0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw,
0:00:12 > 0:00:18and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24what to see, and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm making four long journeys
0:00:28 > 0:00:32across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:32 > 0:00:35to see what remains of Bradshaw's Britain.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56I'm now on the last stage of my rail journey from Buxton to London.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01I've found my Victorian Bradshaw's guide has given me useful pointers
0:01:01 > 0:01:06to people and places of interest in locations that I hardly knew.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Now I'm intrigued to see whether it can also light up for me
0:01:09 > 0:01:12the capital where I've lived all my life.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15On my journey today,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20I'll be visiting one of the country's grandest railway hotels.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23When I was a child, I believed that the witches lived in here.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26It was so a dark and dingy, and very scary, actually, as a child.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I'll head to one of the oldest markets in central London.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Do they behave nicely with you?
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Watch their P's and Q's?
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Sometimes, not always, no.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39If you were single, you would have a good time.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42BELL RINGS
0:01:42 > 0:01:48And I'll be discovering how the capital has rung in the changes since Bradshaw's day.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49BELL CHIMES
0:01:56 > 0:01:59All this week I've been travelling from Buxton
0:01:59 > 0:02:03along one of the earliest railway routes in England,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06first built to transport freight from north to south.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11I've stopped off at towns and cities recommended by Bradshaw's guide,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and now I'm reaching London.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Today I'll be arriving at St Pancras,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24taking the country's first underground line to Smithfield,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27ending up in the part of London I know best - Westminster.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Bradshaw's guide says of London,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39"The British metropolis contains the largest mass of human life,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43"arts, science, wealth, power and architectural splendour
0:02:43 > 0:02:50"that exists or ever has existed in the known annals of mankind'"
0:02:50 > 0:02:55There in a nutshell you have Victorian self-confidence -
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Victorian bombast.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01St Pancras, in Bradshaw's time,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05was the gateway to the most powerful city in the world.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Britain ruled over a massive and growing empire,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and London was at its heart.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18St Pancras is a classic Victorian station
0:03:18 > 0:03:21but where I'm arriving has only recently been built.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25This is the vast new Thames link station,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28deep beneath St Pancras International.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33And with its neon lights and its electronic signs,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38it offers no hint of the Victorian splendour above us.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50One edition of Bradshaw's guide describes that as,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55"the vast and magnificent terminus of the Midland Company,
0:03:55 > 0:04:01"eclipsing every other, having a roof 240 feet across and 150 feet high,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and faced by a splendid hotel."
0:04:04 > 0:04:09And climbing up into the station today, it's every bit as inspiring.
0:04:10 > 0:04:16As a Londoner, I felt really excited at the restoration of St Pancras,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19a station that once was threatened with demolition,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23which has now been restored in all its glory.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28I think of the excitement they felt at the time of Bradshaw's guide,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32as one after another of these massive cathedrals to steam
0:04:32 > 0:04:35was built around the ring of the city,
0:04:35 > 0:04:41revolutionising the cityscape, and transforming people's lives.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48A London terminus was often designed to accommodate what its railway transported.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50The line to St Pancras carried beer,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53so the station was built on 800 columns,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57carefully spaced so that barrels could be stored underneath.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04To the old St Pancras has been added a starkly modern glass extension,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09to provide cover all along the quarter-mile length of a Eurostar train.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Everybody talks about the Victorian bit, but what do you think about the new bit down there?
0:05:13 > 0:05:16It's simple, nice and simple.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's only four platforms.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19It just does the job?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22And what do you think of the way they've done it?
0:05:22 > 0:05:23It's a nice plate to work.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It's nice and bright, nice and clean, hopefully.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It looks very, very clean indeed.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44In 1868, this was the largest enclosed space in the world.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50St Pancras was designed to outshine the neighbouring stations.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57The modern redevelopment is no less ambitious,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59at a cost of £800 million.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01The roof has been faithfully restored,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04with the ironwork in the original sky blue colour.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09'And it's still a crowd pleaser.'
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Look at what's going on behind me - tour groups, one after another,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16being shown around St Pancras station.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Being shown around a station!
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Do you know when tourists last bothered to look around a British station?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Back in the time of Bradshaw's guide, that's when.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Don't you think it's marvellous that railway stations
0:06:31 > 0:06:33are now a focus for tourists?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37I do, and I am so pleased it wasn't pulled down as they wanted it to be.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38It's wonderful.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- And do you know who saved it? - John Betjeman.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Learnt that this morning from our guide!
0:06:47 > 0:06:49In the 1960s the station and hotel
0:06:49 > 0:06:53wore the soot of a century of steam travel.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56They were scheduled for demolition.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01The poet John Betjeman mounted an emotional campaign to save them.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04He was successful - just ten days before demolition day,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08the station and the hotel were made listed buildings.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15The hotel is now undergoing a £170 million transformation.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Whilst it sat empty,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22it was protected by security guard Royden Stock,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26during which time he became an affectionate expert.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32Royden, I remember this building when it was virtually black.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34How long have you known it?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I've been connected with the building for about 13 years,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39but I've known it all my life.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42When I was a child I believed that the witches lived in here,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45cos it was so dark and dingy and very scary, actually, as a child.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The great thing from here is to be able to see these romantic details
0:07:49 > 0:07:52that I have never been able to see from the ground before.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Yes, this as the signature of Sir George Gilbert Scott,
0:07:55 > 0:08:00designed during three weeks in 1865, towards the end in September.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03He designed the whole thing in three weeks?
0:08:03 > 0:08:07In three weeks he did the competition drawings which won him the contract,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10which was awarded in January, 1866.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12You've got different detail on each window as well,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15which is something that most people miss.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17The capitals of the columns are different,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20the roses either side of the windows are different,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22the design around the arches is different.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26It's not symmetrical, like most Gothic revival buildings are.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The Midland Railway wanted to build
0:08:29 > 0:08:34the most impressive station and railway hotel in the country.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39The extravagant Gothic style fitted the bill,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43though much of it has been hidden away for decades.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47What historical discoveries have you made?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Many. This is one of them, of course.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51This ceiling has been uncovered.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54This was covered for probably the best part of 100 years.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Were you surprised to find this in such beautiful condition?
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Yes. It is amazing, because there were quite a few layers of paint over this.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Once the ceiling is fully repaired,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08it will actually be covered over, so you won't see it again.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Not like this, anyway. It's covered firstly in a protective coat,
0:09:12 > 0:09:13so that it's always there,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16then in an intumescent coat to make it fireproof,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20and then we have artists coming back in to repaint it all,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22so it will eventually come back to life.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24So, it's a bit like Lost and Found.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28The hotel catered for the wealthiest travellers.
0:09:28 > 0:09:29At 14 shillings a night,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33its rooms were amongst the most expensive in London.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36But, over time, the lack of en suite bathrooms
0:09:36 > 0:09:39drove the guests elsewhere, and it failed to make much money.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47We have got something behind this screen that should surprise you a little. If you would like to go in...
0:09:52 > 0:09:54HE LAUGHS
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Yeah, it's wonderful, isn't it? The lovely, sweeping staircases.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I thought it was going to remind me of Parliament, but actually,
0:10:03 > 0:10:09there is nothing quite as magnificent in the parliamentary building as this floating stair.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It's just floats, doesn't it?
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It does. It's cantilevered out from the wall with interlocking treads.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19The thing is, what we have got with this building is quality, rather than quantity.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23I'm seeing all the way up to a ceiling...
0:10:24 > 0:10:26..of stars.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34The hotel will reopen for business in 2011.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38And, before I catch my next train, there's one last bit I must see.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43On my journey I've often paused to admire railway clocks, which I love.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47But, this one tells a story.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50King's Cross was there first, St Pancras comes later.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53It's built unnecessarily high.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55The clock looms down over King's Cross
0:10:55 > 0:10:58saying, "We're bigger, we're better."
0:10:58 > 0:11:02This is commercial rivalry in architecture.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It may seem strange that the stations were built right next to each other,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13but in 1846, Parliament had decreed
0:11:13 > 0:11:18that all new Lines in the capital had to stop short of the centre.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25It protected the historic buildings in the heart of London
0:11:25 > 0:11:29and resulted in a revolutionary new transport system -
0:11:29 > 0:11:32the world's first underground.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41So, I am about to get on an Underground train,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43but not any underground train.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45One that's running on the original line,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48the first underground railway in the world -
0:11:48 > 0:11:52the Metropolitan Railway that ran between Paddington and Farringdon.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54It was was built in 1863
0:11:54 > 0:11:59to bring passengers from the railway termini into the city.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It was also a commuter line,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09with two special trains a day for the poorest workers,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11charging a third of the normal fare.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Today, the Metropolitan line is one of 11 routes
0:12:17 > 0:12:21ferrying three million of us across the city every day.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24What is interesting about this section of line
0:12:24 > 0:12:26is that every now and again,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29we pass from being underground to being above surface.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32That's because these original railway lines
0:12:32 > 0:12:34were not dug in tunnels.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38A huge trench was dug and, in most places, it was covered over.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42But, gaps were left here and there because they were steam trains,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and there had to be somewhere for the smoke to escape.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55'The next station is Farringdon. Change for national rail services.'
0:12:55 > 0:13:01Bradshaw guides were published monthly from 1839 onwards.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05They're not dated, so you need a bit of detective work
0:13:05 > 0:13:08to discover the age of any particular edition.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11This is Bradshaw's map of London.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15What's interesting is the line I'm travelling at the moment,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18between Paddington and Farringdon, isn't shown.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22This map must be before 1863.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27And, of course, much of London, the suburbs, isn't shown here at all.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32But the central bit, the West End, the City,
0:13:32 > 0:13:39these are absolutely recognisable from a map that is 150 years old.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55The next day, I'm heading somewhere that requires a very early start.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57It's not yet five in the morning
0:13:57 > 0:14:00an I've walked through deserted streets of London,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and I've come across a place
0:14:02 > 0:14:05that is absolutely humming with activity and noise.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06This is Smithfield Market,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11a meat market built around the time that Bradshaw's guide was published,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13and looking, to all intents and purposes,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16like an Italianate Victorian railway station.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Bradshaw says of the new market,
0:14:22 > 0:14:29"It's 631 ft long and 246 wide and covers 3.6 square acres."
0:14:29 > 0:14:33But what made Smithfield Market exceptional was the direct link
0:14:33 > 0:14:37from the building to the brand new underground railway.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Morning, Alan. How are you? - Morning, Sir.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46'Alan Elland is a traditional market trader.'
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Have you worked here long?
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- On the market, 40 years. - 40 years?- Yes.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55In the very early days, I wasn't actually working here.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Where the car park is was a railway system.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02And the main transport was rail.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06The underground station transformed the market.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Before that, animals were slaughtered on site
0:15:09 > 0:15:11and conditions were filthy.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14But with the trains, the meat could be slaughtered elsewhere
0:15:14 > 0:15:16and transported quickly to the city.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18The market cleaned up its act.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23I used to come up as a little child and see it all
0:15:23 > 0:15:25and you can't believe what it was like then.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It was just so...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30buzzing and lively.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35Smithfield was the hub of the meat industry. There's no doubt there.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38To a new comer like me it seems pretty buzzy anyway.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- Well, it is, but in a different way. - How much has it changed?
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Obviously it is a Victorian building and that's unchanged.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Dramatically. About ten years ago it was upgraded.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52This part is the same but the shops,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56the interiors, dramatically changed ten years ago.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Everything was open and now,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00well you'll find out, this is all refrigerated.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04But the basic process, I guess, is the same.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Meat is coming from all over Britain, is it?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11- Yes.- And people are coming here bright and early to buy it?
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Yes, the idea is the same.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16We get the meat, cut it, process it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17It comes in, goes out.
0:16:17 > 0:16:23'There's another thing I'm guessing hasn't changed since Bradshaw's day.'
0:16:23 > 0:16:25- Morning.- Morning.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'There's barely a woman in sight.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30'So I've had to look hard to find these two.'
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- Good morning.- Hello.- Good morning.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Morning.- You're up bright and early.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36SHE LAUGHS
0:16:36 > 0:16:39You don't look like professional meat-buyers.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- Are you buying for yourselves?- Yes.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Why have you come down so early to buy meat at Smithfield?
0:16:46 > 0:16:48She's having a party.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I can see your bags on the floor.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52You're really going for it, aren't you?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54What time did you have to get up?
0:16:54 > 0:16:59I got up at half three, because we live in Kent.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- Half past...?- Yes.- Wow.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'Eventually, I find a woman who actually works here.'
0:17:16 > 0:17:17- Good morning!- Morning.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- I can see you're the money lady! - Yes.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22What time do you have to get up in the morning?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25I get up about twenty past one.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And I get home about ten o'clock in the morning.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30It's just so nice to see a lady's face in the market,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32because there aren't so many, are there?
0:17:32 > 0:17:34No, it's very male orientated.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Why do you think that is?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Now we have a lady train drivers, but drivers, taxi drivers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Why not work in the meat market?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I think it's always been male and it is always going to be.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I think it's a strength thing as well.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49They think that you probably can't lift up the boxes,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51because they're quite heavy.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Do they behave nicely with you?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Watch their Ps and Qs?
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Sometimes. Not always, no.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00If you were single, you could have a good time.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Well, I confess that when I finish work
0:18:14 > 0:18:17it's quite nice to go somewhere and have a drink.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21And just because you begin work at two or three in the morning,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23no reason why it should be different.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27And so here, for Smithfield, there are special licensing laws
0:18:27 > 0:18:31to allow people to have a tipple when they knock off work at 6am!
0:18:33 > 0:18:34That's early!
0:18:34 > 0:18:35MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:18:35 > 0:18:38When the long night's work is done,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41the market traders come to the Cock Tavern,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44which has been here for around 150 years.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Thank you. That looks lovely. Thank you.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Are you the famous Carmen?
0:18:48 > 0:18:52I am. I don't know about famous, but I'm Carmen.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Have you got time to sit down...
0:18:54 > 0:18:58'Carmen Leslie is a chef at the pub and works from before dawn,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00'feeding hungry market traders.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- How long have you worked here? - I would say 43 years.
0:19:03 > 0:19:0643 years is a very long time in one pub.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Yeah, but it's a famous pub.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14At one time I wouldn't have been allowed to come in here because I wasn't part of the market.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17No. Nobody. Well, you are different.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21They'd probably let you in because Prince Charles was here...
0:19:21 > 0:19:23The Queen Mother was here.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Quite a few famous people actually.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27You've brought me a very nice breakfast.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Do you think this all comes from the market, one way or another?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32They're all from the market, everything.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34- Even the eggs.- Even the eggs?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37The hens didn't lay the eggs here.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41But it comes from the market, everything.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I don't normally have a pint at this time of the morning
0:19:44 > 0:19:47but I'm kind of thinking, well, it's like I didn't go to bed.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- I've been partying all night. - Have you?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53No!
0:19:53 > 0:19:55After my trader's breakfast,
0:19:55 > 0:20:00it's time to leave the market for the final part of my journey.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Following in Bradshaw's footsteps,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I'm heading off on his walking tour of the capital,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09to take in the best sights.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22And I'm starting with one of the most impressive.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26You know the great thing about St Paul's?
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It's huge but it's elegant.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32It's sophisticated.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36It's the idea of a single man, Sir Christopher Wren.
0:20:36 > 0:20:42And I love standing here because you realise its size.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47But now with all the skyscrapers, we're in danger of forgetting
0:20:47 > 0:20:51just what a massive achievement this cathedral is in every sense.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Bradshaw's guide recommends that you stand
0:21:03 > 0:21:05in the middle of Waterloo Bridge
0:21:05 > 0:21:11and pick out St Paul's, Somerset House and the Houses of Parliament.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16It's striking to me that we've had 150 years of development since
0:21:16 > 0:21:19and, to me at least, those three buildings
0:21:19 > 0:21:23are still the outstanding features of this riverscape.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30The river takes me to a part of London I know extremely well.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35So my rail journey from Buxton to London has brought me home,
0:21:35 > 0:21:36in a rather literal way.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39This is Whitehall and at one time,
0:21:39 > 0:21:44I used to live in a flat up there in Admiralty House.
0:21:48 > 0:21:54But just a few yards further on is a place I know better than most,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56having spent 20 years here.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59The new Houses of Parliament were opened
0:21:59 > 0:22:02just as my guidebook was going to press.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07And it refers to this as the most important building in London since St Paul's
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and talks about it as the most perfect thing ever planned.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14The most striking thing of all was the clock tower.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18And from what I remember from my last visit there
0:22:18 > 0:22:20during my last days as an MP,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25there's an important link between the clock and the railways.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The clock tower isn't generally open to the public.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
0:22:32 > 0:22:3323, 24, 25, 26...
0:22:33 > 0:22:36But a great privilege of being a former MP
0:22:36 > 0:22:37is that I'm allowed to climb up it.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39271, 272...
0:22:41 > 0:22:42I know why you're here.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44273...
0:22:44 > 0:22:46'And with 334 steps,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50'I'm glad I had that breakfast back at Smithfield's.'
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Ah, that's quite a flight of stairs you've got there.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55'Finally, I've reached the top
0:22:55 > 0:22:58'where I'm meeting Ian Westworth and Paul Roberson,'
0:22:58 > 0:23:02who maintain the Palace of Westminster's clocks.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06They're doing a job that hasn't changed since Bradshaw's day.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10We've got to keep the clock within two seconds of time.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12And we do this by adjusting.
0:23:12 > 0:23:18By putting one penny on speeds the clock up by two-fifths of a second over 24 hours.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21If you take it off, it slows the clock down by the same amount.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25What it does, it actually lifts the centre of gravity,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and that effectively shortens the pendulum itself,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30just by putting a penny on or taking it off.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34That's how we can keep it in with the so-accurate of timekeepers.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Those are pre-decimal pennies.- Yes.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40We have about 11 pennies on there at the moment just to keep it in time.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Why was it so important to have an accurate clock?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46It is because of the railways, basically.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Britain had time zones all over the place,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52up to 16 minutes away, down in Plymouth.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54So they wanted to standardise the time.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57So if they had one very accurate timekeeper here
0:23:57 > 0:23:58and one at Greenwich,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02and that was the way they could come about Greenwich Mean Time,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and standardising the whole of the time for Britain.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10Standardised time made the whole business of running railways
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and catching trains very much easier.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20The pendulum is 15ft long.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22And it ticks every two seconds.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27It's such a relaxing sort of sound, the two-second tick. It's fantastic.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30It's often said, "Doesn't the ticking sends you to sleep?"
0:24:30 > 0:24:35But we always reply that it does but only for 15 minutes at a time.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:24:44 > 0:24:50Big Ben rang out its first chimes in 1859 and, having come up this far,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54it would be crazy not to go all the way up to the bell chamber.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Although there are five bells,
0:24:58 > 0:25:03the famous bongs which chime the hour are rung by the biggest one,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07all 13 ½ tonnes of it.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09And this is properly Big Ben.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13So many people call the clock tower Big Ben. But that bell is Big Ben.
0:25:17 > 0:25:23When Big Ben sounds, what's it like to be standing here?
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Loud. That's why we give you ear defenders.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29It's about 117 decibels when it's up here but it's a lovely tone,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32slightly flat because of the cracks in it,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34but a lovely tone. Really distinctive.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37What you're going to see in about 30 seconds
0:25:37 > 0:25:41is the hammer on the third quarter bell will move
0:25:41 > 0:25:46and that's the signal for the start of the 16 notes for the chime.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Then there's a pause of eight seconds
0:25:49 > 0:25:51and the hammer on the great bell will go.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54So if you keep your eye on that hammer across there,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56it doesn't come as a shock, then. Here we go.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59BELL RINGS
0:26:10 > 0:26:16There is certainly plenty of vibration and we've only had the small bells so far.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Now we're waiting for the big daddy of them all. Do your stuff, Big Ben.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22BELL CHIMES
0:26:41 > 0:26:44BELL CONTINUES TO CHIME
0:26:53 > 0:26:55The iron structure all around us
0:26:55 > 0:26:58is absolutely shaking and vibrating and humming still
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and I don't think there would be an amusement
0:27:01 > 0:27:03that you could take in the world,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07there's no big dipper that would compare with the excitement -
0:27:07 > 0:27:08I can take these out now -
0:27:08 > 0:27:12of being next to that great big bell when it goes off.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It's fantastic, isn't it? And it's been doing that for 150 years.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17It's awesome.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Sometimes, during the course of my rail journey around Britain
0:27:28 > 0:27:33using Bradshaw's Guide, I've scoffed at its 19th-century arrogance.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Those people were so confident that they were the greatest.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40But as I stand here by the Victorian building
0:27:40 > 0:27:42where I spent most of my career,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I realise that without their architecture,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49their science and their railways, we would not be who we are today.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53And during my travels, I've discovered that the things we do
0:27:53 > 0:27:58best today are inspired by passion and a commitment to quality
0:27:58 > 0:28:02for which the inspiration could be Bradshaw's generation.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06And for the last leg of my journey, I've no need for Bradshaw's Guide.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I'm on my way home.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:42 > 0:28:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk