Mijne zondagen in het Vereenigde Koningrijk: gemeenzame brieven uit Engeland, Wales en Schotland: 19 mei - 25 october 1857

Name of traveller

Johannes Kneppelhout (1818-1885)

Reason for travel

• travelling as cultural tourist, self-improvement

Date of travel

July 1857

Ieder rijdt hier te paard en heeft zijn poney. De bergachtige gesteldheid van het land dwingt er de bewoners toe, en zoo'n hit, min of meer gedresseerd, heeft men al voor £ 10. Ziet men zoo'n vrouw en kind te paard, beide in denzelfden roeden plaid gewikkeld, en een buurman er naast, die een praatje houdt, ge zoudt meenen eene vlugt naar Egypte te zien van dezen of genen ouden Vlaamschen meester: actie en koloriet zijn analoog. (Kneppelhout 138)

Content

• architecture:
  • frequent conflation of Wales and England
  • beautiful landscapes with beautiful architectural features scattered across them, especially Gothic ruins
  • praise of modern architecture
• art: travel account contains etching of the Oakeley Arms Hotel
• clothing: notes particularity of Welsh dress worn around the area of Neath Valley -- Oriental character of patterns
• customs: notes marked difference of Wales from England with regards to ethnicity, language
• industry:
  
  • Wales as important destination to study industrial modes of production
  • brief reference to sectors of industry in south Wales and their impact on towns and environment
  • visits one of the smelting works around Swansea: asigns Irish character to factory workers based on their poverty
• people: detailed account about Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739-1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831), lists Mme de Genlis (1746-1830) and Fürst von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871) among their long list of famous visitors
• recreation:
  
  • some references to other tourists staying it diverse inns and hotels: honeymooners, travelling salesmen, pedestrians, anglers
  • praises Wales as ideal travel destination not only for tourists
  • Rhyl as the travelling destination for tourists from Liverpool
  • mixed bathing and high-end hostelry in Llandudno
• terrain:
  
  • frequent conflation of Wales and England
  • frequent comparison with Switzerland
  • Wales as ideal destination for study of geology
  • frequent references to heavy rain, and generally stormy weather during the journey
  transport: travel via stagecoach, on foot, horseback, steamboat, train
• click here to read the full account

Nationality of traveller

Dutch

Language of publication

Dutch

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

letter; travelogue

Citation

Kneppelhout, Johannes. Mijne zondagen in het Vereenigde Koningrijk: gemeenzame brieven uit Engeland, Wales en Schotland: 19 mei - 25 october 1857. Amsterdam: P. N. van Kampen, 1859. 107-66. Print.