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 the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 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 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:28 > 0:00:31across the length and breath of the country
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01My Bradshaw's is now guiding me across Northern England.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The castles that I've seen recently remind us
0:01:04 > 0:01:07of the long wars between the Scots and the English.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12And now I'm going to visit the very icon of that enmity.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15For, as even recent history has shown us,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20rulers who want to maintain separation between peoples build walls.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25On today's leg of the journey,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28I'll be getting down and dirty in a Roman barracks.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33- Well, I am your slave. Back to work.- Back to work. Quite right as well.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Discovering a small invention that made a big difference to the travelling public.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40- Let me do the dog ticket first. That's easy enough.- That's it.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42One dog ticket.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48And drinking in spectacular engineering triumphs in the Cumbrian countryside.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- Thank you for going so slowly over the viaduct.- You're welcome.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52- Isn't that a beautiful thing? - Oh, it's beautiful, aye.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59I started this journey in Berwick-upon-Tweed,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and I'm travelling southwest across the shoulder of England,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and will end my trip by crossing the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Today's leg of the journey begins at Bardon Mill,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14on historic Hadrian's Wall,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and takes me through Cumbria's breathtaking landscape
0:02:17 > 0:02:20to the industrial town of Wigton.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33My Bradshaw's says that Hadrian's Wall is nearly
0:02:33 > 0:02:35700 miles long from sea to sea.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39I'm afraid that's wrong by about a factor of ten.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40It's much shorter than that.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Bradshaw's goes on to say,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45"It was built by the Roman conquerors of Britain
0:02:45 > 0:02:50"to secure themselves from the troublesome savages beyond."
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Scottish viewers may wish to quarrel with the accuracy of that as well.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Having studied History at university,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I've always been drawn to Britain's Roman past.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04So I'm alighting at Bardon Mill,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06on the Hadrian's Wall country line,
0:03:06 > 0:03:0832 miles from Newcastle,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10to see the iconic barrier between
0:03:10 > 0:03:14warring populations which stretches back two millennia.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21If you love history, as I do, you'll adore Hadrian's Wall.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26The Emperor Hadrian was facing rebellions in Libya, in Egypt.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28How history repeats itself!
0:03:28 > 0:03:30And he thought he might at least limit his problems
0:03:30 > 0:03:33by building a wall to keep out the Caledonians.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It runs from coast to coast.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38It was 11 feet high. It had ditches.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40It had a castle every mile.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43It had fortresses big enough to hold 17,000 troops.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Four legions built it in eight years.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50It was the most fantastic engineering project.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53You have to be impressed.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55And you have to be depressed
0:03:55 > 0:04:00that so much effort was put into keeping two peoples separate.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06The Victorians, with their new-found freedom to travel on trains,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08loved to visit ancient sites.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10One of their favourite destinations was
0:04:10 > 0:04:13the Roman garrison fort of Vindolanda,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17where they indulged their passion for the new craze of archaeology.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19I've followed in their footsteps
0:04:19 > 0:04:23and I'm meeting site director Patricia Birley.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26I've just come from Hadrian's Wall.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29How does the fort here relate to Hadrian's Wall?
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Well, you're standing a mile south of Hadrian's Wall here, Michael.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35There were forts like Vindolanda
0:04:35 > 0:04:38about every seven to eight miles along the Stanegate Road.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41And it used to protect the road for travellers, trade and so forth.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43And make a frontier, really.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48The aristocracy had habitually undertaken the grand tour of Europe,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52exploring the Renaissance and classical antiquities.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56From the early 1800s, the British started to take an interest
0:04:56 > 0:04:58in their own Roman history.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Archaeology increased its appeal and the Victorians realised
0:05:02 > 0:05:04that there were treasure-troves to be explored
0:05:04 > 0:05:06within their own country.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10However, their methods of excavation were somewhat basic.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12We have a term for it in the North of England,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16we call it "howking", which is digging a hole to find something.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19But having said that, the antiquarian excavators
0:05:19 > 0:05:22did try to record everything that they were doing,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and indeed gave papers to the newly-formed
0:05:25 > 0:05:29literary and philosophical and archaeological societies
0:05:29 > 0:05:31that were springing up.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35That was the start of what we would call modern archaeology.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41The first tourist group to visit Vindolanda arrived in 1849.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Their only access to the site was on a far from luxurious industrial railway.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51This wagonway had been built to carry stone from the quarries.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Our first pilgrims got in the, I hope, cleaned-out wagons.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And the wagons stopped just on the hillside beyond us there.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And the pilgrims got out and they had a good look around,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and had their, no doubt, little talk,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and then got back into the wagons, and away they went,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11back down to the newly-opened railway line,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14which must have been very exciting for them.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16It brings a wonderful picture to mind, doesn't it?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19These earnest Victorians in partially cleaned out
0:06:19 > 0:06:22stone wagons arriving to pay tribute to this site.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26The popularity of hands-on archaeology
0:06:26 > 0:06:29rose throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33leading to improved understanding of Hadrian's Wall,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35military history and Roman Britain.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I've moved to the site of the modern-day excavations
0:06:38 > 0:06:41at the fort of Vindolanda
0:06:41 > 0:06:43to meet archaeologist Justin Blake.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- Justin, hello.- Hello.- Michael. - Nice to meet you.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- It's good to see you. - Good to see you.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50What is it you're excavating here?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52We're right in the middle of a barrack room.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And it was built in our early third-century fort at Vindolanda.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So this is where eight men would have slept overnight,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02cooked meals, socialised together.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04And then, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they moaned
0:07:04 > 0:07:08about life on the northern frontier up to a point as well.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11What do we know, from what you've discovered, about how they were living?
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Well, we know that they'd been using olive oil,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17cos at the back end of last week, we found a beautiful neck
0:07:17 > 0:07:19from an olive oil jar.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Which is this one here.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25So we've got the handle over there, and part of the spout.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's a huge globular bowl.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Usually, they hold about 50 or 80 litres of olive oil.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Lovely, thick clay, isn't it? Wow.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34It really is, yeah. It's been imported from the south of Spain.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35So it's travelled
0:07:35 > 0:07:36a long way to get to Vindolanda.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Best of all, we know that they'd been playing games and socialising
0:07:40 > 0:07:41because just this morning,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45we found a wonderful little black-glass gaming counter.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46You found that this morning?
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Yeah, it came out literally about ten minutes before you arrived to see us.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53'I can't resist a little dig myself,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56'just in case another Roman treasure lurks below the surface.'
0:07:56 > 0:07:57OK.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Now, I hope that you planted some gem that I can find here...
0:08:01 > 0:08:02to encourage me.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04It's one of the wonderful things about archaeology, I think.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08You just never know what's going to be underneath the soil.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10You've been finding bits and pieces of these people's lives.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- What impression do you have of them? - It's very like modern society.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18It's a huge spectrum of all sorts of different people doing all manner of different jobs here.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21So you get very different impressions in each little bit that you dig in, I think.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26- Well, I am your slave. Back to work. - Back to work. Quite right as well.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31It's back to the tracks,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35though thankfully, not in a horse-drawn mineral wagon,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38as my Victorian forerunners would have done.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43One of the things that the Romans found attractive
0:08:43 > 0:08:46about Northern England was its wealth of minerals,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48and my Bradshaw's refers to,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51"Mineral specimens that may be procured in the caves."
0:08:51 > 0:08:57And also refers to the, "Large lead mines which also produce silver and copper."
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Of course, in the 19th century, these minerals could only be
0:09:00 > 0:09:04exploited successfully using the railways.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Leaving Hadrian's Wall behind, I'm heading west to Haltwhistle,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11to make the journey to Alston in Cumbria,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and the South Tynedale Railway.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16This branch line was key to transporting the coal,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19lead and other minerals mined in the area.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22But at the beautifully restored station,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I'm taking a moment to investigate a clever invention
0:09:25 > 0:09:28that was to change the way we travel on trains.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30One ticket on your lovely railway, please.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33That will be £6, please.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34Thank you very much.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39Now, that is what I call a railway ticket.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42All my young life, that's what a railway ticket looked like.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44It wasn't orange and it wasn't made of paper.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48It was just a lovely bit of card like that.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51What was the history of these tickets?
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Apparently, a revolutionary ticket system was introduced in this area.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01South Tynedale line enthusiast Tom Bell will show me its simple brilliance.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Why is it called the Edmondson System?
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Well, Thomas Edmondson was appointed station agent at Brampton
0:10:07 > 0:10:10by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway when it opened in 1836.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Brampton is pretty close to here?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14It's about 20 miles from here,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and it's also on the main line of the company that built this branch line.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20So what's the great breakthrough about this system?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Well, first of all, if you look at this ticket,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26you'll see that it has a serial number printed on.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29The first thing he did was design the system
0:10:29 > 0:10:32to serially number all the tickets from one to 9,999.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36And that meant that you could actually print tickets
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- for one station to every destination that people wanted to travel.- Yeah.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42You had the price, you had the class,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46you had whether it was adult or child, or single or return.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Prior to this invention, railways issued handwritten tickets,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53as stagecoach operators had done.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56But they'd had only half a dozen passengers.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59With hundreds of people using the booming railways,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02the introduction of the Edmondson numeric ticketing system
0:11:02 > 0:11:04met the modern need.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08It also prevented unscrupulous clerks from lining their pockets,
0:11:08 > 0:11:14as they had to reconcile daily the cash against the unsold serially numbered tickets.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18The system spread rapidly across the country and, amazingly,
0:11:18 > 0:11:23served the UK's railways for over 150 years until the dawn of the computer age.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27Now, if you are going to have numerical sequences,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31it's pretty important to keep your tickets tidy and in order.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- Yes.- Did he also invent these racks?- He invented the racks.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Small racks for little used destinations.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And the big racks for frequently used destinations.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43And the tickets were put in with the lowest number at the bottom.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47And each station had a ticket assembly like that.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50And, like a cardsharp, you dealt from the bottom.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Mmm... Very nice.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55How can I help you today?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Can we have a family ticket, please?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- I can't help noticing you've got a dog.- Yes.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02- Would you like a dog ticket as well? - Yes, please.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- Let me do the dog ticket first. That's easy enough.- That's it.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08One dog ticket.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- Here we are.- Thank you!- Thank you.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14From its opening in 1852,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17this railway was important not just for the ticketing system.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The lure of lead in the wild hills
0:12:20 > 0:12:24brought the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway to Alston.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27And with the South Tyne Valley also producing large quantities of coal,
0:12:27 > 0:12:32the arrival of the railway was the catalyst for major growth in mining.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Today, happily, the line is still open,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38as a heritage narrow gauge railway.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44It's lovely to be on the South Tynedale Railway.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Historically though, this is the railway
0:12:46 > 0:12:48that used to bring the lead from the mines, isn't it?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It was built to take the lead out of the North Pennines orefield.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Now, my Bradshaw's also mentions silver coming from those mines.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57Any record of silver?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Yes. Although most of the ore was lead and zinc,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04there was a small amount of silver brought out as well.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08In the Victorian age, lead had become a very important commodity
0:13:08 > 0:13:11for the production of piping, roofing and paint.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14The lead mines brought jobs and prosperity to the area.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17And the railway began to transport both the ore
0:13:17 > 0:13:20and the population drawn to the valley.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23It used to take a fair number of passengers
0:13:23 > 0:13:26and it also was very early in the tourist industry,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30because the North Eastern Railway ran special trains
0:13:30 > 0:13:34after Easter up to Alston for people to rent cottages for the summer.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37We are running through some beautiful countryside.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40It's known as England's last wilderness.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43But if you look around, the landscape is entirely manmade.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46It's been manmade since the Roman times.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Mainly by the lead miners since the 17th century.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57It's time to retire for the evening.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00So I'm headed for the small village of Gilsland
0:14:00 > 0:14:02on the edge of the Northumberland National Park,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05situated hard upon Hadrian's Wall.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09As the Victorians began to travel by train, they needed places to stay.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14And Bradshaw's contains recommendations for the weary tourist.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Where to stand, such a pretty evening?
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Bradshaw's has the answer.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21"Gilsland Spa.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24"A good sulphur spring which issues from a cliff in the glen
0:14:24 > 0:14:28"at the back of Shaws excellent hotel."
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Well, the hotel has changed shape and name,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33but I bet the spring is still there.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37To compete against their rivals, Victorian hotels liked to offer
0:14:37 > 0:14:43health experiences and the sulphur springs fitted the bill perfectly.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47My guide is local historian Will Higgs.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52This is the fountain to which the sulphur water has now been piped.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Although that was quite a long time ago and, unfortunately,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59the pipe seems to be getting blocked and it's pretty well dried up.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02But you can certainly smell the stuff.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Whoa! That's terrible! Rotten eggs!
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- Oh, it's delicious.- Ha-ha!
0:15:08 > 0:15:11And that's not the only attraction of the hotel.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Deep in the dreamy glens,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17a rather suggestive-shaped boulder called the Popping Stone
0:15:17 > 0:15:19enticed the straight-laced Victorian tourists
0:15:19 > 0:15:23to cast aside their inhibitions.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Well, here it is, the famous Popping Stone.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Legend has it that this is the spot where Walter Scott
0:15:30 > 0:15:33proposed to his wife, Charlotte Carpenter.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37It seems to have had associations with courtship,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39and possibly even fertility.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- And what did the Victorians make of that?- They had plenty of fun.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45And certainly, the holiday-makers who came here on the train
0:15:45 > 0:15:47frequently made a beeline for the Popping Stone.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51And many of them had their photographs taken on it.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54I've got a picture postcard here from 1910
0:15:54 > 0:15:58showing a very smart chap with a lady sitting on the stone, much as it is today.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59But there's more to that photograph.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04I think it gives us a little hint of what's at the heart
0:16:04 > 0:16:06of the hotel's allure.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09If you look at the inscription on the back.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Ah...yes.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Mr Bonar and Mrs Wilson.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18What's Mr Bonar doing with Mrs Wilson on the Popping Stone?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And they seem to look rather shifty as well. If you look at them...
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Oh... It's a place for dirty weekends.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27I hope they came by train.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41You may have gathered that I love Victorian railway architecture.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43And it's a beautiful summer's morning.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46What better time to see a viaduct?
0:16:49 > 0:16:53I'm rejoining the line at Haltwhistle Station in Northumberland,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57travelling past the fabulous Roman mile castle of Poltross Burn,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00on my way west towards Carlisle.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05This countryside is simply stunning.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06So beautiful.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Oh, to be in England now that summer is here,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11and to be on a train.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Discussing this beautiful landscape,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Bradshaw's refers to the stunning views and to the ravines.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29This was not easy territory for early Victorian railway builders.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32But nothing was going to slow them in their progress.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I'm headed to the viaduct at Wetheral,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37a place that Bradshaw's says is,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39"pleasantly situated on the Eden."
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And having seen Stephenson's Viaduct on the River Tweed,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46the remarkable thing about Wetheral is that it's much older.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51Surprisingly, for such a small rural community, the village of Wetheral
0:17:51 > 0:17:55entered the railway age very early, in the 1830s.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57The Newcastle to Carlisle line,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59linking the east and west coast of Britain,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02needed a spectacular piece of pre-Victorian engineering
0:18:02 > 0:18:06to straddle the daunting 100-foot gorge over the River Eden.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10And that indeed is what they got.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14And now we cross the fantastic viaduct.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17The driver's slowed right down to give us a view.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19We are so high up above the river.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Isn't that spectacular?
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- Driver!- How are you doing?- I just wanted to thank you for going so slowly over the viaduct.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- You're welcome. - Isn't that a beautiful thing?
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- Oh, it's beautiful, aye. Did you get a good view?- Oh, I got a wonderful view.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45It's such a beautiful piece of architecture, isn't it?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- It is beautiful, aye. You haven't got a spare book, have you?- Ha-ha-ha!
0:18:48 > 0:18:50There we are, there's Bradshaw. You can touch it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51Bye, driver. Thank you.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Take care.- Thank you. Bye!
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Completed in 1834, the Eden or Wetheral Viaduct
0:19:01 > 0:19:04was one of the first railway viaducts to be built in Britain.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07It's a notable early architectural triumph,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10built four years before Victoria came to the throne.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16It linked not only the burgeoning cities of Newcastle and Carlisle,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19but also the villages on opposite sides of the river,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Wetheral and Great Corby.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25And I'm hoping that no lesser personage than the Mayor of Carlisle,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Barry Earp, can tell me more.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- Barry, well met. - Welcome to Wetheral. Lovely to have you with us.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Ordinary Victorians must have thought it spectacular.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37I mean, it's a great engineering achievement. And a thing of beauty.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38It was a thing of beauty.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41People used to come from Carlisle for day trips out.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44They enjoyed the river trip across to Great Corby,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and then walked across the viaduct back into Wetheral.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Locals, meanwhile, were sidestepping the cost of a ferry
0:19:50 > 0:19:53to travel between the two villages, and risking life and limb
0:19:53 > 0:19:56to walk across the viaduct.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00So in 1851, the railway was forced to build a walkway at the side of the track,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02which is still in use today.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05But there was a catch.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08The walkway over the viaduct
0:20:08 > 0:20:11cost the people a halfpenny
0:20:11 > 0:20:15in the old L, S and D coinage.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18And it was a halfpenny there and a halfpenny back.
0:20:18 > 0:20:24And this started in 1851 and continued until 1956,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27by which time, the cost had gone up to a penny each way.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31The toll was finally scrapped in the late 1950s.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35But Wetheral Station has another claim to fame.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Despite being closed in the Beeching Cuts of 1967,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Barry and the Parish Council succeeded in having it reopened in 1981.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47I also have to comment that your station is delightful, Wetheral station.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Not least this fantastic bridge on which we are standing.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51I'm so pleased to see it open.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Wetheral was a growing village and it had more and more people actually living here.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58And, of course, it is only a very short distance into Carlisle,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03so it was a lot easier and cheaper in actual fact to use the train.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08It's always extremely cheering to hear about the reopening
0:21:08 > 0:21:10of a station once consigned to history.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15And all credit to Barry and his colleagues for campaigning hard.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Now I'm on the last leg of today's journey.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23To Carlisle, to catch the Cumbrian coastline to the market town of Wigton.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- Bye-bye!- Bye!
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Well, after all that beautiful open countryside, Carlisle feels like a big place.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35It's where I'm changing train.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Well, this is an extraordinarily crowded train,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57so I'll have to stand here and tell you that I'm headed for Wigton,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59which my Bradshaw's guide tells me,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01"has print and dye works."
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Now, I have a feeling that those works are no longer there.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09But I'm interested to see what happens in Wigton today.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16TANNOY: We are now approaching Wigton.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- Why is the train so crowded? - It's the first train from Carlisle.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28There's only...there's only one in three hours.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32This is the first train from Carlisle this morning, you see. So that's why it's overcrowded.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- The first...- It's not usually as bad as this.- Ah... OK.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38It isn't usually... Usually, you can go up and down the train.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42- It's been a very intimate experience.- Ha-ha-ha!- Ha-ha-ha!
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- I can only apologise.- Ha-ha!
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- Thank you.- Not a problem. I do apologise.- No, no. Not at all.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52We enjoyed it, actually. It was fun! Bye!
0:22:55 > 0:23:00The Victorian era saw some of the most important innovations of the last two centuries.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04From the light bulb to effective anaesthesia, and plastic.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Invented by Englishman Alexander Parkes in 1856,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11the first synthetic plastic, Parkesine,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14was demonstrated at the World Fair in London.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17It was derived from cellulose,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and began an industry that would
0:23:19 > 0:23:21radically change the way we live.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Wigton, just east of Carlisle, was struggling at the end of the 19th century,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28as its traditional industries declined.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32But another unique invention from the use of cellulose came to its rescue,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37as engineering specialist Roy Crosthwaite is going to explain.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40What was the industrial history of Wigton?
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Well, the industry was based around tanneries, and dye works for cotton,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48which was one of the principal products produced in Wigton at the time.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51You now produce something completely different here.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52We do, indeed.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57We actually manufacture cellophane and polypropylene films on this site.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Cellophane's been produced since 1933.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02What's the raw materials for that?
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Wood pulp is the principal raw material,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08which is brought in by steam trains down these very lines.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12During the 19th and early 20th century,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14synthetics were in their infancy.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16It was a period of experimentation.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Inkwells, cutlery handles, and the very earliest gramophone records
0:24:20 > 0:24:23all pushed the boundaries of synthetic production.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25With the records, rather revoltingly,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29being made from mixed beetle excretions and powdered minerals.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Whilst these innovations were useful enough,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36plastics and what would become cellophane
0:24:36 > 0:24:38didn't really take off until the 20th century.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40'You'll put on your plastic raincoat.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42'Put up your plastic hood.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44'Oh, wait a bit, it's stopped now.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48'So you can open your plastic bag to see if that plastic hood has messed up your hairdo.'
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Roy's company specialises in food and product wrapping,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and is the largest employer in Wigton.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59This company and town have boomed on the back of invention.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02But it was the ease of movement offered by the railway,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05including a set of sidings running into the heart of the factory,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10that allowed an isolated Cumbrian town to compete globally.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17And it's because of the railway, in fact, that we actually had the factory.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22We brought in raw materials, our product was exported or shipped out by train.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So it was quite significant.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27And without this, there's no doubt, there'd be no factory.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32One of the company's key products is cellophane,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36which was invented in 1908 and is now used worldwide in packaging.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38It's made from cellulose viscose,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40which, to my surprise,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43is derived from wood pulp.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46So here is the most interesting part of the process.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48We've manufactured the viscose.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52It's then pumped in through the slop dye into a bath of sulphuric acid.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56When hey presto, it hits the acid and forms the film.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00And this film will then be drawn off and fed down the casting machine,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04where the sulphur is washed out, and it forms into cellulose.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06It's as simple as that.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Ha-ha! As simple as that.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11I mean, I see this product every day of my life.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- And, of course, it has never occurred to me to think about how it is made.- Absolutely right.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18The cellophane made here would be found on everyday consumer products,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21from chocolates to perfume, cheese to teabags.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25I saw the wood pulp at the beginning, a lovely natural resource.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28But then, of course, food wrappings come out at the other end,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30and very often, they are part of litter in our society.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32What can we do about that?
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Well, we have developed a product recently which is biodegradable,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and it will actually degrade in six weeks.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43You put it in the family compost heap and in six weeks' time, it's back to nature.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I have to tell you, I was a little bit disappointed
0:26:46 > 0:26:48when I came here that your railway lines were no longer in use.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- You don't use the railways any more? - Not really, no.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Although we do pay Network Rail a retainer,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57so we have the option to use the siding some time in the future.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The company stopped using the railway for transport
0:27:03 > 0:27:07in the late 1960s, once the M6 motorway reached Carlisle.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10And road haulage sadly proved cheaper than rail.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14But given that the infrastructure still exists on the site,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I hold a hope that maybe for this company at least,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20the railways might rise again.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35I've rarely seen such unspoiled country as on this journey.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39But this terrain has always been made to work for man.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The Romans quarried its stone,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44the Victorians mined its lead.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46And now it produces manufactured goods,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49including some new products
0:27:49 > 0:27:52that aim to be as green as this landscape.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59When I continue my railway adventure,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02I'll be taking a train from coast to mountain top.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Every now and again, a little smut hits the eye
0:28:06 > 0:28:09to remind you of the joys of steam travel.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Gaining rare access to an industry that divides opinion worldwide -
0:28:12 > 0:28:14nuclear power.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17And it is absolutely massive.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Well, the golf ball itself is probably about 60 metres high.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26And being present at the unveiling of an extremely rare Cumberland treasure.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30This is, I must say, a rather emotional moment, isn't it?
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:53 > 0:28:57E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk