Wild Wales

by George Borrow

Pre-ISBN

Date of publication (1955) of this edition is an estimate.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Literature, Reference, Walking, Nature

602 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1862

About the author

George Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences traveling around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure prominently in his work. His best known books are The Bible in Spain (1843), the autobiographical Lavengro (1851), and The Romany Rye (1857), about his time with the English Romanichal (gypsies).

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and readable - why haven't I read this before now? George Borrow was a great eccentric and what in Welsh is known as a "iaithgi", a largely self-taught linguist who acquired a knowledge of many languages, including Welsh. This book is an account of a trip he made to Wales in 1854, staying for a few months. His wife and step-daughter came with him to stay in lodgings in Llangollen and a hotel in Bangor, but most of his journey was alone and on foot. This book is full of funny anecdotes and descriptions, and it's different from other English visitors' accounts in that Borrow was really interested in the language and had enough of it to be able to make himself understood (usually!). The places and the routes he describes are still familiar today, and it's the sort of account that makes you want to go and retrace his steps and see what has changed and what hasn't (except I can't really imagine choosing to walk some of these distances along Welsh mountain roads in wet November as he did!) The reactions he got from the people he talked to are interesting - a mixture of astonishment at an Englishman who had learned Welsh, some difficulty in understanding his unfamiliar accent, some suspicion, and quite a lot of readiness to discuss Welsh literature, even in unexpected places. (Incidentally he also came across quite a few Irish speakers on his journey). It's a mainly rural journey, although he does also describe what he found "hellish" scenes of fire and dirt around the mines at Ruabon and the ironworks of the south, especially Cyfarthfa. Although he was only passing through, his linguistic interest makes his comments and observations on the language in the various places particularly interesting from a social historian's point of view. Recommended!

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was much more readable than either Lavengro or Romany Rye - I think there were fewer tall tales in this work as well. His descriptions of the Welsh landscape are beautifully written, and his love of the language is evident. While I can't believe the Welsh peasants talked quite as fluently as he makes out, I can certainly believe their suspicion of a 'Saes' who tried to speak their language.
I must declare an interest: he describes how 'the children of the lower class of Llangollen are a great pest to visitors': my great-grandfather was a child in Llangollen at the time - he may have begged from George Borrow!
Borrow was passionate about language, and there is a fascinating end chapter about the relationship between Welsh and Sanskrit, with discursion into Gaelic, Cornish and Manx. He is pretty much forgotten today except for a few diehards, which I think is rather a shame. We should cherish all eccentrics.

[^ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text of this book was first published in 1862. It remains essential reading for any tourist visiting Wales, because Borrow so graphically and beautifully describes the innate character of the people of Wales. As a generalisation that character is still recognisable today (2011).

The quality of his prose brings to mind perfectly the poetic lilt of spoken Welsh. He tells his reader not only of the people he meets, but also of the history and legends of the area he's in.

What an engrossing record of a people isolated within their country! Travel was necessarily so very limited before the advent of inexpensive travel (train, bus, motor car); something we take completely for granted.

This pocket-sized edition includes "fourteen camera studies in photogravure" and a "special map for tourists". The typeface used (unspecified) is particularly pleasant and easy on the eye to read.

NOTE: Publication pre-dates ISBN system; so this edition record requires correction.

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you like to go travelling through Wales in 1854 with me?

In a time when trains are called "flying vehicles", George Henry Borrow, an Englishman who can speak Welsh, embarks on a journey on foot through most Welsh counties, delivering a unique snapshot of life in Wales in Victorian times as well as an insightful knowledge in the imagery of the English in Welsh eyes.

"I always thought the English can't speak Welsh, their tongues are too short!" an innkeeper exclaims upon his ordering an ale. Borrow therefore becomes a curiosity, fascination and a suspicious person that ought be shunned. He speaks of religion and literature with his walking companions, he argues over words with innkeepers, he makes friends with doctors, poets and farmers.

This book has brought me great joy, as with each chapter I found myself smiling and exclaiming to my partner that "He's taking the Llanberis pass!" or "He's at the Devil's Bridge!", all locations which we have visited and which I hold as close to my heart as home.

I have travelled back with Borrow to the pretty city of Llangollen, through Wrexham, where a farmer took him to see the Pont Y Cysswllt. The bridge excites him, however the height and the open countryside around him makes him anxious and afraid. As was and am I, every time we visit it. I have found it brings me good luck to cross the bridge once a year.

From here, Borrow heads for Betws-y-coed and through the Llanberis pass, to Snowdon.
It is in Snowdon that Vortigern (a 5th-century CE English warlord best known for inviting the Saxons to Britain to stop the incursions of the Picts and Scots and allowing them to take control of the land) retires from the fury of his own subjects, here he called to his council Merlin, where he built the castle that was deemed impregnable, but was ultimately destroyed by enemies. It was on the heights of Snowdon that the brave Llywellin ap Griffith made his last stand for Cumbrian independence. It is also Snowdon that rallies the ancient heroes of romance, Arthur and his knights. To the Welsh, it as always been The Hill of Awen (Muse), the hill of hills, the loftiest of mountains, whose snow is the coldest.

We leave Snowdonia for Bangor and from there, onwards to Caernarfon Castle and Anglesey, with its beautiful Holy Head island, surrounded by vegetation of the most intense colour I have ever seen.

We pass to South Wales through Aberystwyth, visiting Hafod and the Devil's Bridge (when Borrow visits, there are two bridges, when I visit, there are three) and further South, we pass Llandovery as we make our way to the village of Llangadog, where he spends the night, same as I. Here, I was hoping that Borrow would make his way towards Llyn Y Fan, but fatigue (and perhaps lack of knowledge) prevents him from taking the path for the Lady of The Lake.

Borrow continues, towards Merthyr Tydvil, the greatest mining place in Britain, capital of iron and coal. Here, it is most interesting to note, he witnesses dross from the iron forges, cascading like lava down the slopes, interfering with his walking paths. The sky has a red hue, there is a strange smell in the air. Monmouthshire is in Borrow's present, an English county.

A complete map of George Borrow's route can be found here.

Having said all this, I feel it is my duty as a reader and traveler to express a thought to the future Reader: George Borrow is not a good travel companion. George Borrow is a self absorbed plonker, with a most single-minded approach and an overbearing attitude. He is openly racist and plain rude to anyone who does not roll the red carpet for himself and his Welsh skills, which he keeps on a pedestal to watch over the silly Welsh peasants with their silly Welsh skills. He will embarrass you in all conversation, he will insult where he is not applauded for his merits of learning Welsh so perfectly or for quoting from obscure Welsh poems. Borrow is a horrible product of masculine toxicity in Victorian times, with good taste in literature and travel.

Enclosed is a list of words and names of places from Borrow's book, I have kept all spellings as they were in 1854.

Prydydd - poet

Eisteddfa - place where people sit down

Priodas - marriage

Pont y groes - bridge of the cross

Llandovery - church surrounded by water

Llangadog - church of Gadog, British sailor of 5th century

Capel gwynfa - chapel of the place of bliss

Bara y caws - bread and cheese

Cwrw da - good ale

Pont Y Cyswllt - bridge that links

Betws-y-Coed - prayerhouse in the woods

Llanberis - Saint Peris, an early Welsh saint

Cumro - true meaning Sanskrit for youth or prince

Aber - meeting of waters. Avon, river. A flowing Ap, water, apaga river Persian. Abba in Sardinian. Apa, Wallachian.

Why is the Wallachian word for water Sanskrit? What is the difference between ap and apa? Wallachian is formed from Latin, why is it not woda (which rhymes with soda), as the Slavic? Why not the Latin aqua?

Why does the Sanskrit devila stand for what is wise and virtuous, and the English devil for all that is wicked?

How is it that names of so many streams in various countries, ex. Donau, Dwina, Done and Tyne so much resemble Dhuni, a Sanskrit word for a river?

Why does Nereus, the name of an ancient Greek water god, and Nar, the Arabic word for fire, sound so very like Ner, the Welsh word for Creator?

I would ask My. Borrow for his approach in learning Welsh, but I feel he would only tell me not to worry my silly little head with it.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it is a long read this is a highly entertaining one. Published in 1862, George Borrow rambled around a huge area of Wales on foot, searching for the birthplaces of Welsh poets and bards, warming himself by the fire of every inn he went past and talking to those from every station and way of life that crossed his path. He's a strange and I suspect unreliable narrator, very proud of his having learnt some Welsh and always keen to make unjustified guesses at etymology and philology - but also engaging with the well-off and the poor alike. The picture he creates of Wales at the time is very interesting and Wales today is very changed from the place he walked through.

Unusual but very good. Would only recommend to those living in Wales - the higher North, the better.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most complete and thorough books about Wales you’re going to find. As English eccentric and linguist George Borrow tramps across the length and breath of the country, he delves into the history, geography, culture, language, literature and just about everything else

His account is littered with encounters with people from every station of life. It is chock full of fascinating facts. So many it is almost overwhelming.

The only reasons I didn’t give this five star, are firstly it is over long, secondly the font was disgracefully small (hopefully you found an addition with bigger print than I did) and thirdly the way that the conversations was transcribed occasionally made them sound more like interrogations, which made GB sound a bit arrogant. Which he can’t have been otherwise he wouldn’t have had such amazing conversations with so many people.

Extraordinary book.

[Evelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read it yet!! I don’t know how to undo a review!! 😭😭😭😭

[Katrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

was fuer ei n interessantes kleines buch! borrow ist durch wales gewandert, sprach auch sehr gut walisisch und hat auf seinen wanderungen immer den kontakt zu den menschen gesucht und konnte mit seinen dialogen mehr ueber die waliser herausfinden als jemand anderes zu seiner lebenszeit erreichen koennte. die eigentuemlichkeit dieses landes und dieses voelkchens, die raue schoenheit der natur, sowie informationen ueber deren helden und geschichte, alles verpackt in borrows wandergeschichten. ein tolles buch.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Borrow was the ultimate groupy. He travelled the length & breadth of Wales in search of his favourite poets..........where they lived, where they died, where they had been! This book (as with Sheryl Strayed's "Wild") wanted me to pull on my hiking boots and set out and explore the world. A bit repetitive in parts but still enjoyable. If I hadn't read this book I would never have heard of Twm O'r Nant or read his wonderful interlude "Riches & Poverty" which was written in 1700's. Here's just a small example of the interlude:

"There exist precious treasures of every kind
Profoundly in earth's quiet bosom enshrin'd,
There's searching about them, end ever has been,
And by some they are found, and by some never seen."

George obviously loved meeting people and talking them. He encouraged them to tell their stories and he listened. He was also a vey keen historian and loved to visit the old churches and castles an learn their history. All in all, a wonderful book and well worth the read!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrow was in his early 50s when he began his walking tour of Wales. He recounts conversations and vistas, reflecting an interesting time before cars but after trains. The Industrial Revolution is at hand, and the landscape is suffering, but the people still walk barefoot upon the road and dress according to their profession.

He is interested in the people, the poetry, and the history of the land. He is not a snob, and engages in conversation with all sorts. He runs into unlikely old acquaintances and jots down the details of taverns and inns.

Borrow's tale is fascinating and makes me want to retrace his steps. I thank him for leaving us this time machine.

[Martin Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A travelogue from a vanished world! Borrow walked through wild Wales, detailing his experiences and those he meets. The book provides a window in to a world where the first language of Welsh people was the mam iaith, the mother tongue. The book contains snippets of Welsh myth and legend. My own great grandfather. although English was fluent in Cymraeg, living close to the border in Shropshire he would cross into Wales for work and as this book makes clear. in the late 19th century, the language was essential!

[Tim Garwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read as I read most of George Borrow's work many years ago. The ultimate travel book for Wales, albeit written 150 yrs ago. The characters he meets are perfectly illuminated, the places all still exist and are probably little changed in rural areas. Borrow was a linguist as well as a traveller and writer and this is immediately obvious in his work. It's not an easy read, as it's non fiction/travel but for the sheer splendour of the characters he meets, the locations he visits (and there are a lot) and the dialogue with locals on history and folklore it's tremendous. Really enjoyed reading it again

[Rebecca Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being Welsh, I came across this book in a charity shop as it is dated being owned by someone 1912 so it intrigued me. His ramblings across rural Wales 150 yrs ago was fascinating and the dialogue he has between Welsh people he meets along the way are quite amusing! He obviously enjoyed North Wales more than South Wales as the ending seems rushed and does not have the same detail or attention. Obviously he loves the arytypical view of Wales being green lush land which South Wales in these olden days was collieries and more industrial. An interesting book though, glad I read it, a long read though!

[John Bainbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and re-read Wild Wales many times. It remains for me the most evocative travel book ever written, and brings us closer to the real George Borrow than any of his other works. Wild Wales gives a stunning picture of how Wales would have been in 1854, not just the topography but the industrial and social conditions. But it is the pen-portraits of the people Borrow meets that lifts this way above the average travel memoir. All of George Borrow's book are well worth reading - he's the most unfairly neglected of Victorian writers.

[Jason Fawkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing rambling account of a ramble through Wales by the autodidact linguist George Borrow; Like the other books of Borrow I've read, Lavangro and the Romany Rye, I sometimes doubt the veracity of some of his stories, though less of his religious paranoia on display here. Seems to rush the end, getting from Llandovery to Chepstow via Swansea, Neath, Merthyr, Caerphilly and Newport in a few chapters, while earlier happy to give multi chapter accounts of hamlets!

[Christina Baehr]

Read for research purposes—I wrote a novel set in Wales in 1899 this year. Borrow, who even by his own account seems an insufferable sort of person, had at least one redeeming character trait: he was fascinated with Wales and the Welsh language (especially his own ability to speak it, which he seems to believe made him a god-tier linguistic genius), and thus wrote this travel memoir in the mid 1800s. There are some wonderful moments, and any cambrophile will find much to enjoy.

[Martin Rundkvist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good travel book, but also enormously repetitive. It would be much improved, and much shortened, if someone would just remove three kinds of scene that you soon lose count of. Scenes where Borrow:

1. Proudly describes how someone is impressed that he knows Welsh, and then even more impressed that he knows Welsh poetry.

2. Asks someone the name of a settlement, a bridge or a river.

3. Rates a glass of ale.

[Judith Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable in many ways, and I am in awe of George Borrow’s prodigious feats of walking - Shanks’ pony isn’t in it! Like the walking thought, the author does on occasion ramble on at a bit of a tangent - I confess to a few instances of skipping!

I may now have to reread HV Morton’s In Search of Wales and Jan Morris’s A Matter of Wales, which I can recommend.

[Lisa Haertel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Tramp Across the Welsh Landscape!

As an avid lover of all things Welsh, I thoroughly enjoyed his descriptions of the Welsh countryside as he walked all over the country, also dropping in several good local folk tales.

[Isca Silurum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather enjoyable read for North Wales.

West; even more so South, rather skimmed through.

Different reviewers have different views; unsurprisaingly, but Borrow seems to go out of his way to wind people up.

Steve Gough read extremely well, a gem from librivox.

[Duet Richardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book.

[Rollie Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild Wales is the account of George Burrows' walk through Wales in 1854. Now, we are not talking about a little walk, we are talking about months of walking across a major portion of Wales. He starts in Chester and enters Wales traveling to Wrexham and then on to Llangollen. He spends some time at Llangollen while he walks all over the surrounding area. Then, a long journey takes him out as far as Holy Head on Anglesey, on a round trip that eventually totals nearly 200 miles, all on foot.

After covering North Wales, Burrows begins his journey through South Wales. Now, while stationed at Llangollen, his wife and daughter came to Llangollen with with him. They only take a couple of short walks with him, always staying behind at the house in town. As he began his trip south, they returned to England to wait for him.

He started south as Fall started, crossing South Wales on foot. He travels something over 200 miles south through Wales to Swansea and then east to Chepstow. That is the end of his journey in Wales.

Aside from the description of the landscape, Burrows tells us much about the Welsh people that he meets. He was a student of Welsh poetry, and many of his side trips are to visit the home or birthplace of some great Welsh poet. He also tells us some very amusing stories about certain famous Welsh persons. At least they were famous in the 19th Century.

Wild Wales is not a travel guide. I cannot find most of the places that he mentions, so reconstructing his trip using Bing maps has been difficult. It isn't really a travelogue either. It could be called a travelogue, based on the descriptions of where he went, as well as the local history, but it is interspersed with tales of individuals he met along the road, and his reaction to them.

So, should you read it? Probably not. I read it in little bites over a long time, and I am not disappointed that I did, but I doubt I will ever read it again.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful voyage in time to Wales of 160 years ago. I read it with a map in hand to follow as closely as possible George Borrow's walking tour. He is able to bring the reader close to the people of the epoch, for he is fluent in English and Welsh as well as other languages, on which he occasionally makes interesting comments. During his visits to various places he introduces associated historic heroes and villains, mixed with an evident love of Welsh poetry. This book gave me a desire to retrace George Borrow's tour of Wales, to discover what has changed, and what has remained the same, since the middle of the 19th century.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing book. Especially if you live in wales as you'll know where he's talking about. One of the things that makes this book s good is that it is right on your doorstep but 160 years ago. It's basically a Pub crawl around Wales where he meets up with various people and hears some very interesting stories. Lots of local history and once you've got used to the author it's extreemly funny too. Highly reccommended.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrow lived in East Anglia, the part of England where I reside, and unlike most Englishmen, spoke Welsh. He took his wife and daughter there on holiday this travel log describes the people he met and the sites he saw. My first trip from East Anglia to Wales is this weekend, and I expect many of Borrow's observations will still hold true.

[Timothy Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a Librivox recording of a travelogue made by an English admirer of the Welsh culture and language in 1854. I enjoyed the work most when it discussed places where I’d been, or knew some other, associated story. The work is admired by some as a snapshot of Welsh society at the time, but I found the author a bit too overbearing in his conversations with the Welsh.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even the few parts I didn't like I weirdly liked.