Over the last 100 years, Britain went from having the biggest empire the world has ever known .....
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| The Pink Bits Were British Empire |
... to being a small overcrowded island, north of the European continent.
In fact, we apparently now are just the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), plus the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey.
We also have the British Overseas Territories, who are to various extents are independent: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, and Gibraltar. Ten of these territories are permanently inhabited by British nationals.
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| Lentune Island - Shingle Spit |
But to this list we can now add the little known shingle island that formed five miles off Lymington, Hampshire, England, in the Solent between the Isle of Wight, and the rest of the country. It was probably formed after sea defence work on the coast changed the currents, and allowed sand and rock to build up until it breached the surface to form a 330ft by 65ft (100m by 20m) new island or spit extension.
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| Brave New explorers - Chris Fox and Nick Ryley |
Its brave new explorers were Chris Fox and Nick Ryley from the Lymington Yacht Club, who sailed out and planed the clubs flag on it and claimed it for her majesty Queen Elizabeth II. They named it Lentune, which was Lymington's original name according to the Domesday book of 1086.
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