Is it true that a lot of British dishes are named after places?
Yes. The rich variety of British regional cooking is reflected in the names of favourite dishes. Many regions have their own particular speciality of sweet or savoury fare, or are famed for their local produce.
Did you know that HP sauce is thus known as it was created by the chef at the Houses of Parliament?
Cheddar cheese, a strong-flavoured, salty cheese, originates from a village in Somerset in western England, also famous for its gorge. Other types of cheeses include Cheshire, Lancashire, Stilton and Wensleydale.
Cornwall in south-west England is famous for its Cornish Pasties - a pastry case filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables, which was the traditional midday meal of Cornish tin miners. The thick pastry crust is joined on the side of the pastie not the top, so that the miners, who had no way of washing their hands in the mines, could hold the pastie by the crust, eat the main part of it and then throw the crust away.
The town of Bakewell in Derbyshire has a rich pastry tart named after it. The Bakewell pudding or Bakewell tart was said to have been invented by accident, when a cook forgot to put jam over the custard filling of a pudding - instead she spread it straight onto the pastry case and poured the custard on top.
Welsh cakes, a kind of sweet cake cooked on a griddle, were originally served to hungry travellers when they arrived at an inn for the night while they waited for their main meal to be cooked.
Many other dishes are named after places - everything from Lancashire hotpot (a casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes) and Scottish shortbread (a sweet, buttery biscuit) to Welsh rarebit (nothing to do with rabbit, but melted cheese on toast!), baked Ulster ham, and Bath buns (a sweet bun containing spices and dried fruit, originally made in Bath, western England).
How old is Stonehenge?
Stonehenge, the most famous prehistoric monument in Britain, is situated on Salisbury Plain in the county of Wiltshire. At various times regarded as a site built by the Druids, the Romans, the Danes and even the French, the first stage - a circular ditch and bank with an entrance flanked by a pair of small standing stones - is believed to have been built around 3,000BC. The site was subsequently abandoned and rebuilt between 2100 BC and 1800 BC.
There are many mysteries surrounding this ancient site. Some of the stones used are thought to have come from the Preseli mountains in Pembrokeshire, Wales - yet exactly how they were transported to the site in such a primitive age is a puzzle. Experts believe they may have been transported for most of the way by water, before being dragged overland for the last stage of the journey.
It has been suggested that Stonehenge once operated as a massive astronomical clock, and there are even suggestions that it was a landing site for UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects)! A more likely explanation is that Stonehenge was an important centre of worship connected with the sun.
Is Hadrian's Wall still standing?
Hadrian's wall is a Roman wall that runs for about 120 kilometres across northern England between Wallsend-on-Tyne in the East and Bowness in the Solway Firth in the West. Begun in 122 AD on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian, it was the northernmost frontier defence of Roman Britain. 
It was hoped that the wall would help to control the fearsome Scottish clans, but it was attacked and overrun in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and abandoned in the 4th century.
Originally about 3m wide and 4.5m high, substantial sections of the wall were plundered for building materials over the centuries. However, the wall and remains of Roman forts along the way still stand today with the finest surviving stretch being in the Northumberland National Park around the village of Gilsland. One of the best preserved Roman forts can be seen at Housesteads (Roman Vercovicium), six miles (9.7 kms) north east of Haltwhistle. www.hadrians-wall.org
Why is the Tower of London so popular with tourists?
The Tower of London is one of the most popular and imposing of London's historical sites. It comprises not one, but 20 towers, the oldest of which, the White Tower, dates back to the 11th century and the time of William the Conqueror. It is the Tower's evil reputation as a prison that ensures it remains a much visited tourist spot today, together with the rich and varied history that surrounds it.
Many stories associated with British history come from the Tower. In 1483 King Edward IV's two sons were murdered in the so-called Bloody Tower, and over two centuries later the skeletons of two little boys were found buried beneath steps in the White Tower, assumed to be the bodies of the princes.
Traitor's Gate, set in the southern wall of the Tower, has steps leading down to the River Thames. Countless prisoners, including the future Queen Elizabeth I of England, were brought to the Tower by barge, and ascended the steps before being imprisoned - for many it was their last moment of freedom before their death. Fortunately, Elizabeth was released from the Tower and became Queen.
Elizabeth I's father, Henry VIII, made the Tower the dread destination of his enemies. Sir Thomas More was beheaded there in 1535 and the King's second wife, Anne Boleyn, was brought to trial there in 1536 and beheaded on Tower Green. Six years later her cousin, Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, suffered the same fate.
The Tower is famous as home of the Crown Jewels. Today they can be viewed in their new jewel house from a moving pavement, designed to cope with the huge numbers of tourists. They include the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother which contains the celebrated Indian diamond, the Koh-I-noor (mountain of light), and St Edward's Crown which is used for the actual crowning of the Sovereign and weighs over two kilograms.
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| Beware: Ravens peck |
Everyone has heard of the Yeoman Warders of the Tower or 'Beefeaters', whose striking Tudor uniform has changed little since 1485. The uniform consists of a knee-length scarlet tunic, scarlet knee-breeches and stockings, and a round brimmed hat called a Tudor bonnet. Their distinctive white neck ruff was introduced by Queen Elizabeth I.
No visit to the Tower would be complete without seeing the ravens; huge black birds which are an official part of the Tower community. Legend states that if the ravens were to leave the Tower the Crown will fall, and Britain with it. Under the special care of the Raven Master, the ravens are fed a daily diet of raw meat paid for out of a special fund set aside by Parliament. There is no danger of them flying away as their wings are clipped!
What is Speakers' Corner?
Speakers' Corner in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London is by tradition an area where public speeches can be made by anyone who has anything they want to say - no matter how eccentric or implausible. The area was set aside for such use in 1872, after Hyde Park itself became a popular centre for public speaking.
Speakers talk to the crowds from a soapbox - an improvised platform once made from wooden packing crates used for soap and other items. Individual speakers or representatives of various organisations or special causes deliver their speeches at weekends - to the amusement or bewilderment of passers by. Crowds often gather around a speaker, and generally feel free to heckle the speaker if they don't agree with what is being said!
Speakers' Corner is often taken as a symbol of free speech.
