By this point, travelers have probably heard every single ‘fun fact’ about Britain and some of the more unusual habits and traditions held by the British people. When you add these things in with all of the most well-known stereotypes, it’s easy to think you have the whole nation understood.
The thing is, however, there are always more things to learn, and a lot of facts that aren’t eye-catching on social media get left out.
The British Love a Wager
Those familiar with Peaky Blinders may have a better idea of this, but Britain’s long-standing tradition of wagering on their favorite games is apparent. This could be gambling in the traditional sense of casinos, with a common sight on train rides being people opening up their smartphones to play online slot games at Paddy’s or any other of the home-grown sites, or it could be something far more casual or unusual.
For example, the British pioneered the idea of the ‘bookie’ or bookmaker and especially the idea of placing bets on just about anything. Going back to Paddy Power, for instance, will uncover bets on the outcomes of TV shows, popularity changes for the latest Prime Minister, and even US elections. Many British bookies have an open policy with bets, meaning that anything you can suggest getting odds for, they will do their best to provide.
More Accents Than You Can Count
We all know the standard BBC English that many think is normal across England, and those who have delved into the subject a bit more will have found things like the Northern accents of the Starks from Game of Thrones or the Birmingham accent of Peaky Blinders. With that said most foreign visitors to anywhere outside of London are often still stunned by how many variants there are.
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To give some idea, going from just the north to the south of England is more of a dramatic accent change than traveling from Oregon to Louisiana in a fraction of the distance. Until recently, it wasn’t too strange for towns 30 minutes apart to have some entirely different pieces of vocabulary, and English people living only a couple of hours’ drive apart may have trouble understanding each other.
Not Just Cities and Green Fields
There are two images of Britain presented in Hollywood as standard; big concrete cities or rolling fields of green. While these are relatively common sights in England, they are by far not the most interesting parts, and when it comes to Wales or Scotland you’d be far more pressed to find any at all.
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The geography may not be as dramatic as the US but there are plenty of natural wonders to discover across the isles, from the heights of the sole mountain of Ben Nevis to the incredible hills and valleys of the Welsh countryside. Then you have the cliffs and glens of Scotland which define the people who live there and are completely different experiences.
For American visitors especially, Britain is an endless mine of new things to discover, and hopefully, we’ve given you an idea of how deep that mine can go!
