0:00:02 > 0:00:05For many, the 1950s were the golden age of British motoring.
0:00:05 > 0:00:11Back then driving was leisurely, liberating, and fun.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13SCREECHING, HORNS BEEP
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Yes, things have changed a bit since then.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25But perhaps it's still possible to recapture some of that old magic.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Oh, yes.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I'm setting off on six of the best drives from the 1950s,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36as recommended by the guidebooks of the era.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40And I'll be driving them in some of the decade's most iconic vehicles.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I've gone into reverse.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50I want to find out if these routes still thrill and inspire.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53This is a spectacular road.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58And how in 50 years Britain itself has changed. Oh, for God's sake.
0:00:58 > 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 > 0:01:07People don't value each other as much as they did then.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It was a different type of life, wasn't it?
0:01:10 > 0:01:12HORN BEEPS
0:01:23 > 0:01:27"Britain has no range as high as the Alps or the Pyrenees,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32"yet its mountain scenery on a miniature scale is as impressive.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38"The mountains of Wales have a real character of their own.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42"A rugged grandeur and an intimate beauty
0:01:42 > 0:01:46"out of all proportion to their actual physical height."
0:01:51 > 0:01:55# Come on, pretty baby let's a-move it and a-groove it... #
0:01:56 > 0:02:00So, here we are in North Wales,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04driving a Ford Zodiac.
0:02:04 > 0:02:091957 this car was made.
0:02:09 > 0:02:16Because it was made in 1957, you are exempt from wearing seatbelts.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22When the Zodiac was launched onto the British roads in 1955
0:02:22 > 0:02:25it must have seemed like it was from another planet.
0:02:25 > 0:02:32Gone was the usual British reserve, replaced with exciting, brash, futuristic stylings
0:02:32 > 0:02:35inspired, of course, by America.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38And, for the time, it was pretty racy.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42This model had a top speed of 90 miles per hour.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Although I don't think I'll be pushing it quite that far.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50The steering is just a little bit unresponsive.
0:02:50 > 0:02:58Turn the wheel to turn and it actually takes a couple of beats before it actually does it.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02It's a little bit confusing.
0:03:02 > 0:03:09I'm in North Wales to drive a route that in 1959 was reckoned a must for any motoring tour of the region.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14A round trip from Caernarfon and its castle that'll circle Mount Snowdon,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17a drive which my guidebook promises
0:03:17 > 0:03:21"reveals much of the finest scenery of the mountains,
0:03:21 > 0:03:27"several of the most handsome lakes, and the most impressive of all the passes."
0:03:27 > 0:03:34Although these antiquated publications can't always be totally trusted.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38According to my '50s guidebook
0:03:38 > 0:03:43this modern looking bridge here was a road bridge.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48You could actually drive along here and into Caernarfon.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52So the guide book of the '50s is way out.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57However, they do say this is the best view of Caernarfon Castle
0:03:57 > 0:04:00and it is splendid.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09All my guidebooks, of course, recommend a visit to the castle, and very impressive it is.
0:04:09 > 0:04:16But Caernarfon Castle doesn't have entirely happy associations for the people of Wales.
0:04:16 > 0:04:23I've arranged to meet author and Welsh language expert Bethan Gwanas to find out more.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26But despite my obvious reluctance,
0:04:26 > 0:04:32the director seems obsessed with filming in the most precipitous possible places.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37- You'd think with a driving show, heights won't come into it!- No!
0:04:37 > 0:04:43And I don't quite know why he's so amused at the thought of me plummeting from the parapets!
0:04:43 > 0:04:46LAUGHTER
0:04:46 > 0:04:51That's a funny image. I'm rocking back with laughter!
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Thanks, Neil.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56At least you'd lose your bloody job.
0:04:56 > 0:05:03So, Bethan, here we are in Caernarfon Castle above the cloud line.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09Isn't it true...I heard from a guide today that the Welsh weren't allowed in this castle?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11- No.- That's extraordinary.
0:05:11 > 0:05:19I know. Edward I built this castle when his soldiers killed our last crown prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- and as you can imagine that depressed us a bit.- Yes.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And then Edward I, nasty man, went round building all these castles
0:05:27 > 0:05:33to keep the Welsh in check, and then all the Welsh had to live outside the castle walls.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38They were not allowed in. Inside here in the 13th century and onwards would be only English people
0:05:38 > 0:05:41so that made us feel quite inferior, you can imagine can't you.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- It's amazing.- Yes.- Extraordinary.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Edward I wanted to stamp out the Welsh language, because...
0:05:46 > 0:05:51I can see his reasoning. If you have your own language, you've still got that pride, haven't you?
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- Absolutely.- So if you just stamp it out...if you just, you know...- Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58..assimilate us, make us English as well.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00But he didn't succeed, did he? We're still here!
0:06:00 > 0:06:03You're still here and talking Welsh.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Yeah, and we're allowed in the castle now as long as we pay.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12But it seems Edward's dastardly dream almost came true.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17Even 50 years ago the Welsh language was still on the back foot.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21A touring motorist like me might have heard Welsh being spoken,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24but they'd have been hard pressed to read it anywhere.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30If you had been driving around here in the '50s, English would still have been the official language.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34All the signs, everything, you know, menus, whatever, would have been in English.
0:06:34 > 0:06:40The fact that they're Welsh now is quite a recent thing 'cos I'm not that old,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44and I remember it was quite difficult to buy a birthday card in Welsh.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49- Oh, really?- Yes, it really was, because everything was in English.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54- Even in the '50s?- In the '50s and '60s, even the '70s. It was very recent.
0:06:54 > 0:07:00Basically we've got more pride now. Would you like a lesson now?
0:07:00 > 0:07:06- I could teach you how to say Caernarfon Castle in Welsh. - Oh, right.- Castle is "castell".
0:07:06 > 0:07:11- Castell.- Hey, you've just got the hardest sound in Welsh almost right.
0:07:11 > 0:07:18- Castell.- The double "L", you just put your tongue against the back of your teeth, just there.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- Say it again.- You put your tongue... - No, no...
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Say the name!
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- Castell, castell.- Castell.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- No.- Castell... Castell Caernarfon.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34- Castell Caernarfon. - Is that what I sound like?
0:07:35 > 0:07:40'Clearly, I've got some way to go before I master the Welsh language,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46'so Bethan has offered to continue my lesson en route to the next stop on my journey,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'Llanberis, the gateway to the mountains.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54'Little does she realise what she's letting herself in for.'
0:07:54 > 0:07:56You're taking your life in your hands!
0:07:56 > 0:08:01After 30 years of driving automatics I've discovered
0:08:01 > 0:08:06that me, hills, and classic cars aren't exactly the perfect mix.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Did they have roundabouts in the '50s?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12- Er, I don't suppose they did.- Oops.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- Right, I'm glad you're having such a good time.- I'm sorry!
0:08:22 > 0:08:25We have blast off!
0:08:29 > 0:08:33When you meet somebody, you'll want to say hello, won't you?
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- Yeah.- That's quite easy. Round here you would say "helo".
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- Helo.- With a...
0:08:39 > 0:08:41That's, er, Welsh... Helo.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43How are you is "shw mae".
0:08:43 > 0:08:44Shw mae.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- Helo, shw mae?- Helo, shw mae? Hello, how are you?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Yeah. "Da" is good.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Da. "Da" is good.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56- And very good is "da iawn". - Da iawn?- Yeah. OK. So you ask me how I am.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Er, er, er, er...
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Helo, shw mae?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Er oh, helo shw mae?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08- You can just keep going like that.- Helo, shw mae?
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- Oh, helo.- Helo, shw mae?
0:09:11 > 0:09:15- Great.- Helo, shw mae? - Your accent is perffaith.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17What is the Welsh for tailback?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Um, I would say cynffon, which means tail.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23- It's not bad.- It's about two miles.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28'I can safely say it's not the easiest language in the world.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'So it's with some relief that we reach our destination.'
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- Now this is Llanberis, we're here. - We're at Llanberis.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38'Just in time for a downpour.'
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- Oh, look it's pouring. I'm sorry. - Are you kicking me out in the rain?
0:09:42 > 0:09:48I'll give you a... I've got a bus table, a bus timetable somewhere here. Er...
0:09:48 > 0:09:51'Of course, my guidebooks had warned me about the weather.'
0:09:51 > 0:09:52Goodbye!
0:09:54 > 0:09:58"In the mountains a few miles can make a big difference.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03"The rainfall at Llanberis for instance is close to 100 inches a year.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08"At Caernarfon, less than ten miles away, it is not much more than a third of that."
0:10:11 > 0:10:16'It's into those unpredictable and dramatic mountains that I'm now heading.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19'And the next part of my drive brings me face to face
0:10:19 > 0:10:25'with a sight as awesome today as it must have been 50 years ago.'
0:10:25 > 0:10:31Extraordinary view of the vast slate quarry here.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33It stretches for miles.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45"One of the most conspicuous features of Llanberis
0:10:45 > 0:10:47"is the great Dinorwig slate quarry,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49"on the opposite side of the lake.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53"It rises in step-like terraces for some 1,800 feet.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58"And the smoke from the locomotives as they ply along the galleries
0:10:58 > 0:11:02"affords one of the best indications of the immensity of the task."
0:11:12 > 0:11:17'Dinorwig was one of the largest slate quarries in the world
0:11:17 > 0:11:23'and 50 years ago the valley would echo to the great explosions that freed the slate from the rock.'
0:11:23 > 0:11:25EXPLOSIONS
0:11:27 > 0:11:32'At its height, 3,000 men toiled on the side of this great mountain.
0:11:33 > 0:11:39'And not surprisingly the quarry dominated life in the local communities.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47'In 1959, local lad Derek Jones was doing his apprenticeship here,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51'just like so many of his friends, neighbours and family had.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Your father, and your grandfather and everybody was still working there.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- It was in the family.- Yeah.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04- So when you were at school, did you think of doing anything else? - Well, no, to be honest.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and be a quarryman, to be honest with you.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- Right, and was your grandfather a quarryman?- Yes. He was, yes.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16- Right. And was it a dangerous job? - Oh, yes, quite dangerous, yes.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18There was many accidents.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24'And it would appear some of the dangers may have been due to quarrymen trying to cut costs,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27'and when you discover why it's hardly surprising.'
0:12:27 > 0:12:29You had to pay for everything.
0:12:29 > 0:12:35- You had to pay for your powder and fuse, while you're... - Really?- Oh, yes.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Even your tools, you had to pay for them.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- What, the company sold it to you? - Aye, yes.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45And when you wanted your tools sharpening, like your knife
0:12:45 > 0:12:49or your chisels and things, you'd take them to the smithy
0:12:49 > 0:12:54- and you had to pay him even for them to be sharpened up for you.- Amazing.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Yes. You even had to pay for the rope
0:12:57 > 0:13:03that the quarry mill would hang you from. Aye.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Because it cost so much, the fuse,
0:13:08 > 0:13:14- people try to make a short cut sometimes, you know.- Ah! - Which was very dangerous.- Very.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Yeah. If they could have got away with using a shorter fuse,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- which meant you'd have more for the next time, you know.- Yeah.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- It would have done, but...- Yes, yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28It's surprising they paid you at all, really, isn't it?!
0:13:28 > 0:13:35But Dinorwig is no longer the hive of activity described in my 1950s guidebooks.
0:13:35 > 0:13:41In 1969, after 200 years, the quarry was closed due to falling demand,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45leaving this breathtaking, but eerie site.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51When the quarry closed it must have affected the amount of work available.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Oh, it did. Yes, yes, yes.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57There were so many people hunting to find work after that, you know.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Thousands would be out of work.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Well, yeah. It affected the community as a whole, to be honest with you.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07- You might as well say it killed the community life in the village. - Yeah, yeah.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Because it was such a happy place to work in, you know.- Yeah, yeah.
0:14:10 > 0:14:17- Although it was hard work, everybody knew one another and they were all happy together, you know.- Yeah.
0:14:19 > 0:14:26'The great Welsh quarries, like so much of Britain's heavy industry, are pretty much all redundant now.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29'But what's interesting is how,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34'although it was tough, dirty, often gruelling work, people still look back on them fondly.
0:14:34 > 0:14:43'These huge employers, it seems, acted like a glue that bonded whole communities together.
0:14:43 > 0:14:49'Leaving the quarry behind, I'm now headed for one of the highlights of my drive,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51'the mighty Llanberis Pass.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I can see the path ahead, now.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58It does look quite dramatic.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10"The finest mountain road in Wales.
0:15:10 > 0:15:17"Shattered masses of every form, which have fallen from the heights, lie in strange confusion.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21"On the sunniest of days, it is a wild scene.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26"In cloudy or stormy weather, a scene of utter desolation."
0:15:31 > 0:15:37The rock looks as though some sort of giant has come along and chipped it all up,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42it's just millions of individual rocks.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46I suppose it's been like that since the glacial times.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51Everything looks like it's just strewn with rocks.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56'Not surprisingly, the area is popular with climbers
0:15:56 > 0:16:01'and many believe that modern rock climbing was born here in the 1950s.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11'I've come to meet an extraordinary chap, who knows these mountains like the back of his hand.
0:16:11 > 0:16:19'Solo climber and base jumper, Eric Jones, a man for whom safety ropes are a mere trifle.'
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And so, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?
0:16:22 > 0:16:24- I'm now 71.- 71?
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- Yes.- And are there lots of 70-year-old climbers?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Not very many, no.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35If you fell now, you could do yourself serious damage.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38- Don't tell me that!- I shouldn't.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Is it harder going down than going up?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Yes, yes. It hard to see your feet.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Cos you've got to look backwards?
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Especially on this rock where the holes tend to be a bit sloping.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54- So what sort of rock would you call this?- A big rock.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Oh, my goodness.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03Have you always got three bits of your body in contact?
0:17:03 > 0:17:06That's the way when you learn to climb.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09That's the system you use, always have three points of contact.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13But if you don't know how to climb, that's not possible always.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Maybe you've got just one hold, and then just launch yourself.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20So, the three point of contact rule is only for beginners.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22RICHARD LAUGHS
0:17:22 > 0:17:29'Back when he was a mere slip of a lad at 61, Eric base jumped form the world's highest waterfall.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31'Just one of his many achievements.
0:17:31 > 0:17:37'He was also the first British climber to solo the north face of the Matahorn.
0:17:37 > 0:17:45'He's conquered the the Eiger on his own and naturally beaten the hardest climbs in the mighty Llanberis Pass.'
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Well, danger seems to spring to mind quite a lot.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Is danger an adrenalin buzz for you?
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Yes, I must admit it is a factor.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00I think it is for everybody or most people who do these sports.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04If climbing was safe, or if parachuting was safe, it wouldn't be as popular.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07I'm sure. And did you start around here?
0:18:07 > 0:18:11I started down the years in the Llanberis Pass, yes.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16This place has real special memories for me. They were magic days.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21Yes, yes. Amongst climbers, is this a testing area, North Wales?
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Oh, for certain, yes.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26I think I'm biased, but I would say it's the best area in the country.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Although, Scottish climbers would disagree, I'm sure, but it is pretty unique.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44'What a remarkable chap Eric is.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49'I mean, having to drive without a seat belt is enough of an adrenalin fix for me,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'let alone dangling by my fingertips from the top of these mountains.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57'But I can understand why Eric's heart belongs here.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59'Quite apart from its obvious challenges,
0:18:59 > 0:19:04'it really is an enchanting place and a stunning drive.'
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Oh, yes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Oh, yes.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Oh, extraordinary.
0:19:13 > 0:19:20So instead of all this rock, we now have green lush hills.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Spectacular.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Oh, wonderful!
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Wonderful view.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36I think it's time to get out and have a look.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44As far as you can see are sheep, little dots of sheep.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Up here, all the way down the valley.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I don't feel prone...
0:20:12 > 0:20:15to say anything else...
0:20:17 > 0:20:20..other than bloody lovely.
0:20:54 > 0:21:02'My route now takes me down the long valley of Nant Gwynant towards a famously pretty village.'
0:21:02 > 0:21:04"Bedd Gelert rivals Betws y Coed
0:21:04 > 0:21:09"for the honour of being the loveliest village in Wales.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15'But nowadays, the villages of Bedd Gelert are encountering
0:21:15 > 0:21:22'a uniquely 21st century problem, unimaginable in the 1950s.'
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Well, of course in this modern day we've got these monster trucks, monsters that come here.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And these roads weren't built for that.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36- So why do they come this way?- The old "sat naff" as we call it - sat nav!
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- Oh, sat naff. - Sat naff - they send them this way.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- So they send them here? - They do unfortunately.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44And they wouldn't have thought to come here without a sat nav.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I'm sure they wouldn't have picked up a map
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and looked which route to come through the mountains of Snowdonia.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53They think it's a short cut, but it's not.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55They get stuck in every corner going, I think.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The bridge gets battered about a bit.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01It does unfortunately. These two bridges in Bedd Gelert
0:22:01 > 0:22:05are some of the most beautiful bridges in Wales. Listed buildings.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10These monster lorries, they pull them down. Destroying them.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12It very, very sad.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17'Perhaps there's something to be said for navigating the old way.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19'No need for a map to my next destination, though,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22'Bedd Gelert's famous ice cream shop
0:22:22 > 0:22:27'with its seemingly limitless choice of flavours.'
0:22:27 > 0:22:29What about...
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- ..passion fruit sorbet? - Sounds beautiful.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39OK. Hi, could I have a passion fruit sorbet, but could I have two cones?
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Would you mind? I want to split it.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45That's right, two small ones.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54- What one do you sell most of? - Um...vanilla.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57RICHARD LAUGHS See?
0:22:57 > 0:23:00I'm sharing it with Ian and the camera here.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Have you tasted it yet?
0:23:06 > 0:23:11Who would like to share a raspberry pavlova with me?
0:23:16 > 0:23:20I wasn't going to have any ice cream, I ended up having two.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22C'est la vie. It is Saturday.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28'The final part of my route leads through even more glorious countryside on the home leg
0:23:28 > 0:23:31'back towards where I started in Caernarfon.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36'But rather than end my journey there, I decided on a little detour
0:23:36 > 0:23:40'in order to take three ladies on a trip down memory lane.'
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Good morning!
0:23:46 > 0:23:49- Are you going our way? - Good morning, ladies.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I think you'll have to tell me where to go.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Linda, Nora and Doreen all worked at this holiday park,
0:23:55 > 0:24:01back when it was the pride of Billy Butlin's empire 50 years ago.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03# Good night, campers see you in the morning... #
0:24:03 > 0:24:09- And that was over the tannoy? - No, no, no. Wherever you were. The ballrooms.
0:24:09 > 0:24:16'Butlin's Pwllheli dominated the holiday industry in 1950's North Wales.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19'And on weekends, the roads would frequently be clogged
0:24:19 > 0:24:26'by coaches filled with thousands of holiday makers in search of that special Butlin's magic.'
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Everybody who came to Butlin's came to have a good time. And they did.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And we were here to make sure they did.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36It was real good innocent fun.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Do you remember the times we used to have down here?
0:24:40 > 0:24:44- Competitions.- Competitions? - Oh, yes. Knobbly knees.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47- Knobbly knees? - Glamorous grandmothers.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49There was knobbly knees for men.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- Yes.- And was there lots of romances amongst the staff?
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- Oh, yes.- Oh, yes, yes, I think so. Yes.- During the season.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I think there were seasonal affairs, you know.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Maybe re-kindled or maybe move on, you know.
0:25:04 > 0:25:10- With Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Ringo Starr. - Ringo Starr was here was here.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Yes, with his old band, though, before he joined the Beatles.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18- Oh, right.- I actually went out with Ringo while I was here.- Ooh!
0:25:18 > 0:25:21What could have been, you see, what could have been.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23It's my claim to fame.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26We used to have parties on the beach.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- Yes. What, at night?- Yes, midnight.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- Midnight parties. - Midnight parties, yes.
0:25:31 > 0:25:37Sometimes you went swimming at night, which, really, I suppose was quite dangerous.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- No skinny dipping? - I can't admit to doing that, no.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43But I won't admit to doing it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Well, you might have.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49- We might have.- We might have, but I can't remember that far back.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- Neither can I.- Of course we didn't.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56'The girls clearly had a ball working and living on the camp.
0:25:56 > 0:26:03'And like so many of the people I've met on my journey so far, they have a real affection for the 1950s.'
0:26:03 > 0:26:07You all seemed to have had a very good time. You enjoyed yourselves.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09We did.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14We didn't have much, but what we had we all enjoyed. It was a fabulous time.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16We made the most of what we had.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Would you say that the '50s were a better time, by and large?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Yes. It seemed safer.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Safer, yeah.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29There wasn't the worries about leaving people or meeting people.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33So it was, you know, a lot nicer in that respect.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36People didn't want their designer things,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41they just got what they could afford and made the most of it really.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Cos we're talking, really, the '50s, we were still recovering from the war.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- Cos you were very young then. - Er, yes.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- Don't remind us.- Sweet 18.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Oh, Richard.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58As a little memento for your trip here in your vintage car,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02that's a Butlin's holiday camp badge from 1958.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Oh, that's lovely, thank you very much.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09- That's a little memento for you. - I'll put that on.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11There you are. You're a camper now.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17- Hi-de-hi. - Not a camper van, a camper.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19I better find a chalet.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28'Despite the fact that back then we were obviously less well off,
0:27:28 > 0:27:33'it seems that the spirit of optimism and that very real sense of community
0:27:33 > 0:27:36'that the girls truly cherish from the '50s.
0:27:36 > 0:27:42'Something, I suppose, epitomised by those Butlin's glory years.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47'It's true to say that much of that has faded over the past half century.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53'But this trip has also shown me that it would be naive to consider all progress bad.'
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Well, that's the end of our Welsh drive.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02One of the best drives in Britain, there's very little doubt about that.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09I think the thing you take away from here is this scenery, the wonderful Welsh scenery.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13The other thing I'd take away is that although it was many years ago when I was here last,
0:28:13 > 0:28:19there seems to be much more pride in the country than I remember. They've got every right to be.
0:28:19 > 0:28:26It's a very beautiful country and it's been a very beautiful drive and certainly one of the best in Britain.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd