1.Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea from the west, by the North Sea

from the north and west.

2.The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With the exception of England, each of these countries has its own parliament. Matters of common concern such as foreign and defence policy are, however, decided by the UK parliament in London.

3.London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea.

4.The Queen's Guard is the name given to the contingent of infantry responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace (including Clarence House) in London.

5.Within the United Kingdom, different approaches are taken to some forms of protection within the constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while other forms of protection are more consistent across the UK. Protected areas can be divided according to the type of resource which each seeks to protect. Primarily, these are: scenic or landscape value; biodiversity value (species and habitats); geodiversity value (relating to geology and geomorphology); and cultural or historic value. Several types of protected areas are focused on more than one of these areas.

Besides protected areas, a number of individual features are protected through other designations, such as tree preservation orders, listed buildings, and protected shipwrecks.