Highland and lowland Britain

Britain is unpredictable in climate and varied in scenery. In particular, there is a dramatic contrast between 'highland' and 'lowland' Britain. The differences between the two areas affect many aspects of people's lives.

The most precise distinction is geological. The rocks of most of the north and west of Great Britain are harder and older than those of the south and east. These older rocks are covered by large areas of moorland such as the Lake District, the Pennines and much of Scotland and Wales, where the soils are poor, thin and stony. In addition, these areas are wetter and harder to reach than the lower land to the south and east. As a result, these areas of the British Isles are thinly populated except where coal or iron have been discovered. Most of the coalfields, which were the home of the industrial revolution, lie along the dividing line between highland and lowland Britain.

The south and east are rarely flat, but instead of high continuous moorland there are bands of hills which alternate with areas of lowland. The soils are generally deeper and richer, and the climate is drier and better suited to farming. Industry benefits from easier communications. Thus human settlement in these areas is dense and more evenly spread.