Before the railway came to Cornwall, novelist Wilkie Collins and his artist friend Henry Brandling set out on foot from Plymouth to explore the then ‘rarely visited’ peninsula. In 1850, tourism was in its infancy and the pair had many adventures, visiting Land’s End, Tintagel, St Michael’s Mount and Loe Pool. A local guide took them on an extraordinary tour 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, painting a vivid and affectionate picture of Cornwall as it was nearly 200 years ago.

The joy of the whole book is that it’s so well written and feels so modern.

WILKIE COLLINS (1824–1889) was the author of the popular early detective novels The Woman in White and The Moonstone.

HENRY BRANDLING (1823–1897) was a landscape artist and member of the Royal Academy.

RICK STEIN is a chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. His series Rick Stein’s Cornwall aired on BBC One from 2021–3.