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Being an island nation, Britain has a long and proud maritime tradition - and none of us lives more than 50 miles from the sea. Great sailors such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir Martin Frobisher, Horatio Nelson, King William IV (known as "The Sailor King"), James Cook, Thomas Hardy, William Bligh...

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has again struck a blow on the face of political correctness. Clarkson admits that it would be a disaster for a woman to present the show. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Clarkson said: "I think a girl would be a disaster. If a girl came in and we...

A girl of nine has been found strangled to death in the back of a lorry with her stepfather found hanged in woods nearby. The incident occurred in Warmington, near Oundle, Northamptonshire. The lorry was found at a service station on the A605. Northamptonshire police have now launched a...

This Thursday, 3rd September marks the 70th anniversary of the Second World War, the six year conflict (or four year conflict if you are American) which saw sixty million deaths. But what if Britain hadn't declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939 to start the deadliest war in history...

After winning cricket's greatest prize, the Ashes, on Sunday, it is understandable that England's players will be still a little hungover from the success. But, four days on, they were in action again, taking off their Test whites and putting on their bright red One Day International shirts to...

The draw for this season's European Cup (aka Champions League) took place in tiny Monaco today, and the British clubs will be breathing a sigh of release. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Rangers were handed relatively easy teams in their groups. The English teams -...

This beautiful rainbow would have been more at home appearing over the Stadium of Light, the home ground of Sunderland. Instead, it appeared last night over Keepmoat Stadium, the home of Doncaster Rovers, of the Championship, during a Carling Cup match against London team Tottenham Hotspur, of...

Revealed for the first time today is a Soviet map showing its plans to invade Manchester at the height of the Cold War. The chilling 1974 map identifies roads, such as Mancunian Way, in which Soviet tanks could have travelled along to enter the city. It shows targets which are colour coded...

When modern mudlarks Steve Brooker and Rick Jones were searching for historical artefacts on the Thames foreshore close to a wharf in Rotherhithe in southeast London, they didn't expect their find to be quite so spectacular. They stumbled across a 300 year old ball and chain (the only full...

The body of British soldier Paul McAleese, the son of the Iranian Embassy siege hero John McAleese, has returned home from Afghanistan. In a now traditional ceremony to honour Britain's war dead, crowds lined the streets of the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett to watch the cortege carrying...

It is something that the British have suspected for years - that the Germans are devoid of a sense of humour. Now we can confirm the rumour as fact, after a German academic has claimed that humour is an act of aggression. Helga Kotthoff, of the Frieburg University if Education, said: "Comedy...

Once upon a time, the beaver was a common sight in Britain, just like it is nowadays in Canada. But, due to hunting, the buck-toothed rodents became extinct in the 16th Century in Scotland and the 12th Century in England. Now, programmes are underway to re-introduce the beaver to Britain...

It was dubbed "The Roar on the Shore", a fireworks extravaganza on the English Channel just off Bournemouth. 110,000 fireworks let off in under 60 seconds to set a new world record - maybe so bright that the French would see it across the water. Around 175,000 spectators turned up to see it...

Millions of Englishmen will be waking up with sore heads tomorrow after celebrating their cricket team winning the Ashes. The Ashes urn may only be about 5 inches high, but to English sportsfans it's the one trophy they would like their country to win more than any other other than football's...

Here are some fascinating titbits of information about the world's 79th largest nation - the UK. Did you know that the British Isles consists of 6,289 islands, most of them uninhabited? And did you know that Britain, the largest of the British Isles, is the world's ninth largest island, and...

At 220 miles in length, the River Severn (Afon Hafren in Welsh) is the longest river in Britain, flowing through both Wales and England (the Thames is the longest river wholly in England), though in international terms it is a tiddler - there are probably hundreds of rivers that hardly anybody...

It would be very strange indeed if a year went by without a Prince Philipism being uttered. The Queen's husband, refreshingly, isn't known for his political correctness - and that's one of the reasons why the British people love him so much. On a state visit to China in 1986, Prince Philip...

A ghost has been spotted in the former home of Edward Jenner, the British scientist who invented the smallpox vaccine. It appears that a portly man is sitting on a chair between two beds, as seen through an open doorway. Staff at the house in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, believe it is the...

Prince Harry, 24, has passed his basic helicopter training course. Harry has been training with the Army Air Corps and sources say he is now likely to opt to fly Lynx support helicopters, rather than Apaches or Gazelles, the two other helicopters used by the Army Air Corps. Britain is...

On 1st September 1939, the very day that war broke out, Britain began Operation Pied Piper. This was the evacuation of civilians, mostly children, from urban areas to rural areas in case the Germans bombed the cities. From September 1939 until June 1940 - when the Battle of Britain started -...