User guide
A Note on the Maps
The maps attempt to recreate the travellers’ journeys as closely as possible, based on the information provided by each of the sources. Consequently, second-hand information contained in the accounts or passing references to locations that were not visited by the travellers themselves have not been taken into consideration for the mapping process.
Each of the maps has been compiled with the help of GoogleMaps, which placed some constraints on the presentation of the end result. For example, place names, landmarks and specific locations are listed predominantly by their English name. In those cases where travellers have documented their visit of larger geographical features, such as rivers or valleys, these places are listed under the section ‘Additional Sites and Landmarks’ together with those locations which proved ‘un-mappable’, such as specific churches, statues or various ruins, because their locations have not been recorded in GoogleMaps.
The maps allow the user to zoom in on individual places as well as choosing between labelled and unlabelled satellite images, a drawn map of the terrain or a street map. A window displaying the name of a logged place appears when the mouse cursor hovers over a red pin in the map.
Browsing and Searching the Database
The database allows for browsing the contents in alphabetical order of each traveller’s surname simply by following the links. Links and citations that start with an asterisk (*) indicate that the record is a work in progress and that content will still be added and refined.
For more specific results, the database can be searched according to the names of the travellers, travel dates, countries of origin, languages in which the accounts are available, place names, landmarks and type of account. The search fields are not case sensitive so that names of travellers, places or landmarks do not have to be capitalised. It is also possible to use partial names in searches, especially when they contain diacritics or exist with variant spellings.
It is possible to combine queries to narrow down the search results. For example, a search can be undertaken for documents produced in a certain range of years together with a traveller’s nationality. Likewise, types of account can be matched with specific places.
If you are searching for broader topics covered in the individual travel accounts, please use the bolded terms provided below:
- agriculture: agriculture, modes of production and life-stock
- architecture: specific architectural structures and general descriptions of architecture
- art: fine arts, visual arts, performing arts, music
- clothing: specific types of dress encountered during the journey
- customs: customs and traditions, religion, particularities of Welsh life and culture as noted by the travellers
- diet: food and drink
- history: history, historiography and antiquarian pursuits of any kind
- industry: industrial features and types of industry
- language: the Welsh language and languages in general
- literature: literary and travel writing
- people: general population, people of interest and other travellers
- politics: legislation, political structures
- recreation: leisurely pursuits
- terrain: geographical features, landscapes and townscapes
- transport: infrastructure and modes of travel
Third Party Content
Where available, individual entries link to freely available digital copies provided by Third Party repositories. We kindly ask the users of this database to follow these links at their own discretion as we do not take responsibility and we are not liable for any opinions expressed or damage incurred by Third Party Content.