0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13His name was George Bradshaw, and his railway guides
0:00:13 > 0:00:17inspired 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 a series of journeys across the length and breadth
0:00:30 > 0:00:34of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Using my Bradshaw's guide, I'm continuing my journey now
0:01:00 > 0:01:05towards the Forest of Dean, within touching distance of Wales,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10whose rich mineral deposits were exploited during the Industrial Revolution as never before,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15thanks to the ingenuity of the Victorians and the power of the railways.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21On this leg of the journey, I'll be discovering Britain's
0:01:21 > 0:01:25hidden micro-mines, in private hands since Bradshaw's day.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The harder we work, the more coal we get, the better off we are.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29So it's great.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Uncovering the railway engineering behind an industrial icon.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37So we've got, effectively, an enormous railway wagon,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41- that spreads across these rails on either side. - That's exactly right, yes.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And seeing why the Victorians fell for this romantic ruin.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Absolute perfection, isn't it?
0:01:53 > 0:01:55I'm tracing a route all the way from Oxford
0:01:55 > 0:01:58to the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Having explored the rolling Cotswolds, and the lovely Malvern Hills,
0:02:02 > 0:02:07I'll soon be entering South Wales, hunting out its industrial heritage,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10as far as the busy port town of Milford Haven.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13This section starts in Gloucestershire,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15then crosses into Wales,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20where I'll visit the magnificent Tinton Abbey, on my way to Newport.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21To reach my first stop,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25I'm travelling along the Dean Forest Heritage line.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30This four and a half mile stretch of preserved track was once part of the Seven and Wye Railway,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34a network of small branch lines that crisscrossed the region.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38You'll have noticed that this is no ordinary railway car.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42In fact, it's one of the most beautiful and elegant that I've ever been on.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And the other amazing thing about it is that, clearly,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48the steam engine is behind me.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52That's not so unusual, but there's a driver at this end.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57This remarkable machine is a push-pull train
0:02:57 > 0:03:02and its invention, in 1904, helped railway companies to save time and money.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Throughout the 19th century, trains could only
0:03:05 > 0:03:08return down the line at the end of a trip, once the engine
0:03:08 > 0:03:12had been laboriously uncoupled and then reattached at the opposite end.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15But this design did away with that.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Enthusiast Michael Little has helped to restore
0:03:18 > 0:03:20this example from 1930.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- Mike, you actually own this magnificent vehicle.- Half of it.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25I've got a part of it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28What was the advantage of having this?
0:03:28 > 0:03:33Partly for convenience, partly for safety,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38and it saved running the engine round the coach each time at the end of a journey.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40So you're not taking up track space next door.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44So what is the device that enables the driver to be at this end
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and the steam engine at that?
0:03:46 > 0:03:51It is a system of rodding from the control lever at the front,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53which connects with the control lever in the engine.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- As simple as that? - As simple as that.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Although traditional steam engines could be shunted backwards for short distances,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04it was too dangerous to do so with passengers on board.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Now, they could be safely driven from either end.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09It saved huge amounts of time,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12helping short branch lines to run much more efficient services.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Does this play a part in the history of the railways?
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Yes. I think, from this concept of auto-trains, as they called them,
0:04:20 > 0:04:26developed the modern diesel trains that we see today where you can drive at both ends.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30When he gets to the end of his journey, the driver goes to the other end and drives off again.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34So this really sort of started a train of thinking in railway operation.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Another advantage was the clear view that the driver enjoyed
0:04:38 > 0:04:41from his cab in the carriage, as I'm about to find out.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47- Hello.- Hello.- Easy to operate this system?- Very easy, yes.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Would you like to have a try? MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:04:49 > 0:04:50What do I have to do?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53- Well, come over this side. - Come over this side.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- Three very rudimentary controls.- Yes.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00This is to control the keys to the footplate, OK, which makes us go faster or slower.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02We've got a brake here, which we'll come to in a bit.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05And, most important of all, give that a good tug.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08- Give this a good tug? - Yeah, both hands.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- Both hands.- Oh, both hands. - Lean on it.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11STEAM ENGINE WHISTLES
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Oh, I see!
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- Push the lever over towards me. - Right.- As far as it will go.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19It's very heavy.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Plus, push, push, push! That's it. That's fine.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28We're heading for a level crossing, which is always a nervous moment for any driver.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33That's why we'll stop before we get there, though. Ease the brake handle over now, Michael.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Back off. That's it. Lovely. And that's fine.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- Is that fine?- That's it. Lovely.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43- That was magnificent. - I'm glad you enjoyed it. - I really enjoyed that.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47It adds a certain frisson, to be heading towards the barriers of a level crossing!
0:05:52 > 0:05:56My heritage journey ends at Lydney, on the edge of the Forest of Dean,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00one of England's last remaining ancient woodlands.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Bradshaw's tells me that the Forest of Dean
0:06:03 > 0:06:06was celebrated for it's fine oaks.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09"Lead and iron ores exist in abundance.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11"Coal is also very plentiful."
0:06:11 > 0:06:15But what Bradshaw's doesn't mention is that here
0:06:15 > 0:06:19that coal could be won only by a very special kind of miner.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25This beautiful forest looks like an untouched wilderness
0:06:25 > 0:06:28but, beneath the trees, is a network of micro-mines,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32where coal is worked by local people for their own profit.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36And amazingly, this centuries-old way of life still survives.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41One of the few remaining free miners is Richard Daniels.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Hello, Richard. It's lovely to see you, in this beautiful spot.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Oh, it's fantastic, isn't it? Yeah.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Now, what's special about the Forest of Dean?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52The forest, the people, heritage, history, the trees,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55the fact that it's a working forest.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59There is still work. As you can see around you, there's been timber taken out here today.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It's a fantastic place to live.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03You didn't mention coal, though. I noticed some on your face!
0:07:03 > 0:07:05RICHARD LAUGHS
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Yeah, coal, minerals, of course. We're very strong in minerals.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Very fortunate that we've got coal, iron, ochre and stone as well.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15You are a free miner, aren't you? What's that?
0:07:15 > 0:07:19A free miner is unique to the Forest of Dean.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It means that we have rights to the minerals in the forest.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- If you're born within the Hundred of St Briavels...- A what?
0:07:24 > 0:07:28The Hundred of St Briavels is the ancient boundary around the forest.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Basically, the treed area, the forested area.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34You're over 21 years of age, and you've worked a year and a day underground,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36you can become a free miner.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39That means you can take out a gale. A gale is an area of coal underground.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43The right was granted back in the 1200s
0:07:43 > 0:07:47but, by the 19th-century, this ancient tradition was under threat.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Industrial Revolution Britain was hungry for coal and iron
0:07:50 > 0:07:54and outside interests began to look longingly
0:07:54 > 0:07:58at the valuable deposits beneath the Forest of Dean.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01In 1838, an Act of Parliament was passed,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03allowing free miners to sell their gales,
0:08:03 > 0:08:08but also preserving their rights, and it's still in force to this day.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- Oh, looks pretty dark in there! - It's very, very dark.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Yeah, as soon as you get out of the entrance, into the mine proper,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17it's as dark as you'll ever experience.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20With the mine penetrating 200 metres deep,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25it's safe to enter only for experienced hands like Richard.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27And is it easy working? Are you bent double,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29are you crawling along, what are you doing in there?
0:08:29 > 0:08:33It's quite hard to get into the coal but once you get onto the face,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36you have to work lying down because it's in 30 inches.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39So it's about so high. So you're laying down all day.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43So some people say it's the most comfortable job in the world!
0:08:43 > 0:08:46And this is your living, because that coal is then yours?
0:08:46 > 0:08:50It is, yeah. The harder we work, the more coal we get, the better off we are.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52So it's great.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Despite free mining's ancient pedigree,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00the workers exploited new technology.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06In the 1870s, the Wye Valley Railway arrived here and free miners harvested it to export their wares.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10And railway's pretty important for the coal around here anyway?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It was, previously, the heavy-gauge railway.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15The mineral that we used to run from Lydney,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18round the forest and back down, that was very important.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And the beauty of is that the coal used to go onto barges then
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and out on the Severn, then to Ireland or Cornwall,
0:09:24 > 0:09:25or wherever it was needed.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Very efficient.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29The railway closed in 1959 but, here in the forest,
0:09:29 > 0:09:36miners still use railway technology to get their valuable minerals to the surface.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39- This is Ray.- Hello, Ray.- He'll bring the carts up.- Nice to meet you.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40How will you do that?
0:09:40 > 0:09:43We've got a big generator in there which produces electricity.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47We've got electric haulage in the shed which is about 60 years old,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49made in Scotland, and it's still going very well.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52When we hear the bell rings three, that tells me
0:09:52 > 0:09:55it's time to pull the carts up and, with a little bit of luck,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58they'll stay on the rails and then we'll pull the carts to the surface.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Here we go, then.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01BELL RINGS
0:10:03 > 0:10:05That's it. And we're away.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Ray knows the underground tunnel so well
0:10:08 > 0:10:10that he can picture the cart's progress
0:10:10 > 0:10:15and control the speed to make sure that they stay on the tracks.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22The plentiful coal piled up in the wagons demonstrates that
0:10:22 > 0:10:26free mining's still productive after 800 years.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Are there young people today still becoming free miners?
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Actually, it's very difficult today because our local maternity unit
0:10:34 > 0:10:37is in Gloucester so they're not getting born in the Hundred.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40But we've got the highest homebirths in the country.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44So people are still sticking with it and they get to an age where they say,
0:10:44 > 0:10:45"Well, I'd like to have a go at that."
0:10:45 > 0:10:48And, if they've got the determination, they can come
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and do the year and a day, and we can get them registered.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Fantastic. Tradition continues. - It continues, yeah.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01I'm now leaving the forest behind to continue my journey.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04And I'm venturing into a new country.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17With no apparent change in the scenery because it's all beautiful,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19we now cross from England to Wales,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22into a different history and a different culture.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26And it's those charming and interesting differences that
0:11:26 > 0:11:30I'm looking forward to exploring in the second half of my journey.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35I'm travelling through the county of Monmouthshire,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39known today for its lovely landscapes and rich history.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I've chosen to get off at Chepstow,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58a place that attracted Victorians in shoals.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04They'd come to see a ruin, but somewhere that was mystical and spiritual.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12Chepstow station opened in 1850 as a stop on Brunel's South Wales railway.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16The line was built to carry coal from Welsh mines to London
0:12:16 > 0:12:18but was soon heaving with tourists.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23The attraction for these railway travellers was a romantic ruin
0:12:23 > 0:12:25that can surprise you on the road.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Bradshaw's contains the loveliest description of Tintern Abbey.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36"The building suddenly bursts upon you, like a gigantic skeleton,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39"its huge gables standing out against the sky
0:12:39 > 0:12:42"with a mournful air of dilapidation."
0:12:44 > 0:12:45Ha! Good Lord!
0:12:47 > 0:12:48That is the most fantastic sight.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54It's magnificent for what it was and yet it's intensely moving,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57for being a ruin.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02Tintern Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06In the 1500s, it was stripped of its wealth as Henry VIII
0:13:06 > 0:13:10dissolved the monasteries, and it descended into ruin.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15It was left to decay until, in the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18it became a magnet for tourists.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24I trust that Anne Rainsbury curator of Chepstow Museum,
0:13:24 > 0:13:25can explain its appeal.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30From the hillside I just had my first ever glimpse of Tintern Abbey and I'm just blown sideways.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- It's absolutely amazing, isn't it? - It's beautiful.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35A very iconic monument as well.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39It must have been, at one time, an even bigger ruin, in a sense,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42than now, because this is from Bradshaw's...
0:13:42 > 0:13:46"Ivy comes creeping out of the bare, sightless windows.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50"The wildflowers and mosses cluster upon the mullions
0:13:50 > 0:13:53"and dripstones, as if they were seeking to fill up
0:13:53 > 0:13:56"the unglazed void with nature's own colours."
0:13:56 > 0:14:01- So, evidently, it was covered in ivy.- Very much so. Very profusely.
0:14:01 > 0:14:07And this was something that was very attractive to the 18th and 19th-century visitors,
0:14:07 > 0:14:12partly because it's nature taking over what man has built.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Against the backdrop of rapid industrialisation,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19this kind of idea became hugely fashionable.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Romanticism swept the arts
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and the Abbey's air of melancholic decay made it irresistible
0:14:25 > 0:14:29to painters like Turner and poets like Wordsworth.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Other visitors followed in their wake.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Tintern Abbey was the highlight of the Wye tour,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40which was, if you like, the first package tour in Britain.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45It was a two-day boat trip, bringing people down the Wye Valley to look at the scenery,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and this was the piece de resistance,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50to get out at Tintern on the second day.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54These early tours were expensive and time-consuming,
0:14:54 > 0:15:00and only the wealthy elite could afford to come and admire the Abbey.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02If we were early aristocratic tourists,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05how would we make our approach to the church?
0:15:05 > 0:15:08You would come here to the west door,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11with the landlord of the Beaufort Arms who held the keys,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14because the doors were locked, so had to be opened for you.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18There would probably be a cluster of beggars around the front door
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and you'd have to fight your way through,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25which might spoil the contemplative mood you are trying to cultivate,
0:15:25 > 0:15:30before the doors were thrust open and you had the amazing 'ooh-aah' moment.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Absolute perfection, isn't it?
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- It is fantastic.- It's wondrous.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48And in its ruined state, of course, you look straight through the church, onto the hillside.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54That complete marriage of human artifice and nature. Fantastic!
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Although, these days, the ivy's gone,
0:16:00 > 0:16:05cleared when the Crown bought the Abbey in the early 20th century,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08it's still easy to imagine coming on an exclusive early tour.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12But in 1876, those aristocratic tourists
0:16:12 > 0:16:16had their quiet enjoyment of the ruins rudely disrupted.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19The railways would have brought larger numbers.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Huge numbers of people, all in one go sometimes.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26It was quite different and they were quite different sorts of people,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30of course, because your 18th-century people were doing a tour.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32They were tourists.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36But these were excursionists. These were day-trippers.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- Bit of snobbery here?- Absolutely.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Some people who were still coming and doing the tour
0:16:43 > 0:16:45were quite horrified to find the coaches
0:16:45 > 0:16:49would disgorge themselves and people would come in
0:16:49 > 0:16:56and get their sandwiches out, and their baskets on the lawn, and start having lunch.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00For the elite, Tintern Abbey was ruined once more.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05But thousands of Victorians got to experience its picturesque charms.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07I'm stopping here for the night
0:17:07 > 0:17:10and I don't have far to go to find my hotel.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15For my night's rest, Bradshaw's recommends the Beaufort Arms,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19which, apparently, has changed its name but not its vista,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22which remains one of the best in Britain.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Before I check in, I want to check out that view,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27from an unusual perspective.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Early tourists had a particular way of framing
0:17:33 > 0:17:37the view of a beautiful building, or landscape.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40They used what was known as a Claude glass,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44named after the French landscape painter Claude Lorrain.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48And they held it up and could see the view behind.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50And here is such a glass.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Victorian tourists believed that a reflection helped them
0:17:54 > 0:17:57to see an idealised version of the landscape.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00They'd bring small mirrors with them to frame the view,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03then sketch it as a memento of their trip.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07I have the advantage that I can admire the view from my room.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16On today's leg of the journey, I'm turning my back
0:18:16 > 0:18:18on Tintern's mediaeval mysticism
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and travelling into industrial South Wales.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26I'm now headed for Newport. My Bradshaw's is a bit mean.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31It says, "With the exception of the church, it has no prepossessing attractions."
0:18:31 > 0:18:36It goes on to say that, "Outside the town a stone bridge of five arches
0:18:36 > 0:18:41"crosses the River Usk, erected at a cost of something over £10,000,"
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and, in fact, there's now another bridge
0:18:44 > 0:18:47which I would describe as a prepossessing attraction.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55A lot has changed in Newport since my guidebook was published,
0:18:55 > 0:19:00starting with the buildings that greet today's railway travellers.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Newport has a bold new station.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13Two round buildings containing spiral staircases, linked by a bridge,
0:19:13 > 0:19:18looking like a giant telephone receiver spanning the tracks.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22It's controversial, its modern, and I am one of its fans.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27The first station opened on this site in 1850,
0:19:27 > 0:19:31at a time when Newport was undergoing a radical transformation.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36The Industrial Revolution made the collieries of South Wales boom,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40and Newport became a thriving coal port.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44The town grew rapidly, spanning both sides of the River Usk
0:19:44 > 0:19:50and, by the end of the 19th century, a new crossing was urgently needed.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54This remarkable piece of engineering was to provide the answer.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56I'm the meeting John Pritchard
0:19:56 > 0:20:01on Newport's famous Transporter Bridge, to hear its story.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- John, hello. - Michael, pleased to meet you.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Thank you for having me into the motor house.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- I don't suppose many people get to look in here. - No, special appointment only.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- How unusual is this design? - It's very unusual.
0:20:12 > 0:20:1616 were built originally. I think seven or eight still survive in the world
0:20:16 > 0:20:19but only three in the UK and this is the only one in Wales.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And we like to think ours is the most elegant.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28The bridge has a span of 645 feet,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and its two towers soar to 240 feet.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35The extraordinary concept was born out of necessity.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- Spectacular view, John.- It certainly is.- So, why this design?
0:20:40 > 0:20:45The River Usk has a very high tidal range, arguably the second highest in the world.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Combine this with tall sailing ships who used to navigate
0:20:49 > 0:20:53the river further up, it meant that we needed a very high headroom.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56The council at the time looked at conventional bridges,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59and tunnels, and these were all dismissed on cost rounds.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02They then heard of this French engineer, Ferdinand Arnodin,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07who was designing these weird structures in France,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and asked him to come over and design a bridge for Newport.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15And this is why we have this fantastic structure here today.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Wheels, running on tracks,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21carry the gondola - or platform - across the river.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Now, I came up here particularly to see the rails.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- Where do I look for those? - They're behind you.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30There are four rails, two on each side,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33on which the gondola is attached.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37So we've got, effectively, an enormous railway wagon,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41a bogie, that spreads across these rails on either side.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43That's exactly right, yes.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45The bridge took four years to build.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48When it finally opened in 1906,
0:21:48 > 0:21:538,000 people came along to make the two-minute trip across the Usk.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Of course, to me, the platform - the gondola - seems very small
0:21:57 > 0:22:02but I suppose in those days most people were pedestrians or, at most, they were cyclists.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05That's right, yes. There were very, very few cars.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08So, although the gondola can only take six cars,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12it can take quite a number of foot passengers and cyclists,
0:22:12 > 0:22:13and probably the odd horse!
0:22:13 > 0:22:15MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Unfortunately, the dawning of the automobile age meant that
0:22:19 > 0:22:22the bridge never became a financial success.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24By the 1980s, it had fallen into such
0:22:24 > 0:22:28a state of disrepair that it was forced to close.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Luckily, since then, it's been restored and now stands
0:22:32 > 0:22:35as a striking monument to Newport's industrial heritage.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37They used to call this the aerial ferry
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and it was designed in Queen Victoria's day
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but built just after her death.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And, perhaps, my one regret is it came just a bit too late
0:22:45 > 0:22:47to be included in my Bradshaw's.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Having crossed to the east bank of the Usk, I'm now entering
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Newport's industrial heart.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Alongside coal, iron was a vital ingredient
0:23:00 > 0:23:03in Britain's 19th-century economic boom.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07And both were in abundant supply here in Bradshaw's day.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14My Bradshaw's says that Newport, "...is a seaport town of some importance,
0:23:14 > 0:23:20"with ready access by railway to the many iron districts in the neighbourhood.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24"Its traffic in that mineral has greatly increased."
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Well, its traffic in metals today is still significant,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30but with a twist.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36The speed and scale of Newport's 19th-century expansion were extraordinary.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41Between 1800 and 1900, the population shot up
0:23:41 > 0:23:44from around 1,000 to 67,000.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Many amongst the influx of new workers were employed in the iron trade,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50transporting it or smelting it
0:23:50 > 0:23:54in the vast iron works that were built nearby.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Nowadays, Newport's iron industry has largely disappeared but,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02thanks to the railway network that grew up in Victorian times,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06the town's link with metals is still strong.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I'm meeting Myles Pilkington to find out about the modern metal business.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12- Hello, Myles. - Hello, Michael. How are you?
0:24:12 > 0:24:17Well, what's going on here is obviously not the smelting of iron.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It's something quite different. What is going on?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23What we're doing, actually, is kind of carrying on tradition.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26This is urban mining. So, as opposed to mining the hills out there,
0:24:26 > 0:24:31we're bringing all that metal, all that resource, which would have potentially gone to landfill,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35or just rusted somewhere in the environment, we're bringing it here
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and we're reclaiming it for re-use, right around the world.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43Over two million tons of scrap metal pass through this vast recycling plant every year,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46including 40,000 tons of railway stock
0:24:46 > 0:24:49that's reached the end of its useful life.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Astonishingly, half the metal that comes here has already been reused.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- How does that stuff get here? - In many different ways.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02One of the great things about Newport is that producing
0:25:02 > 0:25:05all that coal and iron in the past, it created a rail system
0:25:05 > 0:25:08which brought in and became very important to Newport,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12from both the point of view of exporting coal, exporting steel.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15We've piggybacked on the back of that.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Today, the trains arrive full of scrap
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and leave carrying processed material ready for use.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24We'll have two lines of about ten carriages coming in,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27side by side here, over the weigh bridges, through the radiation detectors
0:25:27 > 0:25:30to make sure there's nothing hazardous coming in with it.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33They'll line up here and then we'll unload them.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Are you saving a lot of lorry journeys, doing this?
0:25:36 > 0:25:42Oh, yes, indeed. We save between 5,000 and 5,400 lorry journeys a year, at this site alone.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47After it's unloaded, the metal is sent to the world's biggest shredder
0:25:47 > 0:25:51which can swallow an extraordinary 450 cars per hour.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Now we come level with this monstrous shredder
0:25:54 > 0:25:56and the ground is actually shaking under our feet.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58This is a pretty big machine.
0:25:58 > 0:25:59Yes, indeed.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01It's a 9,000 horsepower motor,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04driving a shaft with a lot of hammers on
0:26:04 > 0:26:07which, as it rotates, smashes up the metal inside.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12And just like when you're making a soup, or a juice, with your sieve and the back of a wooden spoon,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15as you're moving it round, you're shoving the material through the sieve.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Exactly the same thing is happening, only we've got an industrial sieve and we're trying to get metal
0:26:20 > 0:26:22out in the right way to sell as a quality commodity.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Once shredded, the material is carefully sorted
0:26:26 > 0:26:30into different metals, using magnets and other techniques.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34It's then sent across the globe to be transformed into the cars
0:26:34 > 0:26:37and railway carriages of the future.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- Hello.- Hello, Michael. - How are you?- All right.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43- Is this your finished product? - It is the finished product, yeah.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- Have you been in the recycling industry long?- Ten years, yep.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- And before that? - I was in the steel industry.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- And before that? - I was down the mine.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And what do you think of Newport's new industry now? It's on a grand scale, isn't it?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Yeah, really, really grand.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- You've got to come here and see it to believe it.- You do.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Over the years, the people of Newport have adapted
0:27:06 > 0:27:09to the changing industrial base of their town.
0:27:09 > 0:27:16But a clear thread connects Bradshaw's Newport to the Newport of today.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19In Wales, the growth of coal
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and iron production depended on the railways.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27Industrialisation brought prosperity but pollution, too.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Today, the waste products of our consumer society can be
0:27:31 > 0:27:35brought together in vast quantities for recycling.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39A task ideally suited to the railways.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46On the next stage of my journey, I'll be visiting a favourite
0:27:46 > 0:27:49holiday spot of 19th-century miners, Barry Island.
0:27:49 > 0:27:50They came in huge numbers.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55We've got about 100,000 in the very first summer that this railway station was opened.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Hunting out the political heart of Wales' capital city.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02It's a great privilege to be allowed into the debating chamber.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05It's different from the House of Commons as it could possibly be.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09And seeing what's left of this region's extraordinary
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Victorian railway network.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13That is amazing. These are the valleys of South Wales.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Railway lines going up every single one of them.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19That is the most extraordinary picture, isn't it?
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:27 > 0:28:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk