Voyage au Pays de Galles

Name of traveller

Daniel Saehr

Reason for travel

  • study trip abroad as holder of a Zellidja Travel Grant

Date of travel

27 July to 21 August

Barmouth est un San Francisco en miniature, qui a son “Golden Gate”, qui est le grand pont qui traverse l’estuaire de Mawddach. La route suit l’estuaire depuis Dolgelly, petit marché qui rappelle la montagne par ses maisons. (Saehr n.p.)

Content

  • architecture: points out that Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales
  • art: contains a number of photographs
  • customs:
    • together with a friend from France and his family attends an evening concert with songs in English and French
    • remarks on the touristic, cultural and economic importance of Aberystwyth for Wales as a whole
    • most Welsh villages are very attached to their past; praises Welsh patriotism
    • refers to Urdd Gobaith Cymru
  • diet: eats cow tongue for the first time in his life
  • language:
    • all inhabitants of Anglesey speak Welsh; some speak no English
    • Wales is separated from England not by a geographical border but by its language
  • people:
    • finds the Welsh people hard-working, patriotic and courageous
    • stays with a Czech widow and her daughter in Cardiff; speaks German with the mother
    • meets a journalist in Llanelli who then writes an article for the Llanelly Star about the French student
  • recreation:
    • mostly stays overnight with various people, other Scout troops or in barns and abandoned farm houses
    • swims in the cold and salty sea
    • Rhyl is a centre of tourism and mostly frequented by holidaymakers from Liverpool
  • terrain:
    • describes Barmouth as a miniature San Francisco
    • the Welsh consider Beaumaris as an English village
    • the Gower is one of the loveliest corners of Wales and looks exactly like Cornwall
    • Wales is a quiet country, especially on Sunday
  • transport:
    • modes of travel: hitchhiking
    • greatly interested in Cardiff Docks

Nationality of traveller

French

Language of publication

French

Gender of traveller

Male

Type of publication

report; travelogue

Citation

Saehr, Daniel. Voyage au Pays de Galles. 1951. Rapports de premier voyage Zellidja jusqu'en 1974; 810. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. MS.

Entry created: 21 September 2016
Entry last updated: 30 September 2016