Curious Travellers Blog: walking, writing, research
The project blogs have been a productive space for team members and anyone with an interest in C18th travel writing to share new research; they have also been a place to share images and thoughts inspired by walks in Wales and Scotland with Pennant connections. Some of these walks were undertaken in conjunction with our exhibitions of artists’ responses to Pennant’s landscapes, but we continue welcome all contributions, in English, Welsh or Scots Gaelic, from anyone interested in following in Pennant’s footsteps, textual or literal. Please get in touch.
2023
Alex Deans, Sea Pies and Tom Noddies: Thomas Pennant on the Farne Islands (24 November 2022)
Mary-Ann Constantine, The Invisible Library: a Visit to Downing Hall (31 October 2023)
Stephanie Holt, Gilbert White’s British Zoology (31 July 2023) [Currently Unavailable]
2022
Mary-Ann Constantine, Thomas Pennant and the issue of slavery (28 January 2022)
2020
Norman Closs Parry, The Meeting/Y Cyfarfyddiad (20 August 2020)
Ffion Mair Jones, Pennant yn Llanuwchllyn (26 Chwefror 2020)
2019
Helen Pierce, Francis Place (1647-1728) and his early sketches of Wales (19th July 2019)
Helen McCormack, Thomas Pennant on the Isle of Bute (3rd June 2019)
Kirsty McHugh The Adventures of Anne Lister in Scotland (13th May 2019)
2018
Liz Edwards and Mary-Ann Constantine, Remembering Barbara Matthews (23rd November 2018)
Liz Edwards, Curious Travellers in Romanticism 24:2 (‘Edgy Romanticism’)
Mary-Ann Constantine, Pennant in Cornwall: Letters to William Borlase at the Morrab Library (21st July 2018)
Mary-Ann Constantine, June 14th 1726, Thomas Pennant’s Birthday (13th June 2018)
Miranda Lewis, Transcribing Pennant Letters in Bristol (24th April 2018)
2017
Norman Closs Parry, Pennant, pysgod a phenillion (4 Medi 2017)
Mary-Ann Constantine Thomas Pennant in Ireland, 1754 (22nd June 2017)
Alex Deans and Nigel Leask, ”The Attraction of Mountains” — Schiehallion, Spring 2017 (6th June 2017)
Ffion Mair Jones, Y llanc yn Baronhill (8 Mai 2017)
Kirsty McHugh, A fleeting glimpse of C19th ephemeral texts (2nd May 2017)
Nigel Leask, In Search of Dr John Stuart’s Luss: Hog-backs, Dawn Redwoods, and Gaelic Bibles (27 April 2017)
Ffion Mair Jones, Thomas Pennant, Affrica a Chaethwasiaeth (9 Mawrth 2017)
Nigel Leask/Emily Savage, Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century student marginalia in copies of Pennant’s Tours in Scotland held in St Andrews University Library (6 March 2017)
Michael Freeman, Further Notes on the Inn at Cernioge (1 March 2017)
Kirsty McHugh, The Cernioge Inn: a forgotten spot on the Welsh tour (21 February 2017)
Georgia Vullinghs, Travel and Identity: A Highland Woman at ‘Home’ (7 February 2017)
Kirsty McHugh, Wish you were here: Dorothy Wordsworth and Jane Marshall (16 January 2017)
2016
Mary-Ann Constantine, Now the country becomes suddenly Welsh’: John Malchair of Oxford, an artist and musician in 1790s Wales (20 December 2016)
Alex Deans, Curious Travellers in SSL 42:2 (7 December 2016)
Aled Gruffydd Jones, Furious traveller – beauty and horror on Cadair Idris (6 December 2016)
Liz Edwards, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (22 November 2016)
Kirsty McHugh, Manuscript Travel Accounts of Scotland and Wales (20 November 2016)
Adam Somerset, The Road from Llanymawddwy to Bwlch-y-Groes (10 November 2016)
Liz Edwards & Mary-Ann Constantine, Curious Travellers: Movement, Landscape, Art – A Preview (3 October 2016)
Martin Crampin, A Visit to Llanrhos (26 August 2016)
Liz Edwards and Mary-Ann Constantine, Mallwyd to Dinas Mawddwy: strike-hiking, and a dark revisit (18 August 2016)
Sophie McKeand, Curious Travellers: Glyder Fawr (22 July 2016)
Martin Crampin, Illustrations in the extra-illustrated volumes of Thomas Pennant’s Tours in Wales (15 July 2016)
Peter Stevenson, Tinctured with the Piety of the Place (14 July 2016)
Marged Pendrell, Creating “Y Pwll” (8 July 2016)
Barbara Matthews, Hidden Places, and a Rumour of Blue Ochre (13 June 2016)
Stuart Evans, Curious Travellers go North in search of inspiration and stories (13 June 2016)
Jan Woods, Of Fires and Giants: Thomas Pennant and Tre’r Ceiri Hillfort (6 June 2016)
Marged Pendrell, Reflections never change: landscape, history, legend (10 May 2016)
2015
Andrea Hilditch, We may look, but we do not always see (11 November 2015)
Alison Craig, Maes y Bendithion (7 November 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales: Fifth Day (with added moose and alpaca)
Mary-Ann Constantine and Liz Edwards, Of Pennant, Piozzi and spitting Alpacas (22 October 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales: Fourth Day (17 October 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales, Third Day: Llansannan to Gwytherin – the (more or less) complete tour (11 October 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales: Second Day (10 October 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales: First Day (8 October 2015)
Alison Craig, Thomas Pennant in North Wales: a pre-blog-blog (8 October 2015)
Nigel Leask & Alex Deans, Pennant in North Argyll: In search of the lost City of Beregonium (25 August 2015)