A nineteenth-century diary, written by a man who later became vicar of Urswick, has been lovingly ‘resurrected’ by a Lake District resident.

In the book, created in 1865, Robert Burland Billinge documented his travels around British India aged 18.

Peter Johnson, whose wife Otalia is the great-great granddaughter of Burland Billinge, has spent much of the last year deciphering and transcribing the 150 year-old diary.

This was no easy task, as neglect and water-damage had rendered much of it difficult to read. It was even immersed in the sea as its author travelled between the city of Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and Suez, Egypt en route back to England.

“It got stormy, and he left the porthole open, and the water came in, so it swamped his cabin,” said Mr Johnson, 85, who lives in Kendal.

Burland Billinge later settled in the Lake District, and was vicar of Urswick for 25 years, between 1878 and 1903. He died in 1915.

The diary, published this month by Cinderbarrow Press, is accompanied by an almanac as well as letters which the author wrote home to his parents. Mr Johnson has also furnished it with additional information gained via his own research.

It is an almost comprehensive account of Burland Billinge’s travels between January and November of 1865.

Mr Johnson said: “As a Victorian ‘Gap Year’ diary, by a teenager, it is quite exceptionally rare...

“There are entries for every single day, ranging from ‘Felt seedy, just read smoked and slept’ to ‘He was stabbed in the chest. Dropped down dead, while the onlookers said ‘serves him right’ and took no further notice.’”

Mr Johnson added: “He puts up with all sorts of troubles, which nowadays – there’s no way you would…

“It gives a day to day picture of what life was like in that time of the century.”

Indeed, Burland Billinge’s documented adventures range from a confrontation with a tiger while riding on the back of an elephant to bouts of sickness including malaria.

‘Gap Year: The Diary of a Victorian Teenager’ is available online from Books Cumbria.