[en] High energy magnetic inelastic neutron scattering measurements of intermultiplet transitions in rare earth and actinide metals have established the importance of intra-atomic correlations even in the presence of strong hybridisation. Well defined transitions are observed up to an energy of 1766 meV in thulium metal. The ³H₄→³F₂ transition is observed across the alloy series U(Pd_1-xPt_x)₃, showing that localised 5f² excitations persist in the heavy fermion compound UPt₃. The splitting of the spin-orbit transition in CeAl₃ suggests that hybridisation is an important component in the crystal field potential. (author)