Due to its island location, a number of “non-metric units” have been preserved in Great Britain:

Lengths
1 inch (= 25.4 mm
) 1 foot = 12 inches = 0.3048 m
1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches = 0.914 m
1 mile = 1,609.344 m
1 nautical mile (Nautical mile) = 1,853 m

Volumes
1 pint = 568.3 ml or cm ³
1 quart = 2 pints = 1,136.6 ml or cm ³
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 4.546 liters
1 gallon (US) = 8 pints = 3.785 liters

Weights
1 ounce (oz) = 28.35 g
1 pound (lb) = 16 oz = 453.6 g
1 stone = 14 lb = 6.35 kg
1 Hundred-weight 0 112 lb 0 50.802 kg
1 ton = 1.016 tons (t)

Areas
1 square inch = 6.4516 cm ²
1 square foot = 929 cm ²
1 square yard = 0.8361 m ²
1 acre = 4,074 m ²
1 square mile = 2.59 km²

Temperature
The temperature is often measured in degrees Fahrenheit. 0 °C corresponds to 32 ° F and 100 °C corresponds to 212 ° F:
This converts ° F to °C as follows, with 9/5 = 1.8:
°C = (° F – 32) 5/9

If you solve this equation for ° F, you get the conversion from °C to ° F:
° F = 1.8 °C + 32

Public holidays

In Great Britain there are the so-called “Bank Holidays”, which were first introduced in 1871 by the “Bank Holidays Act”. In general, today’s Bank Holidays are set for New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, the last Monday in May, the last Monday in August and the Christmas holidays from December 25th to 26th.

In Northern Ireland there is also St. Patrick’s Day and “Battle of Boyne” public holidays, in Scotland there is no Easter Monday. As a citizen-friendly rule, the rule was introduced that if a public holiday, such as December 26th falls on a Sunday, then December 27th is also declared a bank holiday.

Date	Holiday
January 1	New Year
17. March	St. Patrik’s Day (Northern Ireland only)
March April	Easter (Easter Monday)
1st of May	May Day
Last Monday in May	Spring Bank Holiday
July 12	Battle of Boyne (Northern Ireland only)
Last Monday in August	August Bank Holiday
25./26. December	Christmas

Cultural events

Chinese New Year celebrations
in Chinatown, Soho, London

Guy Fawkes (Bonfire Night)
Guy Fawkes (Bonfire Night) is a public holiday, but not a bank holiday, celebrated on the evening of November 5th in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. In recent years, however, the festivities have expanded to a few days before and after the actual date. The holiday is celebrated as the annual commemoration of the “Gunpowder Plot”, in which a group of Catholic conspirators around Guy Fawkes wanted to blow up Parliament in London on the night of November 5, 1605 during a stay by the Protestant King James I. During the festivities, dolls of the most famous of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes, are burned on burning pyre. Today, however, it is considered “bad taste” to burn the doll and what remains are the fires and fireworks.

Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival is an event held annually in August in the Notting Hill district of London. The carnival has been organized by the Caribbean residents since 1950 and is an occasion to celebrate the rich culture of the Caribbean. The Notting Hill Carnival attracts an average of 1.5 million visitors each year.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is the day on which the victims of the First World War and other wars are honored not only in Great Britain but also in France and Belgium. The official ceremony is generally attended by war veterans. King George V introduced Remembrance Day on November 7, 1919.

Glastonbury Festival is the largest outdoor festival in the world. It is best known for its music programming, but it also features contemporary dance, theater, and comedy performances.

Changing of the Guard
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (London): The changing of the guard is one of the most popular spectacles for visitors to London. Although widely considered a ceremonial matter, the guards still have their original security function for Buckingham Palace.

New Year’s Day Parade
The New Year’s Day Parade in Parliament Square, London is a parade that takes place annually in London’s West End and draws 10,000 performance artists through the streets. The parade begins in Parliament Square and continues through Whitehall and Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. The move is used to raise money for charitable organizations.

Trooping of the Color
Trooping of the Color takes place in June in Westminster, London. It is a military ceremony held by Commonwealth regiments and British forces.
Past military achievements are exhibited at this event.

Sporting events

Britain is a people of sports watching. A large number of national and international competitions are popular and well attended all year round. Many important competitive sports also come from the UK, such as football, golf, tennis and cricket. Although they belong politically to one nation, the British cannot be united in sport and the teams from England, Scotland and Wales usually play as separate national teams, often also in international competitions.

Here are some of the most important sporting events in the country:

• The annual Five Nations Rugby Union begins in February and ends in March. France competes with the teams of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
• The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is a traditional eighth rowing competition between the cities’ two universities. It has been held every March on the Thames since 1845.
• The cup match at Wembley in May is the highlight of national football every year.
• The Grand National in April is one of the most famous horse races in the world and takes place in Liverpool.
• The London Marathon in April attracts thousands of long-distance runners to the capital every year.
• June is the month for the popular international grass tennis tournament at Wimbledon.
• In July, major competitions such as the Royal Ascott horse race and the Henley Royal Regatta rowing competition become all-important high society gatherings where the latest hat collections and sunglasses of the nobility and celebrities seem almost as important as the achievements of the athletes.
• The most important event for Formula 1 racing drivers is the British Grand Prix in Silverstone in July.
• The popular British Golf Championship takes place across the country in July.
• The Cartier International Polo Tournament in Windsor in July is mainly a meeting place for the aristocracy, but also one of the largest tournaments of its kind.
• The Ashes is the most famous and oldest cricket tournament in the country and takes place in the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

Climate, travel times

Climate
The British Isles usually have a mild climate throughout the year. Deep foothills that come from the Atlantic ensure that temperatures in Great Britain usually do not rise above 32 °C or fall below -10 °C. The rainiest months are generally the winter months of January and February, but this also depends very much on regional conditions. The heaviest rainfall is in the west of the country and in the Scottish Highlands, where the annual average rainfall can be up to 1,100 liters/m². Generally it is often cloudy and foggy.

Travel times
Because the British climate is so consistently mild, you can actually travel to the country at any time of the year. However, the idea of ​​what is meant by a particularly favorable travel climate depends on various factors. Pure cultural travelers certainly see the climate differently than people planning a beach holiday. The state of health and age can also play a role in the experience of the climate.
People who like to enjoy a lot of sun and for whom higher temperatures do not cause complaints are particularly recommended to stay in Great Britain in the months of June to August.
People who prefer temperate climates and warmer weather should best plan a stay in England for spring (March to June) or early autumn (September to early November).

Climate table

Month	Mean rainfall in millimeters	Mean maximum temperatures in (°C)	Mean minimum temperatures in (°C)
January	85	05-07	01-04
February	62	06-07	01-05
March	54	08-09	02-05
April	54	11-13	03-06
May	61	13-18	05-10
June	57	16-20	08-12
July	79	18-22	10-14
August	81	19-23	10-15
September	77	16-20	08-13
October	88	13-15	06-10
November	93	08-10	04-08
December	87	06-08	02-06

National customs

England and the whole of Great Britain have numerous traditional national customs. The left-hand traffic and long distance are particularly noticeable

The traditional pubs (public houses), which are popular and often visited by all generations, still close very early compared to other countries. The traditional “Sunday Roasts” and “Pub Quizzes” (game evenings) are definitely part of the “pub culture”. The traditional “Builder’s Tea” (black tea with milk) is still one of the favorite drinks of the British, but the well-known “five o’clock tea” is now rather a rarity.

What is also unusual in a European comparison is the fact that all public museums (with the exception of temporary exhibitions) are free. They are mainly funded by the state lottery revenue. The much discussed and controversial health system NHS (National Health Service) is also free for all Britons and residents of Great Britain.