A commonplace book containing a copy, [?1812] (watermark 1808), of a journal of a picturesque tour in Wales and Ireland, 11 July-23 August 1812, probably written by William Osmund Hammond of St. Alban's Court, Nonington, Kent, describing scenery and points of interest, the weather, towns, people, inns, food, local customs and legends (ff. 17-148 verso).
The writer travelled by carriage in the company of his brother Maximilian [Hammond, later Dalison]. Departing from London on 11 July, the itinerary included Cheltenham and Gloucester (ff. 20-27), the lower Wye Valley (ff. 28-45), Brecon (ff. 49-52), Llandovery (ff. 53-54), Lampeter (ff. 58-60), Cardigan (ff. 61-62), Aberystwyth (ff. 65-71), Dolgellau (ff. 74-75) and Caernarfon (ff. 81-87), reaching Holyhead on 28 July (f. 87). In Ireland they stayed in Dublin (ff. 93-97), then travelled through County Wicklow (ff. 97-111) to Waterford (ff. 115-122) and Cork (ff. 123-126), reaching Killarney (ff. 128-148 verso) on 20 August. Included in the volume are descriptions of boat trips on the Wye from Ross-on-Wye to Chepstow (ff. 29-42) and around the Lakes of Killarney (ff. 131 verso-148 verso), the voyage from Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire (ff. 89-92), visits to a pin factory in Gloucester (ff. 22-24) and the glass blowing factory in Waterford (ff. 121 recto-verso), Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire (ff. 30-33), Tintern Abbey (ff. 38-41), Devil's Bridge, Cardiganshire (ff. 66-70), Snowdonia (ff. 78-80, 86), Caernarfon Castle (ff. 83-85) and Glendalough, County Wicklow (ff. 101-107). The Hammonds, and their friends and neighbours the Plumptres of Fredville (see ff. 20-21, 25), were acquaintances of Jane Austen (see Jane Austen's Letters, 4th edn, ed. by Deirdre Le Faye (Oxford, 2011), pp. 530, 562).

A notebook, [2]-[10] August 1826 (watermark 1824), by the artist the Rev. John Parker of Sweeney Hall, containing the concluding part of an account of a tour to Killarney, Ireland, being a continuation of his journal, now NLW MS 18248A.
Parker describes excursions in the area of Killarney and its lakes (ff. 1-9 verso), including visits to the island of Innisfallen (ff. 2 verso-4, 5 recto-verso), and to Aghadoe (ff. 4-5), followed by the return journey to Britain via Cork (ff. 10 verso-12), Cashel (ff. 12 verso-16), and Dublin. There are frequent descriptions of scenery and of architectural features, including a lengthy description of the Rock of Cashel (ff. 13-15), and there are references throughout to sketches drawn by him. A letter delivered by Parker in Killarney from a 'Miss Ponsonby' is probably from Sarah Ponsonby, one of the Ladies of Llangollen (f. 8 verso). The 'Mr O'Connell and his brother (not the counsellor)' referred to on ff. 2 recto-verso are probably the two younger brothers of Daniel O'Connell. The text includes a poem in praise of Killarney by the author (ff. 3-4).