Demeures de l'esprit. Grande-Bretagne. I, Angleterre sud & centre, Pays de Galles

Name of traveller

Renaud Camus (b. 1946)

Reason for travel

• conducting research for the book

Date of travel

undated, ca. early 2000s

[L]e boathouse de Dylan Thomas . . . est une des plus séduisantes demeures qui soient au monde . . .; ce n’est pas à cause de son architecture, qui n’a rien d’extraordinaire, mais de son admirable isolement. . . . La maison de Dylan Thomas tenait toute sa magie de sa solitude et de lui. (Camus 202-3)

Content

• architecture:
  • visits the Boathouse, the home of Dylan Thomas in Laugharne, the interior gives a good representation of post-war middle-class bohemian life; is shocked to find that Sea View, Thomas's first home in Laugharne, is falling down
  • juxtaposes the simplicity of the writing shed with the artistic quality of Dylan Thomas's later poems
  • displeased with modern architecture in close proximity to older buildings, but generally Welsh architecture tends to be insignificant apart from the Norman castles
  • English architecture is more ornate and delicate in contrast to the harshness and sometimes ugliness of Welsh architecture
  • is surprised to discover that the plain-looking, barn-like Ty Mawr Wybrant was a residence for the gentry
  • finds the carved façade of Plas Newydd, Llangollen, less impressive, but the varnished black wood gives off a nice odour of wax and is pleasing to the eye
• art: contains some photographs
• language:
  • discusses the difficulty of translating the word 'boathouse' into French
  • relates William Morgan's translation of the Bible into Welsh
  • although the Bible has lost its influence, Welsh is taught in Welsh schools and the language is one of the most striking features for travellers in Wales
• people:
  • discusses the life and writings of Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
  • praises William Morgan (1545-1604) as one of the greatest humanists of the late Renaissance and discusses his career
  • detailed description of the lives of the Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739-1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831), their possibly lesbian relationship and their many international visitors
• terrain:
  • praises the perfect solitude and magic of the landscape around the Boathouse, which is now under threat as the view is spoilt by a newly-built villa at close proximity
  • is pleased with the route that leads to Ty Mawr Wybrnant and the surrounding landscape, although the site itself tends to disappoint
  • implies that comparing Scottish and Welsh landscapes and the Lake District with each other is provocative to the people who live there; French visitors to north Wales will be reminded of Gascony and the Auvergne
  • it may be overstating it to call Wales wild, but the landscapes are harsh, hard, austere and often grandiose

Nationality of traveller

French

Language of publication

French

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

travelogue

Citation

Camus, Renaud. Demeures de l'esprit. Grande-Bretagne. I, Angleterre sud & centre, Pays de Galles. Paris : Fayard, 2008. 201-23. Print.