h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As you might have noticed, the h2g2 team is working towards building a guide to the UK. The Guide will cover each region/county of Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland - and we need your help.

We'd be overjoyed if h2g2 Researchers could volunteer to take on a county each, though we know that this is a mammoth task. This is why we're also treating this call for help as h2g2's biggest ever 'Topic of the Week'. In the <./>ChallengeH2G2</.> forum, you'll find individual conversations on each region. All you need to do is post whatever information you know or can find. If you know of interesting websites that might be useful, post the URL rather than copying the material directly.

Just to give you an idea what we're after, we want each entry to have the following information:

- General location in the UK, including bordering counties.

- The main towns and cities there

- A very basic history of the county (which, for those counties created in 1974 or after might include a little background about the region before the county was formed). Some counties will be famous for specific key events in history, which we'd also like to know about.

- Any geographical features (lakes in Cumbria, Peak District in Derbyshire, Pennines in Yorkshire/Greater Manchester)

- Links to other related entries for the region.

Just post your information as part of the conversation and then we'll look for volunteers to collate the info into entries. You can jump directly into the full list here: F150575

Hey the Pennines are still in Lancashire too!

does this include the channel islands? i am not sure if they are technically part of the UK, but they are a part of Great Britain.

Yep, I've added discussion threads on the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man - even though I'm aware they may not *literally* be a part of the UK, it'd be lovely to see a nice entry on each of them!

Paully

thanks Paully!

And thanks, Galigan.

You *were* volunteering just then weren't ya?

Where's the volunteer-to-write-the-entry thread? I bags Lincolnshire, which hasn't appeared yet - so I can't post any information - and unfortunately I've got to go out again

My fingers are suffering typing withdrawal

GB

Post to the conversation on Lincolnshire on the Challenge h2g2 page.

This is a great idea, and I'd love to add something, but I'm not from the UK, so will be content reading about my favourite counties - and the ones I haven't visited yet

You don't have to be from the UK to join in, though. If you know something, feel free to contribute. Your one posting might be the key to someone else's inspiration

I don't think so,it's all just common knowledge,most of it I've been told by a friend , but hey, if you think it's not silly to post it, I'll try

Hmm... I'll have to dredge the recesses of my brain and see what I can come up with about Wiltshire... I used to know the translations of the Anglo-Saxon town names and everything at one point.

Oooh, that sounds marvellous stuff!

Paully

I supposed I could look it up but what are Pennines?

You all already know but for a former colonist, are UK, Britain, England all the same thing or is there some hidden or subtle difference?


And while this doesn't have anything to do with the history your are striving to build I am wondering if any one can tell me what the heck's Quebec's deal about being a seperate nation.

UK, Great Britan are the same thing, England is one of the countries of the UK/GB

The Pennines are a mountain range, for the want of a better word

That's not entirely true about the UK/GB, Reefgirl: A2027008

Nuff

Sorry I was reaing something I founf interesting, I don't know how true it is

http://www.abcounties.co.uk/FAQ.htm

UK = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
GB = Great Britain (i.e. excluding Northern Ireland
England = One of the three countries making up Great Britain (along with Wales and Scotland)
Guernsey and Jersey (the Channel Islands) and the Isle of Man are Crown Protectorates, subject to the British Crown but not part of the UK. And then there's Sark...

There's also the British Isles, which covers pretty much everything - but that's a geographical term rather than a political one.