In a year of national pride, which sees London play host to the Olympic Games and the Queen launch nationwide celebrations for her Diamond Jubilee, more than half of British adults (58.6%) confessed they believe Mount Everest, Ben Nevis and Snowdon are actually in England, according to the research* by luxury tour specialists Journeys of Distinction.
Britons may know all about the beaches of St Kitts and the lavish nightlife of Monte Carlo but they have little idea about the geography of their home nation, new national research has shown.
While their children are busy leafing through revision notes in order to sit their geography GCSE exams this Spring, more than one in five British adults (20.6%) admit they do not know how many countries are actually in the UK.
Staggeringly, more than a third of the nation (33.8%) believes the Home Counties circle Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow, according to the research.
Ten per cent of those polled have no idea that the huge Angel of the North is even in the UK, let alone in the north-east of England.
And almost a quarter of Brits think Australia’s iconic Ayers Rock is actually in Britain, while one in 20 confessed they had absolutely no clue that Stonehenge is also based here in Britain.
Astonishingly, one in five Brits confessed they don’t know where in the UK Britain’s legendary seaside resort, Blackpool, is located. And the majority (53%) have no clue where Balmoral Castle is based.
Almost a third of the nation (32.3%) don’t know that Canterbury, home to the world famous Canterbury Cathedral, is based in the county of Kent.
Many experts believe that advances in technology and the easy availability of online search engines which provide instant answers to any question anywhere, any time, means that people now don’t need to store geographical information like they did in the last century.
The recession also means that British householders are tending to travel less - often now on just one holiday a year - which means UK trips are often abandoned in favour of Caribbean beaches or Alpine ski resorts and, thus, first –hand geographical knowledge of their home nation is immediately hindered.
Karen Gee, managing director of Journeys of Distinction, said: “We were astounded that while Britons clearly have an enviable and broad general knowledge of famous cities abroad – New York, Paris, Rome and many others – they seem to display a lack of geographical awareness when it comes to their own nation.
“It’s such a shame because the UK has so many national treasures for people to experience, right here on their doorstep.
“That’s why we launched our Journeys of Distinction Best of the UK Tour – to highlight these amazing places and incredible experiences existing right under our noses and to show people that they don’t have to travel abroad to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime.”
*Research based on a poll of 2,000 British citizens, carried out by OnePoll on behalf of Journeys of Distinction in February 2012.
