0:00:05 > 0:00:09In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw,
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Now, 170 years later,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth
0:00:30 > 0:00:34of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I'm back on the route that would have been familiar to Queen Victoria,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05as she journeyed from London or Windsor to her beloved
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Osborne House on the Isle of Wight,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09passing through places that she would have seen
0:01:09 > 0:01:12and that Bradshaw's documented.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Today, I'll be learning how Victorian engineering
0:01:17 > 0:01:20made its mark on music...
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I'm now going to press a pedal.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25An amazing feeling of power.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28..going behind the scenes at a 19th-century railway works...
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Barry, that is what I call a locomotive.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- That is fantastic!- Yes, it is.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36..and discovering a landscape that wowed tourists in Bradshaw's day.
0:01:36 > 0:01:42I have this amazing plunge down to the beach. Whoa!
0:01:42 > 0:01:44You have to have a head for heights here.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53So far on this journey, I've seen how the home counties of Berkshire
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and Hampshire were brought closer to the capital
0:01:56 > 0:01:58by the growing rail network.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Now, I'm continuing towards the coast,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02on my final stop on the Isle of Portland.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Today, I'll take the mainline south,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09from Winchester to the port of Southampton,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12continuing by ferry to the Isle of Wight.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17My first stop is Winchester,
0:02:17 > 0:02:23and my guidebook promises plenty to interest the railway traveller.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30My Bradshaw's guide tells me that King Canute,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35a king who has had an unfair bad press because of his altercation
0:02:35 > 0:02:39with the tides, made Winchester the capital of England.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41So, this is a seriously historic city.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50When the railway came to Winchester, in 1839,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54it brought waves of Victorian tourists, hungry for heritage.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Then, as now, the must-see attraction was the ancient cathedral,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02which has stood in the heart of the city for 900 years.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Winchester Cathedral.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14My Bradshaw's says that it is "more remarkable for its antiquity
0:03:14 > 0:03:17"and length, 518 feet, than its appearance."
0:03:19 > 0:03:22But that is surely rather ungenerous of Bradshaw's.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It may be a little squat,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29but it has a magnificence that leaves me in awe.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37I want to see what the locals make of Bradshaw's faint praise.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- Do you live in Winchester? - I do, yes.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41How wonderful to live with this cathedral.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- I know, it's amazing.- Do you still find time to look at it?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Absolutely, yes. It's lovely when you come back in the evensong,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49and you can hear all the choristers practising.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53You know, I'm using a 19th-century guidebook. Listen to this.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57"More remarkable for its antiquity and length, 518 feet,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59"than its appearance." What do you think of that?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I think that's a bit unfair, actually,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04because, I mean, the setting is beautiful.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Inside, it's beautiful as well, all the beautiful carvings.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09It's just, it's lovely.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13- How wonderful. So, naughty Bradshaw, eh?- Absolutely.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I think I wouldn't agree with that at all. Yeah.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18For once,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21I think that Bradshaw's and I will have to agree to disagree.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26But my guidebook describes more than just the architecture.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28I'm intrigued by this Bradshaw quote.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32"One of the first organs made in England was placed here
0:04:32 > 0:04:34"by Bishop Elfeg in the year 951,"
0:04:34 > 0:04:38that's 115 years before the Norman conquest.
0:04:38 > 0:04:44"A ponderous thing containing 400 pipes blown by 24 pairs of bellows."
0:04:44 > 0:04:45I wonder if it's still here today.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52It's hard not to be impressed by your first sight
0:04:52 > 0:04:57of the stunning 160-metre-long nave.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02When the cathedral's famous choir fills it with delightful sound,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04it's breathtaking.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08THEY SING
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Andrew Lumsden is the musical director.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- Andrew, good morning. - Hello, welcome to the cathedral.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Absolutely magnificent. Thank you very much, boys, indeed.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36That was glorious. I enjoyed that so much.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40But, apart from the choir, I was also fascinated by the organ.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It has quite a sound, hasn't it?
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It is a mammoth sound in this building, isn't it?
0:05:44 > 0:05:48It's very, very large. It's all made up here.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Basically, dating from 1851, from the Great Exhibition.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- Then it was moved here in 1854.- 1851?
0:05:55 > 0:06:02I came with my Bradshaw's Guide looking for an organ from 951 AD.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- Yes.- Not here any more?- Not here any more. Long, long since gone.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Been replaced by this wonderful one and various other ones before that.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16This one in 951 apparently had 400 pipes, that's quite impressive.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18It is. It was then regarded as the loudest organ in the world.
0:06:18 > 0:06:25- But now we have something in the region of about 6,000.- 6,000?- 6,000.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It's perhaps unsurprising
0:06:27 > 0:06:31that my guidebook mentions the cathedral's ancient organ.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Victorian Britain was swept by a craze for organ music.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Inspired by the technological advances of the age,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42builders competed to design ever bigger and better instruments.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45There was a competition for building organs at the Great Exhibition.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49And the one that won was basically this one,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52built by Henry Willis, who used the modern technology of the day.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56He was really very important in the whole organ-building world
0:06:56 > 0:06:58for this, because he used this technology in a brand-new way
0:06:58 > 0:07:02to enable us to have bigger organs, like the one we have today.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Willis' groundbreaking organ was exhibited alongside
0:07:06 > 0:07:08industrial machinery at the Crystal Palace,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12and people flocked by train to see it.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15When the Great Exhibition was over, the organ was brought to Winchester.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19It's so huge that many of the pipes are buried deep inside
0:07:19 > 0:07:21the cathedral's structure.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- Is it far?- No, not too far.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Ah, that gives you a different aspect.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29It's completely different here.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Wonderful part of the building to be in.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35I'm travelling into the bowels of the organ,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40across a gantry, alarmingly high above the cathedral floor.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47- That was a journey.- Yes, it's quite a journey. Quite precarious.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52- Quite scary. So... Wow. What a lot of pipes.- It is.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Well, this is only, I should think, about a fifth of the organ, if that.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59And you can see, the size of these, as you come down here,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02they get very, very small indeed.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04So...
0:08:04 > 0:08:06That's, you know, one of the high ones.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Then, as you can see, they vary and they all produce different sounds.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Right at this end here, we have what we call a little reed pipe.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Again, I'll just take this out.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19- Inside here...- Oh, my goodness.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23..there is a minute little metal reed, just in there.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26When you blow it, it vibrates. That is what actually makes the sound.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31It's like an oboe reed or a bassoon reed, or something like that.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34So, you get a good little sound of that.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37If these are your smallest, Andrew,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39what are your largest?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41The largest ones are about 32 feet long.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46There's a few of them over here, or some of the smaller versions.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49They look here like part of the furniture, really, but, actually,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53these are wooden pipes that will be going right the way
0:08:53 > 0:08:55up the top of the organ.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58These are the very low, rumbly pipes.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02So, although Bradshaw's Guide mentions the 951 AD organ,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04the one that the writer would actually have seen
0:09:04 > 0:09:08would have been the 1851-54 organ.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10How much of that is still here?
0:09:10 > 0:09:14About a third of the current organ is from that 1854 organ.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16He would have seen and heard very much of what we have nowadays.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- But much has been added, then? - Much and much has been added.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24- It's grown organically? - Indeed, it has. Yes, very good.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29These musical machines were the perfect instrument
0:09:29 > 0:09:31for the age of steam.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Some of the same technology was used on the early railways to warn
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- people of approaching trains. - TRAIN WHISTLES
0:09:38 > 0:09:43But playing one is more complicated than driving a steam engine.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- Shall I assume the position? - Indeed. Yep, that's great.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49All right, now, what should I do?
0:09:49 > 0:09:51- So, do you want to press button 12 up there?- Oh.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- And now, I'm going to press a pedal?- Yep.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59HE PLAYS A NOTE
0:10:04 > 0:10:08I don't know where that goes next. It's an amazing feeling of power.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10And it's just one person making all that noise.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18I'd love to stay and learn some technique,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21but it's time for me to catch my next train.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I'm leaving historic Winchester behind and heading seven miles
0:10:27 > 0:10:31down the track to a town with much more recent roots.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Bradshaw's Guide lists virtually every railway station
0:10:36 > 0:10:40in the United Kingdom, but not our next stop,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43even though I think of it as a major railway town.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I'm on my way to find out the reason why.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Eastleigh, which straddles the mainline between Winchester
0:10:50 > 0:10:54and Southhampton, is home to 28,000 people.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I want to know whether the locals share my view that the town
0:10:58 > 0:11:00is synonymous with railways.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Well, I've just arrived at Eastleigh,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06and I'm wondering, what's this town famous for?
0:11:06 > 0:11:11- Famous for railway. - What's the town famous for?- Trains?
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- What's the town famous for? - The railway.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- Hello, gentlemen. What is the town famous for?- I couldn't tell you. - We're from Portsmouth.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20So, it doesn't mean anything to you?
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Don't worry about it. The answer was railways, but you didn't get it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25No prize for you.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28In the 1860s, when my guide book was written,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31the town of Eastleigh didn't exist.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35All that was here was a small station called Bishopstoke Junction,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39which served the scattered villages around.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Then a state-of-the-art carriage works was built beside the line,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45sowing the seed for a brand-new town.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48What a vast place.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54Shops stretching for miles and miles and miles. Workshops.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Eastleigh Works is still going today,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01so I'm taking a tour with manager Barry Stephens.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- Hello, Barry.- Hello, Michael.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06- Welcome to Eastleigh Works. - Great to see you.- Thanks.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09So, I can't get over how big this place is. It's vast.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11It's a big place, Michael. It is, indeed.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17The original London and South West Railway terminated
0:12:17 > 0:12:21at Nine Elms, then on the outskirts of the capital. When the line was
0:12:21 > 0:12:26extended to Waterloo in 1848, Nine Elms was its engineering works.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31But as the railways grew, bigger and better facilities were needed.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33With the London and Southwestern route,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36we started to move out of London and come to an unknown site,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38greenfield site at Eastleigh.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43So they moved the coach-building facilities in the 1880s, 1890s.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Then, this main workshop was built in the early 1900s.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47I suppose Nine Elms...
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- That's a prime piece of real estate in the heart of London.- Oh, indeed.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Soon, rows of houses were built for the influx of new workers
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and Victorian Eastleigh was born.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02I imagine, at one time, probably the whole town worked in the railway.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03What was the size of it in those days?
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Back even when I started, in 1969, which is obviously quite
0:13:08 > 0:13:11late on, there were 2,500 people who worked on the site. So, yeah.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I mean, at lunch times and closing down times,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17it was like a mass exodus of bicycles, etc.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21I'm not sure what its total workforce at its height was,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but I imagine it's probably up in the 4,000s.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Traditionally, there are a lot of people who work in railways
0:13:27 > 0:13:30generation after generation, would that be true of people here?
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I think so, to a certain degree.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35We have an apprentice whose grandfather worked in the works.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And I myself am from a third-generation railway family.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43My granddad was a driver at Exeter and my father was a driver at Exeter.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And my eldest son works with me here on site now.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49So, I think it's probably true to say that there is
0:13:49 > 0:13:50a bit of a tradition going on.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55When it opened, this was Britain's most advanced works
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and hundreds of locomotives and thousands of carriages
0:13:58 > 0:14:00were built here.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Everything was done on site,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05from assembling the engines to fitting out the coaches.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Now, Barry, that is what I call a locomotive.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- That is fantastic!- Yes, it is. - What a beautiful pair of wheels!
0:14:16 > 0:14:18- They're bigger than I am. - Yep, they are indeed.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23It's a locomotive actually built here in the mid-1930s, I believe.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27So, yeah, actually it came back for an overhaul before going back to
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- Mainline Steam again, I believe. - That's a beautiful story.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35What strikes me about this workshop is you've got railway history here, haven't you?
0:14:35 > 0:14:40A 1934 steam locomotive. You've got, what? And a 1670s stock.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Here, we're going back a little bit to the 1960s,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45- the London underground. - The London underground.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47I used to use these at school.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49You probably have even been on that one, Michael.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I probably have been on that very car,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53that's absolutely true.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Although they've stopped building new trains in the 1960s,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01important maintenance work still goes on here.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02Some vintage equipment is still in use,
0:15:02 > 0:15:07like these cranes, which can lift whole trains.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Operator Nigel Ellis is letting me take the helm.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- Permission to step aboard? - Yes, come aboard.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16- You've got a lovely view up here, Nigel.- Yes, we certainly have.
0:15:16 > 0:15:17Now, what's the object of the exercise?
0:15:17 > 0:15:20- We're going to go down and pick up that locomotive?- Yes.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24We're going to travel down to what we call Botley.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28So, you're going to move that lever round that way.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- OK.- There we go.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32So, one end of your shop is called Botley,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34the other end is called London.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36The local code.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41- Happy with that speed, Nigel? - Yes.- It's quite fast, isn't it?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- Yes, it is quite fast.- And they're walking along with the...
0:15:43 > 0:15:48- The steady and the beam.- This is rather exciting, isn't it? Wow.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Now, we need to move that very, very cautiously. Travelling out!
0:15:52 > 0:15:58When you're lifting 100 tonnes of train, you can't afford mistakes.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- Just gave it one swipe and it was there.- Travel to Botley again.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Travel to Botley.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10- Get ready to stop in a moment. - I'm ready.- And, now...
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Whoa! Precision.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15- Nigel, we're ready for the lift, are we?- Yes, we're ready.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19For obvious reasons, I'm going to let you do this. Right.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21One, two, three, go.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Now we have 100 tonnes of locomotive
0:16:26 > 0:16:29rising into the air, that is pretty amazing.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37My guidebook might have been too early for Eastleigh Carriage Works,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40but I'm sure George Bradshaw would have loved to see
0:16:40 > 0:16:45such a concentration of railway engineering.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47'This train is for Salisbury, via Southhampton Central.'
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I'm now continuing my journey, travelling south.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54The tracks follow the path of the River Itchen,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57one of Britain's finest chalk streams renowned for its fishing.
0:16:57 > 0:17:03I'm leaving the train at Swaythling to explore the river bank.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Bye-bye.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08In the 19th century, the growing railway network helped to make
0:17:08 > 0:17:10fishing one of Britain's favourite sports.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Rail companies targeted would-be anglers with special deals to entice
0:17:14 > 0:17:16them away from the cities.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20There was no more fashionable spot to cast a line
0:17:20 > 0:17:22than the chalk streams of Hampshire.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Clayton, good evening. So, what an idyllic spot.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Clayton Moorhouse is the ghillie who looks after this stretch
0:17:27 > 0:17:28of the river.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- What's the relationship between chalk and fish?- It cleans the water.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35There's a little bit of colour at the moment, to me,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38but another week or so and that will be crystal clear.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40That will be as clear as your tap water.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41So you'll be able to see the fish.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Then it's a different story altogether.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- If you can see them, they can see you.- Let me have a go, if I may?
0:17:48 > 0:17:49You may, indeed.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52These pure waters were perfect for fly fishing,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54the favourite style of the Victorian elite.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58The trick is to keep the artificial fly floating on
0:17:58 > 0:18:02the surface of the water, which means repeatedly recasting the line.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Oopsy-poos.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Thank goodness I'm with an expert.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Well done, sir, well done.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- There we go. - You've got yourself a trout.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23What a beautiful fish. Well done, Clayton.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Luckily, Clayton is happy to share his catch.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Thank you very much. Bon appetit.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34That is so tasty, so fresh.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36This has been a lovely evening.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40I understand now why people like to fly fish.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42This is literally a delicious way to end the day.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06On a misty old morning, I am back on the tracks,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11heading for Southampton, where I will take ship, or ferry anyway.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15I'm bound for the Isle of Wight,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19but this is the closest I can get by rail.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Southampton Central.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Bradshaw says, "The station, which is close to the quay
0:19:25 > 0:19:30"and has a commanding position on the banks of Southampton Water,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34"is admirably adapted for the convenience of the passenger."
0:19:36 > 0:19:39The arrival of the railway in Southampton
0:19:39 > 0:19:42transformed it into one of Britain's busiest ports, and my guidebook
0:19:42 > 0:19:48describes the new docks, formed on a scale of great magnitude.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52It's where I've come to catch my ferry on to the Isle of Wight.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I'm really looking forward to this leg of the journey.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01It's good to see there are still some foot passengers.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03That's how I used to travel as a child.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06We'd take the train from Waterloo and, indeed, on the other side,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09we'd take the steam train down to Ventnor for our holiday.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Nowadays, people with families want to have a car on the island,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15but it's still great fun to do it on foot.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Steamships began to ply the Solent in the 1820s, but what really made
0:20:25 > 0:20:27this journey popular was Queen Victoria's decision to make
0:20:27 > 0:20:32the Isle of Wight her summer home.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36I'm following in her footsteps, on the modern car ferry,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39steered today by Captain Ken Edwards.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Can you imagine what this would've been like in Victorian times?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Yes, I can, because the route itself would be exactly the same.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Obviously, the shipping is different
0:20:48 > 0:20:50to what it was in those days, but you've still got
0:20:50 > 0:20:53the same channels, the same buoys.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58And all the whole scenery around it hasn't really been developed much.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01When Queen Victoria travelled to the island,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- did she go to East Cowes like we are?- Yes.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06There is a public landing there now where Queen Victoria used to land.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And that would be the quick way to Osborne House?
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Oh, yes, just up the hill from there. Probably about a mile and a half.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18By the end of Victoria's reign,
0:21:18 > 0:21:24the island was being visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25And they haven't stopped coming since.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Good morning.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33- Good morning.- What takes you to the Isle of Wight?- We come here...
0:21:33 > 0:21:34We try to get here at least once a year.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38- Cos we love it over here.- Why? Why do you love it so much?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40There's so much to see and do. There's two things, really.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42It feels like it's back in time a little bit.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45So, we enjoy that feeling of the seaside and the holiday
0:21:45 > 0:21:48by the sea, but there's a lot to see and do, isn't there?
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Plenty to do for children. Beautiful beaches, lots of activities.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- Beautiful weather?- Usually.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Well, I think the weather is improving already,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01so I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I'm really pleased to be back on the Isle of Wight.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I've hardly set foot here as an adult, all my memories are childhood
0:22:15 > 0:22:19memories from seven summer holidays that I spent here.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24So, I think about ice cream and buckets and spades, beaches and piers.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Bradshaw says, "Those who desire to make a real acquaintance with
0:22:27 > 0:22:31"all the island's attractions may spend many pleasant weeks
0:22:31 > 0:22:34"in it, finding new walks every day."
0:22:34 > 0:22:37That was pretty much what we discovered when we came here
0:22:37 > 0:22:38all those years ago.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Queen Victoria also spent happy childhood holidays here,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48kick-starting a lifelong love affair with the island.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Her delightful summer home, Osborne House,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54was built in the 1840s and became one
0:22:54 > 0:22:57of her favourite royal residences.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Soon after, the first railways arrived to carry the tourists
0:23:01 > 0:23:02who followed in her wake.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07By 1875, this tiny island had 32 miles of track.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12No Victorian railway tour was complete without a pilgrimage
0:23:12 > 0:23:16to the dramatic cliffs of the island's western tip.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20These days, there is one outstanding way to see this famous landmark.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23As the chair lift reaches the edge of the cliff, over to my left,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28I have the most spectacular view of The Needles,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31this extraordinary geological phenomenon,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33which I remember from childhood.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37I've even seen it from aircraft, flying way above it.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42But this is a fantastic view. And now, as we go over the top,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I have this amazing plunge down to the beach,
0:23:47 > 0:23:48down the side of the cliff.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Whoa! You have to have a head for heights here.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57The Needles rocks that loom up out of the Channel mark the entrance
0:23:57 > 0:23:59to the stunning Alum Bay.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03For 19th-century visitors, this was a star attraction.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05My guidebook writes,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09"The cliffs on one side are white and on the other side, curiously
0:24:09 > 0:24:12"variegated, with strata of ochre, Fuller's earth,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15"grey and white sand."
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- Hello, Tony.- Oh, Michael. - Good to see you.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- Welcome aboard the Rambling Rose. - Thank you very much.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Tony Isaacs' family has a special connection to these unique sands
0:24:25 > 0:24:26that goes back generations.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Tony, I'm astonished by the colours.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I did not expect them to be as bright as that, as vivid.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33They're fantastic!
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Well, you're probably seeing them at their best today.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40These remarkable stripes were once horizontal layers of sediment,
0:24:40 > 0:24:41but over millions of years,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45they've been forced up into a vertical position.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Victorian visitors were entranced by this geological oddity
0:24:49 > 0:24:54and started to take the coloured sands home with them on the trains.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55These Victorians, would they come
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and buy souvenirs of sand, or would they go and collect it themselves?
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Oh, they would do both, really.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I mean, it's quite exciting fun to come along the bottom
0:25:04 > 0:25:07of a cliff with an old jam jar or something and fill your own.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09But yes, of course, they were able to buy them,
0:25:09 > 0:25:10should they need to.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13My great-grandfather was the pier master here.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15He had a little shop on the end of the pier,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19and they used to sell coloured sand ornaments even then.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22As the train network helped British tourism to grow,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25the idea of souvenirs became more widespread.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Coloured sands became the essential keepsake
0:25:28 > 0:25:30of an Isle of Wight holiday.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35By the 20th century, competition for the tourist business was fierce.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38When we first started to sell, just after the War,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41that's my own recollection, there were 12 colours.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Everybody had 12 colours.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44And then another rival faction came on the scene
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and they went up to 15 colours.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51So, then we went up to 18 colours, and they went up to 21 colours.
0:25:51 > 0:25:52But wait a minute, wait a minute.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56There can't really be any debate about this.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00There are either 12, 15 or 21 colours. How many are there?
0:26:00 > 0:26:04What it was, you see, each company, each rival faction,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08tried to advertise that they had the most colours to attract
0:26:08 > 0:26:12- the most customers.- Yes. - They called a truce at 21.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15That was it. But over the years that I was collecting it,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19I decided I'd keep a sample of every colour that I collected.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21I can't remember exactly what it was,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24but I think it was either 31 or 32 different colours.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26- Really?- Yeah.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31These days, only sand that has fallen through natural erosion may be sold
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and access to the cliff is strictly controlled.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Who does the sand belong to, by the way?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Does it belong to you? The island? Who does it belong to?
0:26:40 > 0:26:44It belongs now to what is known as the Needles Pleasure Park.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Funny enough, my great-grandfather had the opportunity once of buying
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- all this lot for £20. - And he didn't?- No, no.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Well, you see, my great-grandfather said to my grandfather...
0:26:54 > 0:26:55There was an auction,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00"Go up to £20 for this cliff," the top of the cliff back to the road.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02He went off to a meeting. When he came back, he said,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04"Well, did you get it?"
0:27:04 > 0:27:09And Grandfather said, "No, it went for £25."
0:27:09 > 0:27:11And Great-Grandfather said, "For goodness' sake!
0:27:11 > 0:27:13"Why didn't you go another £5?"
0:27:13 > 0:27:15"Well, you only told me to go to 20," he said.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- So, there you go.- This is like the man who didn't sign up The Beatles.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Oh, dear, something like that, yeah.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I'd probably be quite wealthy by now.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Tony's family might have missed out,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31but islanders are still making a living from tourism today,
0:27:31 > 0:27:37all thanks to the Victorians, who saw the charms of this beautiful island.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Queen Victoria left the Isle of Wight for the last time
0:27:40 > 0:27:45in her coffin, headed for her last railway journey to Windsor.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47She had so often been to the island,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50first as a newlywed with her beloved Albert
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and then frequently as a widow.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56The thing that enabled her to to-and-fro to the island
0:27:56 > 0:28:00was the arrival of high-speed travel, by railway.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04On the next stage of my journey,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08I'll be slithering in the tracks of a Victorian snake catcher...
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Fantastic view! I never dreamt I'd get that close.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16..uncovering a secret library described in my Bradshaw's Guide...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18- This is your oldest book? - Yes, it is.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20There are only two other copies of this in existence.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23..and visiting a seaside town born in the railway age.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Whoa! Off we go!
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:31 > 0:28:34E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk