English Journeys: National and Cultural Identity in 1930s and 19 ...

achievements and future potential, it bore the stamp of a state-sponsored activity. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, in contrast, came under the auspices of Winston Churchill’s Conservative administration and was a grand celebration of the history of which Churchill himself was so fond. There was talk of a new Elizabethan age; the country was striding confidently into the postwar world bold in its thinking and belief in its continuing status as a global power, and at the same time strengthened by its unbroken traditions and historical pageantry. Britain, it was suggested, could be both “old” and “new” at once: in touch with its long, distinguished past but confident enough to turn its face to the future. The country had been tested in the crucible of war and had survived, emerging stronger in spirit—although materially almost shattered by the experience. Thus if the process of state-led reform slowed, one nevertheless finds in the 1950s that a renewed sense of engagement with the cultural and natural riches of Britain inspired a fresh generation of visitors, reclaiming a heritage that had been offered to their 1930s forebears but which had of late been denied them by the constraints of wartime. Much had been lost, of course, but much had also survived and awaited a new wave of attentive citizens.

In keeping with the trends at work in society as a whole, however, much of the reformist agenda that characterises travel writing of the 1930s is absent from later publications. These focus more directly on leisure and enjoyment, on savouring what is there and not thinking too much about what is absent or about the marked differences between the regions through which one travels. There is rarely a pronounced sense of the country’s being divided in any way: rather, it is a neatly packaged and accessible whole, laid out for enjoyment by all. The impact of this in terms of road traffic, visitor access, and environmental consequences would arguably not become evident until the mid- to late 1960s and is thus beyond the scope of this study, but the move away from socially committed writing and towards personal enjoyment is in keeping with a larger societal retreat from the engagement of the prewar and wartime periods, when appreciation for the country was subtly but strongly woven