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In England alone, an intrepid traveler may overhear hundreds of dialects and accents. What's more extraordinary is how these brogues and drawls have evolved throughout the 20th century. Thanks to the British Library's Sound Archive, you can eavesdrop on English people from across the country without packing your bags. For instance, meet Dick Gilbert. In 1958, when he was 79 years old, he spoke about his experience as a young farm hand. The Sound Archive offers the lexis, phonology, and grammar break-down of Dick's commentary. But more importantly, it allows you to marvel at his voice. With recordings ranging from the 1950s to 1999, the site offers a wealth of samples. Some are downright incomprehensible, some are thoroughly entertaining, but all are fascinating. So listen up; England is speaking to you.

Most folks have seen postcards of London's Big Ben but what about the South Lighthouse on Fair Isle or the Madejski Stadium near Reading? These less-familiar British nooks are part of the breadth of Jolly Olde England, and locals are scurrying around with cameras to record it all. Like an odd cross between MapQuest and Flickr, this "geographing" site is an online community project to photograph every square kilometer of the British Isles. More than 10,000 images have been submitted so far, covering large swaths of the map. From Porth Hellick Down to Rubha Robhanais and countless motorways in between, the grid squares are filling up fast. As the site's creators say, taking these pictures is a good excuse to get out more.