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England shows a lot of different faces: pulsing city life and lonely landscapes, old-fashioned customs and avantgarde culture, lovely beaches and rough mountains. For cultural sightseeing as for nightlife, London is ceaselessly thriving, and inevitably it is the one place that features on everyone's itinerary. It is not only Europe's biggest city (with a population of over seven million} and capital of the United Kingdom, but also the place where the country's news, politics and money are made. Within the southeast of England, along the coastline, Canterbury, the bishopric seat of Thomas Becket, offer contrasting diversions. This is the richest part of the country due to its agricultural wealth and proximity to the capital. The southwest of England with the rugged moorlands of Devon and the rocky coastline of Cornwall is another spot worth discovering. Salisbury, where they say the West Country starts, is dominated by the elegant spire of its cathedral. In Neolithic times a rich and powerful culture evolved here, as shown by monuments such as (Stonehenge} and Avebury. The main urban attraction of western England is Bristol , but also Bath and Exeter are worth a visit. In the centre of the country, the chief attractions are the old university cities of Oxford and Cambridge , and the town of Shakespeare, Stratford upon Avon, though the often bypassed city of Norwich, over in the picturesque flatlands of East Anglia, can be equally rewarding. In the north of England, the industrial cities of Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester are gritty and lively places and York and Durham have splendid historical treasures, but the landscape again is the real magnet, especially the uplands of the Lake District and the dales of Yorkshire. |
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