8. Travelling by train in gb and 16. Travelling and 25. Different means of travelling

Travelling in Great Britain

People, travelling long distances, frequently have to decide whether they would prefer to go by land, sea or air.

Long car journey are even less pleasant, for it is quite impossible even to read. On motoways you can, at least, travel fairly safely at high speeds, but more often than not, the greater part of the journey is spent on narrow, bumpy roads, which are crowded with traffic.

By comparison, trips be sea offer a great variety of civilized comforts. You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, swim, meet interesting people and enjoy food. If it is not, and you are likely to get seasick, no form of transport could be worse.

Airplanes have the reputation of being dangerous and even hardened travelers are intimidates by them. They also have the grave disadvantages of being the most expansive form of transport. But nothing can match them for speed and comfort.

One of the first things a foreigner notices about British railways is the platform. They are higher than in most part of the world. The platform is almost on a level with the floor of the carriages. This makes it a little easier to get in and out of the carriage with your luggage.

The trains that go to and from London are very crowded at the times when people are travelling to work, since about a million people travel to London to work each day. There are cheap tickets after a certain time of the day, usually about 9.30 when everyone has gone to work. These are called cheap day return tickets. It is often nearly fifty per cent cheaper to travel to London after 9.30 than before this time.

On many fast trains to London , there is a dining car in which you can buy lunch, dinner, or coffee. On others there is a buffet at which it is possible to buy snacks and drinks. Sometimes a waiter from the dining car can brings round cups of coffee to the passengers.

There are only two classes in Britain- first and second. A first- class ticket costs fifty per cent more than a second- class ticket. On a long journeys, there is a ticket inspector , who visits every passenger to see if he has the right ticket and is not travelling in the wrong class.

In England train passengers seldom converse with their fellow-travellers even no a long journey- it is more a national custom than a matter of etiquette.

When the passenger reaches the end of his journey and leaves the train, he has to give his ticket to the ticket collector at the exit before he can leave the station. If he had luggage and wants someone to carry it for him to a waiting car or taxi, he must ask a porter. The porter does not make a charge for this service, but he expects a tip.

3. Places of interest in London

London is not only the political, economic and cultural centre of the United Kingdom. It is the main tourist attraction of the country. There are a lot of places of interest in London which attract thousands of tourists every year. They usually want to see Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London.

Westminster is now the political centre of London. In the 11-th century King Edward the Confessor decided to build a great abbey church there. There are many royal tombs in the Abbey, like the tomb of Edward the Confessor himself, and memorials to famous men and women. The most popular ones are those to writers, poets and musicians in the Poet's Corner. William the Conqueror was crowned there, and since then all the coronations have taken place in the Abbey.

During the reign of Edward the Confessor the Palace of Westminster was built, too. It was the royal residence and also the country's main court. The Parliament met here since the 16th till the 19th century. The present Houses of Parliament were built after the fire in the Palace of Westminster in 1834. There are two houses in the Parliament: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.St. Stephen's Tower of the Houses of Parliament con tains the famous Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official London residence. Londoners usually watch the Changing of the Guards in the forecourt of the palace. It lasts about 30 minutes.

St Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It was built since 1675 until 1709. It’s crowned with a huge dome. Inside the dome there is the famous Whispering Gallery. There are many memorials in the Cathedral, including memorials to Wellington and Nelson.

The Tower of London is associated with many important events in the British history. It has been a fortress, a palace, a prison, a mint. The Tower of London is famous for its prisoners, like Sir Thomas More and Guy Fawkes. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror to protect the city. The Tower is guarded by «Beefeaters», the Yeomen Guards.

London is noted for its museums and art galleries. Among them are the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate, the Museum of London, the Museum of Moving Image, Madame Tussau's Museum and many others.

London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London's museums. There is quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

The National Gallery is situated in Trafalgar Square and is one of the best-known art galleries in the world. It was founded in 1824 and houses one of the most important collections of Italian paintings outside Italy. It is also famous for its Dutch collection, particularly for paintings by Rembrandt.

The National Portrait Gallery is situated near the National Gallery. It is Britain's leading art gallery of portraits of famous people in British history. The National Portrait Gallery is noted for representing various kinds of portraits - from traditional oil paintings to photographs. Founded in 1856, in 1984 it contained over 8 00 original portraits and more than 500 000 photographs.

The famous Tate Gallery was opened in 1897 with the financial support of Sir Henry Tate. He also gave a collection of 65 paintings. The Gallery contains a unique collection of British painting from the 16th century to the present day. Turner and Blake are particularly well represented in the collections. The Gallery also has many drawings and modern sculpture.

Victoria and Albert Museum is a collection of fine and applied arts. It contains a great collection of miniature, too. It was opened in 1857 and was named after Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.

The British Museum was founded in 1753. It contains one of the world's richest collections of antiquities. It also houses the main collection covering the history of plants, minerals and the animal world. There is also the Reading room of the British Library in the museum.

There is a number of museums in London which are neither art museums or galleries. Nevertheless, they attract tourists from different parts of Great Britain and of the world. You are sure to know about Madame Tusseau's Museum. It contains hundreds of wax figures which are sculpture portraits of famous personalities - political figures, painters, musicians, sportsmen and even criminals.