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 > 0:00:27Now, 170 years later,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:31 > 0:00:35to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Although some of the branch lines in Kent,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03where I am now, are now closed,
0:01:03 > 0:01:08in the mid 19th century, the county was criss-crossed by railways
0:01:08 > 0:01:12bearing commuters to the city and produce to market.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16But amongst the sweat-beaded brows and the flying chicken feathers
0:01:16 > 0:01:19you might have found the occasional Victorian tourist,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24out discovering his or her country, clutching a Bradshaw's Guide.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Today, I'm following my guide along some of the earliest railways in Kent.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36In Bradshaw's time, the lines passed through this county
0:01:36 > 0:01:39to carry merchants and tourists to the continent.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45But the same tracks enabled Britain to fight for survival.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51On this journey, I'll be hearing how the railways helped win the First World War.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55It made it possible to supply troops with the equipment they needed
0:01:55 > 0:01:59in a greater quantity than they might otherwise have had. It was as simple as that.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Imagining how to fill some famous boots.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Ones actually worn by Wellington?
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Yes, they are very much the icon of the collection.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13And venturing into the very first railway tunnel under the sea.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18It is absolutely unique. It is massive, yet it's invisible,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and it is one of the wonders of our modern day.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- A renaissance in rail.- We hope so.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38So far, I've travelled 140 miles from London through Kent,
0:02:38 > 0:02:43visiting historic Canterbury and saucy Margate.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48I'm continuing around the cliffs along our closest shore with France,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51on the way to my final stop, Hastings.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Starting in Sandwich today, I'll explore Deal before reaching the port of Folkestone.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17"Kent, and the Kentish coast," says Bradshaw's,
0:03:17 > 0:03:23"have long been celebrated for their delicious climate and exquisite pastoral scenery.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28"And the railway passes through a fine panorama of marine and picturesque views."
0:03:28 > 0:03:36Kent is essentially English and yet it is also a border state, because France is in striking distance.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41This is the stopping-off place for visitors to the continent
0:03:41 > 0:03:46and it would have been the place where invaders were stopped.
0:03:47 > 0:03:54In fact, this whole stretch of coast is dotted with military relics, as Bradshaw points out.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59"At this point, the memorable ruins of Richborough come fully into sight.
0:03:59 > 0:04:06"The celebrated Roman station, guarded the southern entrance of the great Roman haven."
0:04:06 > 0:04:12It's thought the Romans launched their first conquest of Britain from Richborough in 43AD.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18It became strategically important again, 2,000 years later, thanks to the railways.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23To find out more, I'm getting off at the nearest station.
0:04:26 > 0:04:32The River Stour and the tiny, charming harbour of Sandwich.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Difficult to believe that a few miles from here, on the same river,
0:04:36 > 0:04:41a massive port on an industrial scale was constructed
0:04:41 > 0:04:44in a few years for the purposes of war.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51I'm heading to the ruins of Richborough Port,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55one of the most important secret supply bases during World War I,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59to meet local historian Dr Frank Andrews.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- Frank, good morning. - Good morning, Michael.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08This derelict site was once Richborough Port, and when was that built?
0:05:08 > 0:05:13It was begun in 1916 and finished in 1918.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Built in a great hurry, because the existing ports, Newhaven, Dover, Folkestone
0:05:18 > 0:05:23were unable to cope with volume of material needed over in France
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and it was necessary to find some other way of doing it.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30This "pop-up" port was built to despatch vital ammunition and guns
0:05:30 > 0:05:35to France at the climax of the First World War.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40The War Department chose Richborough for its proximity to the mainline railway,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42giving excellent freight access to the docks.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48So receiving here would have been tanks and guns?
0:05:48 > 0:05:55Stuff coming in off the main railways, off a whole network of lines.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Right away in front of us
0:05:57 > 0:06:05all this area was covered with railway lines, sheds, working parts.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Everything was thrown at it because it was so vital to get it done quickly.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Because a soldier needs guns now, not tomorrow, now.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19Richborough introduced a revolutionary new system to speed the movement of supplies
0:06:19 > 0:06:22which was copied at other ports on the south coast.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26During its two-year period of operation up to the end of 1919,
0:06:26 > 0:06:34trains conveyed almost 650,000 tonnes of supplies straight on to the boats.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39Literally, you put a train on to a barge and you take it off the other end in France?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Exactly.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- So rails running along the ship. - That's right.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50Yes, here you could stick it onto a train at the factory and it turned up at the far end in France.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56- And we're talking about really big bits of kit?- Enormous bits of kit.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Whopping great gun barrels, 15-16 tonnes each.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Yes, it was remarkable and extraordinarily successful.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10It made it possible to supply troops with the equipment they needed
0:07:10 > 0:07:15in a greater quantity than they might otherwise have had. It was as simple as that.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It made it possible for them to work.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21These were the first ocean-going, roll-on-roll-off train ferries.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24By moving huge quantities of weaponry quickly,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29they revitalized the British army at a time when re-supply was critical.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Strictly speaking in 1918, we were on the losing end of the war
0:07:34 > 0:07:36and the train ferries began their service
0:07:36 > 0:07:40just at the time when the British armies were in retreat.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46It wasn't until August 1918 that the situation was reversed and the German army started retreating.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51This came into operation just at the very last moment.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Very, very vital time indeed.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Although the port was crucial in helping Britain win the war,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01within six years it was closed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05The harbour silted up and the tracks rusted.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Here we have the remains...
0:08:07 > 0:08:12of a marvellous development put together at a great rate of knots
0:08:12 > 0:08:17in the interests of our soldiers over in France in the First World War, and now it's all gone.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20But here it is, we're on it, we're in the middle of it.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23It's marvellous, it really is.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31It's almost time for me to leave this historic stretch of the Kent coast behind.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35But before I do, one of Bradshaw's more eloquent passages has caught my eye.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Brilliantly descriptive, Bradshaw.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44"The traveller gazes around him and looks upon the streets and edifices of a bygone age.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49"He stares up at the beetling storeys of the old pent up buildings as he walks
0:08:49 > 0:08:55"and peers through lattice windows into the vast, low-roofed, heavy beamed, oak-panelled rooms.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58"Sandwich is a town of very remote antiquity
0:08:58 > 0:09:03"and contains more old buildings than almost any town of our island."
0:09:03 > 0:09:07And luckily, I would guess that is still true today.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16But Bradshaw doesn't mention the town's connection with sandwiches.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24- Hello, ladies.- Hello.- Nice to meet you.- Lovely to meet you.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27What are you doing in Sandwich?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- Are you from Sandwich? - Yes. Just on the corner, we both live in this road.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36- What connection does the humble sandwich have with Sandwich? - You don't know?- I'm asking you.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- The Earl of Sandwich. - And how did he invent it?
0:09:40 > 0:09:44He was so busy gaming and gambling he didn't want to stop for dinner,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49so he asked for a nice steak between two pieces of bread.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50And went on gambling.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57I'm using this 19th century guide and Bradshaw says of Sandwich no other town or port in England
0:09:57 > 0:10:01quite rivals the number of historic buildings or events that have occurred here.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06Yes, we have an Open Sandwich weekend.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Yes, our houses, and the Guildhall, and Thomas Payne's house.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14We have about 200 people trooping through.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- You have the great unwashed coming through the house? - They are washed a bit!!
0:10:18 > 0:10:20LAUGHTER
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I'm glad you're going round with the bible.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Bradshaw's Bible.- Fantastic.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Lovely to see you both. - Thank you very much.- Goodbye.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Unfortunately, I need to be moving on.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39This time, it's just a short hop.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43I'm travelling four miles down the tracks
0:10:43 > 0:10:50to another beautiful and historic coastal town, Deal.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Thanks for the ride.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Deal was changing in Bradshaw's time.
0:10:55 > 0:11:02My guide says it's "formerly a rough-looking, sailor-like place, full of narrow streets.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06"It is however being much improved.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11"It now contains several handsome villas inhabited by a large body of gentry."
0:11:11 > 0:11:16When the railways arrived in 1847, Deal attracted commuters and tourists,
0:11:16 > 0:11:21to mingle with its long-standing maritime community.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24"The sea opposite the town,"
0:11:24 > 0:11:27says Bradshaw's, "between the shore and the Goodwin sands
0:11:27 > 0:11:32"forms a channel about eight miles long and is a safe anchorage.
0:11:32 > 0:11:38"As many as 400 ships can ride at anchor here at any one time."
0:11:38 > 0:11:44And those ships could set their chronometers by observing the fall of the time ball here at Deal.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49The moment of its fall would be determined by a signal,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53sent along the telegraph wires running along the railways.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Deal's time ball
0:11:57 > 0:12:04was the first to be built outside London, which suggests how important the place was the shipping.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09The town was linked to an ancient confederation called the Cinque Ports.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15These five ports, Dover, Sandwich, Hythe, New Romney and Hastings, maintained a fleet of ships
0:12:15 > 0:12:21that the monarch could call upon at any time to defend England from attack.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports presided at Walmer Castle at Deal.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32"Walmer Castle," says Bradshaw's, "is the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35"The apartments command a splendid view of the sea.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39"They will always have a peculiar interest for the Englishman as having been the residence
0:12:39 > 0:12:44"of the Duke of Wellington, and at which he died in 1852."
0:12:44 > 0:12:47It's almost as though it was a place of pilgrimage for Victorians,
0:12:47 > 0:12:53and with my interest in political and military history, I too feel as though I am at a shrine.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02Impressive Walmer Castle became a favourite with Victorian day visitors arriving by train,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07especially while the Duke of Wellington held the post of Lord Warden.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13I'm meeting English Heritage curator Rowena Willard-Right, to discover more.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15- Hello, Rowena.- Hello.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20My Victorian guidebook talks about the place where Wellington died
0:13:20 > 0:13:22being a peculiar interest to the Englishman.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26I imagine Victorian tourists poured in here, did they?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28We certainly know that they visited
0:13:28 > 0:13:32because we have a lot of references to the housekeeper, Mrs Allen,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35taking people on guided tours and giving spurious anecdotes
0:13:35 > 0:13:39to them about the history of Wellington whilst he was here.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44She was his housekeeper so she had free reign to make up what she wanted.
0:13:44 > 0:13:51The Warden of the Cinque Ports must be a very distinguished position?
0:13:51 > 0:13:55- Wellington was given the position while Prime Minister, wasn't he? - That is correct.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00Later on, during the Second World War, it was Churchill who had it.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04More recently, the Queen Mother held the post.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06And there's an odd one I noticed in the list.
0:14:06 > 0:14:14WH Smith, the first newsagents in a railway station, so there's another railway connection.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19WH Smith was keen to collect and display relics of previous Lord Wardens,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22especially the Duke of Wellington.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27He drafted a law preventing historic heirlooms from leaving the castle.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31The all important collection of Wellington furniture
0:14:31 > 0:14:36had disappeared back to the Duke of Wellington's family.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40So in setting up the act, which meant the furniture had to stay here and
0:14:40 > 0:14:44could not be sold, it meant it came back.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Wellington was such a big draw that Victorians snapped up souvenirs
0:14:53 > 0:14:58and trinkets to remind them of their tour of the private rooms.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10These are the apartments occupied by Wellington?
0:15:10 > 0:15:16That's right. This is the room where the Duke of Wellington died.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21As you can see, he was pretty much living in it by the end.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27It's his bed, it's where he sat, it's where he read, and where he would occasionally take his meals.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31I can't help noticing the famous boots.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Ones actually worn by Wellington?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Yes, they are very much the icon of our collection here.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Something people want to come and see.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45The welly I know is rubber, and these are clearly leather?
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Yes, that's right.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51What Wellington was after was something he could...
0:15:51 > 0:15:53He was always a man for ease as it were.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Something he could wear both whilst riding his horse
0:15:57 > 0:16:01and also whilst striding into the ballroom afterwards.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Didn't want to have to change his boots.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09The Wellington boots we know today weren't copies of the Duke's.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Rubber footwear was needed in the mud of World War I
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and was named after the famous general and boot wearer.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19I have no invitation to stay at Walmer Castle tonight.
0:16:19 > 0:16:26But in Deal, thanks to a tip from Bradshaw's, I shall rest my head in a place of great historic interest.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Hello there.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- One weary traveller checking in. - Welcome to the Royal Hotel.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34As recommended by Bradshaw's Guide.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39- There's your key, you are staying in Wellington Room. - I thought I'd have Nelson.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40Yes, he stayed here as well.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45- Up the stairs?- Just up the stairs and to the first door.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49- Thank you very much. - Enjoy your stay.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55The hotel was built in the early 18th century and has hosted a list of naval heroes.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04A glorious room, what a wonderful view.
0:17:04 > 0:17:12When you are no longer with me I shall be sitting in this bath and taking in the panorama.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Until now, the weather in Kent has been really kind but today the heavens have opened.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47It looks as if it's going to be Folkestone in the rain for me.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Well rested, I'm now heading around 16 miles down the tracks to my next stop.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00And the route takes me past one of the most famous ports on the south coast.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16This is Dover, and Bradshaw's says, "It's been well said that scarcely any great man
0:18:16 > 0:18:24"from King Arthur to Prince Albert has failed, at some period or other, to visit Dover."
0:18:24 > 0:18:29Which might explain why I, merely a former future prime minister,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32am not alighting here but continuing to Folkestone.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- Morning.- Good morning.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Do you want me to clip it too!
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Yes, please.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46I'll get my antique one out.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49There we go.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Dover is meant to be a place where great men visit.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Yes, that's why I'm going straight through it.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- That's my joke! - Yeah, I spoilt it for you.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06Jokes aside, my Bradshaw's also tells me to look out for a series of special tunnels
0:19:06 > 0:19:08on this stretch of track.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Are we going to go through the Martello Tunnels?
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Martello is the last one before Folkestone.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26The Martello tunnel is one of four great railway tunnels that in 1844
0:19:26 > 0:19:29were cut straight through the chalk headlands outside Dover.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46As we pick our way around the cliffs, Bradshaw writes,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50"the traveller will encounter the most wonderful portion of the line.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55"Prepared by a shrill of the whistle, we plunge into the Martello tunnel,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57"and then into the second or Abbots Cliff tunnel.
0:19:57 > 0:20:03"Emerging from this, the line continues along a terrace supported by a sea wall for nearly a mile.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08"Presenting a delicious scenic contrast to the marine expanse that opens."
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Morning.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Bye-bye!
0:20:19 > 0:20:25In the early 19th century, my next stop was just a quiet fishing town until the railways arrived.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29As Bradshaw says, "The opening of the South Eastern Railway
0:20:29 > 0:20:32"and the establishment of a line of packets between this port
0:20:32 > 0:20:38"and Boulogne has been the means of rescuing Folkestone from its previous obscurity."
0:20:38 > 0:20:42But the creation of this line, with those four long tunnels
0:20:42 > 0:20:45cut into the chalk, did more than transform Folkestone.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51It inspired a daring and ambitious project, to dig a tunnel all the way to France.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- Hello, Paul.- Hello. How do you do?
0:20:59 > 0:21:03'I'm meeting countryside ranger Paul Holt to hear the story.'
0:21:03 > 0:21:08The very first real attempt was in 1880, just the other side of Abbots Cliff,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12when they sank a vertical shaft down and cut parallel to the shore
0:21:12 > 0:21:15through the cliff but above the high water mark.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19That worked very well, they were pleased with the boring machine,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24and then in 1881 they moved the workings to the Great Fall, at the bottom of the cliff.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Again, they sunk a vertical shaft down,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29then cut out towards the tip of Admiralty Pier on the edge of Dover.
0:21:29 > 0:21:331881 was the next major attempt.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35And building the tunnels must have been
0:21:35 > 0:21:37a huge logistical problem.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40They must have had massive teams of people here.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42The numbers must have been huge.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47If they are doing it by hand, there's no other way than having lots of people working on it.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51How far did these Channel tunnelers get in 1882?
0:21:51 > 0:21:56They got 897 yards, which is just over half a mile. Pretty good, really.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Worry that the French might use the tunnel to invade,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03caused the plans to be abandoned in the following year, 1882.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07So when was the next attempt to build a Channel tunnel?
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Early 1970s, '70 to '74, they sunk and added down,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and they cut out towards France, basically.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19It was another hive of industrial activity on this little bit of cliff.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27The second attempt had barely got a mile before it too was given up.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32It took 113 years, but that Victorian vision
0:22:32 > 0:22:39was finally realised in 1994, when the Channel Tunnel opened for business.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44The Channel Tunnel.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48When I was a junior minister, I helped put through the legislation
0:22:48 > 0:22:50that made it all possible, very complicated.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53The engineering, the customs, the immigration,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57the passport control, the policing, the fire services.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And here it is, all up and working.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02John O'Keefe works for Eurotunnel.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05John. You are going to be my guide to this today.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10I came down here when it was being built but I haven't been in the tunnel except as a passenger since.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It's rather exciting for me.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16It's going to be very exciting because instead of putting you on one of the trains
0:23:16 > 0:23:21we're going to take a car and actually drive into the Channel Tunnel.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Drive through. Sounds good.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32Before entering the tunnels we must spend a few moment in a safety airlock.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41This is the airlock that leads into the service tunnel.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46The reason it's there is that it served as sort of safety lifeboat for the Channel Tunnel.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52It means we can manage evacuation from trains in complete safety and through clean air.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04We are so used to thinking of the Channel Tunnel as a rail tunnel,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09- it never occurred to me that you can drive from England to France. - Absolutely.
0:24:15 > 0:24:22John is taking me far into the tunnel, to see the traces of those first Victorian efforts.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Where are we?
0:24:29 > 0:24:36This section here is the 1882 tunnel crossing the 1974 workings.
0:24:36 > 0:24:42So the 1974 workings actually follow the line of the current tunnel,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46but in 1882 they were digging test tunnels
0:24:46 > 0:24:50out towards Dover Harbour wall from Samphire Hoe,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and this is where they intersect.
0:24:53 > 0:25:00If you look up here on the wall, the segments still have the date clearly visible. 1974.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05I had not realised that they made so much progress in 1974.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10- They came a long way.- So you have not had to replace this 1974 working?
0:25:10 > 0:25:12This is as it was.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18This is a little piece of history inside the history that is the Channel Tunnel.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And if I were to remove these, dangerous thing to do,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25- but I would be able to peer into the 1882 tunnel, would I?- Yes.
0:25:25 > 0:25:32That's quite moving, because we are in one of engineering wonders of the world now,
0:25:32 > 0:25:40but 115 years before it opened, they'd been down here digging with Victorian technology.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Yes, and they were right as well, because they were going through
0:25:44 > 0:25:49the layer of chalk that every successive attempt has been through.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57Despite all the technological advances since those Victorian pioneers,
0:25:57 > 0:26:02it eventually took almost eight years to complete the 30-mile stretch of tunnel to France.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10I should say I bear some of the scars of trying to get the legislation through Parliament.
0:26:10 > 0:26:17How do you think people of Kent and England, have settled down now to the Channel Tunnel?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20It's always interesting to look back at those reactions.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26The fact that the British didn't want it, to today's situation,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30where 85-90% of our customers are British, from the south-east,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33from the Midlands, from as far north as Scotland.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37It is unique, massive, yet invisible,
0:26:37 > 0:26:42and it is, honestly, one of the wonders of our modern days.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- A renaissance in rail.- We hope so.
0:26:47 > 0:26:54Using my Bradshaw's Guide, I'm often impressed by the engineers of his day,
0:26:54 > 0:27:00but still it astonishes me that they began work on a Channel tunnel
0:27:00 > 0:27:07and were beaten back by strategic military considerations more than by geology.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12The Channel has been seen as our defence and we've built castles,
0:27:12 > 0:27:17towers and even pop-up ports to keep invaders at bay.
0:27:17 > 0:27:23Those engineers who built those fortifications would be amazed and impressed that we've not built
0:27:23 > 0:27:28a permanent railway link to join us to our former enemies under the Channel.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36On my next journey, I'll be visiting Romney Marsh,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41where the railways helped ensure the success of a special breed of sheep.
0:27:41 > 0:27:47It was an important route for my family. It was the closest station from where they lived.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Finding out why my guidebook compared Kent to the French Champagne region.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55That south facing slope on the North Downs,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58that Bradshaw would have seen, is perfect for champagne.
0:27:58 > 0:28:05And discovering how the railways led Victorian Britain into the grip of fern fever.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08The nurseries used railways to send plants to customers.
0:28:08 > 0:28:13- So this amazing craze was helped on by the railways. - Oh, yes, definitely.
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