Well that'd probably be right. There's no such thing as a two pound note, or even a one pound one.

Does England not have checks?

It takes money to cash cheques sometimes. Don't quote me on this, I'm basing this off of an episode of 'The King of Queens' that I saw.

Unless the US and England have completely different check systems, all you should need to be able to cash a check if for the person who wrote it to have the money to back it up. That money does not need to presented in a physical form, it just needs to be in the corresponding account.

I would google it, but I don't feel like it.