Nicola here, talking about the origins of the UK tourist industry. A few weeks ago, I visited the place that claims to be the “birthplace of British tourism.” It wasn’t Bath, or London or Brighton, all of which I might have guessed at if this were a quiz. It was a town called Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, where English tourism is said to have originated.
Tourism – traveling for pleasure – has been going on a long time amongst those with the money to do it. In the Ancient world, the Romans
would visit spas and coastal resorts, the Chinese visited the Sacred Mountains and 50,000 people apparently made their way to Olympia in Greece in the second century AD to watch the Olympic Games.
Modern tourism as a western activity, began in the 17th century when upper class young men from Northern and Western Europe (generally) would travel around other European countries to take in the art, history and culture as part of their education. The Grand Tour as it became known, usually took in countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Greece (when there wasn’t a war going on.) By the second half of the 18th century, some women travellers and visitors from the US, South America and other overseas countries had joined in. In England the spa towns were immensely popular, as we know from our Regency books, as was the seaside.
Meanwhile, over in Ross-on-Wye, Dr John Egerton, the rector of Ross and later Bishop of Durham, began to invite his friends to take boat trips down the River Wye to take in the dramatic scenery. Ross was the ideal place for those who loved the “romantic.” There was a steep wooded valley, precipitous hillsides, the winding river, and ruined castles and abbeys to delight the tourists. In 1782 the author William Gilpin wrote “Observations on the River Wye” which was the first illustrated tour guide published in Britain. By this stage, there were as many as ten organised boat trips each day and they reached their peak popularity during the Napoleonic Wars when tourists were unable to visit Europe. The trip cost three guineas per person per day and the boats were equipped with drawing tables for those who wanted to sketch or paint the views they saw. One impressed visitor in the 1830s referred to them as “most commodious” with their cushioned seats and canopy overhead. Amongst the famous visitors to Ross were the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge and the painter Turner. Another celebrity couple were Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton who visited the town in 1802 though I’m not sure whether he took a boat trip!
Like many Wye Valley tourists, our visit started at the ruins of Tintern Abbey, a stunning and picturesque site on the banks of the river. Having explored
the abbey grounds, we treated ourselves to refreshments at the nearby café before walking through the village, crossing the river and strolling along the bank admiring the view. In 1850, Frederick Law Olmstead wrote a tour guide called “Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England” and called Tintern “a grand exhibition of Gothic ruins,” noting that whilst they were there you could dine off it as well as see it, as it was a crockery picture!
There was also a wonderfully romantic ruin directly next to the hotel we stayed in. Wilton Castle isn’t open to the public but it made a wonderful subject for some photographs. It’s a 12th century castle that was ruined in the English Civil War; these days it’s an Air B&B and a wedding venue! Our hotel, meanwhile, was a very elegant Georgian building that made me feel even more like one of the early tourists to the town!
The following day, on a guided walk around all the sights, we learned more about the town and its history of tourism. We started at the Royal Hotel, built on the site of the 12th century bishop’s palace. The town of Ross is very high on a hill, looking across the river, and the hotel terrace is a wonderful place to take tea! Opposite, is the Victorian Gothic tower, currently for sale, if anyone fancies a bijou residence with a roof terrace overlooking the river.
The town is a charming mixture of medieval, Tudor and Georgian buildings, winding streets and shady public gardens. The river walk is fun because you
see the place where the original boat trips embarked and the inn, the Hope and Anchor, that catered to the tourists. People were reassured that the boatmen were skilled in navigation but warned to keep out of earshot of their coarse language which was “particularly unsuitable for ladies.”
These days the Wye Valley is as tranquil as one might imagine for a spectacular tourist attraction, but one major difference back in the late 18th and 19th centuries was that part of it was also an industrial landscape. There was metal working in the Tintern area with furnaces, waterwheels to power the machinery and a railway to link the industrial sites, now used a walking trail. So, whilst the ladies and gentlemen floated past on their river trips, onshore there were lots of belching chimneys and clanging metal! It made me wonder what the workers thought of all the visitors passing by sketching them!
If anyone is planning a “grand tour” of UK historic sites this year, I can highly recommend the Wye Valley. Tourism may have changed over time but the glorious views and romantic ruins certainly have not. The area where I live is becoming more popular with tourists these days and we certainly see the difference in the summer with extra cars, walkers and cyclists. Do you live in a tourist area and if so, what sort of effect does it have on your life? Or are you well off the beaten track?
Nicola, you’re right–I never would have guessed that the prime tourist spot was the Wye River Valley! But your explanation makes the popularity clear–and now I would like to visit, floating along the river and admiring all the grand, romantic views!
It’s certainly worth a visit, Mary Jo. We were fortunate to see it in beautiful weather and I could quite understand why all the visitors found it so appealing. What was disappointing, though, was that there were no boat trips, although perhaps we were too early in the year. Regardless, it as a beautiful, historical spot.
Thank you for sharing your travels and photos with us, Nicola, and the history of Ross-on-Wye. It does sound like a wonderful place to visit!
I’m glad you enjoyed the travelogue, Kareni! Thank you.
I love historic sites! While I live out in the countryside I’m only four miles from the seaside town nearest to me. In Winter I love walking the beach but I wouldn’t dream of doing it in the Summer. It’s a real tourist destination and the place is always packed at this time. It’s too much for me! There’s what amounts to a fairground on the prom every year and all that things that go with it. Not my idea of fun. Still, tourism is needed I suppose because there isn’t much else in the town.
That’s the thing, isn’t it, Teresa. Tourist places really need the visitors for the economy so it is important, but I do much prefer it when it’s quiet. I’d love to live nearer a beach but then I remember how the roads all get blocked and you can’t move for people and noise and traffic! Oh well…
big timetourist area here: beach, sailing, whale-watching, etc. We don’t take the car out on weekends during tourist season because it’s too hair-raising. And we even avoid taking the walking path on weekends because tourists can rent bikes and take it from town to town and it’s… interesting, especially when combined with strollers and e-bikes.
But the beauty is worth that little extra trouble.
I thought you might be in the thick of it, Pat! We don’t have the beach but we do have the bikes and walking trails, and like you stay off the beaten path at the weekends in spring and summer.
What a wonderful and fascinating post, Nicola. I passed through the Wye Valley very quickly on a previous trip to Wales and England. and it was spectacular. I have always wanted to go back—and this will be my guidebook!
It’s definitely one for the re-visit list, Andrea! The combination of history and landscape is hard to beat.
Sounds like a great place to tour! Maybe someday. Although I live in California, it’s not a tourist destination. Very agricultural. Yosemite & Sequoia National Parks are only about an hour away though so many people fly into our airport.
That’s interesting, Jeanne. I guess some people like me would think all of California would be on the tourist trail but cool to know that isn’t so.
We live in the greater Buffalo, NY area, well-known for its architecture (Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis B. Sullivan, H.H. Richardson, Eliel & Eero Saarinen, etc.), as well as for its nationally recognized summer garden walks. In addition, it is about a 40 minute ride to Niagara Falls, so many travelers arrive to the area via the Buffalo-Niagara International airport. As the city is on the border with Canada, there is a lot of binational tourism. There is much to see and do on Lake Erie, and along the Niagara River, and on both the American and Canadian sides of the Falls.
Patricia, it sounds like a wonderful place to be! So much variety in places to see and things to do and it is great that people can share and enjoy all these places. It brings enjoyment to so many of us to be able to visit special, new-to-us places.
What a wonderful post and the pictures make it even better. Thank you for the armchair tour.
Thank you, Annette!
I don’t live in a tourist area now, but I’m close to the ocean, so it gets busy in the summer. I used to live 2 blocks from the beach, and that was crazy in the summer. We didn’t have a driveway or garage, so if you went anywhere on the weekend, it was unlikely you’d be able to find a parking spot when you returned. But it was lovely to be able to walk down to the ocean with a cup of coffee in the morning.
That does sound wonderful, Karin! I love the idea of walking by the ocean when its quiet. I suppose the flip side is that a lot of people want to do that which is why it isn’t often quiet!
I’m amused at Frederick Law Olmsted calling himself a farmer. He did own a farm, but I doubt he spent much time there. He was too busy designing Central Park NYC, the University of Chicago campus, Biltmore Estate, and many, many other landscapes !
PS to my above comment: I see the publication date was 1850, so he wrote this book before he embarked on his landscape architecture career.
How interesting, Linda! He was obviously a man of great capabilities. I’m glad he had the chance to write his travel journal before he launched his landscape architecture career.