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rain? and palms?Let’s dispel right from the start a myth about English climate. No, it doesn’t rain more in EnglandEngland (or in WalesWales or in ScotlandScotland) than anywhere else (except maybe the Sahara). In fact Milan, ItalyItaly, has more rainfall annually than LondonLondon. Why then does English weather have such a bad reputation? Although, as we’ve learned, Great BritainGreat Britain is the largest island in Europe with ten degrees of longitudelongitude from north to south, there are only at the very most four degrees of latitudelatitude from east to west, making Britain a long rather skinny island. One result of this narrowness and the lack of mountains near the coast to stop the winds is the changeability of weather. So if you don’t like the weather, just wait and it’ll change. And the changeable weather makes a great conversation topic. Even if it seems to rain every day – and often does – it doesn’t often rain for days on end. Those who think of Britain as [28]cold and wet probably wouldn’t expect palm treespalm trees, but in the southwest of England from DevonDevon to CornwallCornwall all the way west to the Isles of ScillyScilly you can find palm trees and other vegetation usually only associated with tourist countries of the MediterraneanMediterranean.

Keeping in mind how far north Britain is by remembering what we learned about comparing US and European latitudes earlier in this chapter, you might ask yourself why it’s not colder there. Something called the Gulf StreamGulf Stream is responsible for the British IslesBritish Isles having such a mild climate. Without the influence of the Gulf Stream, the fishing industryfishing industry wouldn’t be nearly as successful as it is ( 6).

Fig. 1.6

Exeter palm