Great Britain and Ireland In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe. An amusing British newspaper headline supposedly once read, "Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off". It has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is also regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland, and Ireland (although the term is often used to refer to the European Union). The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used. Usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances, for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a British citizen considers themselves "British" or "European" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported Brexit.
great britain and ireland in both great britain and ireland the continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of europe an amusing british newspaper headline supposedly once read "fog in channel; continent cut off" it has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in britain in the 1930s in addition the word europe itself is also regularly used to mean europe excluding the islands of great britain iceland and ireland (although the term is often used to refer to the european union) the term mainland europe is also sometimes used usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a british citizen considers themselves "british" or "european" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported brexit