What is haggis?

Haggis is Scotland’s best-known regional dish, a rich, spicy concoction made from lamb’s offal (lungs, liver and heart) mixed with suet, onions, herbs and spices, all packed into a skin made of plastic, or, traditionally, a sheep’s stomach.

Traditionally served on Burn’s Night, the haggis is often accompanied by mashed potatoes and mashed swede or turnips. Although the haggis neither sounds nor looks appetising most people brave enough to try it agree that it is extremely tasty!

Is it true that a lot of British dishes are named after places?

The rich variety of British regional cooking is reflected in the names of our favourite dishes. Many regions have their own particular speciality of sweet or savoury fare, or are famed for their local produce.

Cheeses are produced in many regions, although Cheddar cheese, a strong-flavoured, salty cheese is the most popular variety. It originates from a village in Somerset in western England is also famous for its gorge. Other types of cheeses include Cheshire, Lancashire, Stilton and Wensleydale.

Cornwall in south-west England is famous for its Cornish Pasties - a pastry case filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables, which was the traditional midday meal of workers in the region.

The town of Bakewell in Derbyshire has a rich pastry tart named after it. The Bakewell pudding or Bakewell tart was said to have been invented by accident, when a cook forgot to put jam over the custard filling of a pudding - instead she spread it straight onto the pastry case and poured the custard on top. Thus a new dish was born!

Welsh cakes, a kind of sweet cake cooked on a griddle, were originally served to hungry travellers when they arrived at an inn for the night while they waited for their supper to be cooked.

Many other dishes are named after places - everything from Lancashire hotpot (a casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes) and Scottish shortbread (a sweet, buttery biscuit) to Welsh rarebit (nothing to do with rabbit, but melted cheese on toast!), baked Ulster ham, and Bath buns (a sweet bun containing spices and dried fruit, originally made in Bath, western England). Indeed, dedicated gourmets could happily munch their way from one county to another!

W hy is the Tower of London so popular with tourists?

The Tower of London is one of the most popular and imposing of London's historical sites. It comprises not one, but 20 towers, the oldest of which, the White Tower, dates back to the 11th century and the time of William the Conqueror. It is the Tower's evil reputation as a prison that ensures it remains a much visited tourist spot today, together with the rich and varied history that surrounds it.

Many stories associated with British history come from the Tower. In 1483 King Edward IV's two sons were murdered in the so-called Bloody Tower, and over two centuries later the skeletons of two little boys were found buried beneath steps in the White Tower, assumed to be the bodies of the princes.

Traitor's Gate, set in the southern wall of the Tower, has steps leading down to the River Thames. Countless prisoners, including the future Queen Elizabeth I of England, were brought to the Tower by barge, and ascended the steps before being imprisoned - for many it was their last moment of freedom before their death. Fortunately, Elizabeth was released from the Tower and became Queen.

Elizabeth I's father, Henry VIII, made the Tower the dread destination of his enemies. Sir Thomas More was beheaded there in 1535 and the King's second wife, Anne Boleyn, was brought to trial there in 1536 and beheaded on Tower Green. Six years later her cousin, Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, suffered the same fate.

The Tower is famous as home of the Crown Jewels. Today they can be viewed in their new jewel house from a moving pavement, designed to cope with the huge numbers of tourists. They include the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother which contains the celebrated Indian diamond, the Koh-I-Noor (mountain of light), and St Edward's Crown which is used for the actual crowning of the Sovereign and weighs over two kilograms.

Everyone has heard of the Yeoman Warders of the Tower or 'Beefeaters', whose striking Tudor uniform has changed little since 1485. The uniform consists of a knee-length scarlet tunic, scarlet knee-breeches and stockings, and a round brimmed hat called a Tudor bonnet. Their distinctive white neck ruff was introduced by Queen Elizabeth I.

No visit to the Tower would be complete without seeing the ravens; huge black birds who are an official part of the Tower community. Legend states that if the ravens were to leave the Tower the Crown will fall and Britain with it. Under the special care of the Raven Master, the ravens are fed a daily diet of raw meat paid for out of a special fund set aside by Parliament. There is no danger of them flying away, as their wings are clipped!