0:00:06 > 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 > 0:00:22Stop by stop he told them where to travel, what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02I am now coming to the end of a journey, inspired by my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:01:02 > 0:01:07across the North of England, from the North Sea to the Irish Sea.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09A new network of railways
0:01:09 > 0:01:13enabled Victorians to enjoy the beauty and the history of their country.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17And the most intrepid of them even ventured overseas.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21On my last leg of this rail adventure
0:01:21 > 0:01:25I'll be visiting an island steeped in smuggling history.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29He stepped onto his ship and his trousers split,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32discharging the tea into the harbour water below him.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Discovering Britain's fear of enemy spies in the Second World War.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40The British Government told the Manx government
0:01:40 > 0:01:45to tell all the boarding house keepers and hoteliers to move out at ten days' notice.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And scaling the heights to view seven kingdoms.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53We're in the Guinness Book Of Records for having the oldest working tram in history.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I started this journey on the English/Scottish border
0:02:01 > 0:02:04and it's taken me through the industrial heartlands
0:02:04 > 0:02:08of the North of England as well as mesmerising countryside.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Now, I am on the final leg
0:02:10 > 0:02:13across the Irish Sea to the enigmatic Isle of Man.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17This last stretch begins at Heysham before crossing the sea to Douglas,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22the Isle of Man's capital,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and ending atop the island's only mountain.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38I'm headed for the Isle of Man and my Bradshaw's makes it clear
0:02:38 > 0:02:41how new technology had made it accessible.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44"This island, in the midst of the Irish Sea,
0:02:44 > 0:02:48"may be easily reached from the three kingdoms by a few hours steam
0:02:48 > 0:02:52"as it is only 70 miles from Liverpool."
0:02:52 > 0:02:56The Victorians liked the Isle of Man because it was exotic,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59it was kind of abroad, although it was reassuringly British.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06I've taken the train west from Lancaster to Heysham, at the southern end of Morecambe Bay,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09so that I can catch a ferry to the Isle of Man.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The ferry service has been running since 1830,
0:03:14 > 0:03:20and I can still feel the excitement and anticipation the Victorian travellers felt
0:03:20 > 0:03:23as they ventured across these waters.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Steam power shortened distances
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and the Victorians relished their new opportunities.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Trains and steamships brought previously far-off destinations
0:03:32 > 0:03:34within comfortable reach.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Ships are no longer powered by steam, but this is the oldest
0:03:41 > 0:03:44continually operating ferry company in the world,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and George Bradshaw would be delighted that it's still called Steam Packet,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53although I might have to explain to him the dotcom.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Packets were traditionally scheduled cargo and passenger ships
0:04:00 > 0:04:05and because their original function had been to carry mail, the name packet stuck.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Before the advent of ferry services,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12sail packet crossings to the Isle of Man had been perilous.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Ships were often forced back to England after days at sea
0:04:16 > 0:04:21and during the winter months the island could be cut off for weeks at a time.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Today, thankfully in beautiful weather,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27the crossing will seem, if anything, too short.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Like a Victorian tourist bound for the Isle of Man,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I bid goodbye to the English coast but,
0:04:34 > 0:04:39unlike a Victorian, I leave behind Heysham nuclear power station.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Nuclear power is just one of the many changes,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45to both the physical and cultural landscape,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50that would today astonish Victorian tourists who, in their day,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52visited the Isle of Man en masse.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58Once upon a time, the island had roguish reputation.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Author Richard Platt has come aboard to enlighten me.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Michael, hi.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Very good to see you.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07My Bradshaw's tells me that at one time
0:05:07 > 0:05:12the chief prosperity of the Isle of Man arose from smuggling, can that be true?
0:05:12 > 0:05:18The Isle of Man was more or less independent of the English crown for about three centuries,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21from the beginning of the 15th century.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24The taxes on the Isle of Man were very, very low.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30Enormous quantities of contraband were smuggled from the Isle of Man back to England.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32It wasn't just what we normally associate with smuggling so,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35although there was things like brandy and tobacco,
0:05:35 > 0:05:40there were also commodities like tea, which were highly taxed.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49There was a huge expansion of illegal imports into Britain in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54During this time, taxes rose dramatically to pay for expensive European wars.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Farming was struggling and poverty was rising.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Lawless or spirited citizens fought back with smuggling.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- Did this penetrate far into Isle of Man society?- Absolutely.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12It went right from the very, very top of society to the lowest levels.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15There's a story about a schoolteacher called Myles Crow
0:06:15 > 0:06:19who was smuggling contraband in the early Victorian times
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and he was an incompetent smuggler.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It was very fashionable, at that time,
0:06:25 > 0:06:31for men to wear baggy trousers buckled below the knee, and he was a slim, gaunt sort of figure.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34What he did, he bought a pair of these baggy trousers
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and filled them up with tea and he was discovered
0:06:37 > 0:06:41when he stepped onto his ship and his trousers split,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43discharging the tea into the harbour water below him.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Just add water, that's how you make tea, that's how it's done.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49That's exactly right. That's just what happened.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Tobacco was a favourite luxury targeted by smugglers,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56many of whom were well-to-do merchants
0:06:56 > 0:07:02who could deprive the British Treasury of hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Contrary to the romantic image of a striped jersey clad smuggler
0:07:06 > 0:07:10rolling barrels up a moonlit beach, most smuggling was well organised
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and took place on pitch-black nights.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But with so much money to be made, even by lone individuals,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21smugglers like our intrepid schoolteacher were undaunted.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25When he tried to smuggle tobacco,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27tobacco at that stage was wound into ropes or ribbons.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29What he did was to undress
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and wrap the tobacco round him.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33This was quite a common technique
0:07:33 > 0:07:38but smugglers usually had the sense to wrap it over their underwear.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Myles Crow made the mistake of stripping completely naked
0:07:41 > 0:07:43and wrapping himself in tobacco.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44The result of this was
0:07:44 > 0:07:46that, when he got on the ship,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51the nicotine from the tobacco was permeating through his skin
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and it sent him into a complete narcotic fug.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56He was having a nicotine high?
0:07:56 > 0:07:59He was having a very big nicotine high.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01A member of the crew discovered the tobacco
0:08:01 > 0:08:06and the captain was outraged that he might be prosecuted for this smuggling activity.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08So he turned Myles Crow over to the customs authorities
0:08:08 > 0:08:13and there's a description of him being unwound like a top,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16as they pulled the tobacco off him, he spun on his heels.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20In the late 18th century,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24the British Government finally tired of the huge tax losses
0:08:24 > 0:08:29and secretly purchased the island from the owner, the Duke of Atholl.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31That brought it under the control of British customs,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36making it much harder for the islanders to maintain a base for smuggling.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Fortunately for them, in the 19th century a new source of income opened,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44mass tourism.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Douglas, according to my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:08:53 > 0:08:59"Is a pleasant bathing and fishing port in front of a fine bay."
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And with these lovely white terraces down at the seafront
0:09:03 > 0:09:06it has all the feel of a Victorian resort.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The Victorians are credited with inventing the seaside holiday.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18As railways made access to the coast fast and inexpensive,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22seaside towns shaped themselves into resorts.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27In the late 19th century, the working classes enjoyed increased leisure time and wages
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and imitated the well-heeled travellers by becoming tourists.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Such holidaymakers, clutching their Bradshaw's Guide,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40might have alighted from the ferry to catch a horse-drawn tram,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42precisely as I'm doing.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46My driver, or tram lad, is Peter Cannon.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52- Do you go to the Regency Hotel?- We go right past the door.- May I hop in?
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Jump on.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Peter, I never dreamed that I'd be able to ride on a horse-drawn tram in the 21st century.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08- When did all this begin? - 1876 it started.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10So what was the point of it?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Well, a gentleman called Thomas Lightfoot retired here from England,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16saw the potential to make a few shillings,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I think, and just set it up.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22At the time, the Isle of Man was sort of taking off a bit as a tourist resort.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24He saw a gap in the market, I think.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26And it's run continuously ever since?
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Apart from the Second World War.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32We're in the 135th year now.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Bradshaw's describes Douglas, the island's capital,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38as "The most lively place on the island
0:10:38 > 0:10:43"and the horses trot briskly the length of the Victorian promenade."
0:10:44 > 0:10:48With tourism at its height in the Victorian and Edwardian eras,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52amazingly the horse trams conveyed a million passengers each season.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57It is the world's oldest surviving horse-drawn tram service
0:10:57 > 0:11:03and it runs on tracks making it, in my book anyway, a railway.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05How long have you been with the tram?
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Some people might say too long.
0:11:08 > 0:11:121975 I started, so I've been here for 35 years.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14And was it busier in those days?
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Yes, at the moment we run a 20 minute service.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24When I first started we probably run a 2 1/2 minute service.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28So that would be 16 trams, now it's only two.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31How many horses, today?
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Today, we've got 20 working horses
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and some younger ones who are just going through the training process.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43- Easy, lad, easy, easy, easy. - What sort of horses do you use?
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Basically, they're Clydesdales, Shires would be too heavy, really.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Clydesdales are just about right for this sort of thing.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- This is your stop here now, Michael. - Thank you very much, Peter.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- You're welcome.- Thank you.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06- All the best.- Thank you.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11I've descended from the charming tram onto the grand Victorian seafront
0:12:11 > 0:12:16in order to find my lodgings for the night.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19For once, George Bradshaw is less than complimentary
0:12:19 > 0:12:22about some of the island's accommodation.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26According to Bradshaw's, "In the Isle of Man there are
0:12:26 > 0:12:28"no roadside inns worth the name
0:12:28 > 0:12:32"and the ale is wretched stuff."
0:12:32 > 0:12:35But then he says, "That living is tolerably cheap here
0:12:35 > 0:12:37"and the lodgings moderate."
0:12:37 > 0:12:42He says, "Excellent board and lodging being had for £30 per annum."
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Actually, I wasn't thinking of staying that long.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48After a fascinating day's travel,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I plan to get an early night and rise with the lark,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55just as my Victorian forebears might have done,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58as I sense there are many more treats to come on this quirky island.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14The Regency has served many visitors over its 150-year career,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19but I understand that the Second World War brought long-term guests
0:13:19 > 0:13:22who weren't visiting of their own free will.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27Intrigued, I'm meeting local radio presenter and voice of the Isle of Man for 30 years
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Terry Cringle.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Good morning, Terry.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Good morning, Michael. Welcome to the Isle of Man. La Isla de Man.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Very good to see you.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Now, I believe you actually come from this very spot, more or less?
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Yes, this is my home territory.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Behind you, you see that block of apartments,
0:13:45 > 0:13:50before that was built there was a block of boarding houses, private hotels if you wish,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53my parents' one was right in the middle of it
0:13:53 > 0:13:54and that's where I was born and brought up.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59The shore down there was my adventure playground.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- I loved it and I still do, actually. - So your parents had a boarding house?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05- Yes.- Made a good living?
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Oh, yes, they did.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I mean, we're talking about the '30s now,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13that was when thousands of people came to the Isle of Man on holiday, not like today.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17It was known as the playground of Lancashire.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19What's your most enduring memory of childhood?
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Obviously the war, I was eight years old when it started, 1939.
0:14:24 > 0:14:30And then everything changed, dramatically, especially when it came to 1940.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35That was when the British Government told the Manx government
0:14:35 > 0:14:40to tell all the boarding house keepers and hoteliers to move out at ten days notice.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Get out completely, find somewhere else to live, find another way of making a living.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47It was very drastic.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Why was this?
0:14:49 > 0:14:57And this was because the plan was to turn all these buildings into internment camps for enemy aliens.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02They were German, Austrian, people who happened to be living in Britain at the time
0:15:02 > 0:15:05and found themselves on the wrong side of the war.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09And they were swept up and brought over here, thousands of them,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13because they might have been a potential threat to national security.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Worried by the possibility of spies infiltrating the war effort
0:15:18 > 0:15:24the British Government sent 14,000 enemy aliens to be interned on the Isle of Man.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26The hotel where I stayed last night
0:15:26 > 0:15:30was one of the many used as an internment camp.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32One of the internees, Italian Signor Jovinelli,
0:15:32 > 0:15:37gives an impression of a very self-sufficient community.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41"In the basement was the barber's shop, the carpenter's shop
0:15:41 > 0:15:43"and the welfare office.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48"And an Italian elementary school which I ran for the sailors
0:15:48 > 0:15:50"who couldn't read or write even in their own language."
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- What happened to your parents? - They were fortunate.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Their boarding house was handy and that was not requisitioned,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03they didn't have to get out.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06But it was turned into billets for the British Army guards
0:16:06 > 0:16:08who guarded the prison camps.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12But, for me, the soldiers in the house was tremendous.
0:16:12 > 0:16:20Khaki uniforms and bayonets and Short Lee Enfield rifles, that was great.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The Isle of Man isn't part of the United Kingdom, but a Crown dependency,
0:16:24 > 0:16:30and its Parliament, the Tynwald, has been in existence for over 1,000 years.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The island is known as a tax haven because it is able to pass its own laws
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and to levy taxes at much lower rates than Britain's.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42My Bradshaw's Guide tells me
0:16:42 > 0:16:44about the history of smuggling on the island.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49- That was a time when people didn't want to play the British taxes.- Yes.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50Today it's a low tax regime.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Is there a kind of antiestablishment feeling amongst Manx people,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57that they don't want to pay too much over to government?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59That's true enough.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01They believed, as far as they were concerned,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05this was their island and they wanted to run it their way.
0:17:05 > 0:17:11That still applies, I think, to this day because we still have a little trouble over taxes with the UK.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13I think, down there in London,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17they remember us, "The Isle of Man is a smuggling centre, you know.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20"I know it's 250 years ago but I think the spirit is still there."
0:17:24 > 0:17:27The islanders' fiercely independent character
0:17:27 > 0:17:31has brought it to occasional friction with the United Kingdom.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35And I imagine when the Victorians were flocking to the island to holiday,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39the encounter with a distinct cultural identity was intriguing.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It's one of the things that even now rewards the traveller.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48In Bradshaw's day the island wasn't
0:17:48 > 0:17:50wholly reliant on tourism for its wealth.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Victorian engineering success allowed the Isle of Man to exploit its mines, too.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00In the entry for Laxey, my Bradshaw's says, "Kirk Lonan is on a stream
0:18:00 > 0:18:07"which passes mines of lead, copper and slate."
0:18:07 > 0:18:10It's time to put on the hard hat.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Laxey is a small village,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17just seven miles north of Douglas on the east coast of the island,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21where lead and zinc mining began in the 18th century.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25My guide in the tunnels is local historian Andrew Scarfe.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Bradshaw's Guide tells me that they mined copper and lead here, is that right?
0:18:31 > 0:18:32That's right, Michael, yes.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Lead was the main mineral they were looking for,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37it was a very valuable ore at the time.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39- And was this a fairly extensive mine?- Oh, it was indeed.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45The section we are in now is only really a very, very small portion of the mine.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Originally, it went down to about 2,000 feet deep.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Once the railways arrived, from the 1830s onwards,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56excellent building materials could be carried around the country.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Whilst lead was popular as a roofing material,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02iron provided the superstructure for monumental buildings
0:19:02 > 0:19:07such as Kew Gardens' greenhouses and the spectacular spans at railway stations,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11such as Newcastle Central and London St Pancras.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15I see we're walking on tracks, was there a railway system in the mine?
0:19:15 > 0:19:20There was, yes. There was a small steam railway which actually ran in for about two miles underground.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23As far as I'm aware it was the only mine in Britain that had a railway
0:19:23 > 0:19:27that went in in such a manner underground for such a length.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31That was used to bring the mine minerals out to the surface.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Originally, ponies pulled the wagons full of ore,
0:19:34 > 0:19:42but in 1877 two miniature steam locomotives, named Ant and Bee, replaced horse power.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45The railway ran the full-length of the main level of the mine,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49carrying ore out to the washing floors above ground
0:19:49 > 0:19:51where it was prepared for shipping.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54But the mine's ingenious steam railway
0:19:54 > 0:19:57wasn't the only feat of Victorian engineering brilliance
0:19:57 > 0:19:59developed here on the Isle of Man.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03We came in just now from what appeared to be ground level and yet
0:20:03 > 0:20:05this mine is sopping wet.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07We've been dripped on all the way through.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Water has obviously been a problem here.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13It was a major problem right through the history of the mine with the water seeping in
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and flooding the lower workings.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18And so what did they do about that?
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Well, there's no coal on the Isle of Man to build a traditional steam-pumping engine.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26So they actually used the water, which was the problem,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29to drive a waterwheel.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33And not just any waterwheel.
0:20:33 > 0:20:39Lady Isabella is the biggest working waterwheel in the world.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Way ahead of its time as an eco-powered pump,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47this dramatic example of Victorian engineering, built in 1854,
0:20:47 > 0:20:54pumped an astonishing 250 gallons of water per minute from the mine 1,500 feet below.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00It really is a fantastic piece of machinery, isn't it? How big is it?
0:21:00 > 0:21:0572 foot six inch in diameter, six feet wide and 227 feet circumference
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and it's the world's biggest working water wheel.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Whilst the wheel operated night and day
0:21:12 > 0:21:15to keep the waterlogged tunnels safe for the miners,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19it also became immensely attractive to tourists,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23an astounding 13,000 visiting in 1877 alone.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Was this created by one of the great Victorian engineers?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It was created by a chap called Robert Casement who,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34believe it or not, was actually born here in Laxey.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36He was a self-taught engineer.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Because I would say this was, you know, one of the great Victorian engineering wonders
0:21:41 > 0:21:43but it was created by a local man.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46It was indeed. Yes, a self-taught man, an engineer, a millwright.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48This was a very famous opening in its day
0:21:48 > 0:21:54because I've got here an Isle of Man £20 note and this shows the opening ceremony.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59A wonderful illustration, actually, of all these Victorians gathered around.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Yes, September 1854, and there was about 3,000 people all came out to Laxey
0:22:03 > 0:22:07to witness the official opening ceremony of the new waterwheel.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Both the waterwheel
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and the railway have been restored to their full Victorian glory.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24The locomotives ply again along the route where the metal ores once travelled,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28a quarter of a mile up the valley to the mine entrance.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- You all look very splendid.- Thank you.- Thank you.- Very smart.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Never designed for passengers, it's perfectly formed but small.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37It's quite low, isn't it? Well, in I go.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44TRAIN WHISTLES
0:22:52 > 0:22:56The Isle of Man really seems to be laced with railway lines.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00It's a kind of trainspotters' paradise and unfortunately,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04during my brief stay on the island, I've only the chance to visit
0:23:04 > 0:23:07one, two, three of the many that there are.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11I'm coming to the end of both my Bradshaw's journey
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and my visit to the Isle of Man, but I don't intend to leave
0:23:15 > 0:23:21before using the third railway on my wish list which promises to be the most spectacular.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26I'm about to go up the mountain of Snaefell and,
0:23:26 > 0:23:31according to my Bradshaw's, "The view from the summit embraces the island
0:23:31 > 0:23:35"and the sea in which it is set, as far as the shores of England,
0:23:35 > 0:23:41"Wales, Scotland and Ireland, if the air is sufficiently clear."
0:23:41 > 0:23:45And, according to the locals if the air isn't sufficiently clear,
0:23:45 > 0:23:50like on a wet day like today, you can't see your hand in front of you.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56By the middle of the 19th century the Victorians had
0:23:56 > 0:24:00overcome their fears of the revolutionary railway technology
0:24:00 > 0:24:04that they had once thought might suffocate or boil its passengers.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08In fact, the majority of the populace had fallen in love with rail travel
0:24:08 > 0:24:11so the thriving tourist industry on the Isle of Man,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15encouraged the development of 70 miles of steam and electric railways
0:24:15 > 0:24:19to satisfy this thirst for adventure and exploration.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29One example is about to take me to the peak of the only mountain on the island.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40I've chosen to travel on the Snaefell mountain railway
0:24:40 > 0:24:44which ascends five miles from Laxey to the summit of Snaefell,
0:24:44 > 0:24:462,000 feet above sea level.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Railway worker Richard Little is my fellow passenger.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56- Richard.- Hello, Michael.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59This is an electric railway, so it is a fairly early electric railway
0:24:59 > 0:25:02but I was intrigued when I was standing up there
0:25:02 > 0:25:05that there's a raised third rail in the middle, what's that?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07That's a fell rail.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11That's necessary to clasp it and so protect it from the winds and turbulence which,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14as you can see, are quite strong on this mountain.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- To stop us blowing off the top? - Yes, yes.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Snaefell Electric Railway was built in 1895 in just seven months.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Five miles straight up the mountain.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34It's the only electric mountain railway in the British Isles
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and it relies solely on rail adhesion to overcome the steep gradients.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44Riding on it more than a century later, it's a joy to experience a Victorian design
0:25:44 > 0:25:47so little changed since its inception.
0:25:47 > 0:25:53You've got a very picturesque fleet of cars, are they reproductions?
0:25:53 > 0:25:56No, no, all our rolling stock is all the originals.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59So we're talking about 1890s rolling stock?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Yes, yes. In fact, we are in the Guinness Book Of Records for the Manx Electric Railway
0:26:02 > 0:26:06for having the oldest working tram industry.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07So we are doing well.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09You can just imagine then,
0:26:09 > 0:26:16that in these very cars, Victorian tourists would have taken this trip up to the top of Snaefell.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Yes, in the tourism peak
0:26:18 > 0:26:23we had around 900 tourists travelling up and down in one day,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25which is a very impressive amount.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Still achievable today during special events and, of course, good weather helps.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34Now, I suppose on a clear day we'd be having a fabulous view from here?
0:26:34 > 0:26:39Yes, at the summit on a clear day you would see the seven kingdoms,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42which is England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man
0:26:42 > 0:26:46and the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of the sea.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50Today, however, you're lucky enough to see a fine example of Manannan's Cloak,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52which is part of Manx folklore.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Manannan, being the God of the island,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57he uses his cloak to hide the island from invaders,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Viking invaders and attackers.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03So, as you can see, the island's getting shielded nicely.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14It seems that today the God Manannan fears invasion very much
0:27:14 > 0:27:17because the top of Snaefell is wrapped in a cloud
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and deluged from the kingdom of heaven.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30The Victorians flocked to the Isle of Man for the thrill of venturing abroad
0:27:30 > 0:27:33and, indeed, they do things differently here.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37But those early tourists also found railways
0:27:37 > 0:27:43and examples of engineering excellence that were reminiscent of home.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47They also encountered an indomitable spirit
0:27:47 > 0:27:51which is characteristic of all of us born in these islands.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00On my next journey, my Bradshaw's is leading me across the Irish Sea.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Starting in the Republic of Ireland, I'll travel on the island's very first tracks
0:28:04 > 0:28:07and then head up the east coast and onto Northern Ireland.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12Along the way I'll be meeting some unusual train passengers at Dublin zoo.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I think if I were a ticket collector and I came across a crocodile on the train
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I probably wouldn't seek to extract the fare either.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Putting myself in a train driver's shoes. Oh. Oh, dear.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I think we're all dead.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And taking a white knuckle tour of the stunning north east coast.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30I read the Bradshaw's description of this bridge
0:28:30 > 0:28:34but nothing prepared me for what it's really like.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:49 > 0:28:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk