If you live in Britain and you’re reading this, you probably think you know all there is to know about the place. But in four such different countries, there are bound to be a few interesting facts you haven’t heard before. Here we’ll be looking at some old and traditional things that are still an important part of our lives today.

THE ROMANS

When the Romans invaded Britain over 2000 years ago, they probably weren’t very popular with the British people! However, modern Britain has a lot to thank them for.
What do you think the Romans gave Britain? Well, we have them to thank for our modern roads, drains and even an early form of central heating! When the Romans first arrived over 2000 years ago, there were no real roads or towns in Britain. Most people were farmers, and lived in villages with no drains or sewers. This wasn’t very hygienic – and imagine how bad it must have smelt!

The Romans didn’t only introduce hygiene to Britain – they introduced the idea of living in towns and cities. British towns grew up near Roman forts. If a place name today includes the words 'chester' or 'cester', which comes from the Roman word for ‘fort’, then it was once the site of a Roman settlement. There’s Exeter, Chester, Gloucester, Manchester…can you think of any others?

In these towns, the Romans built public swimming pools, stadiums, parks and even restaurants. Imagine what the place you live in would be like without any of these things. No big stadiums for football matches, no parks to play and relax in – life would be a lot less fun.

The Romans also introduced some very important things to Britain. They made a lot of their buildings out of wood, which meant that fires could spread quickly. To solve this, the Romans invented firemen, as important today as they were then.

They are also responsible for bringing schools to Britain. Although the idea of no schools may sound good, we’d all be completely lost without them. Very few people would be able to read and write, which would make simple things like shopping and getting around very difficult: you wouldn’t be able to read price tickets or road signs. In fact, you wouldn’t even be able to enjoy the We Are From website!

Many types of animals and plants were brought to Britain in Roman times. Cats, chickens and chestnut (conker) trees are all Roman imports. Can you find out any other things that were brought to Britain by the Romans?

HUNTING

Hunting was very popular in Britain in Roman times; in fact, British people had been hunting for a long time before the Romans invaded. For thousands of years, hunting was an important way for many people to survive. There were no shops, so the only way to get food to eat was to catch it. Can you imagine your ancestors creeping through forests with a spear or a bow and arrow trying to catch a deer or a wild boar?

Today, we don’t need to hunt for most of the food we eat: it is kept on farms and sold in shops instead. However, some animals still live in the wild and are hunted. Birds like pheasants, partridges and ducks, as well as rabbits and hares, are still popular to eat, but are not kept on farms. Nowadays they are hunted with guns instead of spears.

Perhaps the most popular and famous type of hunting is fox hunting, which more than 200,000 British people take part in every year. They ride horses, and chase the foxes through the countryside with a pack of dogs. British people are divided on whether fox hunting is a good or a bad thing. Supporters say that foxes are a pest because they sometimes eat farmers’ chickens and sheep. However, many other people think that hunting foxes is cruel and should be banned.

Fox hunting has been happening in Britain for hundreds of years, and some people are proud of its tradition. Others think that it is unnecessary in a modern country like Britain. What do you think? Should fox hunting be allowed or not?

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