Rick Stein reveals the Cornwall that he knows and loves: a unique part of the British isles with a strong sense of identity and a history rooted in its Celtic past. With his famous natural inquisitiveness, Rick shares the road less travelled.
Rick takes a trip back in time to his early days running a nightclub in Padstow before making the ultimate fish pie with some deliciously plump pollock.
Rick travels to St Ives to meet artist Alfred Wallis and visits a very rare collection of medieval stained-glass windows in the church of St Neot in the shadow of Bodmin Moor.
Rick meets Springwatch presenter and biologist Gillian Burke, who takes him on a walk through a rare habitat called an Atlantic temperate rainforest on the banks of the Helford River.
Cornwall has more than its fair share of folk tales; Rick recounts perhaps the most famous of them, the tale of the Mermaid of Zennor, near Land's End in this episode.
Rick roams the dramatic north Cornish coast to tell the story of Thomas Hardy - one of Britain's best-loved writers - and his little-known love affair with a Cornishwoman.
Cornish king crab is on the menu for Rick as he heads out of Newquay to catch and cook this tasty crustacean before heading to Bodmin Moor to meet explorer Robin Hanbury.
Rick heads from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly, where he learns about one of the Royal Navy's worst shipping disasters and meets a beekeeper trying to breed a native honeybee.
Rick meets a man who is paid to eat 700 samples of cheese a week and then heads to Newlyn, which is the unlikely setting of one of Britain's most revolutionary art movements.
Rick learns how Cornwall was at the heart of British Empire communications and also meets William Golding's daughter to learn about the inspiration behind his novel Lord of the Flies.
Rick goes on a tour around the beautiful Camel Estuary, visits his long-time fish supplier Matthew Stevens, and examines the impact of second home ownership on Cornwall.
Rick joins a team diving for razor clams, makes a dish of grilled shangurro clams, visits Newlyn's ordnance datum and is shown beautiful copperwork at the Penlee Museum.
Rick discovers how the Cornish landscape influenced Turner, joins an auctioneer at Newlyn Fish Market, and learns about Caerhays Castle's link to Victorian plant hunters.
Rick visits a mausoleum with a macabre story on the River Tamar, meets chef Emily Scott to taste the meal that she cooked for American president Joe Biden, and takes to the waves.
Rick learns about a time when the Cornish were taken as slaves by pirates, joins one of the last fishing boats in St Mawes, and meets two mackerel-cooking entrepreneur chefs.
Rick visits the Rame Peninsula, which is far from the traditional tourist track and known for its beaches and cliffs, and also explores the history of the Cornish pasty.