Rick Steves - Rick Steves England

Bustling London offers nonstop entertainment, while Englands countryside provides a tranquil retreat.

North England is known for the countrys most beautiful landscapes. Its hilly terrain yields poor soil, so the traditional economy of the region was based on livestock (grazing cows and sheep). In the 19th century, North England was dotted with belching smokestacks as its major cities became centers for coal, iron mining, and manufacturing. Now its working- class cities and ports (such as Liverpool) are experiencing a comeback, buoyed by tourism, vibrant arts scenes, and higher employment.

Englands economy can stand alongside many much larger nations. It boasts high-tech industries (software, chemicals, aviation), international banking, and textile manufacturing, and is a major exporter of beef. England is an urban, industrial, and post-industrial colossus, yet its farms, villages, and people are down-to-earth.

You can trace Englands illustrious history by roaming the countryside. Prehistoric peoples built the mysterious stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury. Then came the Romans, who built Hadrians Wall and the baths at Bath. Viking invaders left their mark in York, and the Normans built the Tower of London. As England Christianized and unified, the grand cathedrals of Salisbury, Wells, and Durham arose.

Next came the castles and palaces of the English monarchs (Windsor) and the Shakespeare sights from the era of Elizabeth I (Stratford-upon-Avon). In following centuries, tiny England became a maritime empire (the Cutty Sark at Greenwich) and the worlds first industrial power (Ironbridge Gorge). Englands Romantic poets were inspired by the unspoiled nature and time-passed villages of the Lake District and the Cotswolds.

Britains Pub Hub

In Britain, a pub is a home-away-from-home. Spend some time in one and youll have your finger on the pulse of the community. These cozy hangouts are extended living rooms, where locals and travelers alike can eat, drink, get out of the rain, watch a sporting event, and meet other people.

Britains pubs are also national treasures, with great cultural value and rich history, not to mention good beer and grub. Crawling between classic pubs is more than a tipsy night outits bona fide sightseeing. Each offers a glimpseand a tasteof traditional British culture.

Pubs odd names can go back hundreds of years. Because many medieval pub-goers were illiterate, pubs were simply named for the picture hung outside (e.g., The Crooked Stick, The Queens Armsmeaning her coat of arms).

The golden age for pub-building was in the late Victorian era (c.

18801905). In this class-conscious time, pubs were divided by screens (now mostly gone), allowing the wealthy to drink in a more refined setting. Pubs were really public houses, featuring nooks (snugs) for groups and clubs to meet, friends and lovers to rendezvous, and families to get out of the house at night.

Fancy, late-Victorian pubs often come with heavy embossed wallpaper ceilings, decorative tile work, fine-etched glass, ornate carved stillions (the big central hutch for storing bottles and glass), and even urinals equipped with a place to set your glass. The former-bank pubs represent a more modern trend in pub-building: As banks increasingly go electronic, theyre moving out of lavish, high-rent old buildings. Many of these former banks are being refitted as pubs with elegant bars and freestanding stillions, which provide a fine centerpiece.