L'Angleterre, l'Ecosse, et l'Irlande: Relation d'un voyage récent dans les trois royaumes

Name of traveller

Pierre-Etienne-Denis Saint-Germain-Leduc (1799-18??) and 'Anatole'

Reason for travel

• travelling as cultural tourist, self-improvement

Date of travel

August 1837

Le pays de Galles, cette province reculée de la Grande-Bretagne, où l’on trouve une autre langue, d’autres sentiments, et en partie d’autres mœurs et usages, ne contient que six cent quarante mille habitants, et peut-être n’était-il pas toujours aussi peuplé; mais il a eu plus longtemps que de grands États, son gouvernement et son indépendance; les vainqueurs n’ont jamais pu lui imposer leur langue. (Saint-Germain-Leduc 33)

Content

• agriculture: notes sheep are small, their meat is much appreciated in London
• architecture:
  • gothic quality of ruined castles and towns; the area has a mania for the gothic
  • history of bridges, impressed by Thomas Telford's (1757-1834) Menai Suspension Bridge
• customs: 
  • frequently conflates England and Britain
  • describes coracles
• diet: praises the fish he eats
• history:
  • notes on historical background of various castles
  • notes Welsh pride in ancient national history despite English conquest
  • long digression on Hywel Dda (c. 880 – 950), quoted from Georges Bernard Depping's (1784-1853) study L'Angleterre: ou description historique et topographique du Royaume-Uni de la Grande-Bretagne (1824)
• industry:
  • importance of slate industry and copper mines
  • description of pearl industry at Conwy
• language: Welsh described as unpronouncable
• literature: referers to and quotes from travel account by Fürst von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871)
• people:
  • contains a letter by an unknown traveller only identified by the author as 'Anatole' about his journey through north Wales
  • Welsh population described as inferior to the English in industry and energy, living simply as mountain dwellers
• recreation:
  • Wales has an established tourist circuit: entry via Llangollen Vale, ascension of Snowdon, Anglesey, along coast to Chester 
  • low cost of living makes it a refuge for bankrupt Englishmen
• terrain:
  • comparison of Vale of Llangollen with the Rhine valley
  • barren and flat Anglesey described as opposite of north Wales
• click here to read the full account

Nationality of traveller

French

Language of publication

French

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

letter; travelogue

Citation

Saint-Germain-Leduc, [Pierre-Etienne-Denis]. L'Angleterre, l'Ecosse, et l'Irlande: Relation d'un voyage récent dans les trois royaumes. Vol. 3 Paris: Levrault, 1838. 1-46. Print.