THE BRITISH ISLES

The British Isles are a group of islands lying off the northwest coast of mainland Europe.

The two main islands are

Grat Britain, composed of England, Wales and Scotland

and Ireland

Ireland is politically divided into

Northern Ireland (Ulster)

and the Irish Republic (Eire)

Great Britain and Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom

The seas around the British Isles are the English Channel to the south, which separates Great Britain from France, the North Sea to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west.

Great Britain and Ireland are separated by the Irish Sea and by two straits, the North Channel and St. George's Channel

The main islands after Great Britain and Ireland include:

the Hebrides

the Orkneys

the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea

Anglesey, off North Wales

the Isle of Scilly, off the extreme tip of Cornwall

the Channel Islands, near the coast of Normandy

the Isle of Wight, in the Channel

the Shetlands, to the west and to the north of Scotland