We’re delighted to announce the start of a further ‘Curious Travellers’ project with funding from the AHRC!

An exciting collaborative research project with the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Glasgow University and the Natural History Museum will produce the first ever scholarly editions of Thomas Pennant’s Tours of Wales and Scotland.

‘Curious Travellers 2: Digital Editions of Thomas Pennant’s Tours of Wales and Scotland’ is an innovative project combining traditional textual editing with new approaches in the digital humanities. These will be the first ever scholarly editions of the influential Welsh and Scottish tours of the Flintshire-based naturalist and antiquarian Thomas Pennant of Downing (1726-98), and they will be freely available to all users.

Partnerships with the national libraries of Wales and Scotland, the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, and Historic Environment Scotland will allow us to link Pennant’s writings to a wealth of contemporary images and information.

Pennant’s Tours shaped perceptions of Wales and Scotland in ways that remain with us today. We’re especially delighted to be teaming up with the Natural History Museum to explore how Pennant’s work as a naturalist shaped his travels. This is a fantastic opportunity to bring these rich, multi-layered texts to life.

The Curious Travellers team will also be working with schools and communities in Flintshire and the Isle of Skye, and will co-host exhibitions in Greenfield Valley Heritage Park, and the Gilbert White House in Selbourne.

More news to follow!