Croeso and welcome to the (provisional) website of the 2017 Borders and Crossings Conference, the regular meeting of all scholars interested in questions of travel, travel writing and tourism. The main organizer of the event this year is Dr Gábor Gelléri (@gaborgelleri) of the Department of Modern Languages at Aberystwyth University.
Organizing a travel studies conference in Aberystwyth is most appropriate, as the town itself owes a lot to travel and tourism. From the 18th century, when curiosity towards Wales is increasing, we see a growing number of visitors reaching Cardigan Bay, enjoying the seaside or considering the picturesque aspects of Devil’s Bridge, Nanteos or Hafod Estate. When the railway lines reaches Aberystwyth, it gains the status of ‘Welsh Biarritz’, and sees a massive growth – around town, you can still marvel at many remnants of this heyday of tourism. Aberystwyth University’s Old College was itself first built to be a hotel. More recently, specific forms of tourism emerge, and not only the caravan parks around town: you can now download an app to have a guided tour around town with Aberystwyth’s best (and only) private detective, Louie Knight; or follow a trip around Devil’s Bridge or Borth, identifying scenes from various episodes of the bi-lingual ‘Celtic Noir’ Hinterland series produced by the BBC.
Please see the various headers for all information relevant to the conference, and get in touch if you have any queries! Looking forward to welcoming you in Aberystwyth!
Borders and Crossings Travel Writing Conference 2017 