The Isle of Man

This island in the Irish Sea is not actually part of the United Kingdom but is, legally, a dependency of the British crown.

Occupying 220 square miles the island is surrounded to the north by Scotland, to the east by England, to the south by Wales and to the west by Nortern Ireland.

The island has a governmental body of it's own in the Tynwald which passes laws subject to royal consent.

The island produces it's own coins and notes in UK currency denominations.

It has a population of 65,000 and the original language of Manx (Which was closer to Scottish than Irish Gaelic) has been virtually extinct since the 1970's with English becoming the dominant language.

The Isle of Man was a Norwegian territory until 1266 when it was ceded to Scotland. It came under British administration in 1765.

The island's capital is Douglas, with other major towns being Ramsey, Peel and Castletown.