British Dopers! Tell me about these places in the UK

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve always been a fan of islands. And not just the tropical variety- I actually prefer a rocky, windswept island somewhere in the North Atlantic. (I’m big on atmosphere.) And what nation has better islands of this nature than the UK? So tell me about these places:

Isle of Man

Isle of Wight -both of these places are, I heard, remote, rural, and well, weird. Is this true? If so, I must visit posthaste!

Isle of Dogs- apparently somewhere in east London. Why the name? And is it actually an island in the Thames, or just a clever zoning trick?

The Channel Islands - did these always belong to the UK? What became of them during WWII? What goes on there now?

The Outer Hebrides

The Shetland Islands- both of these look like the ends of the earth on a map- are they that way in real life?

Any other islands you could mention would be greatly appreciated. I want to go to the UK in another year or so, and of course I want to see London, but I want to see non-touristy spots, too. I’m a fan of the weird and the off-the-beaten-track. Thanks.

2

I haven’t actually been to any of the islands, but I’d suggest you throw the Orkneys in there as well. Mainly to see Skara Brae, a 4000-year-old settlement only unearthed within the past 150 years.

3

The Isle of Dogs isn’t actually an island, although it was once an oxbow island. It’s a very grotty part of East London (which I kinda like nevertheless).

The Isle of Wight isn’t remote or rural at all. It’s a seaside resort on the South coast, quite picturesque, not particularly windswept.

The Isle of Man has a bizarre feudal society. Some of its laws are different to the rest of the UK’s, and many of its inhabitants are isolationists. Don’t know much about the geography os the place, though; it’s not as far North as the Shetlands or Orkneys, which sound more like what your looking for.

The Shetlands, Orkenys and Outer Hebrides are definitely big on atmosphere and extreme weather. The Outer Hebrides are among the northernmost inhabited places in the world. If you’ve seen Castaway 2000, then you’ll have a good idea of what Shetland’s like.

(In case you haven’t seen it, Castaway 2000 was a show on the BBC, also shown in the US on some station or other, where 30 ordinary people, including families with young children, went to live on an island for a year. They built their own houses, tilled their own fields, set up a school, made a real community. A fascinating progect that the BBC didn’t make near enough use of).

The Channel Islands have been a part of Britain for several hundred years, back to when this country used to rule over large parts of France. The Channel Islands are the only territory we’ve kept from that time. The islands were occupied by German forces for most of WW2. They have a feudal, undemocratic system of government, are a tax haven, and have about one millionairre to every three inhabitants. Geographically, the Channel Islands are quite warm, with lovely beaches and fairly flat land.

As a first place to visit, I’d recommend the Shetland Isles, though which islands in particular I’m not sure. Most of them are only accessable by boat, and the ferries don’t travel that often, but they are still easier to get to than the Orkneys or Outer Hebrides, and have better facilities for tourists. If you’re up there in summer, hire a boat and tour the islands. (Don’t try it in winter unless you’re a highly-skilled yachtsman with a good life insurance policy).

If you like the weird and off the beaten track, try rural Wales too. I recommended Wales as a destination for a couple of American friends of mine, and they just left this week, saying that they ‘had a blast.’

4

Wow! Thank you so much for all the great info. I’m off to the bookstore today to pick up some reading material; I’ll look for some more detailed maps of the areas mentioned, and travel guides if I can find them.

Though not an island, a friend of mine visited Cornwall and thought it was the coolest place in the world. Any thoughts?

5

Isle of Man
Maybe lobley will give you more information because he lives there, but it’s known as a holiday destination, for motorcycle races (the TT = Tourist Trophy), political independence - it’s had its own parliament for over a thousand years - and for right-wing radicalism, the island has its own currency which is only cosmetically different from that of the rest of Britain, it has its own language related to Irish and Scots Gaelic and to Welsh, a breed of cat that has no tail, water wheels, horse-drawn trams and kippers (smoked herrings). It’s accessible from several places by ferry boat or by plane.

Isle of Wight
Here’s its official website. Its the largest political constituency in the UK becasue the population is too small to split it in two. Queen Victoria had a holiday home there.

Isle of Dogs
Not a true island, its a south-facing loop of the river Thames with a row of docks at the north end that nearly turn it into an island. Formerly a very rough part of London it has recently been partly-gentrified and is the site of a fast-growing high-rise office development. Not to be confused with a book by Patricia Cornwell, but Ben Jonson co-wrote a play with the same title in 1597. Apparently its name also dates from the sixteenth century when feral dogs roamed the area.

Channel Islands
Off the coast of France but British since 1066 - they were part of the Duchy of Normandy, William the Conqueror’s home territory. Later when King John lost the territory of Normandy to Philip II of France, the Channel Islands remained loyal to the English crown. Local people speak English but often have French surnames. They were they only part of UK territory occupied by the Nazis. They are also politically independent, are famous as tax havens and also have their own coins. Cars are banned on the Island of Sark, and Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney have their own breeds of cattle famous for their high-cream milk.

The Hebrides
Remote and romantic I can’t do justice to them in a post of this length. Lots of history. They’re famous for varieties of whisky among other things.

Shetland
Independent of Scotland in spite of what the map might suggest, Shetland has not always been part of the UK and between 1469 and 1603 was disputed between Scotland, Norway and Denmark. Famous for knitwear and for small breeds of pony and sheepdog. I think you’d enjoy a visit but wrap up warm! Is it remote? Well, I have a friend from Edinburgh who often visits the Orkney Islands, where they have school nature trips to visit “the tree”, and Shetland is about a hundred miles further out to sea so take a guess.

Others?
Try Lindisfarne, the Holy Island off the coast of Northumberland linked to the mainland by a causeway but cut off by the tide twice every day. Or Lundy, off the coast of Devon, allegedly the location of Avalon, where King Arthur is said to be buried, and now a nature reserve. Or the Scilly Isles, or the Aran Islands (Irish, of course, not British) they are not to be confused with Arran.

There are lots more of the kind you’re looking for off the British and Irish coasts.

6

Cornwall’s great for a holiday. Famous for smuggling, surfing and Daphne du Maurier. It also has it’s own language (although it’s functionally extinct).

I should have mentioned that Orkney is home to prehistoric human settlements, amongst the oldest in Europe.

7

I’m screwing up my apostrophes today. Please excuse.

8

ruadh told you about Skara Brae already. Doh.

9

Another good place to visit (although it isn’t an island sorry) is Northumberland. Fantastic coast line, interesting history, loads to see and do and you can get off the beaten track quite easily and the people are fantastic as well (speaking as a homesick Northumberland lass!)

Here is the website http://www.northumbria-tourist-board.org.uk/

ems

10

The pace of life on the Isle of Wight is a little more comfortable and relaxed than that on the mainland (or that’s my impression from when I have been across there), although the same kind of atmosphere can be found in many villages and towns here on the mainland, but it’s usually pretty localised.

I last visited the Island in February of this year and it was very windy indeed, but that’s not likely to be the case in the summertime.

11

How do americans view the british anyway?

12

There’s also the Falklands; not north Atlantic, but certainly rocky and windswept.

13

One minor point - the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of the UK. The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The King/Queen of Scotland is the feudal suzerain and head of state of the Isle of Man. (IIRC it was acquired from either the King of Norway or of Denmark in the late middle ages.)

The King/Queen of England is the feudal suzerain and head of state of the Channel Islands. (The last surviving part of the Duchy of Normandy still ruled by the Crown.)

QE2 just happens to be the Queen of England and Scotland as well as Queen of the UK.

One result is that these to territories have control over their own tax regimes. The EU is spitting blood at this and is in the process of trying to force them to change laws on the grounds of “unfair tax advantage”. It’s apparantly not fair that territories not in the EU can have much lower tax rates than countries that are members of the EU. They’ll be complaining about the USA next.

14

I’m from Cornwall and it is a great place. It has islands too, the Isles of Scilly. Don’t forget about those little babies. Going there is like traveling back to a time when anyone caught using electricity was burned as a witch.

15

Isle of Wight not rural?

damn.

When I was there the alarm on my watch went off and the locals dropped screaming to the floor and begged me to get rid of the evil wrist-demons. Some of the locals still won’t let you photograph them in case it steals a bit of their soul.

And cornwall is like a timewarp. People down there are still in the midst of a hula-hoop craze. In about 15 years they’ll start getting those little scooter things with the skateboard wheels. I can remember the time when you couldn’t get FM radio in cornwall.
Comments not to be taken seriously, my girlfriend is from cornwall and they’re lovely people. Since moving up to london she’s changed a bit of course. She no longer howls at the full moon, and almost never brachiates from lampposts.

16

Spent a few hours last night poring over maps…I love maps. Looks like I will definitely be going to the Orkneys and the Scilly Islands. I’ll do some searching around for pricings, etc. I’ll defintely be spending some time in London as well.
I’ve always wanted to see the city, the history is fascinating, and since reading Peter Ackroyd’s book, I’m even more obsessed with getting there.

On a completely different note, Montezuma asked what Americans think of the British. I’ll try to answer as best I can, but keep in mind that I’ve only made stop-overs in Britain on the way to Ireland, I’ve never actually spent time there, and, of course, I can’t speak for all Americans. So, here goes:

General American Opinion: Many Americans seem to think all British people are reserved, proper, drink lots of tea, drive small cars, and enjoy sitcoms. Americans also seem to think all British men under the age of 25 are football hooligans. (Soccer to us.) We think all British women over the age of 40 are just like Hyacinth Bucket from the show ‘Keeping Up Appearances’. Many American women think men with British accents are incredibly sexy. (Count me in!) Most Americans feel that Britain is the truest and most loyal political ally we have ever had, and genuinely appreciate and respect this. Americans also think the monarchy is silly and anachronistic, and yet are fascinated by it.

My Personal Opinion: I love British history, and am ashamed to say I don’t know as much about it as I should, and nowhere near as much as I’d like. I love the way British humor is often so self-deprecating and sort of nastily erudite. I also love British folklore. And men with British accents are S-E-X-Y!!! I am also insanely jealous of your classically trained actors. I love British slang, and wish I knew more, and I also wish I could use it without sounding like a fool. Ummm…I don’t even have anything negative to say, really. I don’t want to sound fawning or anything but…I like you guys! Oh, I’m worried that all British people secretly hate Americans. Of course this can’t literally be true, but I sort of suspect sometimes that the average guy on the street doesn’t much care for ‘ugly Americans’.

Hmmm. I hope this helps a bit. Perhaps other Dopers will come along with their say soon.

17

Ahem,

Ratty, how are you doing?

J.

18

My favourite island: Lundy, off the north coast of Devon. Only tiny, about a mile and a half long, but wonderfully atmospheric and unspoilt. Rocky, craggy and windswept. Used to be a haunt of smugglers a couple of hundred years ago, now has just a handful of inhabitants and is home to immense colonies of seabirds. You can only get there by boat, from Minehead on the Devon coast I think.

And to answer the other question, I think most Brits do like Americans, we’re fond of you, glad to see you come visit. If there’s a bit of resentment, it’s just that you have more money than we do!