0:00:04 > 0:00:09In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:17His name was George Bradshaw, and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22Stop by stop, he told them where to travel, what to see, and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:30Now, 170 years later, I'm making four long journeys across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:30 > 0:00:34to see what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Using Bradshaw, my 19th-century guide to the railways,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58today I'm headed towards Birmingham, at the heart of England,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03Britain's second largest city, the metropolis whose growth during the industrial revolution
0:01:03 > 0:01:10astonished the Victorians. But the changes in Birmingham since have perhaps been more remarkable still.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18On today's journey, I'll be heading to the centre of the leather-making world.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Walsall had a very distinctive stink?
0:01:21 > 0:01:24You could say it had a tinge, it had its own aroma.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I'll be travelling to Birmingham's Balti Triangle.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Pakistan is like my motherland, and I call England my adopted mother.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Try and make this quite elegant...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Very good, sir. Very good for the first try.
0:01:40 > 0:01:47And I'll be visiting Bournville, which some say is the happiest place in Britain.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Very pleasant. Very nice. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57I'm now almost halfway through my journey from Buxton,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00along one of the earliest railway routes in England.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Each day, I'm stopping at towns and cities recommended by Bradshaw's guide,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10until I reach the end of the line in London.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Today's route takes me 35 miles through the West Midlands,
0:02:16 > 0:02:22via Walsall to Birmingham and on to Bournville.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24In Bradshaw's day, a third of Britain's metalwork
0:02:24 > 0:02:28came from around here, and much of it was carried to London on the railways.
0:02:28 > 0:02:36My first stop is in a town famous for, as Bradshaw notes, "its buckles, spurs and bits".
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Well, here I am in Walsall. Er, a place I've been to before.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47But according to Bradshaw, this is a place that makes saddles.
0:02:47 > 0:02:54And that takes me into a world of horses and riding, which I must say, is a foreign country to me.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Despite the growth of the railways, there was still a huge demand
0:02:59 > 0:03:03for leather goods for horses in the 1840s.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08Walsall became the place to go for high-quality saddles, stirrups and bridles.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And it still is today.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15I've come to the historic factory of the Saddler to the Queen.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And here, I'm due to meet Cliff.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23- Good morning. - Good morning, Michael. Welcome to the old building of Jabez Cliff & Co.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24Wow! Ha-ha!
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- It's not exactly in mint condition, is it?- No, it isn't.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31We were here for 130 years.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33And we moved out two months ago.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- You've got a new place? - We have a new place, two miles away.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Why did saddlery become the trade for Walsall?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Well, you have the River Tame for a ready supply of water.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46You actually need limestone to cure the hides.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48So you had a ready supply of that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50We're on the edge of the Black Country,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- so you had all the bits, stirrups, and all the other metalwork. - Because you always had iron ore.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59You always had iron ore, so everything was there.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02At one time, then, the town must have been full of tanneries.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Oh, yes. I know to a fact that we had five.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11And years ago, when a child wasn't eating well, they used to take the child outside, and they used to...
0:04:11 > 0:04:16the tan pit doors used to be open, and the child used to get a whiff of all the tan liquors,
0:04:16 > 0:04:21and it was the belief that it actually helped improve the... made the child eat quicker.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26And so at one time, Walsall had a very distinctive stink, did it?
0:04:26 > 0:04:28You could say it had a tinge.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30It had its own aroma.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- It's still a saddlery town, isn't it?- It is still a saddlery town.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36There's about 50 saddlery businesses left in the town.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- Would you like to come and see the remnants of our old factory? - I'd love to.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The dreadful smell was perhaps a small price to pay
0:04:46 > 0:04:49for Walsall's reputation for having the best saddlers.
0:04:49 > 0:04:56British leather was in particularly high demand because it was made with English oak.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01This was slower at tanning than other woods and produced a softer, stronger leather.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04This is where the cutting room and saddle shop used to be.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Wow! What did this look like in its heyday? It must have been buzzing with activity.
0:05:08 > 0:05:14I have an old photograph here, taken in about 1908.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15- And if you can see...- Of this room?
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Of this room. You can see a man there in a bowler hat.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24- And what were these people actually doing in here?- They are all actually preparing saddles.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- So this is not a production line. - No, no, it is piecework.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Quality in those days was unbelievable.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34A century ago, how many saddles might you have been making?
0:05:34 > 0:05:38- One man might make two or three saddles a week. - That's pretty good, it seems to me.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46During the Victorian era, Cliff's saddlery could produce around 500 saddles a month.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Today, in the company's new factory, that number is very similar.
0:05:51 > 0:05:58Interestingly, the same system is still used - one person makes each saddle from start to finish.
0:05:58 > 0:06:05But modern technology like the sewing machine means they can be made more quickly by fewer people.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08We're talking about valuable products here, aren't we?
0:06:08 > 0:06:14Oh, yes, but in those days... I know I have some photographs somewhere, where in an advert,
0:06:14 > 0:06:21- I think a saddle was selling for, trade price, I might add, was going for about 42 shillings.- And today?
0:06:21 > 0:06:23It's a lot more than that.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It was feared that the saddle industry would be destroyed
0:06:30 > 0:06:33as trains replaced horses for transport.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Even in late Victorian times, there were still over 3 million horses pulling cabs,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40working on farms and in the cavalry.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45It wasn't until after the First World War, when cars became popular,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48that saddlers were forced to diversify.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53As trade changed, we actually started making footballs.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56We started making golf bags.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58In the First World War, we were actually making
0:06:58 > 0:07:01torpedo cases, in leather,
0:07:01 > 0:07:07that they could actually lower the torpedoes into the submarines.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- For which side? - For the English side, of course.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13For the winning side.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18This item here is actually what they used to knock the seams on of the footballs.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20These are the old footballs with the laces?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22These are the ones that when they played...
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- Weighed an awful lot. - When it got wet...
0:07:24 > 0:07:30- If you headed it, you'd get a very nasty injury.- Oh, yes, very nasty.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32And it was all done on that.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34How many generations of your family?
0:07:34 > 0:07:38We are now seven. I am generation number six, with a brother and a cousin.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And I have two nephews who are now in the business.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43One being the MD.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The transfer of skills through the generations
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and the saddle industry's willingness to embrace change
0:07:51 > 0:07:55have ensured that it is still successful today.
0:07:55 > 0:08:02Just as in Bradshaw's day, Walsall still has a reputation for providing quality saddles at luxury prices.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Now, I've got a train to catch to my second destination.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Time to get on. On to Birmingham.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23I'm on the next leg of my journey to Britain's second city, just ten miles away.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Birmingham is a city I know well.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I once tried to get into Parliament for Birmingham Perry Barr.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34And was unsuccessful.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Of course Bradshaw devotes pages to Britain's second largest city.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45And in particular, he was excited by New Street,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47the vast railway station at the centre of the city.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54"These structures are entitled to rank among the most stupendous architectural works of the age.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02"Notice the turmoil and bustle created by the excitement of the arrival and departure of trains.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05"The trampling of crowds and passengers, the transfer of luggage,
0:09:05 > 0:09:10"the ringing of bells and the noise of 300 porters and workmen.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16"An extraordinary scene, witnessed daily at Birmingham Central Railway Station."
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Just the way it is today.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Sadly, the roof that Bradshaw so admired was destroyed,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29along with much of the city, during the Birmingham Blitz of World War II.
0:09:31 > 0:09:37Today's station, built during the 1960s, is to me a somewhat dark and depressing construction.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Do you ever use New Street Station?
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- Yes, I do.- What do you think of it? I mean, the look of it. - It does need improvement.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Looking at it from here, it strikes me as one of the ugliest frontages to a station
0:09:50 > 0:09:53I can think of anywhere. What do you think of it?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Yeah, I do agree with you. But at the same time, I have seen worse stations.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- You have? Where? Let me know.- Erm...
0:09:58 > 0:10:01London? Euston used to be horrible.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It did, I agree with that.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06There are plans to redo this, do you know anything about that?
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- Yes, that's probably going to be about seven years. - Have you seen the plan?- Yes.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13It looks very nice, but I don't know when they're going to start doing it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19The town planners are replacing some of the uglier buildings
0:10:19 > 0:10:21that were hastily put up after the war.
0:10:23 > 0:10:30The infamous Bullring shopping centre, also built in the 1960s, came to be regarded as an eyesore.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34It was rebuilt in 2003.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Maybe few people think of Birmingham as a Victorian city,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47but amongst this redevelopment, there are some hidden gems from Bradshaw's day.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Well, Birmingham in the 19th century was, for the first time,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57a great city. And it established great public buildings.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01And mainly with the Victorians you associate very heavy buildings,
0:11:01 > 0:11:07or you think about Victorian Gothic, buildings like Parliament, where I spent so much of my life.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10But here is, to me, a somewhat unusual building,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14because it's a neo-classical Victorian building.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The Town Hall of Birmingham.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19And this lay derelict inside for many years.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24It has recently been restored. I've addressed public meetings there, and it's absolutely beautiful.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29In fact, Birmingham is renovating much of its Victorian legacy.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33As well as the Town Hall and the Council House in Victoria Square,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37there are almost 2,000 listed buildings in the city.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42One senses that Birmingham, in many places,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47is trying to get rid of that hideous redevelopment of the 1960s,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50of which the railway station was a conspicuous part.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Bradshaw's guides contain city maps.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11And they are now extremely interesting.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14For instance, the one of Birmingham.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19Right now, I'm over in Broad Street.
0:12:19 > 0:12:26Interestingly, that's pretty much at the edge of the city, as Bradshaw knew it.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Here, very clearly, is New Street.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Even when Bradshaw thought it was a huge, imposing city,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39it was actually just a tiny fraction
0:12:39 > 0:12:43of what we know as Birmingham today.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50Birmingham is Britain's second largest city, with a population of over a million.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58And the people of Birmingham have changed in a way that Bradshaw could never have imagined.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Today, Birmingham is fast becoming Britain's first majority non-white city.
0:13:02 > 0:13:09The largest ethnic group here are Pakistanis, who've made their homes around Ladypool Road.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18After the Second World War, Birmingham began recruiting people from the former colonies
0:13:18 > 0:13:22to work in factories when labour was in short supply.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Large-scale immigration, like that from Pakistan,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28provided the workforce for Britain's growing industries.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Kamran Ishtiaq's family moved here in the 1950s.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Why did your grandfather leave Pakistan?
0:13:40 > 0:13:45For a better future for us. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be giving this interview to you,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and standing in such a successful business.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49And do you know why he chose Birmingham?
0:13:49 > 0:13:54Birmingham was a city which attracted a lot of Asians.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57But there was not much for Asian community, regarding food.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01And Ladypool Road was one of the prime locations for Asian people.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04So, it's like a landmark to the Pakistani community in Birmingham.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Do you ever go to Pakistan?
0:14:06 > 0:14:07Frequently.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Would you rather live in Pakistan than Birmingham?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14No, that's a difficult choice. Because I love Pakistan.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Pakistan is like my motherland, and I call England my adopted mother.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21So you can't make a choice between your mother and your adopted mother.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Very nice to talk to you. Thanks very much.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30As the Pakistani community grew, restaurants and takeaways sprang up
0:14:30 > 0:14:32to serve Asian food to Asian families.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36They quickly became popular with the English, too.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42All along Ladypool Road there are delicious smells tempting you into all the restaurants.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48I've stumbled across what looks like a party for another new restaurant.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Nice to see you, hello.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Nice to see you, hi.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55- Here we are. - My goodness, very smart indeed.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Michael, this is just opening now today.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00What, opening today?
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- Yes.- Really?- Yes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- How are you?- How are you?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Congratulations on your opening.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Very good.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Sweet and salty and yoghurt.
0:15:16 > 0:15:17Yes, the choice is yours.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Anything, you can't refuse!
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- Delicious. - You will remember the Birmingham now.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I will. I shall remember Birmingham.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33The area is nicknamed the Balti Triangle, because the balti curry was invented here.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Now, there are more than 50 balti restaurants serving the local speciality.
0:15:38 > 0:15:44These people have had to do a lot of adapting to a very different way of life.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I feel a kind of empathy, because my own father came from Spain,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52a much shorter distance to travel, but had to do a lot of adapting, too.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58And as the people have adjusted to life in Britain, so has the curry.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Many of the most popular dishes were created here to suit British tastes.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08But I'm also pleased to find a place serving more authentic Asian food.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- Hi, great to see you. What a beautiful restaurant. - Thank you very much.
0:16:14 > 0:16:20Raj Rana owns Itihaas, a restaurant aiming for, well, something a little more Indian.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25Do you get cross with British people who have preconceptions about Indian food?
0:16:25 > 0:16:31The problem is when it is expected to be in the direction of a balti or a chicken vindaloo or Madras.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33All of these things don't exist in India.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36They're all Westernised dishes,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40pretty much created in Birmingham as part of the curry revolution.
0:16:40 > 0:16:47Where we differ from the balti restaurants is, we are not operating from two or three base sauces
0:16:47 > 0:16:50that make up the curries and the baltis from there on.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Because baltis work on the conception of convenience.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Everything here is prepared individually.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00So sauces are individually prepared to the dish.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04If you're doing individual sauces, you need excellent chefs, and do you have them?
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- I've got a fantastic team. I'm very lucky to have them. - How did you get them?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I travelled to India. I held talent competitions.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14It was as if I was Simon Cowell, and they were coming in,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18all proving their talents, and I ended up with the 19 that operate the restaurant.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22And one of them is going to show me how to do some cooking, is that right?
0:17:22 > 0:17:27- Absolutely, yes.- I guess it's through there?- Absolutely, let me take you through.- Thank you.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Raj held his own auditions in India to staff his restaurant.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34But he'd like to train the next generation of chefs here.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37His next big plan is to open the first curry school in Britain
0:17:37 > 0:17:41to teach the art of bona fide Indian cuisine.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46I'm his first pupil.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47Come into my kitchen.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54This is Kapel, who will teach me how to cook. Thank you so much. I warn you, I don't know what I'm doing.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Just add some mustard seeds, please.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Right.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- Some mustard seeds, like that?- Yes.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06'Kapel's showing me how to make a king prawn curry from Kerala in southern India.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10'A traditional dish that uses curry leaves and turmeric.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Could you stir it with your spoon, please?
0:18:12 > 0:18:17- Faster, you have to move it faster. It will burn otherwise.- Right, OK. - As if you're telling somebody off.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- Right.- There you go. - Beautiful prawns.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24It feels like everything's moving very fast, you know?
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Like I'm not really in control.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31- Put some coriander and we can take off the dish, please. - Put some coriander... There we go.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33That's done. Beautiful.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- That's done?- If you carry the wok over to here...
0:18:35 > 0:18:38This is a wok on the wild side now.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41There's a plate for you. You can put your prawns there.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- Shall I try and make this quite elegant?- Yes.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Kapel, we're going to let you be guinea pig.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Thank you very much. God bless you.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- Very good, sir. Very good for the first try.- For the first try!
0:19:01 > 0:19:04It's nothing to do with me, but that is fantastic.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- You like it?- I love it.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12It's very relishing, it's very fresh, and the spices don't hit you.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It's not spicy-spicy. It's flavourful with things, you know?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18- That's what- I- meant to say!
0:19:21 > 0:19:26If Raj's chef school is a success, it will ensure that the traditional Indian curry
0:19:26 > 0:19:30is preserved in Britain for the next generation.
0:19:32 > 0:19:39As for me, having spent the night in inner city Birmingham, it's time to leave the multicultural metropolis
0:19:39 > 0:19:40for my next destination.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Which way is 11B, please?
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Thank you.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The third and final leg of my journey takes me
0:19:56 > 0:20:00to the southern edge of Birmingham, five miles away to Bournville.
0:20:00 > 0:20:07So I'm chugging out along the suburban railway line in Birmingham towards the south-west,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12towards a place whose name became synonymous with chocolate.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17Not mentioned in my Bradshaw's guide because the railway station didn't open here until 1876
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and then it was known as Stirchley Street.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26Then Cadbury established their factory here and in those days French chocolate
0:20:26 > 0:20:32was thought to be the best in the world, so they tried to give it a French flavour, so they called it
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Bourne Ville.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Ever since then it's been known as Bournville
0:20:37 > 0:20:42and the railway station now bears the name of the Cadbury's factory.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48The Cadbury family chose to set up shop here because of the railway
0:20:48 > 0:20:52and the other great transport link to the rest of the country.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Already, Bournville Station feels rather special.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02I can't think of any other where the canal runs right parallel with the railway platform.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10As the chocolate business rapidly expanded, George and Richard Cadbury
0:21:10 > 0:21:15ploughed the profits back into the newly named village of Bournville.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19They built new houses and designed a model community for the people of Birmingham.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29At Bournville, the whole station is purple, it's just all one big chocolate wrapper.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Bournville has recently been voted the best place to live in Britain.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I'm heading towards the factory to see why.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42- Hello.- Mr Portillo?- Yes. - I'm Alan Shrimpton, I'm your guest in Bournville. Welcome.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45How very nice to see you, I didn't realise it was you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48'Alan Shrimpton works for the Bournville Village Trust.'
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Tell me, first of all, why did they put a factory here?
0:21:51 > 0:21:56They needed, critically, to have a railway link and a canal.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- And the canal, why? - The canal was used to bring milk in.
0:21:59 > 0:22:05The railway brought chocolate beans and the sugar and took their finished product away.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09So when I was at Bournville Station and I saw the railway track and canal side by side,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- that's critical to why this place is here?- Vital.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15If it hadn't been for the railway, there would be no factory here.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17No factory here, no Bournville estate.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Soon there were three trains, each of 60 cars, leaving the factory every day full of chocolate.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33Cadburys had six miles of internal railway lines and even ran its own engines.
0:22:33 > 0:22:39The drivers often shared a cup of hot chocolate crumb with their colleagues on the main line.
0:22:39 > 0:22:45Many of the workers lived on the Bournville estate, a short walk from the factory.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49We're just a few yards from the factory and already it's very green, very suburban.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51That was what George was trying to do.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56The idea was to take the convenience of the town and the benefits of the country,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00put the two together, without the drawbacks of either, in a model community,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03but not just for his workers, this was for ordinary working people.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Anybody would be here, owner, occupiers and tenants side by side
0:23:07 > 0:23:11with all the facilities you could possibly want in a model community
0:23:11 > 0:23:14with of course the one exception, there was no public house.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23George Cadbury and his elder brother, Richard, were both Quakers.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27The brothers saw alcohol as the root of many social problems.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31They argued that providing good living conditions, job security
0:23:31 > 0:23:36and places to exercise would create a happy, healthy, working community.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40To the present day, no pub has ever been built here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43And how big is it? How many souls live here?
0:23:43 > 0:23:48In the whole of Bournville, we're talking about 1,000 acres, 8,500 homes, about 25,000 people.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50It's big, isn't it? It is big.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I'm surprised that there is such a variety of styles of house.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55I thought I would come to a model village
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and find the same sort of house replicated again and again.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03No, what we've got is Arts and Crafts style, which reflects the age of the village.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08Even then, the variety of properties and the way they're grouped together is quite interesting.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Every house had a generous garden.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Building was controlled so that no green space was overshadowed.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23And tell me, do you see this whole thing here at Bournville as historic,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26or do you see it as some kind of model for our generation?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29It's very important to see it as a model for future generations,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32particularly for things like the eco-towns.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36This is an example of a model village, a sustainable community that works.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Anybody contemplating doing anything on a large scale
0:24:39 > 0:24:42has to come to Bournville and take those lessons away elsewhere.
0:24:42 > 0:24:50I can see why, for some, Bournville might just be the best place to live in Britain.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Michael, this is a resident and shopkeeper in the area, Phil Davies.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56- Hi, Phil.- Hi.- Very good to see you.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58How do you find life in Bournville?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Very pleasant, very nice.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04- I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.- How long have you lived here?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Nearly 40 years.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10And does it have any of that ethos of the original establishment of this model village?
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Yes, I think it still does.
0:25:12 > 0:25:19I think the culture of what it was started out to be is still imprinted in a lot of people in the area.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Thank you. May the next 40 years be as good for you.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I hope so. When are you going back into Parliament?
0:25:24 > 0:25:29- No, I'm not. - You're not. Have you had enough? - Enjoying myself too much.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31BELLS CHIME
0:25:34 > 0:25:40In Bournville, even the bells are used to create a sense of community spirit.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43This village, with its suburban,
0:25:43 > 0:25:48idyllic neatness, is not everybody's cup of tea.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54But, for many people who live here, it's close to perfection. And it is impressive that a concept created
0:25:54 > 0:26:00a century ago by a public-spirited industrialist is now being thought of
0:26:00 > 0:26:04as a model for sustainable communities of the future.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10'Even getting a cup of coffee for my onward journey
0:26:10 > 0:26:13'brings me face-to-face with contented residents.'
0:26:13 > 0:26:16This is meant to be a very special place, Bournville?
0:26:16 > 0:26:19People are supposed to be very happy here and to love living here?
0:26:19 > 0:26:24- Do you find that?- Yes. Bournville is an amazing area.- Why?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I mean, George Cadbury built Bournville.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30All the properties had a certain-sized garden.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35The idea behind that was so that everybody could be self-sufficient and grow their own vegetables.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40And consequently the children in Bournville are amongst the tallest throughout England.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43- You're not serious?- That's quite surprising. No, that's a fact.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47It's run with Quaker traditions.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49So there's no licensed premises.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53It's quite a caring community.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It's just as well I didn't ask you for a Scotch, isn't it?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Well, it might have been difficult. I don't have any!
0:26:59 > 0:27:03'The attraction of Bournville must be infectious.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06'I've been so captivated, I think I'm about to miss my train!'
0:27:08 > 0:27:10It's OK, it's not mine. It's OK.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Goodbye, purple world.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33Birmingham is a wonderful example of how cities change and change again.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35They're always dynamic.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Some of the old industries still exist, like saddlery and chocolate,
0:27:39 > 0:27:44but, for the future, the vibrancy of Birmingham comes from its diversity
0:27:44 > 0:27:49because its Asian community is now almost as big as its white one.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53A concept that would have been unimaginable to Bradshaw.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58On my next journey I'll be reliving the Coventry Blitz.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02You could pick the sound of the German planes up.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07Their engines were, vroom, vroom, a humming, humming noise.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11I'll be ruffling some feathers in Aylesbury.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Your family's been in the business a while?
0:28:13 > 0:28:151775 that we know of.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- No!- Oh, absolutely, continuously.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23And I'll hear how the railways saved thousands of lives during World War Two.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27This was the largest station where the evacuations took place from.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And how an earth we found our way onto the right train I'll never know.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd