United Kingdom Trivia

1. The A1 runs northwards from London in England to Edinburgh in Scotland. By what name is it commonly known?

From Quiz Major Highways of Britain: The A1

Answer: The Great North Road

The Great North Road was the traditional mail coach route from London to York and then on to Edinburgh from medieval times onwards. The road was deemed to start at Smithfield Market, although the early 17th Century Hicks Hall in St. John Street was used as the datum point for measuring mileages even after it was demolished in 1782. The road was replete with coaching inns for feeding and sleeping passengers and for changing horses. In 1658 the first recorded stage coach journey from London to York took four days; by the early 19th Century this had been whittled down to 20 hours, with a further 25 hours or so to get to Edinburgh. By-passes and detours mean that in many places the A1 no longer follows the route of the Great North Road.

From Quiz UK Places with "Up" or "Down" in Their Names

Answer: Charles Darwin

Darwin lived at Down House for 40 years, leaving an indelible stamp upon the house. You can see a lot of Darwin's scientific apparatus, books and specimens in his huge study, and you can walk on his "sandwalk", a gravel path that he walked for his daily constitutional as an aid to thinking. As a professional biologist myself, I found my visit there to be massively interesting, thrilling and also quite moving. It's well worth a visit. The three incorrect answers options are all contemporary followers of Darwin.

From Quiz Out and about in the United Kingdom

Answer: Hadrian

Building started on Hadrian's wall in 122AD. It stretched from the Irish Sea right across Britain to the River Tyne on the North Sea, and was 80 Roman miles or 117.5 km long. It was intended to keep out the wild tribes from the north of Britain and was at the northern edge of the Roman Empire.

From Quiz Terse British Islands

Answer: Brownsea Island

Robert Baden-Powell organised the first Boy Scout camp here in 1907. Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour on England's south coast, is one of the few safe location for the indigenous red squirrel, away from those awful grey squirrels imported from America. The island belongs to the National Trust on account of its abundant wildlife.

From Quiz Avon Is a Word for River

Answer: Hampshire Avon

It is quite likely that some of the large sarsen stones used to build the ancient monument were floated down the river known as the Hampshire Avon, although Amesbury is in fact in Wiltshire.

From Quiz Islands in and Around the United Kingdom

Answer: Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is shaped like a diamond. It is separated from the English mainland by The Solent. It is famous for Queen Victoria's Osborne House, and sailing at Cowes.

From Quiz Black where?

Answer: Blackpool

Blackpool Tower opened in 1894 as a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Other Blackpool attractions include the trams and the annual Illuminations.

From Quiz From Land's End to John o' Groats

Answer: Shetland

Out Stack, or Ootsta, is the small and uninhabited island which has been called "the full stop at the end of Britain" for its significance as the U.K.'s northernmost point. Unsurprisingly, the Shetland Islands can boast a number of northernmost locations, such as the most northerly brewery in Britain, the Valhalla Brewery, and most northerly castle, Muness Castle.

From Quiz Meandering Through the Borders

Answer: Northumberland

Northumberland has the lowest population density but the largest number of castles of counties in England. It is also home to several traditions unique to the county, such as a rapper sword dance and a Clog dance, where the footwear of dancers is used to create or enhance music. The county also has its own tartan and is generally more similar to the Scottish Lowland with regard to culture than to southern England.

From Quiz English, British, UK or None

Answer: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The country is officially called The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England stops at the Welsh and Scottish borders. Great Britain comprises England, Wales and Scotland. The UK includes Northern Ireland but not Eire, or, more correctly known as, The Republic of Ireland.

From Quiz Saints Alive

Answer: St Annes on Sea

ERNIE, standing for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, was first used in 1957. A newer version, ERNIE 4, is more than 400 times faster than the original, and takes only two and a half hours to select over 1.6 million winning numbers in each monthly draw.

From Quiz Good Old GB

Answer: River

Legend has it that when the Romans asked for the name of the local river, the natives would simply say "Avon" (meaning "river"). At that time, most waterways had no specific name. So, the River Avon technically means "river river".

From Quiz A Hop Through the National Parks

Answer: Fifteen

South Downs encompasses an area whose geology includes greensands, clays and chalk. This range in rock types results in a landscape of forest, open heaths and rolling downs. It covers an area of over 1600 square kilometres with its western edge touching Winchester, spreading southeastwards to the famous cliffs of Beachy Head.

From Quiz On the Buses

Answer: Sheffield

One of England's larger cities, Sheffield gets its name from the River Sheaf on which it stands. It is famous for manufacturing steel products, especially cutlery.

From Quiz A Postcard to the UK

Answer: SW

Wimbledon is a suburb in South West London, which comes to a frenzy of life for two weeks in June when the international tennis championships take place. The first tennis championship occurred in 1877 and since then it has been a host to many legends such as Fred Perry, Martina Navratilova and more recent winners, such as the Williams sisters.

From Quiz A Guided Tour of Britain

Answer: The Solent

Originally the area now known as the Solent was a river valley. The present Solent was created from a long and gradual process which both widened and deepened the water beds over a period of many thousands of years. The River Frome was the prime source of the River Solent and two other rivers called the Itchen and the Test were tributaries.

From Quiz Roman Place Names in Britain

Answer: Aquae Sulis

Dedicated to the Roman Goddess Sulis, the name literally means the Waters of Sulis. Aquae Arnemetiae was another site of natural springs which attracted the Romans. Today it is the town of Buxton in Derbyshire.

From Quiz British Bridges

Answer: 1894

Construction of the bridge started in 1886, and the bridge was formally opened on 30th June 1894 by the prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). The bridge cost just over £1,000,000 to build.

From Quiz U.K. Shipping Forecast Areas Part I

Answer: Lundy

There's a slight variant of the spelling in Norse being spelled 'lunde'. In 1924 the island was bought by an Englishman, Martin Coles Harman and he subsequently named himself king. His fiefdom was equipped with its own coinage but it was never recognized as a sovereignty. A generation later his son lost the island in a wager of cards.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - The Final Leg

Answer: Jedburgh

Jedburgh lies on Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot. The town's 12th century castle changed hands between the Scots and English many times, before being destroyed in 1409.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part W

Answer: Warwick

Warwick, a few miles southeast of Birmingham, is the county town of Warwickshire. Much of the medieval town was destroyed by fire in 1694.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part T

Answer: Taunton

The 12th century Norman castle in Taunton was the site of a "Bloody Assize" conducted by Judge Jeffreys in 1685. Today, the town is best known for its cider, and as the home of Somerset County Cricket Club.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part S

Answer: Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury has existed since around AD800, and the town centre streets still have a mostly medieval layout. The biologist Charles Darwin is one of the town's most famous sons.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part R

Answer: Richmond

Richmond, which shares its name with the state capital of Virginia, is a market town on the River Swale. The ruins of an 11th century Norman castle stand on a hill overlooking the town.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part P

Answer: Portsmouth

The Royal Navy was effectively founded by King Henry V in Portsmouth in 1415, and over the centuries the city has been one of Britain's main naval bases. King Henry VIII's flagship, Mary Rose, was sunk in Portsmouth harbour in 1545. The remnants were raised to the surface in 1982 and are now exhibited at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part O

Answer: Oakham

Rutland was absorbed into Leicestershire in 1974, but became a county in its own right again in 1997. Oakham has a population of around 12,000 and has a 12th century castle, of which only the great hall still stands.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part N

Answer: Newmarket

Horseracing has taken place at Newmarket, in Suffolk, since 1174. The National Stud is located in the town, as is Tattersalls horse auctioneers.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part M

Answer: Melton Mowbray

The Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray is synonymous with pork pies. It is also the place where the phrase "painting the town red" is said to have originated, after the Marquess of Waterford daubed red paint over a number of buildings following a successful 1837 fox hunt.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part L

Answer: Leicester

Leicester is the traditional county town of Leicestershire. The best-known landmark in the city is the Clock Tower, constructed in 1868 as a centre-piece for a traffic island; it contains statues of four famous townsmen - Simon De Montfort, William Wyggeston, Thomas White and Gabriel Newton.

From Quiz Great Britain Alphabetically - Part K

Answer: Kelso

Kelso is set in the heart of the Scottish Borders area, at the confluence of the rivers Tweed and Teviot.

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