0:01:16 > 0:01:18This is my kind of town.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Riding the express elevator to the top of one of the city's
0:01:37 > 0:01:41highest buildings, this is the view that nearly took my breath away.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45I found this city exciting.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47The modern buildings reflect its position
0:01:47 > 0:01:50as the nation's industrial powerhouse.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59The Rotunda towers over the Bull Ring.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04It's 160 years since there was any bull baiting here. The ring has gone.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Colourful markets have taken over.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08It's an adventure to shop here.
0:02:08 > 0:02:14There's a sophisticated shopping centre over New Street rail terminal.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17It has 200 shops, restaurants and my favourite - British pubs.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23You can really eat in this town.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34You can chew Chinese, feed French or ingest Indian.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Guzzle Greek, intake Italian or digest Danish.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42If you're weight watching, well, forget it!
0:02:44 > 0:02:50150 market stalls display their goods, whilst over them,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53intense traffic pounds along the elevated inner ring road.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Birmingham's road systems are revolutionary.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02The inner ring road, Queensway,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06a four mile circuit of dual carriageways, tunnels and overpasses,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11linking up with the main arteries of the city and the Aston Expressway.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17I was here for the spring festival. Ten hours of entertainment
0:03:17 > 0:03:21every day for seven days in the 81 acre Cannon Hill Park.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The sound of disco music was in the air,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26so, I wanted to see what gives.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30It was an over 40s competition and... incredible!
0:03:30 > 0:03:33DISCO MUSIC
0:03:52 > 0:03:54This is Mrs Taylor.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I'm sure somebody loves you, baby.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12One of Birmingham's after dark scenes, it's lush, plush
0:04:12 > 0:04:14and there's not much hush.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Let's take in the action.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19DISCO MUSIC
0:04:23 > 0:04:28A thousand years ago, this was thick forest with no-one living there.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32A thousand years from now, hmmm, I wonder.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38Yes, it's my kind of town. So long, Birmingham. Here's looking at you.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54I don't think there is anything more exciting that when on a train journey
0:04:54 > 0:04:57you suddenly, after miles and miles of green fields,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01find yourself roaring out of a tunnel onto a track, which runs
0:05:01 > 0:05:04at the side of the ocean, past beaches and rocks, past sea and sun bathers
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and all those things which go to make up the memories of summer months.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Destination Margate.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Bell of Kent, situated on the flat, fertile land of the Isle of Thanet.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22At Westgate, another of the five in one resorts,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24can be found delightful St Mildred's Bay,
0:05:24 > 0:05:29which together with West Bay, has a sandy foreshore washed by every tide.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52The heart of the resort's entertainment
0:05:52 > 0:05:55is the Winter Gardens, where, in summer months,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58famous orchestras and top calibre artists appear.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07Thank you, Dickie.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10This car registration number is familiar.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Not difficult to guess whose, Petula Clark,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17one of Britain's best loved stars, she too is at the Winter Gardens Theatre.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20In nine different languages, Torquay welcomes visitors
0:06:20 > 0:06:23who come here from all parts of the world.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Enclosing a water surface of some 35 acres,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32the harbour can trace its history right back to the 17th century.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Today, it rivals Monte Carlo for the splendid yachts
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and vessels of all kinds, which safely anchor here.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Maybe Charles Dickens did exaggerate a little
0:06:43 > 0:06:47when he said that, "upon the whole, Yarmouth is the finest place in the universe."
0:06:47 > 0:06:51For he could not have visualised space travel at that time.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54However, he, evidently, must have been completely charmed
0:06:54 > 0:06:56and captivated by what he saw.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06There's always a choice of first class entertainment
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and at the open-air roller-skating ring on the Wellington pier,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11enthusiastic amateurs stage weekly shows.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16Tommy Cooper and Ruby Murray take time out to watch the proceedings.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Tommy Cooper seems to have bitten off a little more than he can chew.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27He shouldn't buy such cold ice cream.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34I don't believe it. If they can do it, I suppose he thinks he can.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Ready for anything with a couple of cushions tied back and front,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Tommy takes to the rink.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Benny Hill seems to have run into a little trouble.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50He cannot get into the theatre for his own show.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Where's the attendant been hiding if he doesn't recognise one of Britain's greatest funny men?
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Not without a certain amount of glamour combined with expert knowledge,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06the policewoman controls the traffic of one of Weston-super-Mare's busy intersections.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13On the beach, the youngsters have fun galore with fire engines, trains
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and chariots of all kinds which transport them to seventh heaven.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23The donkeys follow up in the rear completing a perfect picture of juvenile joy.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34Children playing happily on a crowded beach are apt to get mislaid.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Tiny ones with no sense of direction,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38can't find their way back to the family.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Very soon one of the lost children centres has them under its care
0:08:41 > 0:08:47and mummy knows exactly where to go and the happy reunion takes place.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Here's an innovation - double deck chairs. A little awkward
0:08:51 > 0:08:52if you're not talking to each other!
0:08:52 > 0:08:56The development of the Pleasure Beach is symbolic of the demand
0:08:56 > 0:09:00for thrills and excitement in what we may call this restless age.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Showman Alf Barton has catered for this demand in no small measure.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08He controls one of the finest pleasure grounds ever constructed.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12It's thrills, thrills and more thrills all along the line.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24SCREAMS
0:09:48 > 0:09:52I don't know of another place where so many famous people have had streets named after them.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56But this particular city has a fine sense of history.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01So, let's look at Portsmouth.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14FOGHORN BLOWS
0:10:20 > 0:10:24I just happen to be one of those people who are crazy about castles.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27If they're over 1,500 years old, I'm even crazier.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34At the head of Portsmouth Harbour is Porchester Castle, a Roman fortress
0:10:34 > 0:10:38which has known the kings of England from Alfred the Great to Henry V.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40If stones could speak, can you imagine?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49I suppose this could be called a castle.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It's the polytechnic, a castle of learning.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04Another building that looks like a castle is the city museum and art gallery.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11We Americans have always admired the way the English perpetuate their history.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I saw the Fort Cumberland and Portsmouth Militaria
0:11:14 > 0:11:18acting out a drill, which was the drill in Napoleonic times.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Would you believe, they do this every Monday evening through the year?
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The Guildhall seems to be looking at me,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39so, so long, Portsmouth. Here's looking at you.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00This is how the ancient township of Rye appears today
0:12:00 > 0:12:02as it's approached from the sea.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04There was a thriving boat building industry here,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07but today, only one man carries on the tradition of his craft.
0:12:08 > 0:12:1283 years of age, 72 of which have been spent in the service
0:12:12 > 0:12:15of ships, he is the last of a long line of shipwrights.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Of all the ancient crafts, that of the basket maker is one,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35which in these days of mechanisation, seems still to live on
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and the uses of which are indeed many and varied.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42The hand basket had its origins on the Isle of Skye in Scotland,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44where it was known as the goose basket
0:12:44 > 0:12:47and it was used for carrying broody hens to market.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Basket making is an art handed down through generations.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Here at Great Yarmouth,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05some of the finest creations in this particular field can be seen.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11If you wait for a little while on Paignton Harbour
0:13:11 > 0:13:14you'll be sure to come across the crab pot makers.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Like all places where's seafood is popular, first essential is,
0:13:18 > 0:13:19of course, to catch it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24The craftsmanship of the pot maker is handed down from father to son.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27They assured me it's quite easy for the crabs and lobsters
0:13:27 > 0:13:31to get into the trap, but almost impossible for them to get out.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41There is nothing like a dame and, at John Waddington's, no machine
0:13:41 > 0:13:46has yet been found to do this work more efficiently than the gentle sex.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Did I say gentle sex?
0:14:06 > 0:14:11Called the Shambles, this was once the street of butchers.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Here the curing of ham was an art.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Not many are to be found today
0:14:17 > 0:14:20but York ham is still a much sought after delicacy.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25The trick is in the salt, so he says.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29But he wasn't very forth coming about the rest of the process.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40After literally salting the joint away for a year, it's ready.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44When I looked at it, I was ready too.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48At the Magic Carpet Factory of Associated Weavers in Yorkshire,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50the synthetic fibre springs from the bale.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55It's spin time when a young yarn fancy turns on a frame
0:14:55 > 0:14:59which puts a twist in it to make it a little longer and a little stronger.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Right now, we've arrived at the part of this fantastic factory which
0:15:04 > 0:15:08really made me blink in astonishment, the first time I saw it.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Production is at the rate of five million square yards a year
0:15:11 > 0:15:14and that's some record to be trodden on.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22In pulling out 1,008 tufts at once, a fault or two could happen and does.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Trained girl inspectors spot the undeliberate mistake
0:15:28 > 0:15:32and with needle and thread proceed to rectify, often hundreds and hundreds
0:15:32 > 0:15:37of yards will pass under their eagled eyed scrutiny in perfect shape.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Like wheat or barley, timber is a crop too.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47A crop which takes many years before it can be reaped,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50years of attention from foresters whose lives are spent with trees.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Forestry horses are very knowing, choosing their own paths
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and obeying spoken words of command.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Small timber, such as this, may be used in the making of bobbins.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14The wood has been cut into short lengths and is drilled.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Many of these machines are 70 and 80 years old.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24He has worked all his life in a bobbin mill.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Finishing machine completely fashions the bobbin,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29which may be used for storing wire or cotton.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Here in Worstead, the village,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39which in the middle ages gave its name to the worsted yarn
0:16:39 > 0:16:43first made there, is another rare sight, the village blacksmiths.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Rob Roy overlooks a stream in a country
0:17:17 > 0:17:19fiercely proud of its history.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Where you may go into a bank
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and be given bills issued by individual banking houses.
0:17:32 > 0:17:39Where, in an Aberdeen hotel, you may be introduced to haggis,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41which believe me is delicious.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Porridge, made with Scots oats.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Herring, kippered in Scotland.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Trout and salmon from the country's magnificent rivers,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Aberdeen Angus beef.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57High tea, almost a ritual.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03And the other Scotch broth from distilleries, using the pure waters of the region,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05making Scotch the best there is.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07He tries his luck in the River Dee.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09The Dee and the Don flow through this,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12one of Britain's most northerly cities,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16a city preserved in silver grey granite.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38With a past both romantic and turbulent,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Aberdeen is one of the most fascinating places in Europe.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47You know, this street really got to me.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50A mile long granite artery called Union Street.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56At one end of Union Street is the Castlegate,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59the castle long since gone.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12In Queens Road a Scotsman's home is his castle. See what I mean?
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Talking of castles,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19everyone knows there's always one at the end of the rainbow.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29This is medieval Drum Castle.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Crathes Castle, built in 1553.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42I was captivated by everything I saw and I'll be back,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44well, that's for sure.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51In the meantime, so long, Aberdeen. And, here's looking at you.
0:20:18 > 0:20:25# Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle
0:20:27 > 0:20:29# Made my mind up that # I'm going to take you up
0:20:29 > 0:20:34# To Nottingham Castle today Oh, yeah
0:20:35 > 0:20:38# I can show you all the places Where they say the Robin made
0:20:38 > 0:20:40# Maid Marian's day
0:20:42 > 0:20:47# Stop for a while At the Trip to Jerusalem
0:20:47 > 0:20:51# Where the crusaders Made ready for war
0:20:51 > 0:20:57# You can find history waiting there For you at Nottingham castle
0:20:57 > 0:21:00# Nottingham castle.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05# When you're walking Through the city
0:21:05 > 0:21:11# You can see the prettiest girls In the square oh, yeah
0:21:11 > 0:21:15# With the way around The Market Place to buy
0:21:15 > 0:21:18# The Nottingham lace That they wear
0:21:18 > 0:21:24# William the Conqueror ordered A castle be built overlooking
0:21:24 > 0:21:28# The river below
0:21:28 > 0:21:35# Come and I'll show you, I want you To know about Nottingham Castle.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37# Nottingham Castle. #
0:21:46 > 0:21:50From all over the British Isles, feminine beauty parades here
0:21:50 > 0:21:53in a weekly competition to find the most beautiful girl amongst them.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Well here are a few of them for you to give the once over.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Yes, the ladies can watch too.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06But as the competition is judged by a man, the final say will be with him.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13There is never any lack of feminine beauty.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The main difficulty is always to select the winner.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Which little number do you think should take the trophy?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26The little number I refer to, of course, is held in the ladies' left hand.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37A little poise from number 23 goes a long way... maybe.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I think English audiences are marvellous. I love you all.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47She certainly cuts a good figure and actually was one of the winners.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51He should be in What's My Line? Looks a pretty shrewd judge to me.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59They have their own ideas.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Well he made his mind up and the decision is really final
0:23:02 > 0:23:04but did he do right by the girls?
0:23:06 > 0:23:09The winner and, boy, has he made her happy.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00It's the City of London, within which is a strange pulsation
0:24:00 > 0:24:04and a sense of today and yesterday inexorably intertwined.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08The city perpetuates street names which were in use in the days
0:24:08 > 0:24:10of Charles Dickens.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Piccadilly Circus.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19They say you only have to stand here long enough
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and everyone you know will pass by.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28From here, thoroughfares radiate like spokes from the hub of a wheel.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Come with me in a cab
0:24:30 > 0:24:33up the colonnaded Regent Street of John Nash.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Then we'll ride down Bond Street.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50If you can't see what you want here,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53well, then let's try the Portobello Market.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Fleet Street, home of newspapers and journalists,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07where work goes on all night.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09A world of red hot latest news,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13of printing presses thundering in the night below street level,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16so that you and I can have our favourite daily tomorrow.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Shaftsbury Avenue, a street of theatres and cinemas,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36a world of make believe for those who would escape reality,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38if only for a few hours.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57Park Lane, a world of idle luxury, caviar, footmen
0:25:57 > 0:26:01and red plush curtains for those who can pay the bills.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Sandalwood, cedarwood, cheap tin trays and sweet white wine.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56Look around. There's these and many other cargoes on the move in dockland.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20It's hardly believable but Billingsgate fish market, the oldest in London,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23dates from the ninth century.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25The fish, of course, is not so old.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28The existing building was erected almost 90 years ago.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And after the fish course, what else but meat.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39The market at Smithfield was designed by the man who originated Billingsgate.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43He must have been a very food conscious individual.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Traffic problems in the city are serious indeed.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49But in 1831 it was much worse and that's true.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56I wonder if they'll think the same in 2031. That's the ticket!
0:27:56 > 0:27:59We have one way of dealing with the problem today,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01unpalatable though it is.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05Watching points on point duty in the city, with its intricate intersections,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10is a man sized job, needing patience, calmness and extreme concentration.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19The women police in the Square Mile are the acme of smartness.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23They need a great deal of tact, for their job is extremely specialised.
0:28:23 > 0:28:29Apart from that, they make excellent partners at police force dances.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38London is a living, growing, changing place.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44For me, for you, this is the big city.