Seasoned sausagemeat baked in a tube of flaky puff pastry — Britain's default hot savoury snack, eaten from bakeries, at parties and…
Food and DrinkA light, slightly sweet baked round, split and spread with clotted cream and jam, and eaten as the centrepiece of a cream…
Food and DrinkA hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausagemeat, coated in breadcrumbs and fried or baked — a picnic and pub staple, and probably not…
Food and DrinkWhisky made and matured in Scotland for at least three years — Britain's largest food and drink export, and legally protected in…
Food and DrinkThe northernmost nation of the United Kingdom, with its own parliament, legal system, banknotes and a strongly held identity distinct from England.
Geography and LandscapeMinced lamb in gravy under a mashed potato crust, baked until browned — and not to be confused with cottage pie, which…
Food and DrinkA cue sport invented by British army officers in India, played on a twelve-foot table, and improbably one of the most watched…
Sport and LeisureA steamed suet pudding studded with dried fruit, served hot with custard — and the possessor of the most sniggered-at name in…
Food and DrinkScotland's national day, 30 November — a bank holiday in Scotland, marked with ceilidhs, food and the Saltire.
Festivals and HolidaysWales's national day, 1 March — marked in every Welsh school with daffodils, leeks, traditional dress and an eisteddfod.
Festivals and HolidaysEngland's national day, 23 April — marked far less than the other three nations mark theirs, and complicated by a flag that…
Festivals and HolidaysThe 17th of March: a public holiday in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the most widely celebrated national day in the world.
Festivals and HolidaysCornwall's national day, 5 March — marked with parades, the black-and-white Cornish flag, and a growing assertion of Cornish identity.
Festivals and HolidaysBritain's great country houses — several hundred of them open to the public, most sustained by tourism, weddings and film crews rather…
Landmarks and AttractionsA dark, moist sponge made with dates, drenched in toffee sauce and served hot with cream or custard — Britain's best-loved modern…
Food and DrinkA prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, built in stages from around 3000 BC, and the most famous ancient monument in Britain.
Landmarks and AttractionsThe rules determining who becomes monarch — reformed in 2013 to end male preference, but still barring Catholics from the throne.
Royalty and the MonarchyThe everyday British superstitions — touching wood, magpies, ladders, black cats and saluting on the first of the month — held by…
Traditions and CustomsThe annual census of swans on the Thames, conducted over five days in July by men in scarlet uniforms rowing traditional skiffs.
Traditions and CustomsNamed after an eighteenth-century earl, the sandwich is a British invention and now the country's dominant lunch — over four billion bought…
Food and DrinkThe British seaside resort: piers, promenades, fish and chips, deckchairs and donkey rides — a Victorian invention, badly damaged by cheap flights,…
Sport and LeisureBritain's four gentle seasons: long light summer evenings, short dark winter afternoons, and a spring and autumn that arrive gradually and are…
Nature and WildlifeThe traditional British ideal of emotional restraint under pressure: not complaining, not showing distress, and carrying on regardless.
Daily Life