Answer: South
It's South for Southampton, on the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen. The city dates back to Roman times, followed by the founding of a settlement called Hamwic by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th or 7th Century. By the 13th Century it had become a major port, exporting wool and cloth and importing wine. By the late 19th Century the port had become the main departure point for liners crossing the Atlantic, including the ill-fated Titanic. I remember as a child in the early 1960s going to Southampton Water to see the big ocean liners come and go: the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, the Normandie and many others - truly impressive!
From Quiz: North, South, East, West, Home's Best!
Answer: Merseyside
Cattrall is a famous Canadian actress but she moved there at three months old, having been born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool.
"Another Place" on Crosby Beach is well worth checking out if you are in the area as it quite eerily consists of 100 sculptures of Gormley's naked body embedded in the sand and looking out to sea and I also recommend the Slavery Museum, which looks at the history of slavery from the transatlantic slavery trade of the 16th century up to modern day slavery and racism.
Merseyside is also home to football giants Everton and Liverpool as well as Royal Birkdale Golf Club which hosted the Open in 2017. And how could one write about Merseyside without mentioning music? The Beatles are obviously the most famous, but it is also home to The Zutons, Echo & the Bunnymen, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and jazz legend George Melly.
From Quiz: County Bounty
Answer: Dripping water deposits minerals.
Water drips through the porous rock above and as it dries, it deposits the minerals it has dissolved and carried with it. After many hundreds of years, these deposits grow to become stalactites. If the water droplet is too big to cling to the roof, it drops to the floor where a stalagmite begins to form. Slow flowing water means it will take longer for a feature to form. Even half an inch may take thousands of years. When vandals break off pieces for keepsakes it causes great indignation among those who love our caves.
From Quiz: Beneath the Surface
Answer: Cornwall
Mount's Bay is the county's largest bay and is situated between the Penwith and Lizard Peninsulas. The former is the site of Land's End and the westernmost point of the island of Great Britain, while the latter is home to Lizard Point, the island's southernmost point.
Near the middle of Mount's Bay is an island called St Michael's Mount which is home to an amazing castle once used in the 1979 film "Dracula" and the 2003 film "Johnny English". It is thought the bay takes its name from this island, to which one can walk via a causeway at low tide.
From Quiz: A '9 for 10' Journey Through England
Answer: West Midlands
West Midlands county is the location of the Birmingham Hippodrome, the UK's busiest theatre, which is home to the Birmingham Royal Ballet and a variety of opera, pantomime, drama shows and more.
The West Midlands region is home to the first arch bridge built from cast iron in the world, the Iron Bridge. It crosses the River Severn in the county of Shropshire. Vehicles have not been allowed to cross the bridge since 1934, when it became a monument.
From Quiz: Do You Have a Guidebook or Something?
Answer: Cheshire
The Anderton Boat lift near Northwich in Cheshire is an example of engineering during age of the Victorians. It was constructed in 1875.
From Quiz: Counties of England
Answer: A series of lakes and rivers used for recreational purposes
The Broads are the result of ancient peat excavations thought to have been started by the Romans. This carried on until the Middle Ages when the sea levels rose and flooded the pits. Now they are an area of outstanding beauty with thousands of visitors making the most of the waterways.
From Quiz: Weirdly Named Landmarks
Answer: Suffolk
Ipswich is in the mid-east of England and is the county town of Suffolk. Norwich is the county town of Norfolk, which is adjacent to Suffolk, hence the rivalry.
From Quiz: English Cities and Towns in Counties
Answer: Brixham
Torbay enjoys its own mild microclimate due to its sheltered, easterly position. The palm trees are cabbage palms introduced from New Zealand by the Victorians who compared Torbay to the French Riviera because of its amenable weather.
From Quiz: Beside the Seaside, B-side the C
Answer: Lyme Regis
The Cobb Harbour has existed since the 1200s. It has been portrayed in books and movies. In Austen's 'Persuasion', Captain Wentworth visits a close friend in Lyme Regis, but there are near tragic results when Louisa Musgrove sustains a concussion after falling from the harbour wall. You can also see The Cobb in the opening scenes of 'A French Lieutenants Woman'.
From Quiz: English Landmarks
Answer: Cornwall
The Cornish dialect (or Kernewek) was more or less extinct by the late 1700's. It was revived early last century and there are now around two thousand regular speakers. In 2002 it was officially recognised by the British Government as a minority language.
From Quiz: English Counties
Answer: Hexham
The 73 mile long River Tyne also flows through Wylam and Corbridge before reaching Newcastle, shortly afterwards joining the North Sea (logically enough) at Tynemouth.
From Quiz: Rivers of England
Answer: Leicester
The name Leicester is said to have derived from castra, or camp, of the Ligore which meant 'dwellers on the River Legro' which was an early name for the River Soar. In the early part of the tenth century is was recorded as Ligeraceaster, and by the time of 'The Doomsday Book' it had changed to Ledecestre. There is also a story, recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, that the mythical King Leir founded the town and called it Kaerleir, or Leir's chester. The play 'King Lear' is based loosely on this story.
From Quiz: What's in a Name?
Answer: Canterbury
"Canterbury" is the name of Diamond Head's album. Diamond Head is a heavy metal band from the 1980s. During the recording of this album, two of the original band members left and had to be replaced for the promotional tour. Additionally, 20,000 copies of the album had to be recalled because of a skip in the first song. According to the band's website, these two factors contributed to the band's break-up. However, ten years later, the band was resurrected, releasing the album "Death and Progress." The archbishop of Canterbury was originally a Catholic position created by Pope Gregory I at the beginning of the 7th century in order to convert the English inhabitants. When England broke away from Rome in 1534, the current archbishop of Canterbury retained his position, and is the senior bishop of the Church of England. "The Canterbury Tales" is one of the most famous books ever written. It is the story of pilgrims on their way the shrine of Thomas Becket who pass the time by having a tale-telling competition. A total of 24 tales are included in the book.
From Quiz: English City Tribond Trivia
Answer: Land's End
Visited by thousands of tourists every year, Land's End is the most westerly point of the British mainland. John O'Groats is in the far north of Scotland, the two points are the furthest apart of any two places on mainland Britain, about 870 miles by road.
From Quiz: The English Coastline-And Your Point Is?
Answer: Wiltshire
Kent is the county closest to mainland Europe and has a coastline on the Straits of Dover. Norfolk and Lincolnshire are the counties on either side of The Wash, an inlet of the North Sea. Wiltshire is the only one of these four counties that is land-locked.
From Quiz: English Counties-Odd One Out
Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr.
King is part of a statue series titled "Martyrs of the 20th Century" above the Great West Door entrance.
From Quiz: Famous England
Answer: Skegness
Ronans Magna was created by John Simmonds. He started in 1961 and the village opened in 1963. The village is built on a scale of 1/16. It has around 38 buildings and 400 "inhabitants". It covers around half an acre.
From Quiz: Model Villages in England
Answer: Buckingham Palace
Windsor Castle has been a royal palace and fortress for Britain's royal family for over 900 years. It is the largest occupied castle in the world. Sandringham and Balmoral are private residences. Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh was the Queen's official Scottish residence.
From Quiz: Places I Visited in England
Answer: Lancashire
Foulridge is a bronze age village dating back to 2000 BC; its name is a corruption of "Foal Ridge". Foulridge's claim to fame is a cow which fell into the canal and swam 1500 metres through a tunnel to safety. A picture of the cow adorns the wall of the "Hole-in-the-Corner" pub.
From Quiz: English Villages
Answer: Named by Dr Barton at a party
The party, at 'Duke' Sutton's place (the first hotel in 'Southport'), was to celebrate the victory at the Battle of the Nile. The very tiny river that flows underneath the centre of town is the Nile. (Guess why?) The original name was South Hawes (= sand dunes). This was south of North Meols (= sand dunes). Don't ask. As lads, my mates and I used to build dams across the River Nile. There's not many can say they've stopped the flow of the River Nile...
From Quiz: Modern English Place Names
Answer: Oxfordshire
On a low hill ancient people carved the horse through the topsoil into the chalk beneath it. It is not known when it was done, but it may have been the Saxons, about ten centuries ago. It may also have been the Iron Age Celts who lived there 2,300 years ago.
From Quiz: About England
Answer: Nottingham
According to myth, Robin Hood and his Merry Men lived in Sherwood Forest and dressed in green. This was during the harsh reign of King John, Whether Robin was real or not, it seems that the oppressed people of England needed to tell stories about heroes who challenged John's tyranny.
From Quiz: Places in England
Answer: Canterbury
There are only two archbishops in England - The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York. The best known archbishop of Canterbury is Thomas a Becket, also known as Thomas Becket, who was murdered in the cathedral.
From Quiz: 9 for 10 - England
Answer: Cornwall
Land's End is the most westerly point. It juts out into the Atlantic.
From Quiz: Counties of England
Answer: Berkshire
Also known as Berks. Its first recorded name was Beaurrucsir in 860
From Quiz: English Counties
Answer: Nottingham
Sherwood forest used to extend from Nottingham to York and the North East coast of England, but Nottingham still preserves some of the forest, including the Major Oak, and nearby a man buried in AD1100 who was 6 foot 6 tall has been found and is thought to be 'little John'.
From Quiz: A fun introduction to English cities
Answer: Queen Camel
King vultures are found in Central and South America, the emperor tamarin lives in the southwest Amazon Basin and the pharaoh ant is a pest throughout most of the world, leaving the Somerset village of Queen Camel.
Queen Camel has nothing to do with camels, as the name is believed to derive from the Celtic words "canto" meaning district and "mael" meaning bare hill. The queen in question is said to be the wife of Henry III, Queen Eleanor, who was a major landowner in the area during the 13th century.
To add further confusion, Wales is part of the civil parish of Queen Camel, although the Wales in question is a very small hamlet, not the country of dragons and daffodils.
From Quiz: Real Deal or Fakenham?
Answer: Sandwich
One of the Cinque Ports, denoted as such by Edward the Confessor, it still has many medieval buildings. As to the article of food, times were obviously frugal when my dictionary was published in 1933; sandwiches are much more substantial these days and have more varied content.
From Quiz: Places in my English Dictionary
Answer: They were dug out by hand.
The Hellfire Caves were created from an old quarry. Between 1748 and 1750 there were poor harvests, reducing local residents to near starvation. The then owner of the land paid the men to produce stone from the quarry and use it to rebuild a local main road which had fallen into disrepair. The resulting system of tunnels later became the meeting place for a group of dissolute young aristocrats; a place where they could indulge their fantasies. It is an intricate cave system, with caves of many shapes and sizes.
One of the caverns was even used as a grand banqueting hall. At times it is now open to the public.
From Quiz: Beneath the Surface
Answer: Aylesbury
Since the town of Aylesbury has been first recorded to have held the name Ęglesburgh, meaning "Fort of Aegel", it has had 57 variations of this name. The town is also home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, a museum which uses Roald Dahl's books as themes to introduce children to science, history, and literature. Roald Dahl himself had lived in the nearby village of Great Missenden for several decades until his death in 1990.
From Quiz: A '9 for 10' Journey Through England
Answer: Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is mere miles off the coast of the county Hampshire on mainland England. The Solent is the strait which separates them.
The Island has been home to three prisons. One of these, Parkhurst, has housed notorious criminals such as Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) and Terry Clark, a New Zealand drug lord who was given one of the most heavily guarded trials in British history.
On the Island, you can also find Dinosaur Isle, a dinosaur museum designed in the shape of a giant pterosaur.
From Quiz: Do You Have a Guidebook or Something?
Answer: 1
Cornwall has two borders, but only one border with land. Devon is the county to the east. Any further south-west and you will hit the border with the sea.
From Quiz: Counties of England
Answer: A large church tower, towering above the Lincolnshire flatlands
The 275ft high tower of St Botolph's church in Boston, Lincolnshire is the 14th highest church tower in England. It is visible for many miles around because of the low-lying Lincolnshire ground.
From Quiz: Weirdly Named Landmarks
Answer: Hampshire
Portsmouth is a major port in England. The city is nicknamed Pompey and the docks are used extensively by the Royal Navy. The largest city in Hampshire is Southampton.
From Quiz: English Cities and Towns in Counties
Answer: Bodmin Moor
Not only is Brown Willy the highest point of land on Bodmin Moor, it is also the highest point of land in the whole of Cornwall at 1,350 feet above sea level. The Ordinance Survey triangulation marks this as 420 meters. From the top, both the north and south coasts of Cornwall may be viewed, but it is not a place to go in wind or fog.
From Quiz: Moor England Questions
Answer: Blackpool
Blackpool Tower, modeled on the Eiffel Tower, was erected five years later and is about half the height at 158 metres. It was the idea of a local businessman, the Mayor John Bickerstaffe, who had visited Paris and was impressed by the structure. The other main difference is that Blackpool Tower has a building as part of its base and the Eiffel Tower stands alone.
From Quiz: Beside the Seaside, B-side the C
Answer: Beverley
Although Hull is by far the largest settlement in this county, and a unitary authority within the county, Beverley remains the administrative centre. Beverely is well known for numerous large churches, such as Beverley Minster. Founded by Saint John of Beverley, the settlement is over 1,300 years old and was originally known as Inderawuda.
From Quiz: County Towns
Answer: Tyne & Wear
Sculpted by Antony Gormley and completed in 1998, The Angel of the North is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 66 feet (20 m) tall. Its wings measure 178 feet (54 m) across--making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height.
From Quiz: English Landmarks
