0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 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 > 0:00:24Stop by stop, he told them where to travel, what to see, and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length
0:00:28 > 0:00:34and breadth of the country, to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Using my 19th century Bradshaw's guide, I'm continuing my journey
0:01:04 > 0:01:08from the cradle of the railways, the North East of England, headed south.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Town and country soon became more accessible,
0:01:11 > 0:01:16and this green and pleasant land was soon transformed for ever.
0:01:19 > 0:01:25Along the way, I'll be stopping off at some of the sights recommended in this extraordinary book,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30and finding out how the places it describes were changed by the railways.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37On this leg of the journey, I'll experience how tough it was to drive a steam engine...
0:01:37 > 0:01:42The heat from the boiler is intense,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44and the coal is heavy.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50And the locomotive is very hungry.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53..Meeting one of the first locomotives...
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It's in the most beautiful condition. Am I allowed to...?
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- I think you are, absolutely. - Quite thrilling, actually.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04..And sounding out Whitby, which inspired the Victorian horror story, Dracula...
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Aaaaaaargh!
0:02:06 > 0:02:08How was that?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I started this journey in Newcastle, and now I'm following
0:02:15 > 0:02:18some of the earliest railway lines, built for freight.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23My route through Yorkshire takes in the spa town of Harrogate
0:02:23 > 0:02:27and the industrial cities of Leeds and Sheffield.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Then I'll be crossing into rural Leicestershire, ending up
0:02:31 > 0:02:33at picturesque Melton Mowbray.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35On this stretch, I start in Durham,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37then cross the Yorkshire Moors
0:02:37 > 0:02:41to Whitby, and at Grosmont, catch a Heritage line.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'This is Durham.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Cheers.- Thank you. 'My first stop is the historically
0:02:53 > 0:02:59'important city of Durham, whose overwhelming cathedral is rightly praised in my Bradshaw's guide.'
0:02:59 > 0:03:04Bradshaw's says of Durham, "from all the neighbouring points of view, its
0:03:04 > 0:03:10"appearance is unique and striking and the public edifices exhibit a great degree of magnificence.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16"The centre of the eminence is occupied by the cathedral and castle."
0:03:16 > 0:03:21Victorian writers could be pretty pompous, but the point is well made.
0:03:21 > 0:03:22The view is stunning.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29In the Victorian era, the cathedral more than dominated the skyline.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It was one of the most powerful landowners in the county.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36When the railway arrived, the Chapter, its governing body,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41demanded huge sums of money to allow it to cross ecclesiastical land.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45And even today, the cathedral is central to Durham's way of life.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49- Are you a native of Durham? - I am, and a student, so...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Oh, that's unusual. So you're studying in your own city?- I am.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Do you go to the cathedral very often?
0:03:53 > 0:03:56It's such an impressive building and I'm graduating there in
0:03:56 > 0:03:59January, which is going to be great for myself, personally.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Isn't that lovely? - Absolutely. It's such a good setting.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04And I think, as well, so historic.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09The railway reached Durham in the 1840s, and in the
0:04:09 > 0:04:14succeeding decades, the railway companies promoted the cathedral as an attraction worth the journey.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17They appealed to a new type of Victorian tourist - the wealthy
0:04:17 > 0:04:23middle classes, seeking to educate themselves through travel.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26And a Bradshaw's guide made a perfect tutor.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30It records, "This venerable building is a cross, 420 feet long,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33"built between 1093 and 1220,
0:04:33 > 0:04:39"chiefly Norman, with many examples of the early pointed style."
0:04:39 > 0:04:41I love Durham Cathedral.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45As you march up this enormous nave,
0:04:45 > 0:04:51you're aware of this impressive, heavy, ancient architecture.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55The great big columns and the rounded arches.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58And it's all one. It's all of a period.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And yet, I'm marching towards
0:05:01 > 0:05:05what I assume is a later, beautiful rose window.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11And the whole place is majestic and tranquil.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And vast.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19In the early 19th century, the bishops of Durham were powerful and wealthy men.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22They were so well remunerated that a celebrated kerfuffle over
0:05:22 > 0:05:27the pension paid to one bishop is highlighted in my Bradshaw's guide.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Perhaps unfairly, I put the present day Dean, Michael Sadgrove, on the spot.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Now, there's a curious reference in my Bradshaw.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40It says, "In 1856, an Act of Parliament was obtained to enable the bishops of London
0:05:40 > 0:05:45"and Durham to retire from their sees with handsome pensions." Now, what was he referring to?
0:05:45 > 0:05:48That was the retirement of Bishop Edward Maltby.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50He was a cause celebre, because that was unheard of.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53You didn't retire, you simply went on until you died.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55He was given permission to retire,
0:05:55 > 0:06:00because the Bishop of London was also given similar permission at the same time.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04And the pensions on which they retired were huge.
0:06:04 > 0:06:12I think £4,500 per annum, which equates to about £350,000 a year, in today's money.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14With the Victorian press in full cry about the bishop's pension,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17the Prime Minister faced angry questions.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22I looked up the parliamentary debate, actually, and it's interesting.
0:06:22 > 0:06:29One MP gets up and says, "Why should these chaps have £4,500, when the average churchman has only £100?"
0:06:29 > 0:06:31So it's all about disparity of income.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- It's got echoes of the present day. Hasn't it?- It is.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39CHOIR SINGS
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Before I resume my journey south, there's just time to hear the
0:06:42 > 0:06:47Cathedral School Choir in rehearsal, led by Choir Master, James Lancelot.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51CHORAL SINGING
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- You must be James. Very good to meet you. That was lovely.- Welcome.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Thank you very much indeed. Thank you very much, everybody.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09How long has there been a choir in this cathedral?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Since it was built, I think, probably.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16- Ninth century? - And boys since 1416, at least.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Yes.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22The young voices really fill the entire space, don't they?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24They do, they do. They know a thing or two about singing,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28and the people who built it knew a thing or two about acoustics! This is not the whole choir.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33We've got 16 boys, ten men and we've now got 20 girls as well, since last November.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38Now, I believe I'm talking not only to a choir master but also a bit of an aficionado of trains.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- Is that true?- That is true, yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Both the interest in music and trains go back to early childhood.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47When you were this age, what did you want to be?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49I think I wanted to be an engine driver!
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I think it's very difficult to explain,
0:07:52 > 0:07:57well, to really anyone under about the age of 55, just what the romance of railway travel was in those days.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59The sheer varieties, the complexity.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02And at its heart, of course, the steam engine, which was the nearest
0:08:02 > 0:08:05thing to a living creature that any machine has ever been.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Well, I'm safely over 55, so you're OK with me!
0:08:13 > 0:08:18I'm sorry to leave such a glorious city behind, but I must embark on the next stage of my journey.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22'The next station is Darlington, in 15 minutes time.'
0:08:28 > 0:08:32I'm now headed for a place that George Bradshaw would have found very exciting.
0:08:32 > 0:08:39Towards the 22 miles of track that he says are "memorable as being the first locomotive rail in England",
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and he might have added, "or anywhere else in the world."
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Built between 1821 and 1825 by George Stephenson,
0:08:47 > 0:08:53I'm headed for the highly historic Darlington to Stockton railway.
0:08:57 > 0:09:03Darlington is considered by many to be the home of the first modern freight railway ever built.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05'This is Darlington.'
0:09:05 > 0:09:07WHISTLE BLOWS
0:09:08 > 0:09:13It is indeed remarkable to think, moving to think,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18that in the early 1820s this was where George Stephenson laid the
0:09:18 > 0:09:25first iron tracks to take the coal from the collieries of Darlington, down to the river at Stockton.
0:09:25 > 0:09:31Lots of people had laid tracks before, but what was to make this railway unique, a first,
0:09:31 > 0:09:36was that it wasn't horse drawn, it wasn't driven by stationary engines.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40This railway was going to be powered by locomotives,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43by moving engines.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Are you very aware of the history of this place?
0:09:53 > 0:09:59I know quite a bit of it. I've spent many years, I'm in my 32nd year now.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03I started in 1978, at this station.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07The railways here go back even longer than you do, back to 1825!
0:10:07 > 0:10:09They certainly do. I'm glad they do, as well!
0:10:09 > 0:10:11My 19th century Bradshaw's guide says this is the first
0:10:11 > 0:10:15locomotive rail in England, but actually, that's to understate it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17It's the first locomotive rail in the world.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Maybe, but England always comes first, doesn't it?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24That's a good way of putting it! Lovely to talk to you.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Thank you very much.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32Close by is the resting place of some of the earliest engines,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35where I'm meeting railway expert, Mark Allott.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39How did it come about that there was a railway between Stockton and Darlington?
0:10:39 > 0:10:43It was the usual thing around that period - the need of growing industry for coal.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46And the canals weren't particularly fast at transporting things,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and hence the decision was made to build a railway in its place.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Initially, it was thought horse-drawn vehicles would ply the new line.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59But engineer, George Stephenson, was convinced steam was the future
0:10:59 > 0:11:02and devised a new engine called Locomotion Number One.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Locomotion is one of the most important locomotives,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09the first one to haul passengers on a public railway back in 1825.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13So it really is the grandfather of all the railways that we've got today.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17And what we're looking at here, is this a replica of Locomotion?
0:11:17 > 0:11:20No, it's the real engine and it's been preserved since 1841.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26So, isn't it fascinating to think that even when that was only 16 years old, people had realised
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- the important part that that engine had played in history?- It's in the most beautiful condition.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32- It really is.- Am I allowed to...?
0:11:32 > 0:11:33I think you are, absolutely!
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Quite thrilling, actually.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Although the new railway was designed for freight, it soon
0:11:42 > 0:11:46began to take passengers too, who were doubtless also thrilled,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48even though the first train took over two hours
0:11:48 > 0:11:50to travel just twelve miles.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52What was it like when they began to take passengers?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- Did they have carriages ready for them?- Not quite.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59What you'll see - and I'll show you, if you come this way - is that coal trucks like this
0:11:59 > 0:12:02were some of the vehicles that were carrying the first passengers.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Some of them would have ridden on top to start with, and some would have been empty, with people inside.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08How quickly did things advance?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Really quickly. One of the things I think is a good analogy,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15is looking how computers have really changed very, very quickly in the last few years.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Or how mobile phones have shrunk.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22So in only ten years, you went from a really fragile locomotive like that, like Locomotion,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26through Rocket, which had all the essential components of the end of
0:12:26 > 0:12:31steam, effectively, to locomotives like Derwent, that were operating in collieries only ten years later.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Look at the size of it, compared to Locomotion.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Size and sophistication.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41From these small beginnings, the railways spread rapidly across Britain.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44By the time my Bradshaw's guide was written in the 1860s,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48the country was linked by nearly 10,000 miles of track.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54It was a railway revolution, with the most deep-reaching industrial and social consequences.
0:12:59 > 0:13:06I'm now quitting Darlington for Whitby, one of the towns transformed by the new railways.
0:13:11 > 0:13:17Bradshaw, in his flowery Victorian language, says, "There are, among the watering places of England,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22"few that have more greatly benefited than Whitby from railway communications.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26"Or that have become better adapted for the reception of visitors."
0:13:26 > 0:13:33He's really enthusiastic about Whitby's natural beauty, and about the quality of its hotels.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35I'm looking forward to it.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53'Ladies and gentlemen, we shall shortly be arriving at Whitby, where this service terminates.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Train travel came to Whitby in 1847, and by the end of the century,
0:14:06 > 0:14:12had helped turn a small fishing village into a bustling seaside resort of fashion.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Visitors came to admire the romantic ruins of Whitby's Abbey,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21but I'm here to investigate its more chilling claim to fame.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Do you know you're in Dracula's town?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Oh, yes, I do, yes.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Do you know how Dracula arrived in Whitby?
0:14:27 > 0:14:28No.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Do you know the story of Dracula?
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Not really. I thought it was a ship.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Yeah, it was a ship.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Have you come to Whitby because of Dracula?
0:14:38 > 0:14:42No, I haven't. No, we've just come for a girls' night out!
0:14:42 > 0:14:43Which we had last night.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Was there much blood-sucking involved?
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Well, I'm not telling!
0:14:48 > 0:14:50All right, thank you very much.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- Thanks. Bye!- What weapon do you use to see off a vampire?
0:14:53 > 0:15:00Erm...well, I don't want to brag, but I do have a lot of garlic in the kitchen, ready and waiting.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02So I'm more than willing to take him on.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04And what's the way of killing off a vampire?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06A stake through the heart, I would think.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11- Do you have any stakes in the kitchen?- Only meat...- Probably the wrong sort!
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- Thank you very much!- No problem.
0:15:13 > 0:15:19Bram Stoker's Dracula, published in 1897, recounts
0:15:19 > 0:15:25how solicitor, Jonathan Harker, and other innocents fall victim to the terrifying Vampire Count.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30Stoker used Whitby as the location for some of the book's most dramatic scenes.
0:15:31 > 0:15:38Famously, Dracula arrived by ship from Transylvania, here in Whitby.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42What's less well known is that Jonathan Harker writes of
0:15:42 > 0:15:47one of his first encounters with the Count in his castle,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51"I found the Count lying on the sofa, reading,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56"of all things in the world, an English Bradshaw's guide."
0:15:58 > 0:16:03It's not reassuring to know that Dracula and I share the same taste in books.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09As the rain descends, I need no convincing that this is a perfect setting for a tale of horror.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Welcome to Wetby! Whitby.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Ideal weather for my Terror Tour with Harry Collett.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20If I were a betting man, I would wager that you know something about Dracula, dressed like that!
0:16:20 > 0:16:25- Yes, just a little bit. - Why do you think Bram Stoker chose Whitby for this Gothic novel?
0:16:25 > 0:16:29He came here as a holiday. Stoker came, took residency in the Royal Crescent,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and for the first week of his month long holiday,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36he stayed by himself whilst his family came up by rail from London.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41And during that week, the Irishman started to put pen to paper to write a play.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45The play ultimately became the novel, Dracula.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51The Count brings terror to Whitby, after a shipwreck that reeks of the supernatural.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57And when the ship arrived, that was a pretty frightening moment for people. Just describe its arrival.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Big storm,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01pulled in, crashed onto the beach.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04And there they found the captain, dead.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Lashed to steering wheel, clutching his crucifix and his rosary.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Onto Tate Sands, through the harbour entrance, running aground on Tate Sands.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17And, of course, off that ship leapt a large black dog with saucer-like eyes and
0:17:17 > 0:17:25fang-like teeth, to go and run helter skelter up the 199 church stairs and go and hide in the graveyard.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26And who was that fearful hound?
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Dracula himself.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Welcome to the Screaming Tunnel.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- The Screaming Tunnel?- Yes.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41That's because it's said that if you venture in here after dark, you might meet You Know Who.
0:17:46 > 0:17:52Well, we did say to you that this was the Screaming Tunnel, so after three,
0:17:52 > 0:17:57I'd like you to fill your lungs and have a good long scream.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00You must be joking, I'll get arrested for that, won't I?
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- I doubt it.- OK, here goes.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Aaaaaaaaargh!
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- How was that?- Excellent.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Mmm, I feel better for that!
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Another fantastic view of Whitby, that's beautiful.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17It is. It's one of the best views in the town, this.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19One of the first times we meet Dracula in the novel, he is
0:18:19 > 0:18:22reading Bradshaw' timetable, isn't he? What's he doing?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25He's working out how to get the 50 coffins of earth,
0:18:25 > 0:18:32which he brings with him from Transylvania into Whitby, how to get them down to the railway station
0:18:32 > 0:18:39in Whitby to catch the 09.30 express to London, which will get him there at 5.30 the following afternoon.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Even to the undead, Bradshaw's railway timetables were indispensable.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50'The last stop on my Dracula tour is also where I shall spend the night.'
0:18:50 > 0:18:52It's pretty blowy out there!
0:18:52 > 0:18:55'The Royal Hotel.' Bram Stoker used to write here, is that right?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58He did indeed, yes.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02He was in one of our reading lounges upstairs, that's now guest accommodation.
0:19:02 > 0:19:08- And where am I staying?- You're in room 101, which is on the 1st floor, sir. Have a wonderful stay with us.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- And will I sleep well? - You'll sleep very well.
0:19:11 > 0:19:12Thank you! Bye.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Built around 1850, the hotel is described in my
0:19:16 > 0:19:24Bradshaw's as, "Splendid, containing warm baths and every convenience for the accommodation of visitors."
0:19:24 > 0:19:29From this cliff top site, Stoker could plot Dracula's nocturnal flits
0:19:29 > 0:19:32around Whitby's impressive topography.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Ah, the famous view!
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And here I shall stay until midnight.
0:19:47 > 0:19:53Unpunctured by any fang, I've woken to see what Whitby offers, other than vampires.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Bradshaw's says, "Whitby has long been admired for
0:19:56 > 0:20:01"the peculiarity of its position and the grandeur of its coastal scenery.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07"To the eastward, the cliffs rise almost 200 feet above the sea,
0:20:07 > 0:20:12"and towards the south, present a procession of bold headlands."
0:20:12 > 0:20:15This is clearly a place worth exploring.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Early railway travellers were attracted by the views, no doubt.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26But many came determined to acquire precious souvenirs,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29with the highest possible seal of approval.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33One item that Victorian tourists latched onto was jet,
0:20:33 > 0:20:39a black gemstone that could be carved into jewellery, which, after the death of her husband,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Prince Albert, became very popular with Her Majesty the Queen herself.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48'Jeweller, Chris Sellors, will show me where to look for jet,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'a search that's continued since Bradshaw's day.'
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Interesting journey down here!
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Down the cliff, absolutely.
0:20:56 > 0:20:57What is jet?
0:20:57 > 0:21:02It's a fossilised monkey puzzle tree, actually. Araucaria.
0:21:02 > 0:21:09180 million years ago these were laid down and, under the pressure, have turned into the black magic.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I think of precious gemstones as coming from the heart of Africa.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- Are there many in Britain? - There's only two.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19There's obviously Blue John from Derbyshire,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24but jet is so highly prized, and going back to Victorian days,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28was made and used extensively in jewellery.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33The only jet to be found in Britain is on the coast near Whitby.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The Victorian fashion for black jewels created
0:21:36 > 0:21:40a huge demand for this rare stone, and jet hunters combed the shore.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43How did the Victorians quarry it, if that's the word?
0:21:43 > 0:21:49They weren't very eco-friendly, I'm afraid. There's evidence at certain times you can see here,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52where they'd been drilling and they used explosives on these cliffs.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Where do you find it today?
0:21:54 > 0:21:56The material today is largely beach combed.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00There's some small seams that appear in the cliffs, but
0:22:00 > 0:22:03we've got people collecting it all the time out on the beach.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Can you see any jet in the cliffs nowadays?
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Yes, there's evidence of a few collectors that have been down here
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and following some very thin, small seams.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19It's actually harder to see when it's wet.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Back of that there, you can see a very, very thin seam.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26It's lovely the way it glints in the bottom there.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Yeah. It's beautiful stuff.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34In Bradshaw's epoch, Whitby had 200 jet workshops.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40Only a few remain, including Chris's, established in 1860.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42Morning. So what do you do?
0:22:42 > 0:22:44I'm making some rings at the moment.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Just a matter of cutting the pieces down to size.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Just show me you've got ten fingers?
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Oh, you have!
0:22:54 > 0:22:57These are some antique pieces from our collection.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00I'm noticing that the Victorian taste is for very big pieces?
0:23:00 > 0:23:02They were very bold in what they did.
0:23:02 > 0:23:09Jet was a material that enabled this to happen, because it's so light, you know, there's no weight to it at all.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14- No, none at all.- It's interesting that jet actually found its way
0:23:14 > 0:23:17to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851,
0:23:17 > 0:23:23where some important orders were gained by local manufacturers.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Again, that's the kind of thing that helped put Whitby on the map.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Without the railways, that really wouldn't have been possible.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Chris has one last marvel to show me.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38The largest piece of Whitby jet ever found. It's absolutely beautiful.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40That's enormous, isn't it?
0:23:40 > 0:23:41Looking at the edge, you see this?
0:23:41 > 0:23:45It's total gem quality all the way through.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49An interesting part about it is, on this side, you can see
0:23:49 > 0:23:55all the ammonites that actually were crushed when the branch went down.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Covered in tiny little fossils.
0:23:57 > 0:23:58All the way across.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00The whole length of it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:09I must be on my way, and I shall board the train at Grosmont, just outside Whitby.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14By now, you may know that I'm thrilled by steam trains,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and so my pulse is quickening.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Bradshaw's says of the Grosmont to Pickering line that it
0:24:21 > 0:24:24"passes through the most picturesque scenery.
0:24:24 > 0:24:31"The vales of Newton and Goatland present a wild country, with bold ranges of rock on either side."
0:24:31 > 0:24:37It was referring to what is now called the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- Hello.- You're going to drive this handsome beast, are you?
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Yes, it's a nice handsome beast. It was built for the Southern Railway in 1934,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51spent all its life in the south of England, and now it lives in Yorkshire.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54They tell me that amongst the Heritage Railways in Britain,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is the most popular now?
0:24:58 > 0:25:03Yes, we carried around 350,000 passengers last year, and we made
0:25:03 > 0:25:05a little bit of money, but we spend it all back in on the railway.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09It's our love, and we do it for not a lot. A lot of us do it for nothing.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12I'm an retired railwayman, and I used to drive trains for a living.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14But I've driven these all my life as well.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16- Shall we get on board?- Yes.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21Chris Cubitt has been driving steam trains here since 1969.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32Once we've got her up and running on her feet, we'll put it across and she'll just romp up the hill.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Right.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Meanwhile, Harry is shovelling the coal in.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41Lovely heat, isn't it? Wow!
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- It's going to get a lot hotter than that.- It's going to hotter?
0:25:45 > 0:25:47About 3,000 degrees.
0:25:47 > 0:25:483,000 degrees in there?
0:25:56 > 0:26:00The engine talks to you, it tells you everything you want to know.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02- It talks to you!- Yes.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04It talks to everyone, not just me.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09- Well, only you can hear what it's saying!- No, if you listen to the chimney, it's nice and soft.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13If you put some more steam in, it goes harsh.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- CHUGGING NOISE - Yes, yes.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18The louder it is, the more Harry has to shovel.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26When I get the chance, It's great to do something I've never done before.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27The heat from the boiler is intense.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32And the coal is heavy.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And the locomotive...
0:26:35 > 0:26:39is very hungry, very demanding of coal.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44And I have a lot of admiration for Harry,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46because it's very hard work.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- Hard work?- Hard work.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- And you better get it right to the front, as well.- Oh right!
0:26:57 > 0:26:59I'll leave that bit to you.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13In the thirty years after one of the first public railway lines opened
0:27:13 > 0:27:18between Stockton and Darlington, Britain was transformed.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Bradshaw's readers would already take for granted
0:27:22 > 0:27:25rail journeys behind powerful and reliable locomotives.
0:27:25 > 0:27:31In a generation, the train had become an essential part of daily life.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Ever since I was a boy with a train set,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37I've loved steam engines.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41But now, as an adult, travelling along track
0:27:41 > 0:27:48that was built by George Stephenson, I share Bradshaw's admiration for the pioneers of locomotion.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51They built the future.
0:27:53 > 0:27:59On the next leg of my journey, I'll be hearing how Victorian women reacted to the railways...
0:27:59 > 0:28:04Women reputedly used to hide pins in their lips, so if a man actually
0:28:04 > 0:28:08stole a kiss from them as they went through a railway tunnel in the dark,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11obviously their lips were lacerated!
0:28:11 > 0:28:15..Sampling the benefits of Harrogate's famous spa waters...
0:28:15 > 0:28:19The whole point about the waters were they are a strong purge.
0:28:19 > 0:28:27So you would NOT have breakfast, then come out and drink the waters and parade about the town.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30It's explosive power, internally. Explosive.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35..And meeting some Alpacas, whose fleeces made a Victorian fortune...
0:28:35 > 0:28:38This is Holly. She likes smelling hair.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40LAUGHTER
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:57 > 0:29:00E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk