were on Hogarth's mind in the early 1730s, when he was developing what he called the 'modern moral subject.' In 1732 he completed "The Harlot's Progress" a series of paintings, later to become hugely popular prints, in which an innocent country girl is utterly ruined by the predatory attentions of London men.
Source: Fitzwilliam Museum, Oxford
Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated just across from the main railway station which shares its name. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church.
The church, the adjoining cloister, and chapterhouse contain a store of art treasures and funerary monuments. Especially famous are frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance. They were financed through the generosity of the most important Florentine families, who ensured themselves of funerary chapels on consecrated ground.
This church was called Novella (New) because it was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne. When the site was assigned to Dominican Order in 1221, they decided to build a new church and an adjoining cloister. The church was designed by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. Building began in the mid-13th century (about 1246), and was finished about 1360 under the supervision of Friar Iacopo Talenti with the completion of the Romanesque-Gothic bell tower and sacristy. At that time, only the lower part of the Tuscan gothic facade was finished. The three portals are spanned by round arches, while the rest of the lower part of the facade is spanned by blind arches, separated by pilasters, with below Gothic pointed arches, striped in green and white, capping noblemen's tombs. This same design continues in the adjoining wall around the old churchyard. The church was consecrated in 1420.
On a commission from Giovanni di Paolo Rucellai, a local textile merchant, Leone Battista Alberti designed the upper part of the inlaid black and white marble facade of the church (1456–1470). He was already famous as the architect of the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, but even more for his seminal treatise on architecture De Re Aedificatoria, based on the book De Architectura of the classical Roman writer Vitruvius. Alberti had also designed the facade for the Rucellai Palace in Florence.
Alberti attempted to bring the ideals of humanist architecture, proportion and classically-inspired detailing, to bear on the design while also creating harmony with the already existing medieval part of the facade. His contribution consists of a broad frieze decorated with squares and everything above it, including the four white-green pilasters and a round window, crowned by a pediment with the Dominican solar emblem, and flanked on both sides by enormous S-curved volutes. The four columns with Corinthian capitals on the lower part of the facade were also added. The pediment and the frieze are clearly inspired by the antiquity, but the S-curved scrolls in the upper part are new and without precedent in antiquity. The scrolls (or variations of them), found in churches all over Italy, all find their origin here in the design of this church.
The frieze below the pediment carries the name of the patron : IOHAN(N)ES ORICELLARIUS PAU(LI) F(ILIUS) AN(NO) SAL(UTIS) MCCCCLXX (Giovanni Rucellai son of Paolo in the blessed year 1470).
The vast interior is based on a basilica plan, designed as a Latin cross and is divided into a nave, two aisles with stained-glass windows and a short transept. The large nave is 100 metres long and gives an impression of austerity. There is a trompe l'oeil-effect by which this nave towards the apse seems longer than its actual length. The slender compound piers between the nave and the aisles are ever closer when you go deeper into the nave. The ceiling in the vault consists of pointed arches with the four diagonal buttresses in black and white.
The interior also contains corinthian columns that were inspired by the Classical era of Greek and Roman times.
The stained-glass windows date from the 14th and 15th century, such as 15th century Madonna and Child and St. John and St. Philip (designed by Filippino Lippi), both in the Filippo Strozzi Chapel. Some stained glass windows have been damaged in the course of centuries and have been replaced. The one on the facade, a depiction of the Coronation of Mary dates from the 14th century, based on a design of Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze.
The pulpit, commissioned by the Rucellai family in 1443, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and executed by his adopted child Andrea Calvalcanti. This pulpit has a particular historical significance, because from this pulpit the first attack came on Galileo Galilei, leading eventually to his indictment
The Holy Trinity, situated almost halfway in the left aisle, is a pioneering early renaissance work of Masaccio, showing his new ideas about perspective and mathematical proportions. Its meaning for the art of painting can easily be compared by the importance of Brunelleschi for architecture and Donatello for sculpture. The patrons are the kneeling figures of the judge and his wife, members of the Lenzi family. The cadaver tomb below carries the epigram: "I was once what you are, and what I am you will become".
Of particular note in the right aisle is the Tomba della Beata Villana, a monument by Bernardo Rossellino in 1451. In the same aisle, you can find the tombs of the Bishop of Fiesole by Tino di Camaino and another one by Nino Pisano.
The Filippo Strozzi Chapel is situated on the right side of the main altar. The Strozzi Chapel was the place where the first tale of the Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio began, when seven ladies decided to leave the town, and flee from the Black Plague to the countryside. The series of frescoes from Filippino Lippi depict the lives of Philip the Apostle and James the Apostle. They were completed in 1502. On the right wall is the fresco St Philip Driving the Dragon from the Temple of Hieropolis and in the lunette above it, the Crucifixion of St Philip. On the left wall is the fresco St John the Evangelist Resuscitating Druisana and in the lunette above it The Torture of St John the Evangelist. Adam, Noah, Abraham and Jacob are represented on the ribbed vault. Behind the altar is the tomb of Filippo Strozzi with a sculpture by Benedetto da Maiano (1491).
The bronze crucifix on the main altar is by Giambologna (16th century). The choir (or the Cappella Tornabuoni) contains another series of famous frescoes, by Domenico Ghirlandaio and his apprentice the young Michelangelo (1485–1490). They represent themes from the life of the Virgin and John the Baptist, situated in Florence of the late 15th century. Several members of important Florentine families were portrayed on these frescoes. The vaults are covered with paintings of the Evangelists. On the back wall are the paintings Saint Dominic burns the Heretical Books and Saint Peter's Martyrdom, the Annunciation, and Saint John goes into the Desert.
The stained-glass windows were made in 1492 by the Florentine artist Alessandro Agolanti, known also as il Bidello, based on cartoons by Ghirlandaio.
Gondi Chapel
This chapel, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo, is situated on the left side of the main altar and dates from the end of the 13th century. Here, on the back wall, is the famous wooden Crucifix by Brunelleschi, one of his very few sculptures. The legend goes that he was so disgusted by the "primitive" Crucifix of Donatello in the Santa Croce church, that he made this one. The vault contains fragments of frescoes by 13th-century Greek painters. The polychrome marble decoration was applied by Giuliano da Sangallo (ca.1503). The stained-glass window is recent and dates from the 20th century.
Cappella Strozzi di Mantova
The Cappella Strozzi di Mantova is situated at the end of the left transept. The frescoes were commissioned by Tommaso Strozzi, an ancestor of Filippo Strozzi, to Nardo di Cione (1350–1357). The frescoes are inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy: Last Judgment (on the back wall; including a portrait of Dante), Hell (on the right wall) and paradise (on the left wall). The main altarpiece of The Redeemer with the Madonna and Saints was done by his brother Andrea di Cione, better known as Orcagna. The large stained-glass window on the back was made from a cartoon by the brothers Andrea and Nardo di Cione.
Della Pura Chape
The Della Pura Chapel is situated north of the old cemetery. It dates from 1474 and was constructed with Renaissance columns. It was restored in 1841 by Baccani. On the left side there is a lunette with a 14th-century fresco Madonna and Child and St. Catherine. There is a wooden crucifix by Baccio da Montelupo (1501) on the front altar.
Rucellai Chapel
The Rucellai Chapel, at the end of the right aisle, dates from the 14th century. It houses, besides the tomb of Paolo Rucellai (15th century) and the marble statue of the Madonna and the Child by Nino Pisano, several art treasures such as remains of frescoes by the Maestro di Santa Cecilia (end 13th – beginning 14th century). The panel on the left wall, the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine, was painted by Giuliano Bugiardini (with possibly assistance by Michelangelo). The bronze tomb, in the centre of the floor, was made by Ghiberti in 1425.
Bardi Chapel
The Bardi Chapel, the second chapel on the right of the apse, was founded by Riccardo Bardi and dates from early 14th century. The high-relief on a pillar on the right depicts Saint Gregory blessing Riccardo Bardi. The walls show us some early 14th-century frescoes attributed to Spinello Aretino. The Madonna del Rosario on the altar is by Giorgio Vasari (1568)
Sacristy
The sacristy, at the end of the left aisle, was built as the Chapel of the Annunciation by the Cavalcanti family in 1380. Now it houses again, after a period of fourteen years of cleaning and renovation, the enormous painted Crucifix with the Madonna and John the Evangelist, an early work by Giotto. He had rediscovered the ideal proportions for the human body, as established by the Roman architect Vitruvius (1st century AD, see also : Vitruvian Man). The sacristy is also embellished by a glazed terra cotta and a marble font, masterpieces by Giovanni della Robbia (1498). The cupboards were designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1593. The paintings on the wall are ascribed to Giorgio Vasari and some other contemporary Florentine painters. The large Gothic window with three mullions at the back wall dates from 1386 and was based on cartoons by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini
Spanish Chapel
Fresco by Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze in the Spanish Chapel: Allegory of the Active and Triumphant Church and of the Dominican order (c. 1365)
The Spanish Chapel (or Cappellone degli Spagnoli) is the former chapter house of the monastery. It is situated at the north side of the green Cloister (Chiostro Verde). It was commissioned by Buonamico (Mico) Guidalotti as his funerary chapel. Construction started c. 1343 and was finished in 1355. The Guidalotti chapel was later called "Spanish Chapel", because Cosimo I assigned it to Eleonora of Toledo and her Spanish retinue. The Spanish Chapel contains a smaller Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament. The Spanish Chapel was decorated from 1365 to 1367 by Andrea di Bonaiuto, also known as Andrea da Firenze. The large fresco on the right wall depicts the Allegory of the Active and Triumphant Church and of the Dominican order. It is especially interesting because in the background it shows a large pink building that may provide some insight into the original designs for the Duomo of Florence by Arnolfo di Cambio (before Brunelleschi's dome was built), although this interpretation is fantastical as the Duomo was never intended to be pink, nor to have the belltower at its back side. This fresco also contains portraits of pope Benedict IX, cardinal Friar Niccolò Albertini, count Guido di Poppi, Arnolfo di Cambio and the poet Petrarch. The frescoes on the other walls represent scenes from the lives of Christ and Saint Peter on the entry wall (mostly ruined due to the later installation of a choir), The Triumph of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Allegory of Christian Learning on the left wall, and the large "Crucifixion with the Way to Calvalry and the Descent into Limbo" on the archway of the altar wall. The four-part vault contains scenes of Christ's resurrection, the navicella, the ascension, and Pentecost. The five-panelled Gothic polyptych that was probably originally made for the chapel's altar, depicting the Madonna Enthroned With and Child and Four Saints by Bernardo Daddi dates from 1344 and is currently on display in a small museum area accessed through glass doors from the far end of the cloister. Together, the complex iconography of the ceiling vault, walls, and altar combine to communicate the message of Dominicans as guides to salvation.
Architecture
Giorgio Vasari was the architect, commissioned in 1567 by Grand Duke Cosimo I, for the first remodeling of the church, which included removing its original rood screen and loft, and adding six chapels between the columns. An armillary sphere (on the left) and a gnomon (on the right) were added to the end blind arches of the lower façade by Ignazio Danti, astronomer of Cosimo I, in 1572. The second remodeling was designed by Enrico Romoli, and was carried out between 1858 and 1860.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
The square in front the church was used by Cosimo I for the yearly chariot race (Palio dei Cocchi). This custom existed between 1563 and late in the 19th century. The two obelisks marked the start and the finish of the race. They were set up to imitate an antique Roman circus. The obelisks rest on bronze tortoises, made in 1608 by the sculptor Giambologna.
Artists who produced items for the church include:
Sandro Botticelli – early nativity scene above the door
Baccio D'Agnolo – wood carvings
Bronzino – the Miracle of Jesus
Filippo Brunelleschi – The Crucifix (between 1410 and 1425)
Tino da Camaino – Bust of St. Antoninus (in terra cotta); the Tomb of the Bishop of Fiesole
Nardo di Cione – frescoes of the Divine Judgment
Duccio – Rucellai Madonna
Lorenzo Ghiberti – tombstone of Leonardo Dati (1423)
Domenico Ghirlandaio – frescoes (late 15th century) in the Tornabuoni Chapel, design of the stained-glass window
Filippino Lippi – frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel, depicting the life of Philip the Apostle; stained glass window
Benedetto da Maiano – the Tomb of Filippo Strozzi (1491) at the backside of the Strozzi Chapel.
Giacomo Marchetti : Martyrdom of Saint Laurence.
Masaccio – The Trinity
Nino Pisano – Madonna with Child (1368)
Bernardo Rossellino – Monument to the Beata Villana (1451)
Santi di Tito – Lazarus Raised from Death
Paolo Uccello – frescoes in the cloisters
Giorgio Vasari – Madonna of the Rosary (1568)
Córdoba shares its history with many cities in Southern Spain. It was Carthaginian and Roman (from 260BC on), later it belonged to the Byzantine Empire for two decades, was looted by the Vandals before the Visigoths conquered it in 572. In 711 it was taken by the by the Umayyad army and became a provincial capital.
At that time a Christian church erected by the Visigoths was on the site, it was divided and shared by Muslims and Christians. In 784 the Christian half was purchased by Emir Abd al-Rahman I, who then demolished the church and started to build the grand mosque of Córdoba on its ground. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard. It covers an area of more than 23.000 m².
Nothing in Cordoba compares to the Mezquita-Cathedral, but this place has a very long history - and an interesting archaeological museum.
"Musicians" Capital
Marble, Califal., 2nd half of 10th century
a year of mornings 130/365
Gathering eggs is easy these days because the girls have only just barely begun to lay. We get two or three eggs a day -- ultimately, we expect 15 or so.
Gathering eggs is funny these days because the girls are not laying in their nest box, particularly. One does. The other two who are laying like to lay in a dark little corner underneath our back porch. Yesterday I also found an egg on the ground underneath the kitchen window.
I could leave them in the coop till early afternoon for a week or two, to train them. And probably I should do that. But their morning antics really make me giggle, and this is a time of year when a lot is on the line: Will we sell enough CSA shares? Will it be dry enough so that we can get things planted in time? What will our new markets be like? When will we get our irrigation system installed? So the morning giggles? Kind of worth it.
2nd 2020 W Club doll
The Story:
Natalia Fatalé shares her softer side with her fans in this fantastic mini gift set that turns up the glam to a new level of fierceness! Composed of everything our lady will need to go from a fashionable evening on the red carpet to a romantic evening with her new beau!
I really thought we would have Agnes in this offer, so it means we won't have her this year except at the convention.
Like for Le Tuxedo Eugenia, this doll and her fashions don't really go in this new collection called La Maison FR, this one looks more from the 50's than the Korinne or Véronique outfits... It's the first Natalia since I've began my FR collection, so I pre ordered her, maybe we will get one(s) at the convention, and I'll make up my mind on my favourite.
Actually, there was last year the lottery with Make me blush Natalia, but really, she is supposed to be from Puerto Rico, so as beautiful as she was, she didn't have the look I wanted for my Natalia - This one is really hot, her lingerie and her accessories are so cute, but I'm not a fan of this dress bottom.
I suppose that the new beau could be her ex brother in law, Paolo Marino ... will need to check if they make a hot couple ....
MG is a British automotive marque registered by the now defunct MG Car Company Limited, a British sports car manufacturer begun in the 1920s as a sales promotion sideline within W R Morris's Oxford city retail sales and service business by the business's manager, Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés. Kimber was an employee of William Morris; MG are the initials for Morris Garages.
The MG business was Morris's personal property until 1 July 1935 when he sold MG to his holding company, Morris Motors Limited, restructuring his holdings before issuing (preference) shares in Morris Motors to the public in 1936. MG underwent many changes in ownership starting with Morris merging with Austin in The British Motor Corporation Limited in 1952. MG became the MG Division of BMC in 1967 and so a component of the 1968 merger that created British Leyland Motor Corporation. By the start of 2000 MG was part of the MG Rover Group which entered receivership in 2005 and the assets and the MG brand were purchased by Nanjing Automobile Group (which merged into SAIC in 2008) for GB£53 million. Production restarted in 2007 in China, and later at Longbridge plant in the UK under the current manufacturer MG Motor. The first all-new model from MG in the UK for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011.
OVERVIEW
The original MG marque was in continuous use, except for the duration of the Second World War, for 56 years following its inception in 1923. The production of predominantly two-seater sports cars was concentrated at a factory in Abingdon, some 16 km south of Oxford. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) competition department was also based at the Abingdon plant, producing many winning rally and race cars, until the Abingdon factory closed and MGB production ceased in the Autumn of 1980.
Between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque used to badge-engineer sportier versions of Austin Rover's Metro, Maestro, and Montego ranges. The MG marque was not revived in its own right until 1992, with the MG RV8 – an updated MGB Roadster with a Rover V8 engine, which was previewed at the 1992 Birmingham Motor Show, with low-volume production commencing in 1993.
A second revival came in the summer of 1995, when the high-volume MG F two-seater roadster was launched.
The MG marque, along with the Rover marque, went to the MG Rover group in May 2000, when BMW "broke up" the Rover Group. This arrangement had the return of MG badges on sportier Rover-based cars such as the MG ZT in 2001, along with a revised MG F model, known as the MG TF, launched in 2002; however, all production ceased in April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration.
The assets of MG Rover were bought by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in July 2005, subsequently bought by SAIC in December 2007, which now operate a UK subsidiary, MG Motor.
HISTORY
The company's name supposedly originated from the initials of Morris Garages, W R Morris's (Lord Nuffield's) original retail sales and service business in Longwall Street, Oxford, when the business's manager, Cecil Kimber, began promoting sales by producing his own versions. Kimber had joined the company as its sales manager in 1921. He was promoted to general manager in 1922, a position he held until 1941, when he fell out with Lord Nuffield over procuring wartime work. Kimber died in 1945 in a railway accident. The site of the garages was redeveloped in 1980, retaining the original frontage, and is now used as student accommodation by New College.
Debate remains as to when the MG Car Company started, although the first cars bore both Morris and MG badges, in addition to reference to MG with the octagon badge appears in an Oxford newspaper from November 1923, the MG Octagon was registered as a trademark by Morris Garages on the 1 May 1924, with its 90th anniversary being widely celebrated in 2014. Others dispute this and believe that MG only properly began trading in 1925. The explanation may lie in the distinction between the MG business and the company of that name which may have come to own it later.
The first cars which were rebodied Morris models used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. Demand soon caused a move to larger premises in Bainton Road in September 1925, sharing space with the Morris radiator works. Continuing expansion meant another move in 1927 to a separate factory in Edmund Road, Cowley, Oxford, near the main Morris factory and for the first time it was possible to include a production line. In 1928, the company had become large enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages and the M.G. Car Company Limited was established in March of that year, and in October for the first time a stand was taken at the London Motor Show. Space again soon ran out and a search for a permanent home led to the lease of part an old leather factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1929, gradually taking over more space until production ended there in 1980. The MG Car Club was founded in 1930 for owners and enthusiasts of MG cars.
NUFFIELD ORGANISATION
Originally owned personally by William Morris, MG was sold in 1935 to Morris Motors (itself a member of the Morris Organizations later called the Nuffield Organisation), a change that was to have serious consequences for MG, particularly its motor-sport activities.
BMC
MG was absorbed with Morris into The British Motor Corporation Limited, created in 1952 to merge Morris Motors Limited and The Austin Motor Company Limited. Long-time service manager John Thornley took over as general manager, guiding the company through its best years until his retirement in 1969. Under BMC, several MG models were no more than badge-engineered versions of other marques, with the main exception being the small MG sports cars. BMC took over Jaguar Cars in September 1966 and that December BMC changed its name to British Motor Holdings. BMH joined with Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968 to form British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
BL
Following partial nationalisation in 1975, BLMC became British Leyland (later just BL). British Leyland's management and engineering staff were predominantly from the former Leyland organization, which included MG's historical close rival Triumph. Triumph was grouped into BL's Specialist Division, alongside Rover and Jaguar, while MG was retained with the other former BMC marques in the Austin-Morris Division which otherwise made mass-production family cars. While new Triumph models such as the TR7 and the Dolomite were launched during the 'Seventies no new MG models were introduced apart from the limited-production V8 version of the MGB. While the MG operations was profitable these profits were entirely offset by the huge losses accrued by the rest of the Austin-Morris division and any funding to the Division within BL was allocated to urgently required mass market models, leaving MG with limited resources to develop and maintain its existing model range, which became increasingly outdated. Amidst a mix of economic, internal and external politics, the Abingdon factory was shut down on 24 October 1980 as part of the drastic programme of cutbacks necessary to turn BL around after the turbulent times of the 1970s. The last car to be built there was the MGB, and after the closure of the Abingdon plant, the MG marque was temporarily abandoned.
Though many plants were closed, none created such an uproar among workers, dealers, clubs, and customers as this closure did. Years later, Sir Michael Edwardes expressed regret about his decision.
In 1982, the marque was revived and the Austin Rover Group built high-performance versions of their saloon and hatchback models built at Longbridge (Metro) or Cowley (Maestro and Montego). The MG Metro continued until 1990, with the Maestro and Montego versions being suspended a year later.
BAe then BMW
After BL became the Rover Group in 1986, ownership of the MG marque passed to British Aerospace in 1988 and then in 1994 to BMW. The MG name was revived in 1993 with the launch of the MG RV8, followed by the mid-engined MG F in 1995.
MG ROVER
BMW sold the business in 2000 and the MG marque passed to the MG Rover Group based in Longbridge, Birmingham. The practice of selling unique MG sports cars alongside badge-engineered models (by now Rovers) continued. The Group went into receivership in 2005 and car production was suspended on 7 April 2005. As of 2003, the site of the former Abingdon factory was host to McDonald's and the Thames Valley Police with only the former office block still standing. The headquarters of the MG Car Club (established 1930) is situated next door.
In 2006, it was reported that an initiative called Project Kimber, led by David James, had entered talks with Nanjing to buy the MG brand to produce a range of sports cars based on the discontinued Smart Roadster design by Daimler Chrysler. No agreement was reached, which resulted in the AC Cars marque being adopted for the new model, instead. As of 2009, the project appears to be dormant.
MG MOTOR
On 22 July 2005, the Nanjing Automobile Group purchased the rights to the MG brand and the assets of the MG Rover Group (except the production line for the ZS model) for £53 million, creating a new company called NAC MG UK. This was later renamed MG Motor, after the merge of Nanjing Automobile with Shanghai Automobile Industry Corporation (SAIC). In 2011, MG launched a new model, the MG 6 in GT (hatchback) and Magnette (saloon) versions which became the first new-generation MG available in the UK since the MG TF. The MG range is now sold in China, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, South Africa and the United Kingdom, availability of models depending on market.
The first all-new model from MG for 16 years, the MG 6, was officially launched on 26 June 2011 during a visit to MG Motor's Longbridge plant by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
By March 2012, SAIC had invested a total of £450 million in MG Motor. Sales in the UK totalled 782 vehicles in 2012. The new MG 3 went on sale in the United Kingdom in September 2013.
MG Motor was voted third place for the ‘Best Manufacturer’ category in the Auto Express 2014 Driver Power survey. MG celebrated its 90th birthday in 2014, and enjoyed further celebrations with a record-breaking year that had the company lead UK car-industry growth in 2014. The MG brand’s sales rose by 361% during 2014 thanks in part to the introduction of the MG 3 to the product range.
CAR MODELS
The earliest model, the 1924 MG 14/28 consisted of a new sporting body on a Morris Oxford chassis. This car model continued through several versions following the updates to the Morris. The first car which can be described as a new MG, rather than a modified Morris was the MG 18/80 of 1928 which had a purpose designed chassis and the first appearance of the traditional vertical MG grille. A smaller car was launched in 1929 with the first of a long line of Midgets starting with the M-Type based on a 1928 Morris Minor chassis. MG established a name for itself in the early days of the sport of international automobile racing. Beginning before and continuing after World War II, MG produced a line of cars known as the T-Series Midgets which, post-war, were exported worldwide, achieving greater success than expected. These included the MG TC, MG TD, and MG TF, all of which were based on the pre-war MG TB, and updated with each successive model.[18]
MG departed from its earlier line of Y-Type saloons and pre-war designs and released the MGA in 1955. The MGB was released in 1962 to satisfy demand for a more modern and comfortable sports car. In 1965 the fixed head coupé (FHC) followed: the MGB GT. With continual updates, mostly to comply with increasingly stringent United States emissions and safety standards, the MGB was produced until 1980. Between 1967 and 1969 a short-lived model called the MGC was released. The MGC was based on the MGB body, but with a larger (and, unfortunately, heavier) six-cylinder engine, and somewhat worse handling. MG also began producing the MG Midget in 1961. The Midget was a re-badged and slightly restyled second-generation Austin-Healey Sprite. To the dismay of many enthusiasts, the 1974 MGB was the last model made with chrome bumpers due to new United States safety regulations; the 1974½ bore thick black rubber bumpers that some claimed ruined the lines of the car. In 1973, the MGB GT V8 was launched with the ex-Buick Rover V8 engine and was built until 1976. As with the MGB, the Midget design was frequently modified until the Abingdon factory closed in October 1980 and the last of the range was made. The badge was also applied to versions of BMC saloons including the BMC ADO16, which was also available as a Riley, but with the MG pitched as slightly more "sporty".
The marque lived on after 1980 under BL, being used on a number of Austin saloons including the Metro, Maestro, and Montego. In New Zealand, the MG badge even appeared on the late 1980s Montego estate, called the MG 2.0 Si Wagon. There was a brief competitive history with a mid-engined, six-cylinder version of the Metro. The MG Metro finished production in 1990 on the launch of a Rover-only model. The MG Maestro and MG Montego remained on sale until 1991, when production of these models was pruned back in order for Rover to concentrate on the more modern 200 Series and 400 Series. High performance Rover Metro, 200 and 400 GTi models had gone on sale in late 1989 and throughout 1990 as the MG version of the Metro was discontinued in 1990 and the versions of the Maestro and Montego were axed in 1991.
The Rover Group revived the two-seater with the MG RV8 in 1992. The all-new MGF went on sale in 1995, becoming the first mass-produced "real" MG sports car since the MGB ceased production in 1980.
Following the May 2000 purchase of the MG and Rover brands by the Phoenix Consortium and the forming of the new MG Rover Group, the MG range was expanded in the summer of 2001 with the introduction of three sports models based on the contemporary range of Rover cars. The MG ZR was based on the Rover 25, the MG ZS on the Rover 45, and the MG ZT/ZT-T on the Rover 75.
The MG Rover Group purchased Qvale, which had taken over development of the De Tomaso Bigua. This car, renamed the Qvale Mangusta and already approved for sale in the United States, formed the basis of the MG XPower SV, an "extreme" V8-engined sports car. It was revealed in 2002 and went on sale in 2004.
MOTOTSPORT
From its earliest days MGs have been used in competition and from the early 1930s a series of dedicated racing cars such as the 1931 C-Type and 1934 Q-type were made and sold to enthusiasts who received considerable company assistance. This stopped in 1935 when MG was formally merged with Morris Motors and the Competition Department closed down. A series of experimental cars had also been made allowing Captain George Eyston to take several world speed records. In spite of the formal racing ban, speed record attempts continued with Goldie Gardner exceeding 200 mph (320 km/h) in the 1100 cc EX135 in 1939.
After World War II record breaking attempts restarted with 500 cc and 750 cc records being taken in the late 1940s. A decision was also taken to return to racing and a team of MGAs was entered in the tragedy-laden 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the best car achieving 12th place.
Prior to the use of the Toyota Tundra silhouette in the Craftsman Truck Series, MG was reported as the last foreign brand to be used in NASCAR. It was driven in 1963 by Smokey Cook.
In 2001 MG re-launched their motor sport campaign to cover the 24 Hours of Le Mans (MG-Lola EX257), British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) (MG ZS), British and World Rally Championships and MG Independent British Rally Championship (MG ZR). The Le Mans team failed to win the endurance race in 2001 and 2002 and quit in 2003. MG Sport+Racing raced in the British Touring Car Championships with the MG ZS between 2001 and 2003 as a factory team. In 2004 WSR raced the MG ZS as a privateer team. After three years without a major sponsor, WSR teamed up with RAC in 2006 and the team was called Team RAC. In 2007 an MG ZR driven by BRC Stars Champion Luke Pinder won class N1 on Britain's round of the World Rally championship. Wales Rally GB. The MG British Rally Challenge still runs today despite the liquidation in 2005.
In 2004 plans to race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) with a heavily modified V8 powered ZT supertouring car were cancelled due to MG Rover's liquidation in April 2005.
In January 2012, MG Motor announced that it would enter the 2012 British Touring Car Championship through the newly established MG KX Momentum Racing team. In its debut season the team ran two MG6s driven by Jason Plato and Andy Neate. Jason ended the season in third place, with the car yet to find its foot in wet conditions.
The team returned in 2013 with Sam Tordoff driving, who performed well in his debut year having joined through the KX Academy scheme. Plato once again came third, with Tordoff sixth.
MG won the 2014 Manufacturer's Championship to break Honda's four-year reign. After just three years of competition, the MG6 GT sealed the title by 95 points at the season finale at Brands Hatch. Drivers Plato and Tordoff racked up seven wins and 20 podiums in the 30-race calendar. Plato finished the Driver's Championship in second place, behind Colin Turkington, while Tordoff finished seventh. The 2014 season also saw a third MG6 GT was on the grid, driven by Marc Hynes. Also maintained by Triple Eight but in a new livery which didn't resemble the other two MG cars. MG came second in the Constructors Championship in 2015, with Andrew Jordan leading the MG team by finishing the season fifth.
LIST OF MODELS
The MG Rover owners club was set up to preserve the Marque (www.mgr-forums.com)
SPORT CARS
1924–1927: MG 14/28
1927–1929: MG 14/40
1928–1933: MG 18/80
1929–1932: MG M-type Midget
1931–1932: MG C-type Midget
1931–1932: MG D-type Midget
1931–1932: MG F-type Magna
1932–1934: MG J-type Midget
1932–1934: MG K-type Magnette
1933–1934: MG L-type Magna
1934–1936: MG N-type Magnette
1934–1936: MG P-type Midget
1936–1939: MG TA Midget
1939–1940: MG TB Midget
1945–1950: MG TC Midget
1950–1953: MG TD Midget
1953–1955: MG TF Midget
1955–1962: MGA
1961–1979: MG Midget
1962–1980: MGB
1967–1969: MGC
1973–1976: MGB GT V8
1992–1995: MG RV8
1995–2002: MG F
2002–2005 and 2007–2009: MG TF
SUBCOMPACT CARS
1982–1990: MG Metro
2001–2005: MG ZR
2013–Present: MG 3
COMPACT CARS (SMALL SALOONS)
1933–1934: MG KN
1962–1968: MG 1100
1967–1973: MG 1300
MIDSIZE CARS )MEDIUM SALOONS)
1924–1927: MG 14/28
1927–1929: MG 14/40
1928–1933: MG 18/80
1937–1939: MG VA
1947–1953: MG Y-type
1953–1956: MG Magnette ZA
1956–1958: MG Magnette ZB
1959–1961: MG Magnette Mk. III
1961–1968: MG Magnette Mk. IV
1983–1991: MG Maestro
1985–1991: MG Montego
2001–2005: MG ZS
2011–Present: MG 6
2012–Present: MG 5
FULL-SIZE CARS (LARGE SALOONS)
1936–1939: MG SA
1938–1939: MG WA
2001–2005: MG ZT
2007–2013: MG 7
SUPERCARS
2002–2005: MG XPower SV
RACING CARS
1930–1931: MG 18/100 "Tigress"
1934: MG Q-type
1935: MG R-type
CONCEPT CARS
1985: MG EX-E
VANS
1980s: MG Metro van[23]
2003–2005: MG Express[23]
SUVs
2015-present: MG GS
WIKIPEDIA
Hardknott Pass is a hill pass between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England. The tarmac-surfaced road, which is the most direct route from the central Lake District to West Cumbria, shares the title of steepest road in England with Rosedale Chimney Bank in North Yorkshire. It has a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).
The pass takes its name from Hard Knott which is derived from the Old Norse harthr (hard) and knutr (craggy hill).
A single track road runs between Eskdale in the west to the edge of the neighbouring Wrynose Pass in the east. On the western side is Harter Fell and the remains of Hardknott Roman Fort (200 metres (660 ft) above sea level).
The Hardknott Pass stands at a maximum elevation of 393 m (1,289 ft). The road descends steeply at a gradient of 30% (1 in 3) into the Duddon Valley. At the eastern end of the pass is Cockley Beck farm, built in the 1860s and owned by the National Trust. The route from Hardknott leads eastward towards the Wrynose Pass and Ambleside.
The pass is described as one of the most challenging roads in Britain. A series of hairpin bends make visibility difficult in various places, and the road surface is in poor condition and slippery when wet. The pass is often closed in winter due to ice that makes the route impassable for vehicles. Traffic ascending the pass has priority as advised by the Highway Code.
The challenging 1 in 3 gradients, steeper than the mountain stages of European bicycle races including the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, draw endurance cyclists. It is part of the annual Fred Whitton Challenge, a 112-mile ride around the Lake District. An "average" cyclist who was trained over six weeks for a 2019 Eurosport documentary called England's Toughest Climb failed to complete the route.
A road over the pass was built by the Romans around AD 110 to link the coastal fort and baths at Ravenglass with their garrisons at Ambleside and Kendal. The Romans called this road the Tenth Highway. The road fell into disrepair after the Romans left Britain in the early 5th century, becoming an unpaved packhorse route used to transport lead and agricultural goods. By the early Middle Ages, it was known as the Waingate ("cart road") or Wainscarth ("cart pass"): there is an 1138 record of a party of monks traversing it in an oxcart. Hardknott pass and its surrounding area fell within the domain of the Lords of Millom, being situated between the headwaters of the Esk and Duddon. Grazing and hunting rights were given to the monks of Furness Abbey by the Lords of Millom in the 13th century, which they held until the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41).
In the 1880s an association of hoteliers, the English Lake District Association, financed improvements to the road in the hope of encouraging tourist excursions by carriage; by 1891 the scheme was judged to be "not the success that was anticipated". Nevertheless, the route had some popularity with cyclists and early motorists, with the Cyclists' Touring Club 1911 Guide to North-West England describing the old coach road as "difficult going West, cruel coming East". The first motor vehicles were taken over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes, from the Eskdale side, in 1913.
In 1936, the Cumberland Highways Committee considered, and rejected, a proposal to make the pass more accessible to motorised vehicles by laying down a new road surface and making other improvements. However, during the Second World War the War Office used the area for tank training, completely destroying the existing road surface. After the war the damage was repaired and the road tarmaced. A decade after the local government had rejected opening the highway to vehicles, the war's legacy had inadvertently created a direct motor route between Ambleside and Eskdale for the first time.
The courses of the Roman and modern roads are not identical. The Roman highway is to the north of the modern road on the western side of the pass and to the south on the eastern side.
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is primarily famous for the Cumbrian Mountains, its lake and coastal scenery, and for its literary associations with William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets, Beatrix Potter, and John Ruskin.
The Cumbrian mountains, or fells, include England's tallest mountains: Scafell Pike (978 m (3,209 ft)), Helvellyn (950 m (3,120 ft)), Skiddaw (931 m (3,054 ft)), and Cross Fell (893 m (2,930 ft)), which all have a topographical prominence of more than 600m. The region contains sixteen major lakes. They include Windermere, which with a length of 18 km (11 miles) and an area of 14.73 km2 (5.69 square miles) is both the longest and largest lake in England, and Wast Water, which at 79 metres (259 ft) is the deepest lake in England.
The Lake District National Park was established in 1951, and covers an area of 2,362 km2 (912 square miles), the bulk of the region. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
National Park
The Lake District National Park includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was designated a national park on 9 May 1951, a month after the Peak District, the first UK national park. It retained its original boundaries until 2016 when it was extended by 3% in the direction of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to incorporate areas land of high landscape value around the Lune Valley.
The national park received 18.14 million tourist visitors in 2022. This equates to 29.15 million tourist days, counting visits of greater than three hours. It is the largest of the thirteen national parks in England and Wales and the second largest in the UK after the Cairngorms National Park. Its aim is to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce. The area of the national park, with the exception of the 2016 extension, was designated a World Heritage Site in 2017 as a cultural landscape. This was the fourth attempt to list the park, after two attempts in the 1980s and one in 2012 failed.
The park is governed by the National Park Authority, which is based at offices in Kendal. It runs a visitor centre on Windermere at a former country house called Brockhole, Coniston Boating Centre, and Information Centres. The Park Authority has 20 members: six appointed by Westmorland and Furness Council, four by Cumberland Council, and ten by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
Human geography
The precise extent of the Lake District was not defined traditionally, but is slightly larger than that of the National Park[citation needed], the total area of which is about 2,362 square kilometres (912 sq mi). The park extends just over 51 kilometres (32 mi) from east to west and nearly 64 kilometres (40 mi) from north to south, with areas such as the Lake District Peninsulas to the south lying outside the National Park.
Settlement
There are only a few major settlements within this mountainous area: the towns of Keswick, Windermere, Ambleside, and Bowness-on-Windermere are the four largest. Significant settlements close to the boundary of the national park include Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Ulverston, Dalton-in-Furness, Whitehaven, Workington, Cockermouth, Penrith, Millom and Grange-over-Sands; each of these has important economic links with the area. Other villages are Coniston, Threlkeld, Glenridding, Pooley Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Grasmere, Newby Bridge, Staveley, Lindale, Gosforth and Hawkshead. The economies of almost all are intimately linked with tourism. Beyond these are a scattering of hamlets and many isolated farmsteads, some of which are still tied to agriculture;[citation needed] others now function as part of the tourist economy.
Communications
Roads
The Lake District is very nearly contained within a box of trunk routes and major A roads. It is flanked to the east by the A6 road, which runs from Kendal to Penrith (though the National Park extension approved in 2015 is east of the A6); across its southern fringes by the A590, which connects the M6 to Barrow-in-Furness, and the A5092, and across its northern edge by the A66 trunk road between Penrith and Workington. The A595 (linking the A66 with the A5092) forms the park boundary from Calder Bridge to Holmrook, then crosses the coastal plain of the park until turning inland at the Whicham Valley, forming much of the park boundary again until joining the A5092 at Grizebeck.
Besides these, a few A roads penetrate the area itself, notably the A591 which runs north-westwards from Kendal to Windermere and then on to Keswick. It continues up the east side of Bassenthwaite Lake. "The A591, Grasmere, Lake District" was short-listed in the 2011 Google Street View awards in the Most Romantic Street category. The A593 and A5084 link the Ambleside and Coniston areas with the A590 to the south whilst the A592 and A5074 similarly link Windermere with the A590. The A592 also continues northwards from Windermere to Ullswater and Penrith by way of the Kirkstone Pass.
Some valleys which are not penetrated by A roads are served by B roads. The B5289 serves Lorton Vale and Buttermere and links via the Honister Pass with Borrowdale. The B5292 ascends the Whinlatter Pass from Lorton Vale before dropping down to Braithwaite near Keswick. The B5322 serves the valley of St John's in the Vale whilst Great Langdale is served by the B5343. Other valleys such as Little Langdale, Eskdale and Dunnerdale are served by minor roads. The last of these is connected with the first two by the Wrynose and Hardknott passes respectively; both of these passes are known for their steep gradients and are together one of the most popular climbs in the United Kingdom for cycling enthusiasts. A minor road through the Newlands Valley connects via Newlands Hause with the B5289 at Buttermere. Wasdale is served by a cul-de-sac minor road,[a] as is Longsleddale and the valleys at Haweswater and Kentmere. There are networks of minor roads in the lower-lying southern part of the area, connecting numerous communities between Kendal, Windermere, and Coniston.
Railways and ferries
The West Coast Main Line skirts the eastern edge of the Lake District and the Cumbrian Coast Line passes through the southern and western fringes of the area. A single railway line, the Windermere Branch Line, penetrates from Kendal to Windermere via Staveley. Railways once served Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston (closed to passengers in 1958) and another ran from Penrith to Cockermouth via Keswick (closed west of Keswick in 1966 and completely in 1972). Part of the track of the latter is used by the improved A66 trunk road.
The Cumbrian Coast line has three stations within the boundaries of the national park (and additionally Drigg, about a third of a mile from the park boundary). The line gives railway enthusiasts and others a flavour of a pre-Beeching railway line, with features like manually operated level crossing gates, as well as giving a good connection to the steam railway into Eskdale and providing access for cyclists and serious walkers to the Western Fells.
The narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway runs from Ravenglass on the west coast up Eskdale as far as Dalegarth Station near the hamlet of Boot, catering for tourists. Another heritage railway, the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, runs between Lake Windermere and Haverthwaite, and tourists can connect at Lakeside with the boats up the lake to Bowness.
A vehicle-carrying cable ferry, the Windermere Ferry, runs frequent services across Windermere. There are also seasonal passenger boats on Coniston Water, Derwent Water, and Ullswater.
Footpaths and bridleways
There are many paths over which the public has a right of way, all of which are signposted at their origin on public roads and at some other points. Within the area of the National Park in 2012 there were 2,159 km (1,342 mi) of public footpaths, 875 km (544 mi) of public bridleways, 15 km (9 mi) of restricted byways and 30 km (19 mi) of byways open to all traffic. There is also a general "right to roam" in open country, which includes approximately 50% of the national park.
Many of these tracks arose centuries ago and were used either as ridge highways (such as along High Street) or as passes for travelling across the ridges between settlements in the valleys. Historically these paths were not planned for reaching summits, but more recently they are used by fell walkers for that purpose. The Coast to Coast Walk, which crosses the north of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, traverses the national park from west to east.
Bridleways are intended for horse riding and walkers, with cyclists also permitted to use them. Cyclists must give way to all other bridleway users. Motor vehicles are only allowed on "byways open to all traffic" (green lanes) but in practice Traffic Regulation Orders have been brought in on several prohibiting motor traffic, although a system of permits operates on Gatesgarth Pass.
Land ownership
Most of the land within the national park is in private ownership, with about 55% registered as agricultural land. Landowners include:
Individual farmers and other private landowners, with more than half of the agricultural land farmed by the owners.
The National Trust owns around 25% of the total area (including some lakes and land of significant landscape value).
The Forestry Commission and other investors in forests and woodland.
United Utilities (owns 8%)
Lake District National Park Authority (owns 3.9%)
Physical geography
The Lake District is a roughly circular upland massif, deeply dissected by a broadly radial pattern of major valleys which are largely the result of repeated glaciations over the last 2 million years. The apparent radial pattern is not from a central dome, but from an axial watershed extending from St Bees Head in the west to Shap in the east. Most of these valleys display the U-shaped cross-section characteristic of glacial origin and often contain long narrow lakes in bedrock hollows, with tracts of relatively flat ground at their infilled heads, or where they are divided by lateral tributaries (Buttermere-Crummock Water; Derwent Water-Bassenthwaite Lake).[b] Smaller lakes known as tarns occupy glacial cirques at higher elevations. It is the abundance of both which has led to the area becoming known as the Lake District.
Many of the higher fells are rocky, while moorland predominates lower down. Vegetation cover in better-drained areas includes bracken and heather, although much of the land is boggy, due to the high rainfall. Deciduous native woodland occurs on many of the steeper slopes below the tree line, but with native oak supplemented by extensive conifer plantations in many areas, particularly Grizedale Forest in the generally lower southern part of the area. The Lake District extends to the sea to the west and south.
The highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike (978m/3210'), has a far-reaching view on a clear day, ranging from the Galloway Hills of Scotland, the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Snowdonia in Wales.
Cumbrian Mountains
Lake District is located in the Lake DistrictScafell PikeScafell PikeScafellScafellScafellScafellHelvellynHelvellynSkiddawSkiddawHigh StreetHigh StreetGrasmoorGrasmoorConiston Old ManConiston Old ManGreat GableGreat GableKendalKendalPenrithPenrithKeswickKeswickAmblesideAmblesideCockermouthCockermouthWindermereWindermereGrasmereGrasmere
Major fells and towns shown within the National Park
Lake District
The mountains (or 'fells') of the Lake District are known as the "Cumbrian Mountains", "Cumbrian Fells" or "Lakeland Fells". The four highest fells exceed 3,000 feet (914 m). These are:
Scafell Pike, 978 m (3,209 ft)
Scafell, 965 m (3,166 ft)
Helvellyn, 951 m (3,120 ft)
Skiddaw, 931 m (3,054 ft)
Northern Fells
The Northern Fells are a clearly defined range of hills contained within a 13 km (8 mi) diameter circle between Keswick in the southwest and Caldbeck in the northeast. They culminate in the 931 m (3,054 ft) peak of Skiddaw. Other notable peaks are Blencathra (also known as Saddleback) (868 m (2,848 ft)) and Carrock Fell. Bassenthwaite Lake occupies the valley between this massif and the North Western Fells.
North Western Fells
The North Western Fells lie between Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite Lake to the east and Buttermere and Lorton Vale to the west. Their southernmost point is at Honister Pass. This area includes the Derwent Fells above the Newlands Valley and hills to the north amongst which are Dale Head, Robinson. To the north stand Grasmoor, highest in the range at 852 m (2,795 ft), Grisedale Pike and the hills around the valley of Coledale, and in the far northwest is Thornthwaite Forest and Lord's Seat. The fells in this area are rounded Skiddaw slate, with few tarns and relatively few rock faces.
Western Fells
The Western Fells lie between Buttermere and Wasdale, with Sty Head forming the apex of a large triangle. Ennerdale bisects the area, which consists of the High Stile ridge north of Ennerdale, the Loweswater Fells in the far northwest, the Pillar group in the southwest, and Great Gable (899 m (2,949 ft)) near Sty Head. Other tops include Seatallan, Haystacks and Kirk Fell. This area is craggy and steep, with the impressive pinnacle of Pillar Rock its showpiece. Wastwater, located in this part, is England's deepest lake.
Central Fells
The Central Fells are lower in elevation than surrounding areas of fell, peaking at 762 m (2,500 ft) at High Raise. They take the form of a ridge running between Derwent Water in the west and Thirlmere in the east, from Keswick in the north to Langdale Pikes in the south. A spur extends southeast to Loughrigg Fell above Ambleside. The central ridge running north over High Seat is exceptionally boggy.
Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells consist of a long north-to-south ridge, the Helvellyn range, running from Clough Head to Seat Sandal with the 950 m (3,118 ft) Helvellyn at its highest point. The western slopes of these summits tend to be grassy, with rocky corries and crags on the eastern side. The Fairfield group lies to the south of the range and forms a similar pattern with towering rock faces and hidden valleys spilling into the Patterdale valley. It culminates in the height of Red Screes overlooking the Kirkstone Pass.
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells refers to all of the Lakeland fells to the east of Ullswater and the A592 road running south to Windermere. At 828 m (2,717 ft), the peak known as High Street is the highest point on a complex ridge that runs broadly north-south and overlooks the hidden valley of Haweswater to its east. In the north of this region are the lower fells of Martindale Common and Bampton Common whilst in the south are the fells overlooking the Kentmere valley. Further to the east, beyond Mardale and Longsleddale is Shap Fell, an extensive area consisting of high moorland, more rolling and Pennine in nature than the mountains to the west.
Southern Fells
The Southern Fells occupy the southwestern quarter of the Lake District. They can be regarded as comprising a northern grouping between Wasdale, Eskdale, and the two Langdale valleys, a southeastern group east of Dunnerdale and south of Little Langdale, and a southwestern group bounded by Eskdale to the north and Dunnerdale to the east.
The first group includes England's highest mountains: Scafell Pike in the centre, at 978 m (3,209 ft) and Scafell one mile (1.6 km) to the southwest. Though it is slightly lower, Scafell has a 700 ft (210 m) rockface, Scafell Crag, on its northern side. This group also includes the Wastwater Screes overlooking Wasdale, the Glaramara ridge overlooking Borrowdale, the three tops of Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Esk Pike. The core of the area is drained by the infant River Esk. Collectively these are some of the Lake District's most rugged hillsides.
The second group, otherwise known as the Furness Fells or Coniston Fells, have as their northern boundary the steep and narrow Hardknott and Wrynose passes. The highest are Old Man of Coniston and Swirl How which slightly exceed 800 m (2,600 ft).
The third group to the west of the Duddon includes Harter Fell and the long ridge leading over Whitfell to Black Combe and the sea. The south of this region consists of lower forests and knolls, with Kirkby Moor on the southern boundary. The southwestern Lake District ends near the Furness peninsula and Barrow-in-Furness, a town which many Lake District residents rely on for basic amenities.
Southeastern area
The southeastern area is the territory between Coniston Water and Windermere and east of Windermere towards Kendal and south to Lindale. There are no high summits in this area which are mainly low hills, knolls and limestone cuestas such as Gummer's How and Whitbarrow. Indeed, it rises only as high as 333 m (1,093 ft) at Top o' Selside east of Coniston Water; the wide expanse of Grizedale Forest stands between the two lakes. Kendal and Morecambe Bay stand at the eastern and southern edges of the area.
Valleys
The main radial valleys are (clockwise from the south) Dunnerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale, Ennerdale, the Vale of Lorton, and Buttermere valley, the Derwent Valley and Borrowdale, the Ullswater valley, Haweswater valley, Longsleddale, the Kentmere valley, those converging on the head of Windermere - Grasmere, Great Langdale and Little Langdale, and the Coniston Water valley. The valleys break the mountains up into blocks, which have been described by various authors in different ways. The most frequently encountered approach is that made popular by Alfred Wainwright who published seven separate area guides to the Lakeland Fells.
Only one of the lakes in the Lake District is called by that name, Bassenthwaite Lake. All the others such as Windermere, Coniston Water, Ullswater and Buttermere are meres, tarns and waters, with mere being the least common and water being the most common. The major lakes and reservoirs in the National Park are given below.
Bassenthwaite Lake
Brotherswater
Buttermere
Coniston Water
Crummock Water
Derwent Water
Devoke Water
Elter Water
Ennerdale Water
Esthwaite Water
Grasmere
Haweswater Reservoir
Hayeswater
Loweswater
Rydal Water
Thirlmere
Ullswater
Wast Water
Windermere
Woodlands
Below the tree line are wooded areas, including British and European native oak woodlands and introduced softwood plantations. The woodlands provide habitats for native English wildlife. The native red squirrel is found in the Lake District and a few other parts of England. In parts of the Lake District, the rainfall is higher than in any other part of England. This gives Atlantic mosses, ferns, lichen, and liverworts the chance to grow. There is some ancient woodland in the National Park. Management of the woodlands varies: some are coppiced, some pollarded, some left to grow naturally, and some provide grazing and shelter.
Coast
The Lake District extends to the coast of the Irish Sea from Drigg in the north to Silecroft in the south, encompassing the estuaries of the Esk and its tributaries, the Irt and the Mite. The intertidal zone of the combined estuaries includes sand, shingle and mudflats, and saltmarsh. The dune systems on either side of the estuary are protected as nature reserves; Drigg Dunes and Gullery to the north and Eskmeals Dunes[31] to the south. South of the estuary, the coast is formed in low cliffs of glacial till, sands, and gravels.
The district also extends to the tidal waters of Morecambe Bay and several of its estuaries alongside the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas, designated on M6 motorway signposts as the "Lake District Peninsulas", and the southern portions of which lie outside the park. These are the Duddon Estuary, the Leven Estuary, and the western banks and tidal flats of the Kent Estuary. These areas are each characterised by sand and mudflats of scenic and wildlife interest. The coast is backed by extensive flats of raised marine deposits left when the relative sea level was higher.