0:00:02 > 0:00:05For many, the 1950s were the Golden Age of British motoring.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10Back then driving was leisurely, liberating and fun.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14BRAKES SQUEAL AND HORN BEEPS
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Yes, things have changed a bit since then.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24But, perhaps it's still possible to recapture some of that old magic.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Oh, yes!
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I'm setting off on six of the best drives from the 1950s,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35as recommended by the guidebooks of the era.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40And I'll be driving them in some of the decade's most iconic vehicles.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43GEARS CRUNCH
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Oh, I've gone into reverse!
0:00:45 > 0:00:49I want to find out if these routes still thrill and inspire.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52This is a spectacular road.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58And how, in 50 years, Britain itself has changed.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Oh, for God's sake!
0:01:00 > 0:01:03They wouldn't have thought to come here without a sat nav.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05I'm sure they wouldn't.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08People don't value each other as much as they did then.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It was a different type of life, wasn't it?
0:01:10 > 0:01:12HORNS BEEPING
0:01:26 > 0:01:30There is no country in the world so completely satisfying to tour
0:01:30 > 0:01:32as the British Isles.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34The roads are excellent and the scenery is enchanting,
0:01:34 > 0:01:40varying from an exquisite softness of beauty found in no other county in the world,
0:01:40 > 0:01:46to a wild and rugged grandeur unsurpassed elsewhere.
0:01:46 > 0:01:53England, Scotland and Wales between them are the finest countries in the world for motoring holidays.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58It sounds like driving in '50s Britain was an utter delight,
0:01:58 > 0:02:04but the sad fact is, I completely missed out on it all.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09My family couldn't afford a car and I didn't pass my test until the late seventies.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Nowadays, well, it's hardly "the joy of the open road," is it?
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Yes, this is a traffic jam.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27So, finally I've got a chance to experience what I missed out on.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32I've been tooled up with the best motoring guides of the decade and, with a little trepidation,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36I'm putting all my years of driving modern automatics behind me,
0:02:36 > 0:02:42and embracing 1950s technology.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Oh!
0:02:45 > 0:02:46LAUGHS
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Oh my goodness, it's splendid.
0:02:49 > 0:02:56Gosh, it's a Morris Minor 1000, a Traveller.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Gosh. All I'm worried about is the state of the gears.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11My first trip is to Yorkshire and a region that my 1959 guide
0:03:11 > 0:03:15reckons is perfect for a motoring holiday.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16GEARS CRUNCH
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It's a very easy car to drive,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26the Morris Traveller, nice steering
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and the gears are relatively simple.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Haven't quite got control of them, but we're getting there.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36# ..Come on everybody...! #
0:03:40 > 0:03:45The Morris Traveller first appeared on Britain's roads in 1952
0:03:45 > 0:03:49and, with its "mock Tudor" half-timbered effect,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52it's one our most fondly remembered vehicles.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It was conceived by the famous Mini designer,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Alec Issigonis, as a quality but affordable car for the working man.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04And, with a fuel consumption of 38 miles per gallon,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09it was about the most economical car on the nation's roads.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15It's a classic piece of 1950s British engineering
0:04:15 > 0:04:20and in it, I'll be doing a classic 1950s British drive.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Our recommended route will take in some of Yorkshire's finest scenery -
0:04:29 > 0:04:34from the bucket and spade resort of Scarborough, through the lush
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Dalby forest, and on to the A169 - described in 1953 as
0:04:40 > 0:04:43"probably the finest moorland road in the world".
0:04:43 > 0:04:48It leads to our final destination - the historic port of Whitby.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52SEAGULLS CRY
0:04:52 > 0:04:53So first stop,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57a town that's as British as sausage and mash or Winston Churchill.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05Group of girls there with T-shirts on saying "slappers on tour".
0:05:07 > 0:05:10# Whaddya want to make those eyes at me for
0:05:11 > 0:05:13# If they don't mean what they say... #
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Scarborough claims to be our country's first resort,
0:05:17 > 0:05:22and it's got everything you'd expect to see in a British seaside town.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26# You're fooling around with me now... #
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Lots of amusement arcades, fish and chips, gift shops.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35And, really, when you look at all this, you think,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38well, this must have been exactly what it was like in the 50s.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Absolutely classic British seaside resort.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Catering for holidaymakers is Scarborough's principal industry.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Streams of motor coaches pour into it
0:05:51 > 0:05:53from the towns of industrial Yorkshire,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58disgorging some thousands of trippers near the beach.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06The Harbour Ice Cream Bar has been a fixture on the Scarborough seafront since 1945.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10And I've arranged to meet tourism expert, Victor Middleton,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15to find out why the '50s were such a boom time for the British seaside.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Is it safe to say that the '50s
0:06:19 > 0:06:23was the heyday of resort tourism in Britain?
0:06:23 > 0:06:27British resort tourism, I would say, '50s and '60s were the period
0:06:27 > 0:06:32of greatest demand for British seaside resorts such as Scarborough.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36There must have been a real hunger for people to have a holiday.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- Well, yes. - Working class people, as well.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Well, the whole population.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45I mean, anybody over the age of 40 or 50 had lived through
0:06:45 > 0:06:49two world wars, they'd had the deprivation of the 1930s.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54They'd had six years of war and misery, and the danger as well, for many,
0:06:54 > 0:07:01and they were absolutely hungry for holidays and so the resorts were the logical places to go.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Yeah. You grew up in a small hotel. What was that like in the 50s?
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Well, it was a small hotel, which had about 30 people maximum.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I think there were two lavatories for 30 people.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17There was one bathroom, because you were expected to have a bath before you came.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23And people were advertising spring-interior mattresses in all rooms, as opposed to straw!
0:07:23 > 0:07:27- And hot and cold running water was pretty upmarket.- Gosh.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31But the key thing in the '50s, maybe more than now, because people
0:07:31 > 0:07:38had this pent up desire, there was a spirit of enthusiasm and enjoyment,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40which has probably diminished.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45People didn't have televisions, so they talked, it was a very social business.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- Do you think people were happier then?- In my view, yes, they were.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54- But there's a danger as you get older, you look back with a golden glow, as you know!- Yes.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Of course, the boom times of the '50s and '60s didn't last.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05The arrival of cheap foreign package deals
0:08:05 > 0:08:10meant the next 30 years were pretty grim for many of our seaside towns.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16But in recent times, happily, places like Scarborough have begun fighting back.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And, with fuel prices going through the roof, lots of us
0:08:22 > 0:08:27are returning to the uniquely British charms of the resorts.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29PLANE ENGINE ROARS
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Oh, yes.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Three times a week during the summer season,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43war is waged amongst the ducks and dragon boats
0:08:43 > 0:08:45of Scarborough's Peasholm Park...
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Oh, my goodness!
0:08:47 > 0:08:50..by the world's smallest crewed Navy.
0:08:50 > 0:08:57Apparently, there's seven of these boats are actually manned boats.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I think they're motorised...
0:09:01 > 0:09:04but that doesn't look a terribly comfy job to me.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08It's almost like driving a vintage car!
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Game council employees have been blowing each other up here for the past 80 years.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Most popularly, unsurprisingly, after the Second World War
0:09:25 > 0:09:28when it was all about trouncing the German Navy.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Things are a bit more "PC" now.
0:09:31 > 0:09:37As someone once famously said, "Don't mention the war!"
0:09:37 > 0:09:41You notice they say "the enemy", they don't say...
0:09:41 > 0:09:45"the Iraqis, or the Afghanis...
0:09:45 > 0:09:46"or the Germans even."
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The combined attack of the Royal Navy and Royal Airforce
0:09:52 > 0:09:56have blasted the enemy into submission.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03I must say, I'm rather charmed by Scarborough.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05And it's, well, buzzing!
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Quite a lot of people though, who look - how can I put this nicely -
0:10:10 > 0:10:13like they really enjoy their food.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17It's a rather worrying 21st century trait that I'm taking
0:10:17 > 0:10:20as a warning to watch what I eat.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25And because I'm driving a late '50s car, the producers won't
0:10:25 > 0:10:32allow me a sat nav, so I've got to rely on these very old guidebooks.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36So it says here to start at Scalby, three miles out of Scarborough
0:10:36 > 0:10:43on the A171 and follow from there signposts to Hackness and Snainton,
0:10:43 > 0:10:48by a gated road which, happily, is little used.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53And provided that enough time is left to deal with the gates,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55is a thoroughly enjoyable route.
0:10:57 > 0:11:04And here, in Motoring in Yorkshire, "this leads to the forest drive
0:11:04 > 0:11:07"on which, through the kindness of the Forestry Commission,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11"the visitor can enjoy Canadian surroundings
0:11:11 > 0:11:16"and see almost every kind of conifer at close quarters."
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Now that's something to look forward to.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22"Every kind of conifer at close quarters."
0:11:32 > 0:11:37Oh, they're lovely... The vistas on the left here.
0:11:38 > 0:11:45My destination is North Yorkshire's Dalby forest, but the road that leads there is a joy in itself.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Oh, this is spectacular forest up here.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Absolutely quintessential British countryside.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Oh, lovely.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05"Forest drive, toll road ahead"?!
0:12:07 > 0:12:08Toll road!
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Well!
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Ah, £7 per car. Ah, I see.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Right, we'd better stop.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Known as the "Great Yorkshire Forest"
0:12:26 > 0:12:31the Dalby Forest covers 8,000 acres and contains more than 20 million
0:12:31 > 0:12:36trees, making it one of Britain's largest expanses of woodland.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43And every year, a third of a million visitors come to enjoy it.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The motorist who elects to spend his holidays in his own country
0:12:50 > 0:12:55may well be taking a wise decision, for Britain, it would seem,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58has been designed by nature for the pleasure of the tourist.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02GEARS CRUNCH
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The drive is a nine-mile run through the heart of the forest,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11with car parks, picnic places, play areas, and of course,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14one or two trees.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17The spruce tree in America, in Canada,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22of course, they grow over two-hundred feet tall,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24but I don't think we've got them here.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Well, I suppose that's the end of the toll road.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35And it was £7...
0:13:37 > 0:13:42and I didn't really feel as though I was in Canada, somehow.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Mind you, I've never been to Canada so maybe I'm the last person to judge.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49But it was very nice.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00As I leave the forest, my route takes me onto the A169
0:14:00 > 0:14:01towards Whitby -
0:14:01 > 0:14:07a road that my 1950s guides promise is going to be pretty special.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14"Severe gradients over the next twelve miles, check your brakes."
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Lovely.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19And smack dab by the side of the road
0:14:19 > 0:14:22is one of Britain's geological marvels.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Ah, there it is.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30That is the Hole of Horecum.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Ah, spectacular.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45The Hole of Horecum is a remarkable feature in the Yorkshire landscape.
0:14:45 > 0:14:52A natural amphitheatre 600 feet deep, a mile long, and a quarter of a mile wide.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55Oh, there we are -
0:14:57 > 0:14:59the Hole of Horecum.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Like a mini Grand Canyon.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Legend has it that the Hole of Horecum was caused
0:15:08 > 0:15:12by a giant scooping up dirt and throwing it at his wife.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15That's the legend.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20The probable cause is lots of action of springs down in the valley.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Lovely. Lovely shape.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Don't know what you would do with it, but it is a lovely shape.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31A great...
0:15:32 > 0:15:33..vista.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Very beautiful.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41Not enhanced by the motorcycles going at 120mph.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47I'm just going to go down there and stand at the bottom of the hole
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and wave back.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52So see you shortly.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Oh, no, maybe I won't!
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Leaving the green valley of the Hole of Horecum behind, the road
0:16:16 > 0:16:21now leads on to a massive expanse of heather-strewn moorland,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25with views stretching off in all directions.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29A stunning sight in all its moody magnificence.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31Very pretty.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Probably one of the finest moorland roads in the world.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43This should not be attempted in bad weather, but if fine, and in autumn,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45it should not be missed.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Over there on the hill on the right is Filingdales,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57the RAF early warning system.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Big sort of triangular thing.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Nine miles from Whitby, we'll detour to the village
0:17:11 > 0:17:15of Goathland, a recommended stop in the 1950s
0:17:15 > 0:17:16and described in my guidebook
0:17:16 > 0:17:19as "a most attractive hamlet,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23"and one of the most memorable of the moorland villages."
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And this is Goathland we are coming into now.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29And there's sheep trying to cross the road.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Here I am in Goathland, slightly confused because
0:17:36 > 0:17:38it says Aidensfield stores.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42That's because this is the base of a very well-known
0:17:42 > 0:17:44police series on the other side.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46This might give you a clue...
0:17:46 > 0:17:48HEARTBEAT THEME TUNE
0:17:48 > 0:17:49That's enough.
0:17:49 > 0:17:50And this is where they film it.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Thanks to said series, Goathland has been transformed from a simple
0:17:56 > 0:17:58picturesque photo opportunity,
0:17:58 > 0:18:03to a place of pilgrimage for thousands of TV fans a year.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Why have you come here?
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Because I watch Heartbeat regularly.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- Regularly?- Oh yeah, I even watch the old series, I don't miss it. - And have you been here before?
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Oh yeah, I've brought my family, this is my third time, I love it.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18And why have you come to Aidensfield?
0:18:18 > 0:18:20We used to match it on a Sunday, you know.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21You used to? Not any more?
0:18:21 > 0:18:23No, no, I'm afraid I don't.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- Why's that? - I don't know, we just, you know...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29there's a lot of crap on the telly, as you know.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- We watch your program quite a bit.- Ah, there you are.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35And hello! Have you ever seen Heartbeat? No!
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- We come every year on a coach. - Every year?
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- Once a year...- But once you've seen it, you've seen it!
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Yeah, sure, but it's just nice to come back, isn't it?
0:18:43 > 0:18:48- It's his first time here, isn't it?. - First time? You're a virgin!
0:18:48 > 0:18:50In more ways than one!
0:18:50 > 0:18:53An Aidensfield virgin.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54Yeah, he is.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Peter Walker joined the North Yorkshire Police Force
0:18:59 > 0:19:04in the fifties and, based on his experiences, wrote the Constable
0:19:04 > 0:19:08series of books, which inspired the TV series.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14So Peter, you are really responsible for this small moorland village becoming a bit of a theme park?
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Yes, with a bit of help from a Yorkshire television company.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21So what was it like being a village policeman in the '50s?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Pretty good, cos you were certainly an important person in the community.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27And people trusted you as well, they came for advice,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29not necessarily police advice.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32They would ask you to fill forms in and a whole range of other things.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- Yeah. So people sort of looked up to you?- They did, yes..
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Probably more than they would now.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39We don't know our local policeman now.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41- No.- That's the problem.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46- The public in the '50s, I think, were far closer to the police service than they are now.- Yes.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And how often would you have to lock somebody up in the course of...?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Extremely rarely.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58I got a complaint from a woman one day who'd caught a youth stealing apples from her orchard.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01He was a small youth, about sixteen, but he was a tiny, tiny lad.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Now I thought, my sergeant will, if I arrest him for nicking apples, I'll be in dead trouble!
0:20:06 > 0:20:09So when I went to see him,
0:20:09 > 0:20:14I said to this boy, "Do you like picking apples?" and he said, "Well, yes".
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I said to the lady, "Do you want someone to pick all your orchard apples?"
0:20:17 > 0:20:20She said, "Yes, I do" so we made him pick all the apples.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- It never went to court. - Very sensible.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Apparently he was a jockey, stealing apples for his horse!
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Would you say that the '50s were a happier time?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Yes, I would certainly. Beyond doubt.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39Peter's obviously convinced that the '50s were a far better time for law and order.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45And, even without rose-tinted specs, it's difficult to argue with him.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49I mean, there clearly weren't the drug problems that fuel so much
0:20:49 > 0:20:56crime today, and there can be little doubt that much of our community spirit has since evaporated.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00I suppose that's one reason his stories are so popular -
0:21:00 > 0:21:04they conjure up a much simpler, safer time.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07It's very Blake-ean.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11God's in his heaven.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18This must be lovely when the heather's in full bloom.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26From Goathland, our route takes us the final few miles
0:21:26 > 0:21:32to our ultimate destination - one of Britain's most historic ports.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Few places equal Whitby in picturesqueness of situation.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50At the very gates of the town is scenery of almost every type.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53A bold, indented coastline,
0:21:53 > 0:21:59lofty cliffs, heather-clad uplands, pretty woods and waterfalls.
0:22:03 > 0:22:091950s Whitby had of course attractions galore to entertain the touring motorist.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12But I'm here to investigate a phenomenon that the authors of
0:22:12 > 0:22:17my old guidebooks could never have dreamed up in a million years.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22Nowadays, Whitby is the Goth Capital of the World.
0:22:22 > 0:22:28Twice a year, up to 10,000 of these exotic creatures descend on the town
0:22:28 > 0:22:32for a weekend of gothic music and celebrations.
0:22:32 > 0:22:38And several have decided to make the town their permanent home.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- Hi. What a car! - Thank you very much.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It's beautiful, beautiful.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46- What year?- 1957.- 57.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48And beautifully maintained by...?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- Me, Paul.- Paul.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54And do you use your hair to do that?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I see you've got matching colours.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- Of course. - Very good and it says Chevrolet.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05- Chevrolet, yes, it's American. - And you're Goths.- Indeed.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I'm going to find out all about that.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Are we all in?
0:23:10 > 0:23:15My new friends have agreed to show me the town's number one tourist attraction -
0:23:15 > 0:23:21Whitby Abbey founded in 657 and rebuilt in the 13th century.
0:23:21 > 0:23:29A huge inspiration to Gothic hero Bram Stoker, when writing his horror classic, Dracula.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33So do you all dress like this all the time or just for occasions?
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- Varying degrees.- I personally dress like this all the time.- Yeah.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- But your make-up is quite complicated, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Especially when you're wobbling at five o'clock in the morning!
0:23:45 > 0:23:50How much does Dracula come in to your culture?
0:23:50 > 0:23:55The Dracula association with Whitby is why we all came here in the first place, to check it out.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59- I see.- Then we fell in love for it for different reasons, I guess.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03And you have all actually moved to Whitby, haven't you?
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- Yeah, that's right. - Why is that, essentially?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- Because it's beautiful. - Because it's beautiful?
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It is a beautiful town and it's much safer to bring your family up in.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16We're all trying to get away from the crime and violence where we live.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Life here is like it was many years ago.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23And people actually respect each other, in a surer sense of the word - respect each other.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Ah, it was all going so well.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37But the combination of a one in four incline, a carload of Goths,
0:24:37 > 0:24:43and 50-year-old technology, has pushed my rusty clutch skills to their limit.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45We're rolling!
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Who would like to do it?
0:24:57 > 0:24:58I'll give it a go, I'll give it a go.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Right. I'm giving up! Thanks!
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Game over!
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- OK.- OK, let's give it a go.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Very good.
0:25:13 > 0:25:19'You never know when a Mohicanned vintage car enthusiast will come in handy.'
0:25:19 > 0:25:24- We made it.- Well done. I don't know how you did it in those boots!
0:25:24 > 0:25:26I'm not quite sure how I did it in these boots either!
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Very, very impressive.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42- What date are we talking about here, Michael?- It's around 657 and it was founded by Saint Hilder.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44- Saint Hilder?- Yeah.- Right.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46What else do we know about the abbey?
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Oh, I know something about the abbey, didn't the Germans shell it in the First World War?
0:25:51 > 0:25:55- That's right, they did. They took one of the towers off. - From a gun ship?
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Out just past the harbour way, yeah.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03But it's a fantastic place to photograph, I come up here a lot to photograph. It's beautiful.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08- It's great, the different colours of stone. Is that sandstone? - Sandstone, that's correct.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13You can see where it's weathered. But originally, this must have been a marvellous site.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Yeah, 7th century, extraordinary.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Well, it's lovely.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26You can kind of sense a presence. You can feel the atmosphere.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Yes, it has got an atmosphere, hasn't it?
0:26:28 > 0:26:34You can just feel it, you can sense it and it's very, very peaceful, it's nice to come up here,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38just for a bit of solitude, even though there's lots of people you feel isolated.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40That's the mist as well, doing that.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- Yeah.- Of course, it won't always be here, presumably.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Indeed but even when it's sunny...
0:26:48 > 0:26:53it's really good when it's raining, actually, and there is a storm and stuff, it's really good!
0:26:53 > 0:26:59The Abbey is a magnificent site, well worth a visit, especially if there's a sea mist!
0:26:59 > 0:27:03And it's a fitting climax to my Yorkshire drive.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06So, the ruins of Whitby Abbey.
0:27:06 > 0:27:127th century. Astonishing and guided by four Goths.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16I never thought I would do a programme about Britain's best drives
0:27:16 > 0:27:20with four Goths in a Morris Traveller! That must be a first.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Interesting that the Goths had come to Whitby, and left London and left
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Croydon and left places like that, because Whitby is Goth friendly.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Great to see the Hole of...
0:27:35 > 0:27:37scrotum, I was going to say!
0:27:37 > 0:27:39LAUGHTER
0:27:39 > 0:27:43What was it called?! Horecum! Horecum!
0:27:46 > 0:27:54Great to see the Hole of Horecum as a very, very picturesque bit of handwork by a giant. Very nice.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56The moors were just spectacular.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06It's been a hugely varied drive, both in scenery and people,
0:28:06 > 0:28:11and yet despite that, my whole journey has felt distinctly British.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Compared to the fifties?
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Different certainly, but not unrecognisable, and although there's
0:28:17 > 0:28:22obviously a lot more traffic on the roads, still hugely enjoyable.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25It's our first drive, but 50 years on,
0:28:25 > 0:28:31it must undoubtedly still be one of Britain's Best.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:41 > 0:28:43E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk