WILKIE COLLINS ON CORNWALL (HB)

Before the railway’s arrival, Cornish tourism was in its infancy. In 1850, Wilkie Collins and his artist friend Henry Brandling set out on foot from Plymouth to explore Land’s End, Tintagel, St Michael’s Mount and Loe Pool; a local guide took them down Botallack mine, and another showed them how to scramble up the Devil’s Bellows at Kynance Cove. This charming account of their travels includes fascinating descriptions of legends and customs, pilchard fishing, ancient monuments, eccentric innkeepers and local cuisine, presenting a picture of Cornwall as it was nearly 200 years ago.