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 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:30Now, 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.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I'm on the last leg of my railway journey
0:00:55 > 0:00:57from Liverpool to Scarborough,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00using this dog-eared Victorian handbook.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03So far, its pointers have proved remarkably relevant,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05even to the modern-day traveller.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14I'm continuing to travel by the sea, so important to our island heritage.
0:01:14 > 0:01:20And now I'll discover whether Bradshaw's is a good guide, not only to Britain's yesterday and today,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23but also to our pre-history.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Today, I'll be catching up with a very old local in Scarborough.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Excuse me, is this the 2,000 year-old man?
0:01:33 > 0:01:38No, actually, this one's 4,000 years old. He dates from the early Bronze Age.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42I'll be finding out about fisherman knits in Filey.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44All the patterns have a meaning.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49The zigzag pattern - you never walk down the cliffs in a straight line.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52- Then we have the diamond mesh... - The nets.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54..the nets, the crab pots.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58And I'll be bird-watching on the wild cliffs of Bempton.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03We've got 200,000 breeding seabirds here, which is just amazing.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08These gannets are a relatively recent colonist, maybe in the last 30 years or so.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I've almost completed my journey from Liverpool
0:02:12 > 0:02:15that took me across the north west of England.
0:02:15 > 0:02:21Having crossed the Pennines and visited the historic city of York,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23and having passed through Humberside,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27I am now heading up the North East coast.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Today, I'm leaving the seaside town of Bridlington
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and travelling up the coast to Filey,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39before reaching my final destination, Scarborough.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47And my first stop is Bempton.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52This is the nearest station to that spectacular feature of the North East coast, Flamborough Head.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Bradshaw describes "its lofty cliffs of nearly 500 feet elevation,
0:03:01 > 0:03:07"teeming in the spring and summer months with thousands of birds of every hue and species."
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Bird-watching became a popular hobby in the late 19th century,
0:03:17 > 0:03:23spurred on by the railways, which brought people to the coast to enjoy the magnificent seabird colonies.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Isn't that amazing?
0:03:31 > 0:03:37In Bradshaw's day, these high cliffs attracted thousands of puffins and guillemots.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43These days, it's also home to England's largest mainland colony of gannets,
0:03:43 > 0:03:50closely monitored by RSPB site manager, Ian Kendall.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52What a fantastic sight.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Incredible, isn't it? Absolutely incredible.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59That jagged broken cliff with the birds lined along it.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I'm following this 19th century guidebook, Bradshaw,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08and he talks about Flamborough Head teeming with birds in the spring and summer.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11They are here spring and summer but they're here to early October
0:04:11 > 0:04:17and the gannets take a long time to rear the young, so they're here right through mid-autumn, I guess.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19They're voracious eaters, aren't they?
0:04:19 > 0:04:23When I was a kid, if I was wolfing my food, I was accused of eating like a gannet.
0:04:23 > 0:04:30Absolutely. They're really good hunters, really good feeders and they take masses of food.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34That's why the colony goes from strength to strength every year.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Am I right in thinking that even though you've got this huge number of gannets,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42they're actually a small minority of your total bird population?
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Yeah, we've got 200,000 breeding seabirds here, which is just amazing.
0:04:46 > 0:04:53- Do you have any problems with egg stealers?- No, that was the Victorian era, that was a big issue then.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57The climmers, as they were, used to go over these cliffs, harvesting guillemot eggs
0:04:57 > 0:05:00and I think, one year, they harvested 30,000 eggs.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03That was obviously never going to be sustainable,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06so I think the Sea Bird Preservation Act started right here
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and that stopped that process of taking all those bird eggs
0:05:10 > 0:05:13without any thought for the welfare of the birds.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17I like to think George Bradshaw would never have been guilty of such a heinous crime.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19I'm sure not.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24The climmers would sell the eggs for souvenirs,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28but most were stolen to be eaten by local people.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Thankfully, the climmers have gone
0:05:32 > 0:05:35but the bird-watchers remain a firm fixture on the cliffs.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Do you think seabirds are special?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I think they're absolutely wonderful,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44especially the gannets.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48The life of a gannet, the life they live, the way they live and the way they are,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51absolutely fascinates me and always has.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54What is it about their lifestyle that fascinates you?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The fact that they mate for life. They have the same nest for life.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02The way they bring up their young - feeding them so much fish, they look after them -
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and the way they are together.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07For such a fierce hunting bird,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10they're so gentle with one another and they're so loving.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11It's wonderful to see.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13They have the same nest, do they?
0:06:13 > 0:06:14Yes, the same nest for life.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Goodness knows how they do it.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Imagine you've been out for the whole of the winter
0:06:20 > 0:06:25and then you come back to this cliff site and the three miles of cliff
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and you find the one particular little nest that you had last year.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I just don't know how they do it.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31I think it's wonderful.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I do find it hard to put myself in the position of a gannet.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Not only, how do you find your address again,
0:06:37 > 0:06:42but how do you spend months clinging to a cliff edge?
0:06:42 > 0:06:43It's really extraordinary.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Nearby Flamborough Head has two lighthouses.
0:06:59 > 0:07:06The Chalk Tower is the oldest surviving lighthouse in England, dating back to 1674.
0:07:09 > 0:07:16In 1806, it was replaced by another lighthouse that caught Bradshaw's eye.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20It pioneered a new system for alerting sailors in bad weather.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Bradshaw's mentions this lighthouse at Flamborough Head,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28rising 400 feet above the sea.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It was quite new at the time of Bradshaw's Guide
0:07:31 > 0:07:35and for the first time they used red glass on the reflector,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39a colour that could be better seen in the fog,
0:07:39 > 0:07:44giving this lighthouse a characteristic signature of two white flashes followed by a red,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48a model that was quickly adopted by many other lights.
0:08:02 > 0:08:09From the wilds of Flamborough, it's back to the station for the next leg of my journey up the east coast.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27My next stop is Filey and Bradshaw's guide says of it, that it's a modern watering place.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The guidebook would have been written
0:08:29 > 0:08:34around the time that fishing villages were becoming fashionable seaside resorts.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40I shall be interested to see, today, whether it's more noted for fish or fashion.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05What a lovely railway station!
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Very, very unexpected.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13Beautiful, substantial Victorian brick walls. Lovely roof.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16It must indeed have been a fashionable watering place.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29When the railways arrived in 1846,
0:09:29 > 0:09:34Filey expanded from a small fishing village to an elegant seaside resort.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40For those in the know, it was a quieter alternative to its noisy neighbour, Scarborough.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49But fishing was always at its heart.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53In 1870, there were over 100 working vessels here.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00Filey fishermen used special cobble boats that are found only in the North East.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Small and sturdy, they could be launched straight from the beach.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Jeremy Smith is a fisherman, just like his father,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17and uses one of the last remaining cobble boats in Filey.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22- Hello.- Hello, there.- I've never seen a boat like this before. It's got a kind of flat bottom.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Yes, it's got a flat bottom
0:10:25 > 0:10:28with a tunnel where the propeller is underneath.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33We've got a keel on the front for stability.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- What's the point of the flat bottom? - It's just for landing on the wheels, when we're pulling up the beach.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43- Because you've no harbour. - No, only at Scarborough. - And do they go back a long time?
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Yes, they go back to the 18th century, these boats.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Originated from the Vikings with a clinker build.
0:10:49 > 0:10:55That means when the planks will overlap and they rivet the planks to stop them from leaking.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56And they're used for fishing?
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Yes, we use them for fishing, crab potting, netting,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04long-lining and sometimes taking visitors out for trips.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Although the boats are sturdy for their size,
0:11:08 > 0:11:15fishing on the north east coast in Bradshaw's time was a hazardous occupation.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I've got a 19th century guidebook, which talks about a lot of disasters in that period.
0:11:19 > 0:11:26Yes, it goes back to about 1850-1860, when the herring fishing was in action.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31They used to travel for miles in these boats and couldn't get the weather forecasts.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34So, there was a lot of drownings in them days.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38When other boats were laid up for winter,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41the cobbles were still out long-line fishing.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Before the 1900s the boats were dependent on sail and oar power.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48So, if the weather turned,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51the boats were left vulnerable to the rough seas.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00"This old sea mine serves as a memorial
0:12:00 > 0:12:05"to all the fishermen and mariners of Filey who've lost their lives."
0:12:05 > 0:12:08In fact, Bradshaw's Guide mentions
0:12:08 > 0:12:13there are more women than men in the town because of a catastrophe in 1851.
0:12:13 > 0:12:20There were several such disasters and the sea has created many widows in this town.
0:12:24 > 0:12:31Historically, the fishermen of East Yorkshire wore thick wool pullovers called Guernseys.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34They were hand knitted by their wives
0:12:34 > 0:12:39and heavily patterned with symbols that represented the village they were from.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46Margaret Taylor married a fisherman and the knitting of Filey pullovers is part of her heritage.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Margaret? I find you hard at work.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- Hello.- I'm Michael. - Pleased to meet you.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55What are you working on there?
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I'm working on a traditional fisherman's Guernsey.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Ours are very highly patterned because all the patterns have a meaning.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07That's the shingle on the beach. If you feel it, it's the nice texture -
0:13:07 > 0:13:09little pebbles on the beach.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Yes. This is very good.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15The zigzag pattern - you never walk down the cliffs in a straight line.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- No.- You go in a zigzag pattern.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- Then we have the diamond mesh which is...- The nets.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23..the nets, the crab pots.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24GT?
0:13:24 > 0:13:27That's my husband's initials, Graham Taylor.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30And part of the beauty of these,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34in the years ago when people were lost at sea,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36it was identification.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38A body washed up,
0:13:38 > 0:13:44they would all be wearing Guernsey's then, hence the pattern - people knowing where it came from.
0:13:44 > 0:13:50And also, with having the initial in, the body would be returned to the rightful owners.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- That's very sad.- It's very sad but it happened, unfortunately.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59The Guernsey is tightly knitted making it virtually wind and waterproof.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02In the 19th century, they were rarely washed
0:14:02 > 0:14:07and it's said that the build-up of daily grime added a further protective layer.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- The knitting goes back in your family?- It does.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15There's evidence in a book that they were around in the 1800s
0:14:15 > 0:14:20but I'm following my family tree and I've gone back to the late 1790s, now,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and they were wearing Guernseys in those days.
0:14:24 > 0:14:31So, I don't have any photographs, obviously, from that time but I do have one of my grandma
0:14:31 > 0:14:36and Grandad's wearing one of her Filey Guernseys.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Knitting them requires skill and patience.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45It takes even a proficient knitter at least 100 hours to complete a Filey Guernsey.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Are there many people in Filey knitting sweaters?
0:14:49 > 0:14:54You'd have to be very lucky to find a lady, one of the very few, who would knit you one.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55And you can't buy them?
0:14:55 > 0:14:59You can buy them at Flamborough. They will sell them in a shop up there.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02You'd go and order one and say what you want
0:15:02 > 0:15:06and they'll tell you when it's ready, which will be months away.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12So, if I want a Filey Guernsey for Christmas, I'd better get my order in quickly.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25I'm almost at the end of my journey from the west coast to the east of England.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38- Tickets for Filey, please. - Morning.- Morning.- There we go.
0:15:38 > 0:15:44- Thank you very much. - Which of the Yorkshire seaside resorts do you most like?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Hornsey and Withernsea but you can't get there on the railway any more.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49They used to have railways, did they?
0:15:49 > 0:15:54They used to but they went back in the '60s. I still travel there by car when I can.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Luckily for me, the railway still does run to the heart
0:15:59 > 0:16:03of one of the greatest Victorian holiday hotspots.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06I've been to Bridlington, I've been to Filey -
0:16:06 > 0:16:10both very considerable Victorian seaside resorts.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15But now I'm on my way to the mother and father of Yorkshire holiday destinations.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19I refer to the one and only, the inimitable, Scarborough.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Ladies and gentlemen, we're now approaching Scarborough where this service will terminate.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45All passengers leaving the train, please remember to take with you all luggage and any personal belongings.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Scarborough is the next and terminating station.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I've come through beautiful green countryside,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07I've picked my way through the silhouetted spires of Scarborough.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Now, I'm at the railway station. I have a thing about railway clocks.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16Scarborough station has the most wonderful, jaunty, elegant,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19ecstatic clock tower.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24A clock is an adornment to any station
0:17:24 > 0:17:30but in 1884, when this was added, it was crucial as few people owned a watch.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37In the 17th century, Scarborough spa and its iron-rich waters
0:17:37 > 0:17:41attracted the gentry and its life as a resort began.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53But it was the railways that put Scarborough on the map as a major holiday destination for the masses.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03Bradshaw writes, "There are 33 miles of coast, which may be inspected at low water,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07"over a course of the finest sands in England."
0:18:15 > 0:18:17My Bradshaw's Guide tells me
0:18:17 > 0:18:23that this beach became so popular that, in 1861, they had to ban nude bathing here.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27After that, the sands were used for the Scarborough horse races
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and the crowds used to gather on that bridge.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35And Bradshaw's Guide tells me that bridge was the best grandstand in the world.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41But now, the sands have changed from turf to surf.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51In the mid 19th century, the spa town became known as a centre of entertainment.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Every summer, the cotton mills across the north west closed for a holiday called wakes week
0:18:57 > 0:19:00and the workers headed to the coast,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03many of them ending up at Scarborough.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09They came for the many attractions, which Bradshaw described in detail -
0:19:09 > 0:19:12the iron bridge,
0:19:12 > 0:19:13the 12th century castle
0:19:13 > 0:19:16and, of course, cliff-top walks with panoramic views.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20And something else.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25In Scarborough, Bradshaw's Guide recommends the Rotunda Museum,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29"especially the skeleton of an ancient Briton and his oak tree coffin
0:19:29 > 0:19:34"supposed to be 2,000 years old, which will be found particularly attractive.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36"The teeth are all perfect."
0:19:36 > 0:19:39So, I'm looking for a man 20 centuries old,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42particularly attractive, with a great smile.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51The skeleton, called Gristhorpe Man, was discovered in a tree trunk.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55In 2005, it was taken away for testing
0:19:55 > 0:20:00by field archaeologists, Dr Nigel Melton and Janet Montgomery.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Today, it's back on display in the Rotunda.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Excuse me, is this the 2,000 year-old man?
0:20:10 > 0:20:13No, this one's 4,000 years old. He dates from the early Bronze Age.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18He must be the one I'm looking for. My Victorian guidebook says he's 2,000 years old.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23This is probably the one you're looking for. Now we have much more advanced scientific techniques.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29We can use radio carbon dating, which they didn't have access to in the 19th century.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31And how unusual is this intact skeleton?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's very unusual.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Up until the Gristhorpe Man was found in 1834,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41they'd found a lot of coffins but with no evidence of a body at all.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46They thought they were repositories for people's possessions and then we found Gristhorpe Man.
0:20:46 > 0:20:53There was a full complete skeleton in there but, since then, there's been no more. He's unique.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55So, do people flock in to see him?
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Well, they used to. When he was found in 1834, he was a national sensation.
0:21:00 > 0:21:06But he's sort of slipped off the radar a bit, maybe because he is tucked away in the north of England.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11But we're hoping all the new sort of forensic-style investigations we've been able to do on him
0:21:11 > 0:21:13will bring him back to prominence.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18It says in here that he has a full set of teeth, which he does. It's very remarkable, isn't it?
0:21:18 > 0:21:22I would have thought his teeth would have fallen out in those days.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28Actually, they didn't tend to because they didn't have as much access to sugars that we have,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30so they didn't get as much tooth decay.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34They tend to get very worn because their diet is usually lot harsher.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38And I know he's 4,000 years old but how old was he when he died?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40It's very difficult to tell from a skeleton
0:21:40 > 0:21:44but we think he was probably 60-plus when he died.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Really? That's a pretty good age for those days, isn't it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- It's a very good age for those days, yes.- And he's big, isn't he?
0:21:52 > 0:21:57Yes, he's about six-foot, six-foot-two, which is very tall for the Bronze Age.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59What would he have looked like?
0:21:59 > 0:22:04Well, not only was he tall but he was also an extremely powerfully built man.
0:22:04 > 0:22:11Something like a modern professional athlete in terms of his muscles and his body mass.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14What did he die of?
0:22:14 > 0:22:18It's terribly difficult to say when you've only got a skeleton left,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22unless someone hit him over the head with an axe or something obvious.
0:22:22 > 0:22:28We've actually CT scanned him, so that we can take him apart digitally.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34And one of the things that turned up on there, was on the left side of his skull,
0:22:34 > 0:22:42there's a large benign brain tumour that's left the skull only paper thin in places.
0:22:49 > 0:22:55As ever more visitors arrived, Scarborough quickly ran out of hotel space.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02So, in 1863 work began on The Grand,
0:23:02 > 0:23:08one of the first and largest purpose-built hotels in Europe.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Very grand and very opulent.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20Paul Hallam's worked here for 15 years and knows it inside out.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- Paul.- Hello, Michael. - It is magnificent.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25A hotel on this scale needed the railways.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30It certainly did. It was the railway that actually brought all the people into the town,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33especially on Sundays and weekends and bank holidays.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34Give me its vital statistics.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39When it was first designed by Cuthbert Brodrick, he built it around the calendar.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44We have 4 turrets at the top of the building for the seasons, 12 floors for the months of the year,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48365 bedrooms and 52 chimneys.
0:23:48 > 0:23:49Very, very neat.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54And, I suppose, in these old-fashioned hotels, the bedrooms are all different?
0:23:54 > 0:23:57We don't have two bedrooms the same shape or the same size,
0:23:57 > 0:24:02mainly to do with the fact that the building is built in the shape of a V to commemorate Queen Victoria.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Wonderfully patriotic and royalist.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10It's a magnificent stair.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Yes, as you can see, Michael, quite a wide staircase
0:24:13 > 0:24:18and due to the fact that two ladies in crinoline dresses could pass each other.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22- That immediately evokes the whole era, doesn't it?- It does indeed.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26- Swishing from the ballroom down these lovely stairs.- That's correct.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38In its heyday, the hotel attracted a wealthy clientele
0:24:38 > 0:24:43that came for its grand evening balls and splendid South Bay views.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Oh, yes! That is magnificent.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Isn't it on the grand scale?
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- It's superb, Michael.- I love it.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57With its great D-windows and beautiful views. Can we get out there?
0:24:57 > 0:25:01We certainly can. I'll just take you across and out onto the balcony.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Excellent.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- Because the prospect is one of the great advantages of the hotel, isn't it?- Yes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15What a majestic panorama, isn't it?
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Superb, isn't it? This is what people come to Scarborough to see.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Your hotel, it is built on such a dominant position, it's comparable to the castle.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28It is indeed. It doesn't matter where you stand on any cliff-top or wherever in Scarborough,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31you will more often than not see the Grand Hotel.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34It's built sheer, like an artificial cliff, in a way, isn't it?
0:25:34 > 0:25:39It is right the way down right to the sea line level at the bottom, there.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44I suppose, being like a cliff, you also offer hospitality to quite a lot of seagulls.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48We do get quite a few, Michael, at the seagull season, shall we say.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52- But only the most discerning seagulls, I think.- Of course.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04- Hello, Michael. I hope you don't mind but is that a Scarborough tan you are sporting?- Of course.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I've been here six hours and it's been more or less sunny.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Have you come to stay or do you live here?
0:26:09 > 0:26:16My wife and I met each other at Scarborough 45 years ago, so we're here for a bit of reminiscing.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21We hope to carve our initials in a few park benches and things like that.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24How very romantic. Did you meet here at the Grand Hotel?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26- At the Spa.- At the Spa.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Dancing at the Spa.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32- And have you been back over the years?- Oh, yes.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37This is a favourite haunt. We're getting that bit older now but we still like coming to Scarborough.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- I wish you a very happy 45th anniversary.- Thank you very much.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45- Enjoy your stay.- Scarborough's just the place to celebrate. - Bye-bye.- Bye.
0:26:46 > 0:26:52Clearly, romance isn't dead in this Great British seaside resort.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57On this journey, it's been enriching to explore the country through Bradshaw's eyes
0:26:57 > 0:27:03and see how much Victorian achievements have shaped the Britain we know today.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Where would I have been this week without my Bradshaw's handbook?
0:27:07 > 0:27:11It's taught me more about my country than any modern guide.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13From Liverpool to Scarborough,
0:27:13 > 0:27:18I've seen the transformative impact that railways had on the history of our country.
0:27:18 > 0:27:25Bradshaw's has led me from west to east, from coast to coast, and this is journey's end.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34My next journey takes me from Preston all the way to Scotland.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I'll be getting the thrill of a lifetime.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44This is a fantastic sight as the steam engine begins to go over the Ribblehead Viaduct.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48You will never see another sight like this on a railway in Britain.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I'll be realising a life-long ambition.
0:27:53 > 0:28:00It gives you an idea of the scale, the complexity, the height
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and, actually, the beauty. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?
0:28:07 > 0:28:11And I'll be enjoying a music hall revival.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15- Ready for your performance? - We should get it in there - we've got an audience.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18# Adlington or Darlington Torrington or Warrington
0:28:18 > 0:28:22# Sure that she would find it in the Bradshaw's Guide. #
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:50 > 0:28:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk