How Many Can You Get Right on This British Geography Quiz?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
How Many Can You Get Right on This British Geography Quiz?
Image: FotografiaBasica/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

British geography shouldn't be particularly hard to learn; after all, it is not a very large country, and it has been politically and linguistically stable for at least three hundred years, meaning that names of places are unlikely to have changed. On top of that, the capital city of London is the only genuinely large city in global terms - and there are only two if you count those with over a million residents (Birmingham being the other one). The climate is fairly uniform across the nation, with minor variations from north to south; notably there is a little more rain up north and a smidge more sun down south.

However, many people (including many Brits) not only don't know basic British geography, they also don't even know what counts as British. Technically, Britain refers to the land of the British Isles, which includes Ireland by some estimations and not others, as well as the Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, the Hebrides and others. The United Kingdom is the political entity that includes multiple smaller nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and a number of territories and dependencies.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's get to the specifics, and see how good your British geography really is!

Belfast
Pixabay by TheOtherKev
Which of these is part of the U.K. but not Great Britain?
Liverpool
Cornwall
Belfast
Edinburgh
London Bridge
Pixabay by Free-Photos
What is the official designation of the British climate?
Tropical
Polar
Arid
Temperate
Norfolk
Pixabay by Unknown
Which is the flattest county in the U.K.?
Norfolk
Devon
Lancashire
Buckinghamshire

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land's end
Pixabay by diego_torres
By what name is the most northerly settlement on the British mainland known?
Land's End
John o'Groats
Aberdeen
Shetland
Lindesfarne
Pixabay by yorkshireman
What famous monastery is visible on an island off the coast as you cross from England to Scotland?
Lindesfarne
Whitby Abbey
Castle Acre Priory
Fountains Abbey
Scotland
Pixabay by FrankWinkler
Which of these is NOT a real county?
Leicestershire
Cumbria
Londonshire
Devon

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Isle Of Wight
Pixabay by obsidianphotography
Which of these is NOT one of the Channel Islands?
Wight
Jersey
Alderney
Sark
Snowdon
Pixabay by diego_torres
What is the highest peak in Wales?
Snowdon
Pen y Fan
Y Garn
Crib Goch
Oxford
Pixabay by SJPrice
Which of these towns is NOT north of the Watford Gap?
Birmingham
Nottingham
Worcester
Oxford

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Northumberland
Pixabay by jon57
Which of these British counties has no coastline?
Berkshire
Wiltshire
Northamptonshire
All of the above
Stacks Of Duncansby
Pixabay by FrankWinkler
What do the following have in common: Findhorn, Spey, Trium?
They are all Scottish towns.
They are all Scottish mountains.
They are all Scottish rivers.
They are all Scottish castles.
Scotland
Pixabay by FrankWinkler
What town in Scotland, just over the border from England, is noted for being a place for English couples to elope, Las Vegas-style?
Gretna Green
Carlisle
Edinburgh
Aviemore

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Oxford
Pixabay by papannon
What name is typically given to a big fancy home, often owned by a titled family (or these days, converted into a hotel), that is not fortified?
Stately home
Castle
Manor house
Ranch house
England
Pixabay by InspiredImages
What is the longest river in the U.K.?
Thames
Severn
Ouse
Mersey
Big Ben
Pixabay by pdimaria
What is Big Ben, actually?
A clock
A bell
A tower
A building

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Isle of Man
Pixabay by Peacenik
What island in the Irish Sea has 80,000 residents?
Wight
Man
Orkney
Shetland
Shaftesbury
Pixabay by fietzfotos
When on Great Britain - the main island - what is the furthest you can get inland from the sea?
50 miles
150 miles
20 miles
75 miles
Stongehenge
Pixabay by fotobias
Where is the oldest settlement in the U.K.?
Stonehenge
London
Edinburgh
Tintagel

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Hadrian's Wall
Pixabay by Unknown
What Roman ruin is the source of the name of an area in Newcastle upon Tyne?
Roman baths in Bath
Chedworth Roman Villa
Hadrian's Wall
Housesteads Roman Fort
London
Pixabay by Free-Photos
What is the longitude of Central London?
55 degrees
90 degrees
0 degrees
25 degrees
London
Pixabay by Free-Photos
Which of these is not a real place?
Ashby de la Zouch
Stow cum Quy
Happy Bottom
Lower Nostril

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Thames River
Pixabay by derwiki
Which of these towns is NOT on the Thames River?
Reading
Oxford
Newbury
Henley
Yorkshire
Pixabay by TimHill
About what percentage of the U.K.'s land is farmland?
25%
100%
50%
70%
Yorkshire
Pixabay by TimHill
The county of Yorkshire is divided into three "ridings." Which is not one of them?
North
South
East
West

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London Tower Bridge
Pixabay by fotofan1
What is the average high in London at the peak of summer?
68F
92F
81F
74F
Scotland
Pixabay by Scozzy
What is the hottest month in the British Isles?
July
June
August
There is no single hottest month
Hudson Bay
Pixabay by dfsym
What North American geographical feature is at the same latitude as the southern tip of the U.K.?
Hudson Bay
Denali
Everglades
Plymouth Rock

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Drumochter
Pixabay by SteenJepsen
What is the highest point in the main pass through the Scottish Highlands?
Killiecrankie
Drumochter
Dalwhinnie
Kingussie
Natural History Museum
Pixabay by PublicCo
In Inner London, how high can you get above sea level?
449 feet
2,000 feet
107 feet
42 feet
Snow England
Pixabay by Unknown
What is the technical definition of an official "White Christmas" in the U.K.?
One inch or more of snow on the ground during December 25th.
Snow falling at all during December 25th.
A single snowflake lands on St. Paul's Cathedral.
Everyone really wants there to be one.

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England
Pixabay by Unknown
Which of these is not one of three historic names for a single place?
Eboracum
Jorvik
Eoforwic
Verulanium
Birmingham
Pixabay by jgyuity1289
In the last Ice Age, how far south did the glaciers come?
Peterborough
Birmingham
Cambridge
Rye
Derbyshire
Pixabay by DavidReed
How do you pronounce the name of the village of "Eyam" in Derbyshire, home of the famous plague cottages?
To rhyme with "Seam"
To rhyme with "Liam"
Like "I-am"
Like "Ay-am"

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Wales
Pixabay by GregMontani
What is the rainiest month?
December
October
February
April
Wales
Pixabay by diego_torres
Where is the biggest cave in the U.K.?
Cheddar Gorge
Peak District
Wales
Penines