Wild Wales

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Wild Wales is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow, (1803 - 1881), first published in 1862.

[edit] Background

The book, to give it its full title is 'Wild Wales : Its people, language and scenery'. It has been described as 'robust, dramatic and cheerful' and the author as 'an agreeably eccentric, larger-than-life, jovial man whose laughter rings all through the book'.

The book recounts Borrow's personal experiences and insights while touring Wales alone on foot after a family holiday in Llangollen in 1854, and has come to be regarded as a source of useful information about the social and geographical history of the country at that time.

The author makes much of his self taught ability to speak the Welsh language and how surprised the native Welsh people he meets and talks to are by both his linguistic abilities and his travels, education and personality.

[edit] Borrow's Journey

He gives us a detailed account of his journey and starts his travels into North Wales from Chester, passing en route through Wrexham, Llangollen, Corwen and Bettws-y-coed to Bangor, Anglesey, Caernarfon, Bala, Machynlleth and then south, through Mid Wales to Tregaron and Lampeter eventually arriving in some of the industrial areas around the South Wales coalfield such as Brynamman, Merthyr Tydfil and Pontardawe before visiting Swansea and Neath and leaving the country via Caerphilly, Newport and Chepstow.

His voice is distinctive and at times a little overbearing but he provides a unique snapshot of the parts of the country that he visited at that particular point in time.

He never returned to deepen his knowledge and failed to cover the many parts of Wales he left out of this work. In effect 'Wild Wales' is a tourist's snapshot albeit a valuable and unique one.