The Wye Valley
witnessed the birth of British tourism in the 18th century. The
area became widely known after 'Observations on the River Wye' by
the Reverend William Gilpin was published in 1782. The first
illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain, it helped
travellers locate and enjoy the most picturesque places, such as
Tintern Abbey. A particular attraction of the Wye Valley was its
river scenery, and the many guidebooks, engravings and paintings
encouraged a continuing steady stream of visitors which grew after
the building of a new turnpike road up the valley in 1822 and the
opening of a rail line in 1865.
However, when the
Englishman from Norfolk, George Borrow wrote Wild Wales in 1862 it
is clear from his descriptions that the notion of tourism in more
mountainous parts of Wales hardly existed except for the most
intrepid traveller. Indeed he records that many locals regarded the
mountainous and wild landscapes as monstrous and ugly rather than
romantic or picturesque. However later in the 19th century the
concept of mountains and valleys as both interesting and visually
pleasing landscapes developed; and North Wales in particular
benefited, as towns and villages such as Betws-y-Coed developed to
accommodate the increasing numbers of visitors.
Much earlier, in
South Wales, it was Richard Fenton, born 1747 in St Davids, who may
be truly regarded as producing Wales' first tourist guide.
This was published in 1810 entitled '
Historical Tour through
Pembrokeshire'
Like Borrow,
Fenton was a linguist ,described by a contemporary as a person 'of
indefatigable industry of a fine poetical fancy,' and as 'having
the best information on almost every subject.' He was, by reason of
his knowledge of Welsh affairs and dialects , employed by
government departments to report upon matters connected with the
social and political conditions of Wales . He lived for a few years
( c. 1788 ) near Machynlleth in order to facilitate his tours in
Wales and studies of Welsh records , returning to Pembrokeshire in
1793 in order to be near his uncle, Samuel Fenton , whose
mercantile fleet he subsequently inherited, and continued to
operate. In 1799 he brought grain from the Mediterranean , free of
freight charge, and sold it at cost price to local people
impoverished as a result of the failure of the fish harvest in
1799.
He was first and
foremost interested in people in the landscape and from this point
of view he made no mention of Skomer, which at that time was a
semi-wild environment visited seasonally by rabbit-catchers and
summer pastoralists. His interest in Marloes was 'Meer Moor', as it
was titled. He described it as a 'common nearly all overflowed
in winter, but having in summer the greater part dry for pasture
and in a very dry season nearly the whole, about 60 or 70 acres,
affording support during the hot months to the cattle of the
villagers'.
He also mentioned
that it abounded in leeches, from which the villagers derived a
considerable trade.
His interest in
the islands was confined to Skokholm, which he referred to as:
'There is a dwelling-house on it, built after a whimsical manner by
a gentleman, a former tenant, with suitable farm offices'.
Marloes Mere,
which was enclosed in 1811, is now notable for its wet acidic
pasture vegetation. It occupies a hollow on the Marloes peninsula
lined with glacial silt and clay, and each winter the pasture
floods, forming the 'Mere'. Such pasture, on mineral soils and
subject to long periods of inundation, is rare in west Wales.
Scarce plants occur and the shallow winter waters and ponds are
frequented by waterfowl.
