Many of Britain’s best-known tourist destinations have been open to visitors for several decades. In some cases, for several centuries. This book explores Britain’s rich cultural heritage and the sometimes peculiar, unusual and eccentric development of the nation’s tourism industry. It looks at some of the more surprising aspects of Britain’s best-known attractions and takes readers on a journey of exploration to some lesser-known places with some fascinating histories, offers new perspectives on popular knowledge and looks at the way that the visitors of yesteryear have shaped and influenced today’s tourist experiences.

Peter Robinson presents a vibrant selection of rarely seen photographs from the Victorian period to the early twenty-first century to illustrate the story of tourism in Britain.

'In this well-illustrated if slim volume, Peter Robinson gallops through the history of curious visiting in Britain that, he asserts, dates back long before Thomas Cook, Wordsworth’s meanderings and the Victorian rise of the holiday.' * Country Life Magazine, July 2025 *

Dr Peter Robinson has been a regular visitor to Elvaston since he was four years old. He is an academic, tourism industry expert, photographer, author of several books, and ECGT Chair of Trustees.