The Granite Kingdom: A Cornish Journey

by Tim Hannigan

A fascinating, lyrical account of an east-west walk across Britain's westernmost and most mysterious region.

A distant and exotic Celtic land, domain of tin-miners, pirates, smugglers and evocatively named saints, somehow separate from the rest of our island...

Few regions of Britain are as holidayed in, as well-loved or as mythologized as Cornwall. From the woodlands of the Tamar Valley to the remote peninsula of Penwith – via the wilderness of Bodmin Moor and coastal villages where tourism and fishing find an uneasy coexistence – Tim Hannigan undertakes a zigzagging journey on foot across Britain's westernmost region to discover how the real Cornwall, its landscapes, histories, communities and sense of identity, intersect with the many projections and tropes that writers, artists and others have placed upon it.

Combining landscape and nature writing with deep cultural inquiry, The Granite Kingdom is a probing but highly accessible tour of one of Britain's most popular regions, juxtaposing history, myth, folklore and literary representation with the geographical and social reality of contemporary Cornwall.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Walking, Memoir, Audiobook, Nature

374 pages, Hardcover

Published May 11, 2023

About the author

Tim Hannigan was born in Penzance in Cornwall in the far west of the United Kingdom. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a chef and an English teacher. He started his writing career as a travel journalist based in Indonesia. His first book, Murder in the Hindu Kush (The History Press, 2011), was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize. His second book, Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (Monsoon Books, 2012), won the 2013 John Brooks Award. He also wrote A Brief History of Indonesia (Tuttle, 2015), and edited and wrote new chapters for Willard Hanna's classic narrative history of Bali, now republished as A Brief History of Bali (Tuttle, 2016). His more recent books include The Travel Writing Tribe (2021) and The Granite Kingdom (2023). He has worked on guidebooks to many destinations including Nepal, India, Myanmar, Bali and Cornwall.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been going to Cornwall for holidays for many years now. I think that it is quite a special place, with beautiful coasts and dramatic landscapes. The side I see has always been the tourist side. However, for those that live there, it is very different. Love the county, its landscape is bleak and dramatic or small and cosy – provided you know where to go.

They are overwhelmed with tourists for half the year, and when they all depart, the income dries up and they have to scratch a living until the next season. Even if you do manage to earn a living, the chances of being able to afford a home there now are very slim. The tsunami of second homeowners with plenty of cash to spare means that most properties have been priced out of the locals price range. This is a subject that has been written about in the excellent Undercurrent by Natasha Carthew.

The place is almost an island, the border of the Tamar rises in the north of the county leaving the peninsular to only be joined at the top and because of this it doesn’t quite feel like England. How we perceive it as outsiders has been fuelled by many things including writers who have given us the image of a wild land and people.

What the county is, is an enigma.

The people best placed to answer what the county now is are the Cornish. Tim Hannigan is a Cornish man who grew up and worked there, before heading off around the world to write guidebooks and who now lives in Ireland. This gives him a unique perspective on the place, seeing it from the outside with a travel writer’s eye and knowing what makes the place tick.

How we perceive the place is very much different from the reality, and he takes time to show that as he moves through the literary landscape as he zigzags across the county on his walk. Not only do you get a journal of what happens that day to him on his walk, but he digs through the history of the places that he walks, lifting gems from history and folklore to tell us about. I thought that the folklore stretched way into the past, but it seems that it was mostly invented by two gents in the 1800s!

Not quite English, always Cornish.

I thought that this was well worth reading. Hannigan manages to describe the modern enigma that is Cornwall perfectly. The writing is really good regardless of whether he is describing the walking, the places that he passes and the people that he meets or his own hinterland. This isn’t a romantic view of the county either, you can sense his pride in the county as he tells of the parts that he loves and is fiercely critical of some of the problems that the county finds itself in. You almost certainly have a view of what Cornwall is, but it is like a kaleidoscope, with different people seeing different things from their perspectives. And in some way, it is all of those things and not at the same time.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cornwall, that magical land in the south west corner of the UK, a place of strange people, unusual names, incredible beauty and mythical legends, that place tourists like to go park their car in a queue. Like most people I had heard of this place, I had visited it many times but how much did I know about this place? In the late 90s early 00s this was where I spent a lot of my time, surfing (attempting) and camping with friends, it was my first holidays without having parents with me…aka drinking lots and doing stupid things (very successfully)…it was also the place where I suddenly had to grow up. In this book Hannigan stays at a campsite I used to frequent and this was where my wife found out we were expecting our first child, scary times, I never forgave Cornwall and haven’t been back since haha.

I have to admit that I thought this book was going to be more about walking around Cornwall but just like on a good walk where your mind wanders Hannigan not only walks but he time travels. With his vivid writing he takes you back right to the beginning with the formation of the land, you learn about the early people living/working the land and its eventual discovery by the people of England. This book isn’t just about the history though, for the whole journey Hannigan has a few questions always on his mind, What is Cornwall? Where does Cornwall start? What does it mean to be Cornish? and Is he Cornish?

This was a fascinating book, I have learnt a hell of a lot more than I expected, so much so that at the end I was left craving more. For me the most interesting parts were about the Cornish identity, how place names evolved, how family names work, the multiple uprisings against the crown and how it is treated differently to any other county in England. I also liked how this was a learning experience for Hannigan too, as he walks and checks out the maps he discovers those borders within Cornwall where English place names change over to Cornish.

Blended in with all of this Hannigan shares his personal history as he tries to work out if he can call himself Cornish or not, his Dad sounds like an interesting character and I reckon he could easily have had his own spin-off book. It is not all about the past as Hannigan interviews locals he meets, tries to pretend he doesn’t have a taxi waiting for his next part of the journey, plots a new uprising with a lady at a post office and shares his passion for pasties.

Included are maps, photos, poems, artwork and a great big pile of interesting facts, all making a masterpiece of literature. I was left with some questions though; If recreating Hannigan’s journey will Philip Marsden let everybody sleep in his garden? How many pasties did Hannigan consume in the making of this book? and How cool would it be if a similar book was written about every county in the UK? That would make one awesome collection.

One of my favourite books of the year and super highly recommended and the best account of Cornwall that County/Duchy could ask for.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had always wanted to visit Cornwall and when I moved from Aberdeenshire to Hampshire I naively believed that it would be easy to get there now. Okay, definitely easier than from Aberdeenshire but still a good four hours drive! I did finally get there and fell in love with it instantly. Since then we have visited many times so I was excited to read this book that came highly recommended. What a fabulous travelogue of the author's journey through his home county. It is so much more than just the story of his journey zigzagging across Cornwall. Here too are insights into the county's rich history; cultural, linguistic and industrial. Explorations of the geology of the place, its relationship with England, Brittany, Wales and the wider world. Thoughts too on what it means to be Cornish, both in the past and in the modern day, and how that Cornish identity has evolved and been forged throughout the ages.

I have loved every page of this book. Tim Hannigan's writing is beautiful in its descriptive brilliance bringing both people and place into full view. I would recommend this to anyone that loves travel writing, nature writing, social history or, of course, Cornwall.

[Paul Taylor-McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem of a book. As digressive as it is subversive, Cornwall’s very own Tim Hannigan takes us on a fascinating journey over land and through time and, in the process, uncovers Cornwall’s true identity. 🏞️🥾❤️

[Helbob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my kind of book. A travelogue, a journey, with good honest history and information lacing it all together. I liked that there was not too much dwelling on the modern day crowds and tourist industry although it was there in funny little asides we can all understand if we’ve ever holidayed in Cornwall. And I think I felt a little humbled too by the realisation that I too have romanticised my idea of the Granite Kingdom but perhaps through no fault of my own. Only criticism really is that I felt the journey didn’t end. Perhaps that’s the point.

[Jodie Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever folded the corners of so many pages in my life - page after page, Tim wrote something so fascinating that I had to mark my place for the next time I flip through The Granite Kingdom. It really is the masterwork on Cornish history, culture and travel.
The writing is gorgeous l, the level of research and knowledge is astounding and I found myself frequently jealous of Tim’s journey to traverse Cornwall on foot.

[Joaquín · Rating 5 out of 5]

La premisa de este libro es aparentemente sencilla: Tim Hannigan, escritor de viajes con amplia experiencia y autor de varias guías sobre Indonesia, decide emprender una especie de peregrinación por su tierra natal, Cornualles. El viaje abarca varias semanas y en él recorre tanto lugares en los que no había puesto los pies como otros que le eran bien conocidos pero que descubre con nuevos ojos. Sin embargo, aparte de narrar sus caminatas y sus encuentros con algunos de los habitantes de la región, el autor aporta multitud de datos históricos, que sabe hilar e introducir perfectamente dentro de la propia narrativa del viaje. También, y quizá esta es la parte de más valor del libro, aunque sin desmerecer al resto, el autor comparte sus profundas reflexiones sobre la naturaleza de Cornualles y el lugar que ocupa en Inglaterra y Europa, fruto de la continuada introspección a la que se sometió durante sus jornadas caminando en solitario y que respondían a cuestiones que le habían acompañado durante toda la vida.

Este es uno de esos libros repletos de hallazgos en cada capítulo, sobre todo si es la primera vez, como en mi caso, que se lee sobre Cornualles. Personalmente nunca he estado en esta región, pero sí en la Bretaña francesa, y me ha llamado la atención lo mucho que tienen en común, desde sus paisajes y vegetación hasta la cultura y la lengua. Porque el idioma bretón que a día de hoy se habla en la «pequeña» Bretaña es descendiente de aquel en el que se comunicaban los britones, las tribus celtas que habitaban el sur de Gran Bretaña y que acabaron siendo relegadas por los invasores anglosajones, pueblos germánicos provenientes de la Europa continental. Este desplazamiento ocurrió de este a oeste, convirtiendo a Cornualles en el último reducto de los britones, algunos de cuyos habitantes decidieron, antes de ser asimilados, huir por mar, acabando en esa esquina de Francia que tan similar les pareció a su tierra natal allá por el siglo VI (otros acabaron en Galicia, pero esa es otra historia). Ese idioma ancestral de los britones, y que referido a la región de Cornualles se denomina «lengua córnica», fue sustituido progresivamente por el inglés de manera que sus últimos hablantes monolingües habitaron en los siglos XVII y XVIII. Este es uno de los múltiples datos que desconocía, y me ha sorprendido que a día de hoy, gracias a varios colectivos de Cornualles que se han dedicado en recuperarlo y revitalizarlo, el córnico se enseñe en los colegios, se use en documentos oficiales, e incluso se escriban libros, poesía y obras de teatro en él, a pesar de haber estado más de doscientos años extinguido.

Por poner un ejemplo de uno de esos giros tan bien traídos por el autor, en un capítulo llega hasta un páramo de granito llamado Bodmin Moor, y concretamente hasta un estanque situado en esta zona: Dozmary Pool. Junto a aquel pequeño lago nos cuenta la historia de Jan Tregagle, o Tregeagle, un magistrado del siglo XVII que, según una leyenda local que lo convertiría en una especie de Fausto, fue condenado a achicar las aguas del mencionado estanque tan solo con la concha de una lapa tras realizar un pacto con el diablo. Más tarde, y aquí llega uno de esos grandes momentos del libro, al menos para mí, el autor usa el apellido del personaje para hablarnos de cómo el prefijo "Tre-" hace referencia en la lengua córnica a los asentamientos o aldeas, y por qué tantos topónimos y apellidos actuales empiezan con estas tres letras (las otras dos raíces más comunes serían "Pen-", que denominaría a las colinas o promontorios, y "Pol-", que sería lago o estanque, o también parroquia). Leyendo esto recordé que muchos lugares que había visitado en la Bretaña francesa comenzaban de la misma forma, como Tréguier, Penmarc’h o Ploumilliau, confirmando de alguna forma ese paralelismo (por influencia del francés, "Pol-" evolucionó en "Plo-" o "Plou", pero el origen es el mismo). Y así es como, en cada lugar por el que pasa, el autor encuentra una manera de contar alguno de los aspectos más interesantes de la cultura y las tradiciones de Cornualles, que como ya he dicho es uno de los puntos fuertes del libro (incluso bromea en algún momento con que son los traviesos pixies, criaturas benignas que se divierten desorientando a los viajeros, los causantes de que diverja tanto del tema principal).

La pesca y el mundo de la navegación también tienen un protagonismo importante en el libro, lo que no es de extrañar teniendo en cuenta que Cornualles es una región completamente bañada por las aguas del océano Atlántico y que el padre del autor faenaba en un llamativo barco naranja llamado Heather Armorel, cuya fotografía a color aparece en una de las páginas centrales del libro. Nos habla de las dos industrias principales de la región, hoy prácticamente desaparecidas: la pesca de sardinas y la minería de estaño, siendo esta última mencionada incluso en escritos griegos de antes de Jesucristo. También alude a los "wreckers", gremio cuasi-legendario —comúnmente asociado con Cornualles— de delincuentes que de forma ilegal robaban la mercancía de los naufragios antes de que llegaran las autoridades o los propietarios, y que según historias algo oscuras carentes de rigor histórico incluso atraían a los barcos a la costa por medio de faros y hogueras para que embarrancaran (me ha hecho ilusión descubrir que este término, "wrecker", es el mismo que en Santander, ciudad en la que resido desde hace escasas semanas, designa a los "raqueros" del puerto). La pesca masiva de sardinas acabó esquilmando los bancos de estos peces, y esta industria se fue diluyendo, al igual que la minera, sobrepasada por su homóloga africana, pero de las antiguas minas quedan algunas estructuras en ruinas y unas grandes formaciones, conocidas como "pits", que parecen formar parte de la orografía del lugar pero que son en realidad las montañas de escoria de los antiguos yacimientos de estaño. De hecho, el libro empieza desde la cima de uno de estos montículos, con una frase para el recuerdo: "You are in a place that does not exist" («estás en un lugar que no existe», en referencia a que no aparece en los mapas topográficos de la zona al tratarse de un accidente artificial, a pesar de que su altitud es de todo menos despreciable).

Sin entrar en más detalles, gracias a este libro he aprendido también sobre un tema tan dispar como el proceso de fabricación de la porcelana, proveniente de China y que en Europa no se averiguó hasta pasado mucho tiempo qué materiales, como por ejemplo el feldespato, muy abundante en una región tan granítica como Cornualles, eran necesarios para replicar la técnica con la que se elaboraba (de hecho, «cerámica» en inglés se dice «china», algo que ya sabía pero que ahora cobra mucho más sentido). También he descubierto a varios escritores de viajes de antaño a los que me apetece indagar, como Celia Fiennes, que recorrió Cornualles a caballo a finales del siglo XVII y lo narró con mucho sentido del humor y sinceridad, o James Hoskin, que partió a Nueva York en un barco directamente desde Penzance, un pueblecito de Cornualles, algo impensable a día de hoy. Otro aspecto que he descubierto y que no me ha agradado tanto es cómo el problema de la gentrificación y el turismo han afectado sobremanera a Cornualles, región con salarios bastante bajos en comparación al resto de Inglaterra pero con un clima envidiable, lo que ha propiciado que los alquileres tradicionales hayan desaparecido en pos de las casas turísticas, y que las residencias de nueva construcción en los últimos treinta o cuarenta años se hayan encarecido en varios órdenes de magnitud al acabar siempre en manos de foráneos con mayor poder adquisitivo que solo pasan allí un par de meses al año, condenando a las nuevas generaciones a no poder emanciparse ni adquirir propiedad.

Conforme se va acercando a Penwith, su lugar de nacimiento y donde se crió, el autor reflexiona abiertamente sobre lo que significa pertenecer a una minoría nacional. En el caso de la región de Cornualles, no se trata de un país dentro del Reino Unido, como lo son Gales y Escocia, sino que pertenece a Inglaterra, pero sí está protegida por el Consejo de Europa desde 2014 gracias al Convenio marco para la protección de las minorías nacionales, por lo que una persona nacida allí puede decir abiertamente que es córnica en lugar de inglesa o británica, y contaría con el respaldo oficial de un organismo internacional. Es llamativo que, hacia el final del libro, el autor confiese que, aunque naciera en Cornualles y se identifique como córnico, ninguno de sus antepasados sea originario de allí, ni siquiera sus padres. Esta reflexión le lleva a preguntarse hasta qué punto la identidad cultural es asumida o cuestionada según el origen étnico: en su caso, probablemente habría encontrado más obstáculos para que el resto del mundo aceptara su origen sin réplica alguna si sus padres no hubieran sido blancos.

[Steve Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this splendid book in St. Ives as a Christmas present to myself. I had seen a review and was intrigued to read it as in the last few years I have completed a retirement adventure. With my great school friend we walked the whole of the South West Coast Path. Twenty-six of our walks were along the Cornish coast. I loved every single step and am missing it right now. We ventured inland away from the coast path from time to time and we drove across large part of this wonderful part of Britain. Tim covers the in-between that Andy and I didn't fully experience. I enjoyed, very much this elelemt of the book

Now that I have finished Tim's book I just wanted to say it answered many of things that puzzled me and at times infuriated me about Cornwall. Much of that to do with the falsity of myths and identities. I very much enjoyed reading about the Celtic nonsense and also the pretensions and artifice of some of the artists, poets too. What comes through, vividly at times is the life of the ordinary men and women who have shaped Cornwall into what it now is. Fishing folk, farmers and those who toiled underground in what must have been horrendous working conditions. For Andy and i looking at all the examples of past economic activity was a humbling experience.

I like to think, like our writer, that spending time walking through this landscape connects you in a more profound way. I certainly feel that. Tim writes about it far better than I ever could and I am grateful to him for putting down on paper that heady mix of sublime landscape and an economic underbelly. An underbelly that has got worse in recent years and I was shocked to see so much extravagant house building along the coast. Rarely, if ever did we see affordable housing going up. Therein lies a problem that is a part of the Granite Kingdom.

One day in our Cornish adventure we walked from Cape Cornwall to Treen. The sun shone all day a golden, crystal clear light. The coastal landscape could not have ben more handsome. Except for the Land's End "Experience". A monstrosity. Later that same day we walked back to the car across fields with a rather curmudgeonly Cornishman. He regaled us with all that is wrong in terms of house prices, fishing, employment in general but he also proudly told us that, "this is as fine a stretch of coast as you will find anywhere". I liked that a lot and in the same way that i liked this book very much.

In conclusion a book of this genre with maps will always gets positive from me. Writing about the geology raises it to another level and as for putting the fundamental rock of the south-west in the title. Well, a masterstroke! A seriously interesting and informative read that took me back to a very favourite place which i will be walking again sooner rather than later.

Highly recommended.

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[2023] This is a book of two parts. One a travelogue and one a Cornish history. It is extremely well written and very easy to read. It’s a joy from start to finish and unique in its coverage and style. In alternate paragraphs – a beautifully written travelogue – well observed and often with a unique angle, then seamlessly flips into Cornish history which is meticulously researched and written with gusto. Its engaging, entertaining and informative. All of that said – its probably designed more for the general reader as opposed to the serious Cornish historian or the Cornish for that matter.

The thing to know about Cornish history is that it has traditionally been written in one of two ways. Kernowsceptic (a focus on Cornwall’s assimilation into England) and Kernowcentric (Cornwall continuing to be an independent political entity). The author although having many insights about the Cornish – their sayings, their look, their attitudes, their nuanced ways etc. maintains a very subtle, but firmly held attitude that breaks through from time to time. He is clearly a 'Kernowsceptic'. Toward the end of the book – he reveals that his family had moved to Cornwall as a fairly early part of what has been a democratic revolution. From the 1960s the Cornish have been pushed into ethnic minority status by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of English inward migrants. One suspects that the sense of cultural threat of the Cornish and the increased ‘Cornish’ expression of those who arrived mourning their deceasing sense of otherness may be related to this and therefore the author’s position in the phenomenon is reversed from passive recipient to active participant.

From a generation that accepts ‘self-identification’ as a valid underpinning to ethnicity, he minimises the ‘lived-experience’ of others and rejects anti-Cornish discrimination with a ‘if you have never been abused on a train because of your skin colour’ – get over yourself attitude. Growing up in West Penwith (an area that attracted the new-agers and the alternatives) in the 1980s was ‘inward migrant central’ and even young Cornish people would have had a different experience of their own ethnicity than their parents a generation before. However, for those of us who were called ‘thick Cornish’ and listened to English people dismiss anything that went wrong as ‘that’s the Cornish for you’ – it was not so clear cut.

For a well written travelogue with some great Cornish history thrown in this is a good read. If you want to know more about the reality of Cornish life in a post-Cornish Cornwall than look elsewhere.

[Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy conversational style of writing interspersing snippets of history, geology and literature into a conventional travel journal which talks of the landscape and natural world. There are two useful maps at the beginning of the book to help orientate yourself whilst reading, if you are not familiar with all of the places. Although a professional travel writer, Hannigan is Cornish and so usefully includes memories of his youth in the seventies and eighties to provide depth to his observations.
I like the way that the author keeps being unable to follow the footpaths at the beginning of his walk through Cornwall, trying to follow the land border with Devon north along the Tamar.
I also like his musings upon Cornish-ness, what it means for Hannigan, and his point about a shared geography based on place names that are predominantly Cornish words.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** as a hiking/walking travel writing of Cornwall - unless you're familiar with Cornwall it's very hard to figure out where he is, where he's headed, and the travel bits seem gratuitously thrown in amongst the extensive history of Cornwall as 'filler' for the meat (the ***** stuff).
***** as a history of Cornwall's history - its artists, legend, authors, writing about writers who wrote about Cornwall, lots of it, very detailed, sometimes fascinating, sometimes a rough read to focus on if you're not familiar with the Cornwall material.

The footnotes by chapter at the end are amazing! I'm very happy I read this. It was eye-opening, and revealed many fascinating facts. I come away with a lot more knowledge of Cornwall's history, but honestly just kind of a little of a sense of the place I was hoping for from the author's walking of it.

[Mark Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lived in Cornwall for 7 years and grew to love its cliffs, history, and mystery. I came as an outsider and left with a glimpse of this much misunderstood place. It is a place I am drawn to still, and as such I picked up this book, in part to rectify the terrible disappointment of discovering the fiction that the until this year 'The Salt Path' represented. I loved the Salt Path(and to a lesser extent its sequels), but there is something essentially Cornish in Wynn's reinventing of the truth that this book also taps into. Hannigan gives an account of the truth and the fabrication of Cornish history and culture as a Cornishman himself. What he does effectively is cut through the myth to examine the nature of the 'Wild West' and its own reinvention of itself to become what it has in the present.

[Alison Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is much more than a travelogue of someone walking around Cornwall - lots of stories of the people who lived there, moved there, wrote about the area plus information about the land, the history, the towns, famous sites, etc etc. Plus Hannigan talks about his own feelings regarding being "Cornish, not English". I love that it was someone who was born and lived in Cornwall that is walking around and describing all from his eyes.

Read as part of a book group discussion through Sherlock and Pages (bookstore in Frome UK) Pilgrim's Book Club. Looking forward to a live podcast with Luke and the author talking about the book.

[Mr Michael R Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Granite Kingdom is a travel book which takes us on a 300 mile journey on foot through the county looking at its historic and cultural topography. It’s an exploration of Cornwall from the Tamar to Lands End using roads and paths some well used and some inaccessible.
We discover what makes Cornwall Cornwall, what makes it different, why the Cornish see themselves as a race apart, why they seek a separate identity.
It took me a while to read, it’s a book I found easy to dip in and out of, but hugely enjoyable.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful but affectionate look at Cornwall by someone who grew up there framed within a summer walk across the County. The text weaves historical accounts of visitors in previous eras with a current view of the state of Cornwall. The travelogue visits not just the well known hotspots but also the unglamorous and unvisited interior which most people never really see except from the A30 as they speed to Padstow or Penwith!

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part autobiography, travelogue, geography, history, folk tale, social economics, and great story-telling all rolled into one - this is simply an amazingly engrossing book about Cornwall and life.

Hugely readable and very informative - this is a great read and I'll be getting more of his work into my reading list.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this in paperback but finished with audio book. It’s nice to have the pair copy to see maps and pictures. I enjoyed learning more about the Cornish area & found it more interesting than I had anticipated. I read this as part of the Pilgrims Book Club and look forward to watching the video with the author.

[Christine Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

A travelogue of a journey round Cornwall, by a Cornishman. This book focuses on the history of the region and particularly on its identity both as ‘Celtic’ and as part of England. Good for anyone who read ‘The Salt Path’ and wants to know more about the area.

[Neal Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply idyllic, a superb journey through a much loved county. The best book of my reading year.

[Rachael R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful reflection on Cornwall and its heritage.

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at Cornwall's history and geography. The author goes well past the obvious and explores the reality and how some of the myths were created. Recommended for any lovers of the place.

[George Foord · Rating 4 out of 5]

a interesting read but was a bit all over the place

[Teresa]

Note to self: When read, accompany with https://youtu.be/PIAsYramjSQ?si=ki8Yv...

[Tim Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

As anyone who is familiar with Tim Hannigan’s The Travel Writing Tribe: Journeys In Search Of A Genre (Hurst, 2021) will know, Hannigan is an academic who writes about travel writing with admirably accessible flair. Travelling in companionable prose with him is always a joy, and in this book particularly so, because here we are on his home turf. But writing a travelogue about one’s own homeland, as Hannigan acknowledges, is perhaps a more challenging task than writing as an outsider. Most travel writing has a kind of ‘through the looking glass’ quality to it. The whole point of the travel writer’s self-appointed task is to act as the outsider looking-in, providing an interpretation of ‘the other’ for readers who (it is tacitly assumed) are similarly placed at one remove from both the place and people described. But writing as an insider looking both within whilst also attempting to present an outward-looking personal interpretation for insiders and non-insiders alike could very easily become a tautological trap set in a hall of mirrors, yet Hannigan manages to remain aware of this inherent difficulty at all times.

In walking a meanderingly meditative (and many a pasty fuelled) route through Cornwall, from the banks of the River Tamar to his childhood home of Morvah, Hannigan guides us through his own unique view of, and engagement with the history, folklore, and geology, as well as the physical and cultural topography of a Cornwall which as a writer he aims to reconcile within himself as much as for the reader who accompanies him on what is a very personal journey. [...] It’s often said that the point of travelling is best realised in homecoming; hence, if this book represents a new direction in an erstwhile familiar genre of travel writing, I think the kind of homeward route which Hannigan sets out to explore in The Granite Kingdom should be a welcome one for others to take and emulate.

I've written a longer and more in-depth review of this book on my personal blog, here.

[Sara Raftery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, incisive, and thoughtful. Hannigan has particularly valuable insights on identity formation, what it means to claim a minority identity, and the philosophy of tourism. I also learned a ton about Cornwall. Absolutely required reading for anyone with an interest in British history, industrial/postindustrial history, identity formation, and the relationships of Cornwall and England to one another.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhh. Tedious, and ventured into some territory I wasn't really interested in reading about. DNF.