0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:17and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth of the country
0:00:30 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54I'm over halfway through my journey tracing the railway's impact on the South of England.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Today, I am continuing my route
0:00:59 > 0:01:02towards what my Bradshaw's guide calls Dorsetshire.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Today's journey takes me through the beautiful landscape of the New Forest.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10The railways enabled Victorian tourists, en masse,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13to visit and experience this distant wilderness
0:01:13 > 0:01:18and helped Victorian industry to exploit nature's gifts.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20On this stage of the journey,
0:01:20 > 0:01:25I'll be slithering in the tracks of a Victorian snake catcher.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Fantastic view. I never dreamt I'd get that close.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Uncovering a secret library described in my Bradshaw's guide.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34- So, this is your oldest book? - Yes, it is.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36There are only two other copies of this in existence.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40And taking one of my shortest ever railway journeys.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Whoa, off we go.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50So far, I've discovered how royalty, industry and agriculture alike
0:01:50 > 0:01:53were transformed by train travel.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Now, I'm exploring this region's stunning coastline,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59as I approach my final stop on the Isle of Portland.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05On this stretch, I will pass through the New Forest National Park,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09stopping off at Bournemouth, on my way to the harbour town of Poole.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15'We are now approaching Brockenhurst.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:20The Victorians were fascinated by nature and the railway helped make the New Forest
0:02:20 > 0:02:22a hotspot for botanists and insect collectors.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31This is Brockenhurst.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34My Bradshaw's guide says, "This station is most exquisitely situated
0:02:34 > 0:02:38"amidst the charming scenery of the New Forest."
0:02:38 > 0:02:40And so it is.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42And the railway has transformed it from a very small village
0:02:42 > 0:02:44into something of a resort
0:02:44 > 0:02:48but, intriguingly, many Victorians came here not in search of wildlife,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53but in search of a particulary charismatic individual.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Brockenhurst station opened in 1847 and was soon bringing visitors
0:03:01 > 0:03:05eager to meet the New Forest's outstanding celebrity.
0:03:05 > 0:03:12I've come to the village churchyard to hear the story from local historian Richard Reeves.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- Richard.- How are you? - What a wonderful place.- Yeah.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18And a very intriguing tombstone, why are we meeting by this one?
0:03:18 > 0:03:21This tombstone here is that of Harry Mills
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and he was a Victorian snake catcher.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25A bit of an odd occupation,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29but it made him one of the most famous Victorian characters in the New Forest.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35He lived in a small charcoal burner's hut in the forest for 19 years.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39As a hermit and a snake catcher, he certainly was not your standard human being.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42As Britain became increasingly
0:03:42 > 0:03:44urbanised in the 19th century,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47there was a huge appetite for news of the natural world.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52In the 1880s, a visitor who joined Harry Mills on a snake hunt
0:03:52 > 0:03:55wrote it up in the national press.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Soon, people were arriving by train to see him for themselves.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03What kind of things did he do that made him a character,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06that made him kind of a tourist attraction?
0:04:06 > 0:04:10One of the things he would do was as tourists arrived in the forest,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13he'd walk up and surreptitiously drop a snake,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and everyone would panic and run around, and he would walk up,
0:04:17 > 0:04:24catch the snake and doff his hat and safely stow the snake away.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28As well as bringing tourists to gawp at this fearless snake catcher,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32the new railway also enabled Harry Mills to set up a lucrative sideline,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36sending live snakes by rail to the capital.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41He then became supplier to the snake house in London Zoo,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44where they required a good supply of live snakes to feed
0:04:44 > 0:04:47the snake-eating snakes in their collections.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50He was getting a shilling a head for every snake he caught.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54In fact, on one particular occasion, he'd done a very good job catching adders.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57He usually supplied grass snakes, which are nonvenomous,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00but one month, he had 76 adders and he decided to pack them off.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03They sent a note back saying, "We'd rather you didn't send those any more
0:05:03 > 0:05:05"because they bite."
0:05:05 > 0:05:07So, after that, he could only send grass snakes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Was he bitten, do you know?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Yes, he was bitten a couple of times
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and he does state that it was his own fault.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19He used to boil the adders up and extract their fat, and he swore by that
0:05:19 > 0:05:24as an effective remedy for snakebite, which he also sold locally as a cure-all.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27One of those sort of classic Victorian lotions
0:05:27 > 0:05:32which would sort anything from a black eye to adder bite.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38Amazingly, Harry Mills killed around 30,000 snakes in his lifetime.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41These days, mercifully, they're protected by law.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Richard's become a modern-day snake hunter.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48He's interested in conserving, not destroying, the local adder population,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52but uses the same skills to track them down.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57When I come out here, I am actually taking photographs of them, identifying the individuals,
0:05:57 > 0:06:02and thereby I'm able to monitor the population to make sure it's doing OK.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- And it is doing OK?- This one is doing perfectly well, yeah.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09In a lot of areas around the country, they are actually declining due to habitat loss.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Searching for adders can be hit and miss,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16but Richard knows exactly where to look.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- You should be looking around the bottom edges of these bushes.- Yes.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Do you see there, Michael? A nice ginger adder there. Beautiful, beautiful female.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- That is beautiful. It is very gingery, isn't it?- Very gingery.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Really quite bright colours.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31You can't says snakes aren't beautiful when you see that one.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Thanks to Richard, I am within five feet of a venomous viper.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38I never dreamt I'd get that close.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43You could get closer, but there's no point in disturbing her,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46and we get a perfectly good view from here.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48She's a lovely animal.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52As I say goodbye, I'm glad that things have changed since Bradshaw's day,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57and my snake hunt led me to appreciate nature, not destroy it.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Building this line through the New Forest was a real challenge
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and some sections of the railway were even supported on wooden stilts
0:07:05 > 0:07:10to stop the track from sinking into the bog below.
0:07:10 > 0:07:17Thanks to that effort, we now have this superb view of a romantic wilderness.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- Mind if I join you for a second? - Not at all.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22I can't help noticing how beautiful this countryside is.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- Gorgeous, stunning. - Do you go through it every day?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I don't, actually. This is the first and only journey I'll be making for work.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31I'm a bit gutted I've got a company car, actually, now.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33But I do come down to the New Forest quite a lot.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35So, normally, you would drive, but today, you're on the train?
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Today, I'm on the train, I'm picking up a new car.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It does make you think, "Why do we bother with cars?" It's lovely.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It's just wonderful, isn't it?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- When you're a passenger, you can enjoy it completely.- Exactly.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48I'm on my way to Bournemouth
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and, to my surprise, I've had to switch guidebooks.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55The Bradshaw's guide I normally use is from the mid-1860s.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I looked up Bournemouth in here and it's not there, which means
0:07:58 > 0:08:00it didn't yet have a railway.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Isn't that incredible for a town which is now so big?
0:08:03 > 0:08:08So, I'm using a more recent Bradshaw's from the 1880s and it says,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12"Bournemouth is a fashionable, modern, watering place and winter residence.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15"It's situated in a beautiful sheltered spot
0:08:15 > 0:08:19"in the chine of low chalk cliffs.
0:08:19 > 0:08:25"And it's much resorted to by invalids for its healthy situation in quiet retirement."
0:08:25 > 0:08:29And I used to go there for a completely different reason.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36For me, Bournemouth will forever be synonymous with party political conferences,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40but coming as part of an invasion of politicians,
0:08:40 > 0:08:45I've rarely had the chance to appreciate Bournemouth's charms.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49With seven miles of sandy beaches and a Victorian pier,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54it's easy to see why five million people visit this busy resort every year.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Remarkably, all this is only 200 years old.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02To hear how this town popped up from nowhere,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I'm meeting historian Andrew Emery in the Pleasure Gardens.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- Andrew, very good to see you. - Good to see you too.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10It's surprising to me how late the railway gets to Bournemouth,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13considering what a big place it is now.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Not until the 1870s.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18So, what's happening during the 19th century, before the railway gets here?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22If you go back to 250 years ago, this is nothing but barren heathland.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24No trees, quite a few smugglers though.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28This was a popular smuggling path down from the beach, just over there.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31And then around about 1800, the landowners at the time
0:09:31 > 0:09:34planted this whole area with pine trees.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Early in the 19th century,
0:09:38 > 0:09:43a few wealthy families spotted Bournemouth's potential as a fine spot to relax.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47They planted Scots and Mediterranean pines to enhance the scenery,
0:09:47 > 0:09:53creating tranquillity and beauty that powerfully attracted tourists.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It's really down to this gentleman, Dr Granville,
0:09:57 > 0:10:03who wrote a book about the famous spa towns of England.
0:10:03 > 0:10:10He visits in the 1840s and he sees the opportunities to develop this into a fantastic resort.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14He thinks this could be the best resort in the country
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and also quotes that the emanations from the pines
0:10:17 > 0:10:21have real fantastic health-giving qualities.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Dr Granville's guides did for health resorts
0:10:24 > 0:10:28what Bradshaw's did for the railways and, within 40 years,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Bournemouth had mushroomed from a village of a few hundred people
0:10:31 > 0:10:37to a town of around 17,000, and that wasn't the end of the story.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Up until the 1870s, the town was really just about an invalids' spa resort,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46but from the late 1870s, 1880s onwards, the railway comes,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49you get the middle classes, the working classes,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and the town starts to change
0:10:52 > 0:10:56into a popular seaside resort, full of all the attractions that you see today.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Although Bournemouth has long lost its reputation as a health resort,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04you can still take a stroll through the so-called Invalids' Walk.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Here, Victorians sought relief from the strain of living in smoke-filled cities.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13I came here today on the train.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Let's suppose I'm a Victorian gentleman with poor lungs.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18I take a walk along here, do I?
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Absolutely, this was the place to promenade, to breathe in the pines,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26nice and shady as well, in places, so you're not going to get sunburnt.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- This is the place to meet people, really.- And did it do me any good?
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Absolutely, this climate is fantastic for the health.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Possibly not breathing in the pines,
0:11:36 > 0:11:41I think modern medicine would probably dispute the medicinal value of that but, nevertheless,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43good for the health.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48And hundreds of years later, the pines are still important to Bournemouth.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Absolutely, they feature on the crest of the town and
0:11:50 > 0:11:53a lot of these pines are the original ones
0:11:53 > 0:11:56that have been on this site for over 150 years.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- So the pines have really kept Bournemouth spruce?- Absolutely.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Thanks to the railway, investment poured into Bournemouth.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07By the mid-20th century, the empty heathland was a distant memory,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11replaced by a highly-developed resort.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12Paths zigzagged down the dramatic cliffs to the beach
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and the droves of tourists could enjoy
0:12:15 > 0:12:19all the trappings of a classic seaside holiday.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24I can't wait to try out one of the first attractions enjoyed by visitors.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- Hello.- Hiya.- A single to the top, please.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- £1.20, please.- Thank you very much.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36In the 19th century, as tourism boomed, so began a fascination for funicular railways,
0:12:36 > 0:12:41which let Victorian tourists admire the view, without breaking a sweat.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Whoa, off we go!
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Bournemouth didn't get this one until 1908,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49but it's still the best way to scale the 40-metre cliff.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54It's simple, but effective technology.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Two cars move at once, balancing each other's weight.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00The beach recedes incredibly quickly.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04It's only a 30 or 40-second journey,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07but that's not the point, really, it's the journey you avoid,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10it's how long it would have taken you to walk to the top.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12What a view, what a day.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Short, but very definitely sweet.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Well, from the top, I get the most fantastic view over Bournemouth's piers
0:13:25 > 0:13:28and out towards the white cliffs of the Isle of Wight.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33I call that a pretty good £1.20's-worth.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38This clifftop walk holds a special place in my memory, for another reason.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41In party conference days, when I was here,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43the government stays at the hotel at the top of the hill,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and they have to go down to the conference centre every morning.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48So, to-ing and fro-ing along here,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51you've got all the members of the Cabinet walking backwards and forwards.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54You've got Margaret Thatcher in her armour-plated car,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57you've got John Major in his armour-plated car.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00For the few days of the party conference, this is
0:14:00 > 0:14:02THE corridor of power.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Bournemouth's sea air has done its job
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and I'm ready to find my bed for tonight.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15I've made a beeline for the grand Victorian buildings
0:14:15 > 0:14:18up on Bournemouth's East Cliff.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23As so often, I've turned to my Bradshaw's for a recommendation of where to stay,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The Bath, now known as The Royal Bath.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28In fact, I didn't need Bradshaw, because I've been to many a good party here,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31which I can just about remember.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35This was Bournemouth's first hotel
0:14:35 > 0:14:40and it opened on the very day that Queen Victoria was crowned.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Ever since then, it's been hosting the great and the good.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Very lovely room.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Oh, my goodness.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55"In this room, Lord Beaconsfield, when Prime Minister,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59"held three Cabinet Councils in the winter of 1874-75.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03"Lord John Russell, Prime Minister, occupied this room."
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Wow.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11As a former-future Prime Minister, I feel really honoured to be staying in this room.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15That's fantastic.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- Eggs Benedict with bacon for you. - Thank you very much.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- There you go, enjoy your breakfast.- Thank you, looks lovely.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39For me, summer in England has really arrived
0:15:39 > 0:15:43when you can have all your meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner - outside,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and what better place to try that than Bournemouth?
0:15:46 > 0:15:49And what better light in which to read
0:15:49 > 0:15:51the small print of my Bradshaw's guide?
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Following my guide book,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57I'm now continuing my journey into Bradshaw's Dorsetshire.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05I'm heading five miles up the track towards my next stop.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10I'm on my way to Wimborne,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13but it doesn't have a railway station any more.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15I'm only going as far as Poole, I'm afraid, sir.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Unfortunately, I can't go all the way by rail.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Well, this is not Wimborne, but Parkstone.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35There used to be a Wimborne station, it's in my Bradshaw's guide,
0:16:35 > 0:16:41but unfortunately, it was a victim of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44So, this is as far as the train will take me.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50The Beeching Report into the profitability of Britain's railways
0:16:50 > 0:16:56was published in 1963 and, in the decade that followed,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00over 4,000 miles of track and thousands of stations were closed.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Wimborne Minster station was a victim.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07In Bradshaw's time, it was a busy junction on the mainland to London,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11but as nearby Bournemouth grew, more direct routes to the coast
0:17:11 > 0:17:15were built and its importance declined.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Today, this small market town is famous for its 900-year-old church,
0:17:20 > 0:17:26and its impressive model village, but I'm here to see the real thing.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I've never been to Wimborne before and this minster is absolutely glorious.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It's so ancient and perfect
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and I love the way that it sits in this green.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40So that you can get a real view of it. It's perfect.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47My guidebook writes, "The Minster is a most interesting relic of antiquity,
0:17:47 > 0:17:53"said to have been erected between the years 705 and 723.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56"The whole building has a cathedral-like appearance."
0:17:58 > 0:18:01And the interior is just as beautiful.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It dates back to Norman times because the Saxon building,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08referred to in my guide, was destroyed.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And, as Bradshaw's says, "It's cathedral-like."
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Absolutely.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19I'm intrigued by another line in my 19th-century guide,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24"In the vestry are some curious chained books."
0:18:24 > 0:18:32To find out more, I'm climbing a 600-year-old staircase to meet librarian Frank Tandy.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36- Frank, hello.- Hello. - My Bradshaw's talks about,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- "curious old chained books".- Yes.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- I see some of them are chained. - Yes.- Why was the book chained?
0:18:42 > 0:18:45They are chained to ensure they are always here.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48In the 15th, 16th century, books were rather expensive
0:18:48 > 0:18:53and universities and cathedrals couldn't afford to allow the books to be taken away,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55for they may not come back.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00I mean, to buy a small book like that, The Gentleman's Companion, for instance,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- was in today's money about £350.- No? - Yes.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08So, every time you bought a book, it was like buying, I don't know, a widescreen television?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- Yes.- Amazing.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15This library was founded during the religious upheavals of the 17th century.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20An Oxford scholar, the Reverend Stone, after being condemned as a Catholic,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24donated his library of religious works to the church.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- So these were regarded as dangerous Catholic texts?- Yes.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31The Reverend Stone sent them here because he knew they would be safe.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Nobody in Wimborne could read.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36They wouldn't know whether they were seditious or not?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39They wouldn't know, and they're all in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, anyway.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42These books are here purely by chance.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47After ten years, they were still being described in this town as a musty divinity.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The collection grew from that initial bequest
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and today includes extraordinarily rare works,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56including this 14th-century priests' handbook.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59- So, this is your oldest book? - Yes, it is.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01This book was written in 1343.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- It's written on 80 calf skins. - Calf skins?
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- Calf skin.- But not paper?
0:20:08 > 0:20:11No, paper wasn't invented. This is vellum.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14There are only two other copies of this in existence.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15What else can you show me?
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Well, this book was bound by King Henry VIII's bookbinder.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- King Henry VIII?- Yes, this is a binding showing the Passion.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- It's difficult to see. - It's exquisite though, isn't it?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27And of your more recent books, what should I see?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Probably Sir Walter Raleigh's History Of The World in five books.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Here it is.- It's literally priceless?
0:20:32 > 0:20:34It is...beyond price.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38From early days, anyone was free to come here and read the works,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42making this one of Britain's first public libraries.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46I can see why my Bradshaw's guide singled out this remarkable collection,
0:20:46 > 0:20:51but I can't help noticing there's something unusual about the way it's arranged.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It's interesting that the chained books appear to be put in,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57as I would think of it, the wrong way round.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59No, no, this is the right way round.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03A library like this, that's the correct way for the books to be,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07because what you did was you wrote the number on the book,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10or you wrote the title on the book on the fore edge.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13And all children will tell you Hogwart Hall library,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Harry Potter, that's how the books are.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18The books are the wrong way round. Well...
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- They're the right way round. - The right way round.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26For once, my 19th-century Bradshaw's guide seems very young.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31After my literary adventure, I'm picking up the train again at Parkstone.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- It's all right.- Thank you. - All yours.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Lots of bicycles today.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- Yes, always lots of bikes.- Have fun.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46I'm on my way to my last stop on this leg of the journey.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49I'm approaching Poole.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52My Bradshaw's says, rather half-heartedly,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56"A comparatively modern town that has always preserved a respectable position
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"as a third or fourth-class port."
0:22:02 > 0:22:05At one time, Poole Harbour was an important trading post,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09but by the 19th century, it had begun to decline.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12The railway, which reached Poole in 1847,
0:22:12 > 0:22:17accelerated the harbour's downfall by offering a faster, cheaper alternative to coastal shipping.
0:22:19 > 0:22:25Luckily for Poole, though, the trains also brought new opportunities.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Bradshaw's comments that,
0:22:33 > 0:22:39"One of the chief exports from Poole is potters' clay from Purbeck.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43"Of so good quality that it's proposed to establish potteries here
0:22:43 > 0:22:48"on a great scale, especially as the transit of coal is now easy and direct."
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So, Bradshaw's foreseeing that with the railways bringing coal,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Poole could have a big new industry.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Bradshaw's was right.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03Around the time the railways arrived here, potteries were springing up all around Poole.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06They specialised in bricks, tiles and pipes,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10and even produced some of the first modern loos.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13As Victorian Britain boomed, demand surged
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and the town was soon criss-crossed by private sidings.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Trains brought in coal to fire the kilns
0:23:19 > 0:23:22and helped to export Poole's ceramics across the globe.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Unfortunately, by the second half of the 20th century,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31most of the potteries had closed due to foreign competition.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35I've come to see one of the few that remain.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40- Hello, Alan.- Hello, Michael...
0:23:40 > 0:23:41Alan White is the head potter.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I see you are making a lovely pot there.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Yes, hopefully.- What is it that's special about Poole pottery?
0:23:47 > 0:23:52Basically, the unique quality of the clay that's within the area,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54mostly in the Purbecks and in and around Poole.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56We shipped all over the world.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59It was always brought to the boats by rail.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03There are two jetties on the far side of the harbour
0:24:03 > 0:24:06which brought the clay to the jetties
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and then it would have been put into boats and gone all over the world.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15Especially to Stoke, of course, which is the home of pottery in England.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17So, it was vastly important.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20What brought you into making pots?
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Women.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Girls. I'm afraid it was girls.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27I went to a segregated school
0:24:27 > 0:24:33and you weren't allowed to cross the line onto the girls' side without getting detention.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39But the ceramic block was on the girls' side, behind the domestic science block.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44So, all the boys volunteered to go to pottery because they wanted to ogle the girls.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48But I happened to fall in love with pottery and none of the girls at the time.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53This pottery began as a tile manufacturer in 1873,
0:24:53 > 0:24:58but by the 20th century, had moved into hand-thrown pots.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04Its heyday was the 1920s and '30s, when its Art Deco designs were sold in every town in Britain.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Watching you with your clay here on the potter's wheel, I'm just speechless.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I'm like a person watching a magic trick. It's just unbelievable, what you do.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17I've been doing it nearly 45 years now, so it's not really magic.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22It's a combination of quite a lot of hard work, really.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28It is lovely, I mean, I thoroughly enjoy, I've always enjoyed getting on the wheel and just making pots.
0:25:28 > 0:25:34It's something I shall never stop doing, I don't think.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37In fact, I will probably end up making my own urn
0:25:37 > 0:25:43and putting my cinders in the furnace to get rid of me at the end of it. So, we'll see.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47In Victorian times, as the spending power of the middle classes grew,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50decorative pottery in Britain became hugely fashionable
0:25:50 > 0:25:53and potters created evermore colourful glazes.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Painter Nicky Massarella carries on the tradition.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00And what's the technique? I see here things in various stages of preparation.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06Yes. This one, what's happened here is I've carved in the veins of the dragonfly, as you can see,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and then I've got to paint the blue on, which is what I was going to do next,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and when it's fired, it will come out like that one.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14So, this pink you can see here is actually the red glaze.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18So, if I didn't paint anything on it, it would just come out red, like that.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20- Really?- Yeah. So, I paint all the other colours on top
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and when that's fired, it will change to that.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25How long does it take you to produce one pot?
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Probably takes about ten, 15 minutes.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30How could you possibly do a thing like that in ten minutes?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33When you do lots, you kind of go into what's called piecework mode.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36So, you do all the leaves, then you go over and do all the wings,
0:26:36 > 0:26:37so it just makes it a lot quicker, really.
0:26:37 > 0:26:43Nicky's letting me loose with a paintbrush, but I'm not sure I'll match her speed.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- I've drawn them in for you. - Yes, yes. That's nice and easy.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50This is just like a child filling in the gaps.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- Then what colour will that come out? - This'll come out blue.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56This is not easy.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Oh, horrid crooked line there.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- I think I might hand back to you there.- OK.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I've done two little leaves. Over to you.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Thank you.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- Thanks for nothing! - I'll fill it in.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Such things are best left to professionals.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25Thank goodness that the skills of the Poole potters are not extinct.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31My guide book has often led me to discover how, in Victorian times,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the combination of railways and coal led to the development of new industries,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40as it did with the potteries here in Poole.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44But it also led me to the colourful character of Brusher Mills
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and my own encounter with poisonous snakes.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Really, Bradshaw's never ceases to amaze me.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56On the final stretch of this journey,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I'll be uncovering a hidden industry with Victorian roots.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- That is an oil field?- Yeah.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Stretching all the way past Poole, beneath Bournemouth, under the sea.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12Admiring a historic castle catapulted to fame by the railways.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Wow, that is fantastic.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17The most romantic ruins.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22And discovering Weymouth's role in the D-Day landings.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24And they would let us have a go at the gun, me and my mate.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27- How old were you?- I was about ten years old when that happened.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:37 > 0:28:40E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk