On the trail of Miss Jemima

June 22, 2013, 2 Comments

It started with the Swiss. And with Thomas Cook in June 1863. That was the moment when grand tours for the rich became popular tours for the masses. It was the dawn of the age of modern tourism  – and Switzerland was its birthplace. Time to celebrate 150 years of Swiss tourism.

Almost exactly 150 years ago, on 26 June 1863, the first Conducted Tour of Switzerland set off “to Geneva, Lucerne and other principal places in the Alpine Districts.” Those package pioneers went by boat and by train, on foot and on horseback through the Alps. One of them, Miss Jemima Morrell from Yorkshire, recorded every detail in her Swiss Journal. That book not only inspired my to write my new one but also forms the basis of the anniversary tour which starts today.

Over the next week I will taking part in a much shorter version of the original tour, organised by Switzerland Tourism. In fact I’ll be one of the tour guides, giving our modern band of intrepid travellers an insight into what that first trip was like. And how much it changed both Switzerland and the world of travel. Luckily I’ve already done the research!

But I won’t be alone when it comes to writing about this new tour: there will be a new Miss Jemima as well, in the guise of Yorkshire poet Helen Morton. But she will be a thoroughly modern version of Miss J, blogging and tweeting her way round Switzerland. And occasionally wearing a big dress, just as her Victorian counterpart did.

You can also follow the tour on Twitter, either via my tweets (@dicconb) or the official Swiss Tourism feed (#swissgrandtour), and on my Facebook page.

And of course you can read all about that first tour, my re-tracing of the whole route, and its after-effects in Slow Train to Switzerland, my new book coming in October this year. For a taste of that, have a look at this Financial Times article I wrote last week.

I’m off to Valais to meet my fellow tourists. Next stop: Sion.