The British Isles

The British Isles are the archipelago off the northwestern coast of continental Europe comprising the islands of Great Britain and Ireland along with thousands of smaller surrounding islands, home to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Separated from mainland Europe by the English Channel and the North Sea, the islands share a long intertwined history, a temperate maritime climate and, across most of the archipelago, English as a common language alongside Irish, Scottish and Welsh Gaelic and other indigenous tongues.