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 > 0:00:17and his railway guides inspired 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.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Now, 170 years later,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:30 > 0:00:36across the length and breadth of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Having used my Bradshaw's guide from Windsor to Winchester to Wight,
0:01:02 > 0:01:07I'm now on the final leg of my journey to Wareham and Weymouth,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09and the world beyond.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14I'm voyaging into an area blessed with valuable minerals,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18which were ripe for exploitation by Victorian industrialists.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23On this stretch I'll be uncovering a hidden industry with Victorian roots.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29That is an oilfield, stretching all the way past Poole, beneath Bournemouth, way under the sea.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Admiring a historic castle catapulted to fame by the railways.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Wow, that is fantastic.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39The most romantic ruin.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43And discovering Weymouth's role in the D-Day landings.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The day they left, they left from Portland harbour,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I went down and waved them bye bye, cos I knew them as friends.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58I began my journey travelling lines Queen Victoria would have known,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01as she moved between Windsor and the Isle of Wight.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Before crossing into the county of Dorset,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06transformed by 19th-century tourism.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11This final section starts on the Purbeck peninsula,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and takes me west via Weymouth, to the beautiful Isle of Portland.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23The unspoilt countryside of Dorset is a joy.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28But in Bradshaw's day, this was home to a Victorian enterprise
0:02:28 > 0:02:33which foreshadowed a massive modern industry.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36The Industrial Revolution was founded on power,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38on energy, on fuel.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And as we approach Wareham, my Bradshaw's Guide comments that,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46"The area is rich in shells and saurian, reptilian fossils.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48"Beyond which are the beds of Kimmeridge Clay."
0:02:52 > 0:02:56This Kimmeridge clay is actually a type of rock.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00In Victorian times people round here found that they could mine it,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and extract oil and gas.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05For a short while, it was used extensively in streetlamps.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09The process was costly and dirty, and never flourished.
0:03:09 > 0:03:15But this brief experiment offered the first hint of very much bigger things to come.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Another glorious day.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I'm leaving the train at Wareham, and heading to a place
0:03:22 > 0:03:27which has played a major role in supplying Britain's modern energy needs.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Environmental scientist Suzie Baverstock knows the story.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33- Hello, Susie. - Hello. Welcome to Rich Farm.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Thank you. And what is Rich Farm?
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Rich Farm is the largest onshore oilfield in Western Europe.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I mean, we're just very close to Wareham, here,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47you'd hardly suspect that it existed.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I know, it's well hidden away in the landscape, here.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52A lot of care was taken to do just that, actually.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55From ground level you'd barely know it,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58but tucked amongst the trees here
0:03:58 > 0:04:01on the Isle of Purbeck is a vast gathering station.
0:04:01 > 0:04:0617,000 barrels of oil are collected each day from underground deposits.
0:04:06 > 0:04:12That is the extent of the larger of the thee main reservoirs
0:04:12 > 0:04:15where we extract oil today.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16- That is an oilfield? - Yes, yes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Stretching all the way past Poole, beneath Bournemouth, way under the sea.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23What kind of distance is that?
0:04:23 > 0:04:27It's about 20 kilometres, or 12 miles, in distance,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and it's about a mile down.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34The land which gave the Victorian miners oil shale,
0:04:34 > 0:04:3790 years later, once again rewarded lucky prospectors.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40They suspected that below the shale oil rock
0:04:40 > 0:04:44there might be more lucrative oil, and they were right.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48The first successful wells were drilled in the 1950s.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54This is one of the first of the well sites here, at Rich Farm
0:04:54 > 0:04:58and it's actually the well site that has the discovery well on it.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- Where they first found the oil? - Yeah, yeah.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Although, in a way, it wasn't first found in the 1950s,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09it was first found by the Victorians, wasn't it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Well, they certainly were exploiting the old shale, weren't they?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15But they weren't actually able to get, you know,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17this stuff out of the ground...
0:05:17 > 0:05:18Ah, that's the crude.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21..And the lower strata, this is the crude oil.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Still, I think we should be generous to the Victorians
0:05:24 > 0:05:25and say they gave us the idea.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28They could never have predicted, could they,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30how much energy we would demand?
0:05:33 > 0:05:38By the 1970s, the true extent of the oilfield was becoming apparent.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Private sidings were built,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and soon the railways were being used to export the oil.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50How busy was this in its heyday?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Well, in the 70s and 80s, it was quite a small oilfield,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58and this was the only way that you could get oil to the refinery.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02So, this was absolutely crucial to the operation of the oilfield.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07But when the big development took place, we built a pipeline.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09So, the oil went out by pipeline.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Instead of using this for oil,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15we use this to export liquid petroleum gases by train.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16But over all that long period,
0:06:16 > 0:06:22we must have had over 5,000 trains go out of these sidings.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Absolutely enormous.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26So, the railway was fundamental to developing this field?
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Absolutely, yeah.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Today the oilfield produces 6.1 million barrels a year.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Sophisticated drilling technology allows oil to be brought here
0:06:36 > 0:06:39from deposits buried deep under the sea, 11 kilometres away.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43With barely a scar on the landscape in this area of outstanding natural beauty.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48So, what precautions were taken with environmental matters
0:06:48 > 0:06:50when this was built?
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Very much a self-contained site,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58so, everything was built in a way that you couldn't see it above the tree line.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So, you can see it's down at a lower level.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It's also been painted a dark brown colour
0:07:04 > 0:07:07so that it's hidden amongst the trees here.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12- It's not that it's gone rusty, it's painted that colour?- It's painted a Van Dyke Brown.- Oh, OK.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17It's amazing to think that such a huge oilfield is so harsh to glimpse,
0:07:17 > 0:07:23especially as this is an area that gets 2.5 million visitors a year.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25I'm now on my way to a historic spot
0:07:25 > 0:07:29that's been pulling in the tourists since Bradshaw's day.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30Hello, there.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33- Good afternoon, sir.- Just one stop for me, please.- Thank you.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Thank you very much.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37For the next part of my journey
0:07:37 > 0:07:39there's no regular public rail service,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42so I'm forced to travel on a heritage line
0:07:42 > 0:07:45with a steam engine, and I'm not complaining.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50This line was built in the 1880s,
0:07:50 > 0:07:55to link Wareham with the busy resort of Swanage on the coast.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00After it was closed in the 1970s, all the track was lifted,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03but enthusiasts have painstakingly rebuild it.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05The joys of an old-fashioned carriage.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I'm heading a mile down the line,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13towards the 1,000-year-old ruins of Corfe Castle,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and my first glimpse doesn't disappoint.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Wow, that is fantastic.
0:08:21 > 0:08:28Sitting on this hill here are the most romantic ruins of a castle.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31And this must be the best place to see them from.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34The railway line is absolutely the place to see them.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I've never seen that before.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Sitting on its mound, sitting on its hill, fantastic.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53With the steam engine chugging away, Bradshaw will, as ever, be my guide.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57"The surrounding country is full of castellated remains
0:08:57 > 0:08:59"and interesting historical associations.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02"In the neighbouring Isle of Purbeck
0:09:02 > 0:09:06"are the ruins of Corfe Castle, definitely worth a closer look."
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Corfe Castle sits on a mound far above the village
0:09:15 > 0:09:17that takes its name.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23Victorian readers who bought Bradshaw's guide were among the first to climb to the summit.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Well, as I get nearer the castle, it's just as impressive.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31Now I get a sense of scale, the keep is absolutely massive,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33the people visiting look like little dots.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35And on a warm day, climbing up this hill,
0:09:35 > 0:09:41I have every sympathy with anybody who tried to invade this castle.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I'm meeting historian Pam White,
0:09:44 > 0:09:50to hear how the Victorians fell in love with this picturesque relic.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52- Hello, Pam.- Hello, Michael.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56What wonderful ruins these are.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- They're just spectacular, they really are.- How old is it?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01A bit of Saxon work here, but most of it's from 1,100,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05so it's about 900 years old.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- So, just after the Norman conquest? - Yeah.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And it's been a ruin a while?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13It's been a ruin since 1666, so yeah, nearly 400 years.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17So obviously, it was more or less in this condition in Victorian times?
0:10:17 > 0:10:22It was, the Victorians really turned it into a tourist attraction.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Trains started here 1885.
0:10:24 > 0:10:30The line from Waterloo to Weymouth went in, I think, in the 1850s and then the branch line.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33You see, I just got off the railway station at Corfe Castle,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- so it had its own railway station? - Yes, yes.
0:10:36 > 0:10:42Very important, that was why the tourism took off, roads didn't come till about the 1920s,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44when cars started to get more popular.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Oh, so for a while the railway was really the way to get here?
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The only way, apart from an occasional horse and carriage.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55In the 19th century, historical novels
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and popular paintings fuelled a romantic view of British history.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04And visiting tumbledown ruins became a fashionable pursuit.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07To fire the imagination of Victorian visitors,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10my guide book brings to life the heroic story
0:11:10 > 0:11:13from the castle's 17th-century past.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16My Bradshaw's guide says during the English Civil War
0:11:16 > 0:11:20the castle became famous, "because of the gallant defence
0:11:20 > 0:11:24"made by the wife of Chief Justice Banks on behalf of the King.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28"She was assisted by her daughters, maids and only five soldiers.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31"After a siege of ten weeks,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33"the Roundheads were obliged to give up the siege. "
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- Quite an amazing bit of history, that.- She was a fantastic woman.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Lady Banks was home alone
0:11:39 > 0:11:44when the castle was besieged by Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45She held firm,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49and her courageous defence earned her the name Brave Dame Mary.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54But, eventually, she was foiled when the Roundheads played a dastardly trick.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Just outside the castle, they simply turned their coats inside out,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02because the Cavalier soldiers in the area had blue coats,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Roundheads had red coats with blue linings.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08It's a really sneaky way to get into the castle.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12- This is the origin of the expression turncoat, isn't it?- Yes, it is.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15- And it sounds like she was sold out for 20 pieces of silver?- Yes.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20I can see why the Victorians were entranced by the tale,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24which marked the end of Corfe Castle's history as a fortification.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27So, how was it the castle came to be destroyed?
0:12:27 > 0:12:28Cromwell didn't want it,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32to garrison it with soldiers would have cost a lot of money,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35so they simply blew it up with gunpowder.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37The destruction of Corfe Castle
0:12:37 > 0:12:41underlined the defeat of King Charles.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44But, for the villagers, it wasn't all bad news.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Apparently,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50stone taken from the ruins can still be seen in local houses.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I'm on the hunt for that looted booty.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Lovely house, lovely flowers.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Well, I should have watered them a lot...a lot... I beg your...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04That's all right, I don't mind getting wet.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- Do you have any bits of castle in your house?- No, I don't think I do.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Oh, I'm on the lookout for bits of stone in houses.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16- Michael, Michael Bond may have, I would imagine, in there.- Next house?
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- Next house.- I'll try there.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Forgive me for asking, are these... these here from the castle?
0:13:21 > 0:13:23These mullions, here?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Probably not, actually, no.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28We have got something I like to think came from the castle.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- Quite low, isn't it?- Yes, do duck.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33So, what are we looking for?
0:13:33 > 0:13:36We're looking at that piece of panelling.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38This is spectacular. And it's from the castle?
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Well, I like to think...
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I like to pretend so, let's put it that way.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44The people who know about joinery
0:13:44 > 0:13:46tell me it's from the late 16th or early 17th century.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48It wasn't made for where it is now
0:13:48 > 0:13:50because it doesn't fit at either end.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Obviously, when it was sacked it was a great quarry,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and everybody helped themselves to whatever they wanted.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00One of my ancestors was a crony of Cromwell's,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and he took some of the beams from the Great Hall,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06and took them away to be part of a barn on a farm that he had,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08about three miles west of here.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11What was he, a colonel of Cromwell's, a general?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14No, no, he was a politician.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Oh, the worst sort!
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The destruction of Corfe Castle during the English Civil War
0:14:21 > 0:14:25seems like a tragedy, but the distribution of the stones
0:14:25 > 0:14:29has left us with a poignant ruin and a charming village.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39I've retraced my steps to Wareham,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41to continue my journey towards the coast.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43'Train is for Weymouth.'
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I'm travelling 25 miles down the track,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52towards the final stop on the South West Main Line from London.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Weymouth was one of Britain's first seaside resorts,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and it gets a glowing review in my 19th-century guide.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Weymouth, and Bradshaw's says,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"No place can be more salubrious than Weymouth.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16"The town is not only frequented during the summer,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19"but has been selected by many opulent families
0:15:19 > 0:15:21"as a permanent residence.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"The beauty of its scenery and the healthfulness of its climate
0:15:24 > 0:15:26"have contributed to raise it
0:15:26 > 0:15:29"from the low state into which it had fallen,
0:15:29 > 0:15:34"to one of the most flourishing towns in the kingdom.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36"Weymouth reborn."
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Weymouth first became popular in Georgian times,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and initially was accessible only for the well-to-do.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48But after the railway arrived in 1857,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52the town was transformed into a destination for mass tourism.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56By the 20th century, thousands of visitors were coming here
0:15:56 > 0:16:00for their annual hit of sun, sea and sand.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04It's the perfect place for me to break my journey.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08My Bradshaw's guide mentions the beautiful view
0:16:08 > 0:16:11from the buildings along the seafront here at Weymouth,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14and luckily, there's a hotel perfectly situated.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- Good evening. - Good evening. Welcome to our hotel.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Michael Portillo, checking in, please.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The Royal Hotel is one of the few Victorian buildings
0:16:29 > 0:16:32on Weymouth's Georgian esplanade.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Built in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39it's an ideal spot to see the town through 19th-century eyes.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43My Bradshaw's says, "From the windows of these buildings
0:16:43 > 0:16:46"a most extensive and delightful view is obtained.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51"Comprehending on the left a noble range of hills and cliffs,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53"and of the sea in front,
0:16:53 > 0:16:58"with numerous vessels, yachts, and pleasure boats."
0:16:58 > 0:17:01When the sun finally sets on this vista,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I shall go to sleep in this Royal Hotel.
0:17:18 > 0:17:25Waking to Weymouth, I can see why my Bradshaw's guide is so enthusiastic about its beauty.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28But 80 years after my guide book was published,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32this picturesque seaside resort was transformed beyond recognition.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37In World War II, with German-occupied France so close across the Channel,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40the whole of the south coast was declared a war zone.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Nearby Portland was an important naval base,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47and Weymouth's railways were targeted in air raids.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Beach huts and donkey rides were replaced with barbed wire
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and anti-aircraft guns.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56For the residents, it was a dramatic change.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00I'm meeting Ken Warren, who grew up in wartime Weymouth.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Hello, Ken. How very good to see you.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08- Good to see you.- Do you remember Weymouth before the wartime?
0:18:08 > 0:18:10No, my memory doesn't go back that far.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12I can't remember much about it at all.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16So, your first memory of this charming resort
0:18:16 > 0:18:18is of barbed wire, of warfare?
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Yes, and soldiers and guns, and bombs, and aeroplanes,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25and shooting, and sirens...
0:18:25 > 0:18:27It doesn't sound like the normal description of Weymouth.
0:18:27 > 0:18:33Astonishingly, Ken remembers playing with this sort of gun as a boy.
0:18:33 > 0:18:39I used to go to the troops and take home comics, and I used to run errands for them,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and they would let us have a go at the gun.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Me and my mate, we would turn one handle and the barrel would go up and down,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48turn the other handle and it travels right round.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- How old were you?- I was about 10 years old when that happened.
0:18:51 > 0:18:58By 1944, the Allies were planning to storm the beaches of northern France.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Troops massed along the south coast,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03including over a million from the United States.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08These exotic new arrivals made a lasting impression on the locals.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11What's your first memory of American troops in Weymouth?
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Smart-looking fellas in these nice uniforms,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19and they were all smiling and happy, whereas the British troops, we'd had enough of the war.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Didn't want it. They came and it was so nice.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25They had all these things that we never had,
0:19:25 > 0:19:30and they would always shake our hands and say, "Hiya, boy." "Hiya, Mac," they used to call us.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33What sort of things did they have?
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Mostly it was biscuits,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38and dried milk, and dried egg we used to take home to Mother.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41She loved it when I used to bring that home.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45What Ken didn't know was that the friendly GIs
0:19:45 > 0:19:49were being secretly prepared for one of the most ambitious operations
0:19:49 > 0:19:51of the Second World War, the D-Day landings.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54It was kept pretty quiet, as a matter of fact.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57We didn't know, we just thought it was an exercise.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01We didn't know they were going, no, it was all hushed up.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03What did you actually see?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Well, all these tanks rolling in the streets,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and all the troops marching along, and getting ready.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15On June 6, 1944, 6,000 ships and 2,500 planes
0:20:15 > 0:20:20delivered 160,000 Allied troops to Normandy.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24It was to prove a turning point in the course of the war,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28but thousands lost their lives.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31The day they left, they left from Portland Harbour,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I went down and I waved them bye-bye, cos I knew them as friends.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I knew one of them personally, his name was Joe Royle,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39and I often wondered what happened to him.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43I used to do his shopping for him and my mother did his ironing,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and we used to have him up for tea. He was a great friend.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Growing up in such a dangerous environment,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55the railway held no fear for Ken and his friends.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57They often played nearby,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01putting pennies on the line to be squashed by the train,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03until Ken took things too far.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06One day, the workmen's hut was open,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10I had a look round and I saw some detonators.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Instead of pennies, I placed them on the line, along came the train
0:21:13 > 0:21:17and run over these detonators, bang, bang, bang, puff of smoke.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Steel grinding, sparks everywhere.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24And I thought, "What have I done? I've done something wrong here, there's going to be an accident.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26"I'm going to get an awful trouble!"
0:21:26 > 0:21:29So, I went home and I stayed indoors for three days,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I daren't come out, in case they associated me with this train pulling up.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Luckily, no disaster, it just made the train stop?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- Yes, it just made the train stop. - Wow.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46That railway line that Ken feared he'd destroyed opened in 1865.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It linked Weymouth to the Isle of Portland,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51my last stop on this long journey.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Over there is Portland.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Bradshaw says, "About four miles south from Weymouth
0:21:57 > 0:21:59"is the island of Portland,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02"which, though thus called, is in reality a peninsular.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05"Connected with the mainland by an extremely narrow isthmus
0:22:05 > 0:22:07"called Chesil Bank."
0:22:07 > 0:22:13And this was once a railway track, but discontinued in the 1960s,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15so, now, you have to hoof it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Portland is at one end of the stunning 18-mile long Chesil Beach,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24or Bank as Bradshaw calls it,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28which stretches up the Dorset coast, west of Weymouth.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32It's a remarkable natural phenomenon, but a dangerous one too.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34This coastline is famous for shipwrecks,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39and since the 18th century a lighthouse has stood on Portland Bill
0:22:39 > 0:22:44to warn approaching sailors of the danger beneath its beauty.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49Bradshaw comments, "This picturesque coast is unrivalled.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52"The sea view is agreeably diversified
0:22:52 > 0:22:57"with grand and striking objects to break the monotony
0:22:57 > 0:22:59"that usually pervades a marine prospect."
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I love those Bradshaw-isms!
0:23:01 > 0:23:06There's certainly nothing monotonous about the view from Portland.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12Portland is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15a 95-mile stretch of Dorset coastline
0:23:15 > 0:23:18which charts how the Earth has changed
0:23:18 > 0:23:21over 185 million years.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25It's not only geologists who are passionate about these rocks.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28In the 19th century, the coming of the railway
0:23:28 > 0:23:33helped export unprecedented quantities of stone from the island's quarries.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35As I've toured Britain's cities,
0:23:35 > 0:23:40Bradshaw's has told me that many of our finest buildings are made of Portland stone.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45And so I had to visit the cradle of England's most handsome rock.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Portland stone is a type of limestone,
0:23:48 > 0:23:54formed around 150 million years ago on what was once the seabed.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It's always been highly prized as a building stone,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00and in Victorian times was much in demand for prestigious projects,
0:24:00 > 0:24:05from Nelson's Column to the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09For generations, it's provided jobs for quarrymen like Ralph Stone.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11- Hello, Michael. - It's an impressive place, isn't it?
0:24:11 > 0:24:16- Certainly is. Welcome to Portland. - When did you start as a quarryman?
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- 1959.- That's a good long stretch, isn't it?
0:24:19 > 0:24:2250 years digging holes.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24In the 19th century,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27as Britain's cities developed at brake neck speed,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29the quarries were booming.
0:24:29 > 0:24:36My guidebook tells me 50,000 tonnes of stone were exported yearly from Portland.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40I suppose the railways played an important part in Portland stone's development?
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Oh, very much so.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47The merchant railway, first of all, was first developed to take the stone down to the cast iron pier,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50where they used to load it on the steamers,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53or the Thames barges, and take them to London.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- That first railway, what was that, not a steam railway? - No, that was horse-drawn.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02But the main railway, when that came here, that was a revelation.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05They used to pull right into the factory,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09so they could load them straight in the railway trucks and go wherever.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Removing this valuable stone without damaging it
0:25:13 > 0:25:17has always required immense skill.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22In the 19th and 20th century, workers relied on chisels, hammers and a few explosives.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24It was backbreaking work.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30In Victorian times what would the scene have been, and how would they have done it?
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Victorian times, a lot of men, a lot of men.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34All manpower, all manpower,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and the quarry used to be worked according to the natural joints in the ground
0:25:38 > 0:25:42because, you know, it's like a giant, three-dimensional jigsaw, Portland stone is.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46The quarrymen, through a lot of experience, took the jigsaw apart.
0:25:46 > 0:25:53Ralph's Victorian predecessors received help from an unlikely quarter,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56when in the mid-19th century, a prison was built on Portland.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59What was the history of the convicts in the quarry?
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Apparently, they were sent here for hard labour
0:26:03 > 0:26:06before they were deported to the colonies.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08So, it was a double whammy for them.
0:26:08 > 0:26:15You can imagine inexperienced people being put in an environment like this with explosives.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19There was a lot of fatalities for the convicts in the quarries.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I think it was one of the reasons why hard labour was stopped.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- Yeah, a grim history, isn't it? - A grim history.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Even into the 20th century, the combination of explosives
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and heavy machinery made quarrying a dangerous occupation.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36When I started work, went in the hut with the men,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39took there by the manager, "That's your seat."
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Sat down in the seat.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44I didn't know until, like, months afterwards,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48underneath my seat was a tin box, right, with black powder and fusing.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Right by the side of me, between my knees,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53there was a great, big stove, all lit.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I mean, it's enough to blow everybody to kingdom come!
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- And you're talking about the 1950s? - 1950s.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Can you imagine what it was like in the 1850s?
0:27:01 > 0:27:02Well, they you are, you see, yeah.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Recently, mines have been dug to reach deeper deposits,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11and such techniques may supersede opencast quarries.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15While much has changed since Bradshaw's day, as I say goodbye to Portland,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18what strikes me is how much remains the same.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23My route from Windsor has taken me along tracks familiar to Queen Victoria,
0:27:23 > 0:27:29and helped me to understand how the railways transformed her life and those of her subjects,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and the landscapes and industries of her realm.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37My Bradshaw's has given me insights and experiences
0:27:37 > 0:27:40that I could not have derived from any modern guidebook.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44It's led me, now, to the Royal Manor of Portland,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and one of the most beautiful views in England.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54My next journey takes me west from the rolling Cotswolds,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57passing through the Malvern Hills,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01on to the railways that changed the fortunes of industrial South Wales.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05En route, I'll be sampling a Victorian navvie's favourite brew.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Cheers! You can build a railway once you drink that!
0:28:08 > 0:28:13Learning how Worcestershire farming has been transformed since Bradshaw's time.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17This is the most unexpected sight, suddenly a riot of colour.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21And seeing the modern face of the 19th-century steel industry.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Now, I can feel the heat of the furnace,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27I can see a stream of molten iron, I can see sparks firing, and smoke,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29and this fantastic train that's emerging.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:36 > 0:28:38E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk