British holiday information

There always seems to be some confusion surrounding the countries and islands that make up the British Isles. Many terms are used to refer to the British Isles, some cover all the islands, others only cover a few of the countries. We’ve all heard them: the United Kingdom (UK), Great Britain and the British Isles, but they seem to be interchangeable, and even people who live here are often confused. If you stopped to ask a few people in the street about these terms you’d probably get completely different answers.

So here’s my attempt at allaying the confusion for those who are often unsure which term covers which countries:

Great Britain consists of:
England
Scotland (includes Orkney and Shetland isles, and Hebrides)
Wales

The United Kingdom consists of:
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland.

The British Isles consists of:
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
The Isle of Man
The Channel Islands – Jersey, Guernsey, Herm, Alderney and Sark.

This site covers information on holidays in the British Isles, however, from time to time, I will make reference to the UK or Britain.

Hope this has helped.