0:00:04 > 0:00:09'In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain and Ireland.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14'His name was George Bradshaw, and his railway guides inspired the Victorians
0:00:14 > 0:00:17'to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24'what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28'Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:28 > 0:00:31'across the length and breadth of these islands
0:00:31 > 0:00:34'to see what of Bradshaw's world remains.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59I'm continuing my journey across Northern Ireland,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02which will lead me to the spectacular north coast.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Just now, I'm approaching Belfast, which,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08when Parliament first approved legislation for railways,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11was known as a village.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14But today, it's become a mighty city.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20'On today's leg of my journey, I'll be taking a step back in time.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This is like making a visit
0:01:22 > 0:01:25to the early stages of the Industrial Revolution.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29'Seeing what gave pleasure-seeking Victorians the thrill of their lives.'
0:01:29 > 0:01:33You're talking about being 30 to 70 feet above the sea,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36crashing below you. It makes a big change from city life.
0:01:36 > 0:01:37'And taking to the tracks
0:01:37 > 0:01:40'in the latest hi-tech train simulator.'
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Whoa!
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Oh, dear! I think we're all dead.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47'My 19th century guidebook
0:01:47 > 0:01:51'is taking me across a land that at the time of writing
0:01:51 > 0:01:54'was one Ireland under the reign of Queen Victoria.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57'I've been following the historical expansion of the railways
0:01:57 > 0:01:59'from Dublin towards Belfast,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03'before finishing in Derry, Londonderry.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06'On today's stretch, I'll be exploring Northern Ireland's capital
0:02:06 > 0:02:08'before heading north to Templepatrick,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'ending at the handsome coastal town of Whitehead.'
0:02:14 > 0:02:16My Bradshaw's says of Belfast,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20"The tall chimneys and factories for spinning linen and cotton yarn
0:02:20 > 0:02:22"are the most conspicuous buildings.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25"Though ranking the second port in Ireland,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29"it stands first for manufactures and trade."
0:02:29 > 0:02:31And I'm delighted to be back in a city,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35which has memories for me of bad times and good.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40'Belfast suffered greatly during the political conflict
0:02:40 > 0:02:41'and the violence of the Troubles.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47'But in recent times it's experienced greater periods of calm and economic growth,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'at least until the recession.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57'The city's huge industrial development began in the Victorian era.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03'It was the centre for linen, and by 1873 produced more of it than anywhere in the world,
0:03:03 > 0:03:08'employing thousands of workers and earning itself the moniker Linenopolis'
0:03:10 > 0:03:15'But another industry also gave Belfast global renown.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:22It was the water and the railways that made Belfast great.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24As Bradshaw's guide says,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28"Since 1839, very great improvements have been made in the harbour,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"a deep channel having been cut right up to the town,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34"so that large vessels are now able
0:03:34 > 0:03:37"to discharge cargo at the new quays."
0:03:37 > 0:03:41But even Bradshaw, I think, foreseeing the greatness of Belfast,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44would've been stunned by the scale,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and would've been in awe to know
0:03:46 > 0:03:50that this city would produce ships that are household names.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55'To discover how this all came to be,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59'I've arrived at Belfast Dock and the Harland And Wolff shipyard,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02'famous for building the ill-fated Titanic.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'I'm meeting Belfast Harbour historian Andrew Waldron
0:04:05 > 0:04:11'to ascend one of two huge shipbuilding gantry cranes.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13'Thankfully, by taking the lift,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'rather than climbing the heart-stopping 400 steps to the top.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Wow! We can see everything from here.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Andrew, this is a very special experience,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30being up here, as long as we're not blown off by this high wind.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33We've got all of Belfast laid out before us.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Another of the iconic Harland And Wolff cranes, there.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40330 feet up, here, on this.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42This is the largest crane, the Samson.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Goliath is just slightly smaller than the crane we're standing on.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47But these two cranes symbolise Belfast,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49for what it is today.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52'A third of all Northern Ireland's wealth
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'is developed from the businesses operating within Belfast Port.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00'And the harbour area employs a staggering 17,000 people.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03'But none of this would have been possible
0:05:03 > 0:05:06'without the intervention of Victorian William Dargan,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08'the father of Irish railways,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12'who substantially enlarged and deepened the harbour in the 1840s.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18'With big ships able to dock for the first time, the port boomed.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22'So much so, that Bradshaw notes that customs duties
0:05:22 > 0:05:25'had risen tenfold in 40 years.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27'And railways were instrumental in that growth.'
0:05:27 > 0:05:32There's not much sign of railway tracks any more, apart from the tracks that these trains run on.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36But at one time it must've been full of railways.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40There were that many railway lines here, it was a proper industrial railway system.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43There were more railway lines here than within the city of Belfast itself.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45And what were those tracks doing?
0:05:45 > 0:05:50They were bringing goods into the port, and goods going out of the port, you know, exports.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Various different commodities. Linen was exported.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Iron ore. Bauxite, from the hills of County Antrim. Salt.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Timber was being imported. Coal was coming in.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Just about everything under the sun came here, at one stage.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07'The work that Dargan did in creating a shipping channel
0:06:07 > 0:06:11'had another immense consequence for Belfast.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14'The spoil from the project was used to build Queen's Island,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16'named after Queen Victoria.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18'And there, shipbuilding really got under way
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'when Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff
0:06:21 > 0:06:23'chose to site their shipyard there.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28'Belfast's foresighted harbour commissioners
0:06:28 > 0:06:32'provided the most up-to-date heavy lifting machinery and railways
0:06:32 > 0:06:37'to enable Harland And Wolff to construct the huge vessels then being designed.'
0:06:37 > 0:06:41The harbour commissioners in 1882 supplied three heavy railway wagons,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45each wagon capable of taking 150-tonne loads.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49They didn't have anything to haul them, so they used horses, teams of horses.
0:06:49 > 0:06:5330 horses, 40 horses, 50 horses on the much larger loads.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57They trundled down the quayside to the large crane, the 120-tonne crane,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00then offloaded them straight into the hull of the ship.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'Steam locomotives eventually replaced the horses
0:07:04 > 0:07:07'and Belfast grew to be
0:07:07 > 0:07:10'the world's largest shipyard by the turn of the 20th century.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15'Harland And Wolff employed an astounding 12,000 people,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18'working over a site of 80 acres.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21'They built enormous ocean-going liners
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'including the Titanic and her two sisters,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27'which were intended to sail from Southampton to New York.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'And their output went beyond designing and building ships.'
0:07:30 > 0:07:35They built a number of railway locomotives for use within Northern Ireland,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38and they built a number of locomotives and a railcar,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41which they exported to Buenos Aires and the Sudan.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46'Belfast Port continues to be a major maritime gateway today.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50'Shipbuilding, on the other hand, has declined steadily.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54'Having built over 1,700 ships and a fair few trains in its history,
0:07:54 > 0:08:00'Harland And Wolff now focuses on ship repair and civil engineering projects
0:08:00 > 0:08:04'including building wind- and tidal-powered turbines.'
0:08:04 > 0:08:06So, they're not manufacturing trains here any more?
0:08:06 > 0:08:11No. But the latest trains that are being built for Northern Ireland Railways,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13these new state-of-the-art railcars,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17are coming into here and being imported directly through Belfast port.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- So, there is a link? - There is a link still left, yes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'Today, there are no operational railway tracks left at Belfast Port,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'bar those that Samson and Goliath run on.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'But the docks are playing host to the latest generation of trains
0:08:32 > 0:08:36'being shipped from Spain for the Northern Ireland rail network.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39'When new rolling stock arrived in Bradshaw's day,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41'drivers learnt on the job.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'Today, a high-tech simulator allows operators to practise
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'in the safety of a virtual world.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51'And I'm lucky enough to be invited to the Rail Operations Training Academy
0:08:51 > 0:08:55'to try my hand at driving a modern commuter train.'
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Wow, this looks like fun!
0:08:58 > 0:09:00'My supervisor is Colin Watson.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- Colin?- Michael.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- Hello.- How are you, are you well?
0:09:06 > 0:09:08This is fantastic, look at that.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11The line laid out before me. Where am I?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13You're currently in platform one
0:09:13 > 0:09:16in Great Victoria Street Station in Belfast.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18May I start off?
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Absolutely. To move, ease the power controller, over to your left.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25And with the weight of your hand, just let it ease forward.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26MICHAEL GASPS
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- And we're off.- My goodness! We're moving. That is...
0:09:29 > 0:09:31HE LAUGHS
0:09:31 > 0:09:35This is WONDERFULLY realistic, isn't it? Just amazing.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37OK, we're coming to a tunnel,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39so if you just blow the horn as a warning of entry.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42HORN SOUNDS TWO NOTES
0:09:42 > 0:09:45'This simulator can prepare drivers
0:09:45 > 0:09:48'for any eventuality that they may face on the tracks.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:54We can have our drivers driving in various different weather conditions.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56- Oh!- There's snow.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:09:57 > 0:09:59That was a sudden change of weather.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I know the weather changes quickly in Northern Ireland,
0:10:02 > 0:10:03but THAT is amazing.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06We can put various different obstacles
0:10:06 > 0:10:08in front of anyone in the simulator, here
0:10:08 > 0:10:11ranging from trees to fridges.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12Shopping trolleys would be
0:10:12 > 0:10:15quite an occasional obstacle to come across.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19So we can represent a normal day or an abnormal day for a driver.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24PUSHES BRAKE LEVER
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Whoa!
0:10:25 > 0:10:28MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Oh, dear!
0:10:30 > 0:10:31I think we're all dead.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34That tree really came out of nowhere, didn't it?
0:10:34 > 0:10:36It did, which is always your problem in fog.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Ah, God, that was frightening.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39COLIN LAUGHS
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'I think I'll leave the driving to the professionals,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47'and stick to what I can manage,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50'as I catch a train just over a mile south across the City.'
0:10:50 > 0:10:55ANNOUNCEMENT: The next station is Great Victoria Street.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58'As industry and commerce prospered throughout the 19th century,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02'pursuits that had been the preserve of the upper classes
0:11:02 > 0:11:05'now became open to an emerging wealthy middle class.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'I'm heading for an institution
0:11:09 > 0:11:13'that flourished with such changes in Victorian society.'
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Bradshaw's says that here in Belfast
0:11:17 > 0:11:20"the Botanical Society possesses a garden on the river,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25"where an island of 20 acres has been laid out with shrubberies."
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Such exotic amenities were popular in Victorian times.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I'm guessing that the right place to get out and see it
0:11:33 > 0:11:36is at the railway station called Botanic.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43'The Victorian period was the golden age of plant collecting,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46'and botanical adventurers risked their lives
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'bringing back the finest exotic specimens from around the world.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55'Luscious ferns and fruits, giant water lilies from the Orient
0:11:55 > 0:11:56'and palms from India.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01'all these species required protection from the British climate,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04'and that gave rise to stupendous Victorian glasshouses.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09'My guide to this palace of plants is horticulturalist, Reg Maxwell.'
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Reg, hello.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Good to have you. Welcome to Botanic Gardens.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I'm just bewitched by this building. It is so beautiful.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19When does it date from?
0:12:19 > 0:12:21It dates from 1839, '40,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25and that was the two wings that were built first by Turner of Dublin.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28He was the great iron master who went on to build a number of glass houses,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and specifically Kew Gardens, the big one.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34But the dome wasn't built straight away,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38that wasn't built until 1852 by Young of Edinburgh.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41And is this what Bradshaw would call "an island of 20 acres"?
0:12:41 > 0:12:42It's the same site today, is it?
0:12:42 > 0:12:45That's right. That path systems that you walk around here,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and look into the trees and the great lawn,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51were all laid out in 1828.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53And how special is this palm house?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Well, I think it's special in that
0:12:56 > 0:13:00it is built specifically for tropical plants.
0:13:00 > 0:13:06It's made of cast iron and wrought iron, and it is a curvilinear house.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11And that's because the bars are curved and the glass is curved.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13That makes it very important.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Because it makes it one of the early surviving
0:13:17 > 0:13:19full curvilinear palm houses.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I have a feeling it's even more remarkable inside than outside.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- Is that true? Shall we go and have a look?- I think so.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'Advances in the manufacture of iron and glass
0:13:31 > 0:13:34'gave Britain both its canopied railway stations
0:13:34 > 0:13:36'and its botanical glasshouses.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40'And these elegant feats of architecture and engineering
0:13:40 > 0:13:42'brought Victorians flocking.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:46The interior is warm and humid, and the sunlight is streaming in,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and you've got these immense specimens. It's delightful.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54Isn't it? And in the Victorian times, of course, for the ordinary person coming in here,
0:13:54 > 0:13:55it would've been totally amazing,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59almost like, for us today, if we're dealing with the space age
0:13:59 > 0:14:00and walking on the moon.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It's that kind of magnitude of surprise and interest.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Because of specimens they'd never seen before?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Yes, from parts of the world
0:14:08 > 0:14:12that they could never even think of or dream of or read about.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15'Business travellers and those on colonial or military service
0:14:15 > 0:14:19'had the opportunity to see these plants in their habitats.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'They would then send seeds, cuttings or whole plants
0:14:22 > 0:14:23'back to Britain.'
0:14:24 > 0:14:29- And how did these specimens get here?- By ship and overland.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Once the railways came, of course, things speeded up.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37And so the chances of plants surviving and getting back were much greater.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40And the Victorians were very serious about
0:14:40 > 0:14:43studying plants and cataloguing plants, weren't they?
0:14:43 > 0:14:47They were, because there were thousands of these plants coming in,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50so they had to try and find out what they were,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54because they didn't fit into the flora that we had in our own country,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57so it was a great challenge to them to try and grow them.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59And that's why they had to build these houses.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03This is a fine example of a plant that came in from the South Americas
0:15:03 > 0:15:05in the late Victorian period.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07And this is aechmea fasciata.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10And it has the lovely creaking leaf, doesn't it?
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Yes, and, of course, the Victorians would love that experience
0:15:13 > 0:15:15of being able to touch and feel
0:15:15 > 0:15:17and smell a plant such as this.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20All these plants around us would've been considered
0:15:20 > 0:15:22extremely rare and exotic,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and would be the plant that you had to have
0:15:25 > 0:15:27to be in the fashion and to be a collector,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31but now are common houseplants, and we take them for granted.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33But they're beautiful all the same.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41'Back on the train into the centre of Belfast
0:15:41 > 0:15:43'at the end of a fascinating day.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47'Whilst my journey around this great city has so far celebrated
0:15:47 > 0:15:50'the triumphs of its Victorian past,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53'I can't come here without acknowledging the difficulties
0:15:53 > 0:15:55'of more modern times.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'And my bed for the night is in a hotel, which experienced and withstood
0:15:58 > 0:16:03'much violence during the political conflict generally known as the Troubles'.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Since the 1970s, The Europa has been one of Belfast's premier hotels,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14and as such it attracted many journalists and politicians who stayed here.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I came here myself back in those days of Troubles,
0:16:17 > 0:16:22and I remember it surrounded by an enormous fence with sandbags, with concrete,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26with security cameras and enormous security measures, as well.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31And the fact that all that has been taken away, and you can just walk straight in,
0:16:31 > 0:16:32is perhaps an eloquent sign
0:16:32 > 0:16:36that more peaceful times have returned to Northern Ireland.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Good morning.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55For the first time, I have stayed in a room
0:16:55 > 0:16:58that was once occupied by a president of the United States.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Because in November 1995 Bill And Hillary Clinton
0:17:02 > 0:17:07made a remarkable visit to Northern Ireland in search of peace.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Perhaps most remarkably, at the 30th anniversary of the hotel,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Bill Clinton sent a message saying,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16"The Europa stands today as a living example
0:17:16 > 0:17:20"of an extraordinary past, and the promise of an even greater future."
0:17:20 > 0:17:25That being a reference to the fact that this hotel was bombed 36 times during the Troubles.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31'This morning my Bradshaw's leads me away from Belfast,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33'to the village of Templepatrick,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36'14 miles northeast of the city.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38'To work the land productively
0:17:38 > 0:17:42'has been key to survival in Ireland for centuries.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'And the humble spade has been the main tool
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'with which the Irish have cut peat for fuel,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52'planted foods, and toiled as construction workers.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'So I'm taking a step back in time
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'to one of the last remaining Victorian spade mills,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01'to meet spade maker Colin Dawson.'
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Colin.- Hello, Michael. Pleased to meet you.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Great to see you. I've never been to a spade mill before.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11And, tell you the truth, I've never thought about spades.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Are there many, many different varieties?
0:18:13 > 0:18:18Well, in Ireland alone there were 171 different varieties of spade.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Every county had its own type of spade.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24For instance, Sligo is grey clay and a lot of stone,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28so you need a very narrow, thick spade.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29Fermanagh is very wet land,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34so you need a spade that's a wee bit like a spoon, with a bend in it,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38very thick in the middle, so that you can break the suction of the wet soil.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40I hope it's OK if I say that
0:18:40 > 0:18:44I suppose Ireland has been a land of digging.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47When I think about agriculture, when I think about turf,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and when I think about navvies,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51they're all using spades, aren't they?
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Yes. Irish navvy was the best navigator in the world.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59People think of a navvy as being a labouring man,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01but they were very, very skilful people.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05'The term navvy, short for navigator,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07'has been used since the 18th century
0:19:07 > 0:19:10'to describe those working on civil engineering projects.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15'From canals, roads and tunnels to the rail network,
0:19:15 > 0:19:20'navvies are recognized as the men who built Ireland and Britain.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23'But to do the job, they needed an effective tool.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26'Enterprising Victorian spade manufacturers
0:19:26 > 0:19:30'recognised the potential for mechanising the production of spades,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33'and took over this site, originally a water-powered linen mill.'
0:19:35 > 0:19:38How would conditions have been in mills like these
0:19:38 > 0:19:39in the middle of the 19th century?
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Oh, they would've been horrendous places to work.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44There was no such a thing as health and safety,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46and children worked when they were ten.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They went to work in the morning, and school in the afternoon,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52or they would've went to work one day, and school the next.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55They were called a half-timer, or a part-timer.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59And then, whenever they were 12, they left school, went to work full time,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02from six in the morning to six at night, six days a week.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06At 14 you started an apprenticeship until you were 25.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09And sometimes you didn't get paid for the apprenticeship.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11It was a pleasure to get doing it.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14And for the life of me, I don't know why they called it the good old days.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17'At the peak of spade-making in the mid-19th Century,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20'there were 37 mills throughout Ireland,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24'making an astounding 36,000 spades per year.'
0:20:26 > 0:20:28'Colin and his colleague Tom Mahon
0:20:28 > 0:20:32'have kindly agreed to show me this time-hallowed process,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'something they still do every day to meet a huge order book.'
0:20:36 > 0:20:39So you start just with a piece of steel?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43We start with a solid block of steel. As you see, we knack it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48We split the knack and now we're going to pierce the socket down into it.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51And this is water-powered, this machine.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54'The whole spade head is made from one piece of steel,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58'heated in the forge to blistering temperatures
0:20:58 > 0:20:59'to allow it to be worked into shape.'
0:20:59 > 0:21:04After you've done about 200 of these,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07you're ready for a pint of Guinness.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13'The spades are made in batches of 12. Whilst each is worked,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16'the others are being heated in the furnace.'
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Can't believe the speed at which this is going on.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26One spade after another coming out of the furnace.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31'Colin and Tom beat the steel into a spade-shaped blade
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'using the mill's original water-powered hammer.'
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Never saw anything like that in my life.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46It's like a big nodding duck.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49This is like making a visit to the early stages
0:21:49 > 0:21:51of the Industrial Revolution.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54You just can't believe the ingenuity of man.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57And the skill of Colin working it.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03What sort of power is that delivering, Colin?
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Up to 100-tonne pressure coming down on it.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:22:12 > 0:22:15That I don't believe. Tom just pops in there with a bit of wood.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16I just can't believe it.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20The whole secret is to make sure your thumb's not on top of it
0:22:20 > 0:22:21when you put it in there.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Yeah, that would be important.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26So the next stage is just to keep bringing it out
0:22:26 > 0:22:28until you get the blade out and then you trim it up.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31How many times will you have to bring it out and beat it?
0:22:31 > 0:22:33About seven times.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34All of this for one spade.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40'In Bradshaw's day, the finished spades were distributed
0:22:40 > 0:22:43'by train all over Ireland and by ship onwards to Britain
0:22:43 > 0:22:46'and the continent from Belfast Port.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50'Victorian entrepreneurs saw how railways could help to expand
0:22:50 > 0:22:53'industrial output and supply new demands
0:22:53 > 0:22:56'from the increasingly numerous middle class.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:03'My last journey today takes me 17 miles north east of Belfast
0:23:03 > 0:23:06'to where a Northern Irish railway magnate
0:23:06 > 0:23:12'constructed an astounding coastal attraction, just for tourists.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I'm on my way to Whitehead and Island Magee. My Bradshaw's says,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20"The cliffs and caves of the island are frequently basaltic,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22"especially at the Gobbins."
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Since I've arrived in Ireland,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I've found most railways were built for passengers rather than freight.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30On this line, the railways actually built an attraction
0:23:30 > 0:23:33to bring the tourists along the line.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47I think this is going to be a beautiful spot,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50the way the line ran along the coast there
0:23:50 > 0:23:53was just gorgeous, breathtaking.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57The Victorians and Edwardians loved nothing more
0:23:57 > 0:23:59than a bracing walk along a seafront
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and Whitehead became a popular seaside destination.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Visitors were particularly drawn by the Gobbins,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09a series of awe-inspiring cliffs towering above the Irish Sea,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12on which a pathway had been constructed.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17It was designed by rail entrepreneur Berkley Dean Wise for the Belfast
0:24:17 > 0:24:20and Northern Counties Railway with the express aim of attracting
0:24:20 > 0:24:23passengers to use the rail between Belfast and Whitehead.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Council executive Geraldine McGahey is my guide
0:24:28 > 0:24:30to this intriguing Victorian sales promotion.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Berkley Dean Wise was the engineer
0:24:34 > 0:24:38and architect who worked for Belfast and Northern Counties Railway.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41The was the visionary behind all of the tourism aspects
0:24:41 > 0:24:44that the railway company got involved in.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46He helped construct Whitehead.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49He built Whitehead railway station, Larne railway station
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and many, many others.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54So although we're dealing with cliffs and other natural phenomena,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57the path itself had to be constructed in some way.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00The path itself was constructed by hand
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and you'll see that he has used old railway sleepers
0:25:02 > 0:25:05encased in concrete. He was one of the pioneers
0:25:05 > 0:25:08of reinforced concrete and he did this to encourage people
0:25:08 > 0:25:10to use the railway line as far as Whitehead.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13And this was about tourism,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16to give something for people to do at the end of the railway line.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Wise constructed paths, suspension bridges and tunnels,
0:25:23 > 0:25:24all hewn into the rocks,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27intended to give pleasure-seeking Victorians
0:25:27 > 0:25:29the thrill of their lives.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32The Victorians liked their fresh air, they liked to be out in nature.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34This gave them that kind of exposure.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37You're talking about being 30 to 70 feet above the sea,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40crashing below you, the fresh air that comes with that.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42It makes a big change from city life.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48'Unfortunately, after the Second World War the pathway
0:25:48 > 0:25:52'fell into disrepair and was eventually closed to the public.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54'But some parts of this great piece
0:25:54 > 0:25:57'of Victorian ingenuity still remain.'
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Michael, back when this path was first opened, a little boy
0:26:00 > 0:26:03used to sit on the steps out there and collect the entrance money.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- Sixpence, way back in the 1900s. - An expensive treat.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It was, but if you came on the railway, you got it free.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11So, now as we come round,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15you can see the spectacular pathway unfolding in front of you.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16I can.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18You can see where the remnants of the old railings,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21handrails that came up there, they were cast iron.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25And then the stonework that was built up to produce
0:26:25 > 0:26:27the actual path itself. A real engineering feat.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32'In its heyday, this attraction was more popular
0:26:32 > 0:26:35'than Ireland's famous Giant's Causeway.'
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- Are there any plans to restore it to its former glory?- Absolutely.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48We've now secured £6 million of funding from a variety
0:26:48 > 0:26:53of sources and by the end of 2013, we'll have this path back
0:26:53 > 0:26:56to exactly the way it was when Berkley Dean Wise first opened it.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Back to the bridges and tunnels?
0:26:58 > 0:27:02The bridges, the tunnels, everything is going to be put back in place.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Maybe not cast-iron, it will be stainless steel this time,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08a bit more durable, but people will still get the same experience.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13'When Berkley Dean Wise's heart-stopping suspension bridges
0:27:13 > 0:27:16'and tunnels are restored, I shall definitely return.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21'I'd like to experience a Victorian thrill
0:27:21 > 0:27:24'of tiptoeing high above the Irish Sea.'
0:27:28 > 0:27:31The Victorians had an eye for beauty,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34they found it in the four corners of the earth
0:27:34 > 0:27:38and sent back specimens to the botanical Gardens in Belfast.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41And they perceived beauty too in craftsmanship,
0:27:41 > 0:27:46whether it was laying tracks, or hammering out a humble spade,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50or building the mightiest ships that the world had ever seen.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58'On the next part of my rail adventure,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01'I'll be marvelling at a giant's handiwork...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It's the most amazing, awe-inspiring sight.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10'..hearing how women, famous for their dexterity with the needle,
0:28:10 > 0:28:11'built a city...'
0:28:11 > 0:28:15If there wasn't a shirt factory, this would probably be a desert.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19'..and discovering how emigration profoundly shaped families and nations.'
0:28:19 > 0:28:21When you went to America in the 50s,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24it was kind of goodbye for ever, you know?
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:38 > 0:28:40E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk