Trelawny's Cornwall

For all but four miles of its course, the river Tamar marks the border with Devon. To a Cornishman, it is also the frontier with England. CORNWALL will use the geography of the river to consider the county's exceptionalism and individuality - a once independent Kingdom where the power of the ancient Stannary Parliament has not been completely forgotten, where new Bards of the Gorsedh Kernow are appointed each year, and the Prince of Wales is referred to as the Duke of Cornwall.

Passionate Cornishman and BBC broadcaster Petroc Trelawney will talk to members of Mebyon Kernow, the political party campaigning for Cornish devolution, explore the use of the Cornish language, and reflect on the acute poverty in the towns that run along Cornwall's spine - Hayle, Redruth, Camborne, St Austell - which contain some of the poorest council wards in the country; Penzance, sometimes locally referred to as 'brown town' due to the number of heroin addicts living on its streets.

For lovers of this singular county, the book reaches far beyond the 'my Cornwall' approach and finds a delicate balance between the Cornwall of the past and of today. Topical themes include climate change - Cornwall will be one of the worst-hit counties in the UK, with coastal villages being washed away. The book also embraces Cornish cuisine and confronts the effects of Covid and Brexit on its communities (Newlyn and the future of the fishing industry) and assesses the influence of the National Trust and Heritage Britain on this outstanding and unique county.