Q 01/05

Which river, Britain's longest at 220 miles, rises on Plynlimon in Wales and flows past Worcester and Gloucester?

A) Wye

B) Avon

C) Severn

D) Great Ouse

Answer · why

C) Severn

The Severn has a tidal bore: on big spring tides a wave runs upstream past Sharpness, and the water level keeps rising for about an hour and a half af...

Q 02/05

Which river is called the Isis where it flows through Oxford, before passing Windsor on its way to the sea?

A) Cherwell

B) Thames

C) Avon

D) Medway

Answer · why

B) Thames

The Thames lends its Oxford name to the university's reserve crew, Isis, which races Cambridge's Goldie on Boat Race day; some historians think 'Isis'...

Q 03/05

Which Scottish mountain, 1,345 m high, carries the ruins of a weather observatory that was staffed from 1883 to 1904?

A) Ben Nevis

B) Ben Macdui

C) Braeriach

D) Cairn Gorm

Answer · why

A) Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis was only confirmed as Britain's highest mountain in 1847, ahead of its rival Ben Macdui, and a stint at its summit observatory inspired C. T...

Q 04/05

Which Scottish lake holds more water than every lake in England and Wales combined?

A) Loch Lomond

B) Loch Awe

C) Loch Shiel

D) Loch Ness

Answer · why

D) Loch Ness

Loch Ness is only the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area, behind Loch Lomond, yet its depth makes it the largest body of fresh water by volu...

Q 05/05

Which city, granted city status in 1905, was proclaimed the capital of Wales only in 1955?

A) Swansea

B) Cardiff

C) Newport

D) Bangor

Answer · why

B) Cardiff

Cardiff became capital through a two-sentence written Commons answer from Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George, which ended: 'No formal measures are nec...