Transport in London

Exploring Mars is going to be very exciting, but for now, it's easier to explore our own planet! In particular, London. We're going to follow Freddie as he explores all the different kinds of transport in London. HE starts out from his home on his bicycle. He leaves his bike at the station and gets on a train. Trains travel into London from all over the country. They are very important for people who live in the suburbs or outside London and travel into London for work.
The next party of Freddie's journey is on another kind of train called the Docklands Light Railway. These are computer-controlled trains with no drivers. For many people the journey by train takes them to a convenient Underground station. London Underground was the first in the world when it opened in 1863.
People use lots of other forms of transport in London. There is one kind of transport that isn't very good in London - and that's the car. They move very slowly because there is too much traffic. The buses and taxis travel more quickly because they have got special lanes on the road.

Maritime History

In England no town is more than 170 kilometres from the sea. So it's no surprise that Britain has a very important history of ships and the sea. The British Navy was the biggest navy in the world at one time. In Liverpool there is a great museum of maritime history. Young men had to climb the rigging to put up the sails. It was very dangerous.

Between 1830 and 1930 more than nine million people from all over Europe left from the port of Liverpool to start a new life in America or Australia. The most famous ship was probably the Titanic. It sank in 1912 and over 1.500 people drowned. It was the worst disaster in maritime history. You probably know about it from one of the most expensive films ever made - Titanic!
One of the most famous shipping companies is Cunard. The majority of people do travel around the world by plane but ships are still very important for moving goods. Here at the Southampton Container Terminal they unload more than one and a half million containers each year.

Horror Stories

People like to be scared. They love reading horror stories and watching horror movies. Some of the most famous horror stories were written by British writers. The first was published by Mary Shelley in 1818 - Frankenstein. Dracula contra Frankenstein was made by the Spanish director Jesús Franco in 1970. Count Dracula was a vampire created in 1897 by the Irish writer Bram Stoker.
Bram Stoker got the idea for Dracula while he was sitting in Highgate Cemetery in North London. Count Dracula the vampire was created. Dracula is so popular that visitors to London can go on a guided Dracula Tour. The tours usually take place just when it's getting dark...
The bedroom window was wide open and moonlight was shining into the room. Mina was on the balcony and a dark shape was leaning over her. It was Count Dracula. The vampire was not drink Mina's blood. He was making her drink his blood. The vampire turned his head. His eyes burned with a terrible red light. The vampire had already taken his meal of blood.