The Uses Of Travel In Britain

The Uses Of Travel In Britain

Travel writing became a popular theme in English literature in the late 17th century. Women writers such as the likes of Celia Fiennes made significant contributions that played a pivotal role in increasing the popularity of the theme. In addition, there were numerous male writers like John Dyer who were pioneers of the specific genre in English literature (Kinsley, 2008). A daughter of an Englishman who was a Civil War Parliamentary Colonel, Celia Fiennes went on miscellaneous adventures across England between the years 1684 and 1703, mostly travelling on horseback. Her main motivation to set out on such adventures was to regain her ailing health by changing the air around her and through physical activity. It must be remembered that travelling was not a very popular activity for women at the time and women were mostly seen as domesticated housewives in a largely patriarchal society (Kinsley, 2008). Therefore, from the point of view of women, the thought of travelling alone was quite novel and none but a few had actually embarked on adventures across England. However, since Fiennes was an enthusiastic traveler, it was common for her to embark upon such adventures with relatives. When she made the "Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall" in the year 1698, Fiennes was accompanied by only two servants (Crane, 2007). In this state, she continued to travel from time to time until 1712, exploring most of England in this manner.

Fiennes captured most of her adventures with her pen as she made detailed notes of her exploits across England. However, she never intended to publish it and her work was reserved only for family reading until much later. Her notes sought to regale the reader by providing vivid descriptions of the beautiful countryside as seen through her eyes (Crane, 2007). The work mainly stresses upon how Fiennes was interested in innovations and in anything that she found to be new. She described bustling towns and fashionable spa towns like Bath and Harrogate. It becomes clear after reading her work that Fiennes patriotically justified domestic tourism. For example, her special interest in the manufacture and production of each place explored the interesting genre of economic tourism. This particular genre was formalized with the publishing of “A Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain” which was essentially a professional survey. Fiennes viewed several of the finest baroque houses in the English countryside when they were not fully constructed (Crane, 2007). Although a majority of people shared the belief that stately homes could only be visited after the Second World War, it was not true and Fiennes made regular visits to these homes during her travels. In fact, such homes could easily be accessed by people who had a good social standing.

It is clear that Fiennes is not regarded as one of the greatest historical personages of her time. For example, she had very little influence on her contemporary writers and her works were not published and made available to the mainstream ...