0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in the British Isles.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19'Stop by stop,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23'he told them where to travel, what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29'Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'across the length and breadth of these isles
0:00:31 > 0:00:36'to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.'
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I'm continuing my journey across Scotland.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59I've left behind the cities of Stirling and Perth.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01This train will now take me towards the east coast,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03where I shall look for traces
0:01:03 > 0:01:07of the region's Victorian industrial heritage.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10On today's leg, I learn how Queen Victoria
0:01:10 > 0:01:15'used trackside trees to screen her from her subjects.'
0:01:15 > 0:01:18They were planted at Queen Victoria's request,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20because when she was going to Balmoral,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23the royal train would stop here for her breakfast,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25and she didn't like the locals seeing her eating.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29I lend an ear to the history of a textile mill.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Everybody in the factory went deaf eventually, did they?
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Oh yes, they were all deaf.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35Awful!
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'And I go out with a bang in Aberdeenshire.'
0:01:38 > 0:01:39EXPLOSION
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Lord! Look at that!
0:01:43 > 0:01:47It has changed the shape of the quarry!
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Using my 1880s Bradshaw's,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52my northward journey started in Stirling,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57headed to Perthshire, moves on to the oil rich city of Aberdeen,
0:01:57 > 0:01:58and then west,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01through Inverness-shire and the classic lochs of the Highlands,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04before finishing at John O'Groats.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Today's leg begins in Dundee,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10gets smoky in Arbroath,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12steamy in Montrose,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and hits some granite in Aberdeen.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18My first destination will be Dundee,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21which my Bradshaw's tells me is the capital of Forfarshire.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26"Seat of the Scottish linen trade. A port situated on the Tay.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29"The factories for spinning and weaving flax
0:02:29 > 0:02:34"exceed a hundred in number, employing as many as 20,000 hands,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36"three fourths of whom are women."
0:02:36 > 0:02:40I'm intrigued that the workforce was mainly female
0:02:40 > 0:02:43at a time when men dominated employment nationally.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Originally a small 11th century port,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Dundee grew to become a medieval exporter of wool
0:02:53 > 0:02:57and importer of wine, but it was in the 19th century
0:02:57 > 0:03:00that weaving, whaling and shipbuilding combined
0:03:00 > 0:03:04to make the port one of the most important economic hubs in Scotland.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06To find out more,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10I'm meeting heritage and exhibitions director, Gill Poulter,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'at Verdant Works, a mill that's become a museum.'
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- Gill, Hello.- Hello, Michael. Welcome to Verdant Works.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18It's lovely to be here.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23My Bradshaw's says, "Coarse linens, osland bergs,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26"diapers, sail cloth rope, canvas,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28"are the chief goods made up in Dundee."
0:03:28 > 0:03:30I don't understand all of those words,
0:03:30 > 0:03:31but a lot of them lead me to believe
0:03:31 > 0:03:34that it must have been connected to shipping in the early days.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35Would that be right?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Well, Dundee was the centre of the coarse linen trade
0:03:38 > 0:03:42in the 19th century, and was making all those goods
0:03:42 > 0:03:43and shipping them around the world.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47And they weren't your fine Damask tablecloths for fine dining -
0:03:47 > 0:03:50they were very much materials used for transportation -
0:03:50 > 0:03:53for bags, for sacking, for bailing materials.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56And what was the raw material that they used?
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Well, coarse linen is made from the flax plant,
0:03:59 > 0:04:00and it's a bast fibre.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And the majority of the flax used in Dundee
0:04:03 > 0:04:06was imported from the Baltic states.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10But when the supply of flax from the Baltic area was interrupted,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Dundee needed an alternative.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Jute is a natural vegetable fibre
0:04:16 > 0:04:20first introduced to Britain in the late 18th century from India.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24By the 1820s, Dundee had begun to import it,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27but its brittle fibres made jute difficult to process
0:04:27 > 0:04:32until the Dundonians discovered that soaking it in whale oil and water
0:04:32 > 0:04:36rendered it pliable and easy to spin,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39and the city was on its way to being nicknamed "Juteopolis."
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Why did the industry spring up in Dundee of all places, anyway?
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It had a skilled workforce, used to the textile industry,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51but one of the key things was Dundee was one of the biggest whaling ports
0:04:51 > 0:04:55in the UK at that time, so had a ready supply of raw whale oil
0:04:55 > 0:04:57that could be used in the jute industry,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59so it was a very good synergy.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And which is this, flax or jute?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15This is raw jute, which arrives from India
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and has to go through a factory before it ends up as hessian,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20which is what people will be familiar with.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Your supermarket eco-friendly shopping bags today made from jute.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25Very familiar.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27And in the 19th century, which is what I'm mainly interested in,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30what would the scene have been like in a mill like this?
0:05:30 > 0:05:34They would have been very dirty, very noisy, very chaotic.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36The workforce was predominantly women.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39They outnumbered men by three to one.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41There would have been young children working as pickers,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43cleaning underneath the machines,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and a pretty dangerous place to work, as well.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48People regularly lost fingertips,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and obviously there were fatal accidents as well.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53We know of at least two fatal accidents that took place here.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Such a dangerous and noisy place - why women and children?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It's cheaper to employ.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02So there was a real role reversal in the city and the men stayed at home.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04So Dundee became known as She Town. MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:06:04 > 0:06:08And the mill girls were called bold, you know, wide eyed, loud girls,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10lording it up in the streets, you know,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and it really did, sort of, have a social impact on the city.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Now I don't want to sound like a Marxist,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17but somebody must have been making money out of this stuff.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19The jute barons,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21which is the very grand aristocratic title for the mill owners.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24And they were making fortunes. They were making millions.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Multi-millionaires, they were,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and they built very grand estates in the countryside of Angus,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32or in the seaside suburb of Broughtyferry just a few miles away,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36so they could get away from the grime of the population here
0:06:36 > 0:06:38and the industrial life.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39And at one time,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Broughtyferry was thought to have more millionaires per square mile
0:06:43 > 0:06:45than any other part of the country,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49so quite a concentration of wealth in one small little place.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Astute entrepreneurs,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57the jute barons built their fortunes on the skills of their weavers.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Their techniques were passed from generation to generation.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04An example was Lily Thomson's family.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08She started working the looms aged 15.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- Lily, hello, I'm Michael. - How do you do?
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Now, this is a very ancient loom here.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18- Mm-hmm.- How different was this one from the one you used to use?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The one I used was like this as well,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24but the other one was much, much bigger.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- May we start the machine, please? - Yes, we can.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Would you like to stand back so you don't get hurt?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- For my safety, yes?- For your safety.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34MACHINE CLATTERS LOUDLY
0:07:34 > 0:07:36That is an amazing noise!
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- SHOUTS ABOVE MACHINE: - Is it because of the shuttle going backwards and forwards,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41- is that where the noise is coming from?- Yes, that's it.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Now, when you were working here or in a mill,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47how many of these machines were there in the room?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49About 300.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51300? That must have been an incredible noise.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Some factories had 400.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58And everybody in the factory went deaf eventually, did they?
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Oh yes, they were all deaf.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00Awful!
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I think I've had enough.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04MACHINE STOPS
0:08:04 > 0:08:06And tell me, in your day,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08what did you make in a very good week?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Towards the end of my career, my ambition was to make £20 a week,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14and I did it once.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18So looking back on your life, struggling to make £20 a week,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21do you think it was a hard life, do you think you were dealt a bad deal?
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Oh, yes. But it was just where you were born.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25If you were born into a jute family,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27you're going to the mills, and you didn't say no.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Lily, it's been a pleasure and a privilege
0:08:30 > 0:08:32to meet such a skilful and charming Dundee weaver.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- Thank you very much.- Thank you. Bye-bye.- Bye-bye.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Visiting this mill has been poignant for me,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42because my own grandfather, John Blyth,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44was a Scottish Victorian gentleman
0:08:44 > 0:08:50who had a linen factory full of noisy looms like these.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02WHISTLE BLOWS
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Waves are battering Scotland's east coast
0:09:10 > 0:09:12as I make my way up towards Arbroath,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15where my Bradshaw's tells me,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20"In 1807 to 1811, a noble lighthouse was built by Stevenson
0:09:20 > 0:09:22"on the model of the Eddystone,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25"which is shaped like the trunk of a tree.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27"It's of solid stone for 30 feet upwards,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30"the total height being 115 feet.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35"Four men live here, each of whom, every six weeks, for a change,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38"takes a fortnight's turn ashore."
0:09:38 > 0:09:41I wonder why such a major structure was built,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45and what impact it had on local people and the economy?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49In the year 1320,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54the Declaration of Scottish Independence was signed in Arbroath.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58But after 1811, the fishing port became famous for a building -
0:09:58 > 0:10:00its lighthouse.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The Bell Rock, situated 11 miles from Arbroath on Inchcape,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07a notorious reef in the North Sea.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11It's the oldest existing sea-washed lighthouse in the British Isles.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17'On this stormy afternoon, I can't get out to sea.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'Instead, I'm climbing a lighthouse-like building,
0:10:20 > 0:10:25'in fact the signal tower museum, to meet Bob Spink, a local councillor.'
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- Bob, I assume! - MICHAEL LAUGHS Hello, Michael!
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Was it a very important decision to build Bell Rock lighthouse?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33It had been a threat for a long, long time,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- and goodness knows how many ships had been wrecked on it.- Yeah.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I mean, one that comes to mind right was the HMS York,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42which was a 64-gun ship of the line, which was wrecked in 1804,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46which was obviously before the lighthouse was built
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and easy to live in.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50491 of a crew, and all perished.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54It was based on the 18th century design
0:10:54 > 0:10:57of John Smeaton's Eddystone lighthouse off Cornwall.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00The Bell Rock's engineer, Robert Stevenson,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03was Robert Louis Stevenson's grandfather.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05A gifted engineer,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08as part of the project, he built a railway on cast-iron props,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10running to the western tip of the reef,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13to carry material for the lighthouse.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19Almost 3,000 precisely cut slabs of rock were dovetailed in 90 layers
0:11:19 > 0:11:22to create a structure which for two centuries
0:11:22 > 0:11:25has been untroubled by the raging seas.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29It takes a special breed to man it.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34My Bradshaw's talks about the Bell Rock lighthouse,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37about men being out there six weeks with two weeks back on shore.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42I mean, the idea of men living in such a confined space...
0:11:42 > 0:11:43And today, you get a bit of a feeling
0:11:43 > 0:11:45of what it must be like to be battered by the weather,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49but we're, you know, we're on solid terra firma here, but out there -
0:11:49 > 0:11:51it must have taken a bit of courage, mustn't it?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53It must have been awful.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55I mean, I think it's not a job I could have done.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I think it would take a particular type of person,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00someone who is more or less happy with himself.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I knew some of the keepers that were on the lighthouse,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and they spent so long - so much time on there
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and so much time ashore,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and they all usually had hobbies of some kind to keep them busy,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14but it wouldn't be the life for me.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15I mean, it's not...
0:12:15 > 0:12:18If you enjoy a walk, you don't want to be on the Bell Rock.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Fearsome indeed.- Fearsome, yes.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22But on days like those, of course,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24that's when they were saving men's lives.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25Exactly.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29It's easy to see the function of the lighthouse and why it's there.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Robert Stevenson did very well.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Whilst the mighty lighthouse
0:12:33 > 0:12:37protects Arbroath's fleet from the dangers of the ocean,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40'the town also benefits from the bounty that the North Sea provides.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43'One fish is synonymous with the town.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47'It's the haddock, or rather the way it's cooked here -'
0:12:47 > 0:12:49the Arbroath smoky.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The fish is so important to the local economy
0:12:52 > 0:12:57that in 2004 it was granted Protected Geographical Indication
0:12:57 > 0:12:59by the European Commission
0:12:59 > 0:13:03to forbid non-Arbroath imitations using its name.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Fishmonger and fish smoker Stuart Scott
0:13:06 > 0:13:08has agreed to show me how they're made.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11Oh, hello, Michael.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13- It's good to see you. - Pleased to meet you.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16I find you in your smoky den. It really is smoky in here, isn't it?
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- Yeah. - How are you producing that stuff?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Well, it's a hardwood fire.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Any type of hardwood does, at the moment we're using oak,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and it's kind of like a barbecue effect,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28where I've jumped in there this morning
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and created quite a big fire,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and then just brought the lid down
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and slowly cooked these fresh haddocks on the bone
0:13:35 > 0:13:38for about one hour.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Not to be confused with a kippered herring,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44the exact origins of Arbroath smoked haddock aren't clear,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46but it's thought to have originated
0:13:46 > 0:13:49from a nearby fishing village called Auchmithie,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53where Robert Burns himself breakfasted on smoked fish.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57In the 19th century, the fishermen were lured to Arbroath
0:13:57 > 0:13:59after the harbour was renovated.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Shall we take a look? - Yeah, let's see if they're ready.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Whoa! That is smoky!
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Yeah, initially there's quite a bit of smoke,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12but once the air clears,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15you'll see a roaring hardwood fire underneath there.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18And then these are by now Arbroath smokies, are they?
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Yes, they've moved from being a fresh ingredient,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24of the humble haddock, to a fully cooked ingredient ready to eat.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Very tasty. What do you do next?
0:14:26 > 0:14:27Right, I'm going to take them off.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- Can I help you with one of those? - Yeah, get stuck in, Michael.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35Stuart, the Arbroath smoky - pretty well-known now, pretty far and wide.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36Yeah, very much so.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Did the railways help in their day?
0:14:38 > 0:14:39Oh, definitely.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41If it wasn't for the railways,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43I don't think there would have been an Arbroath smoky -
0:14:43 > 0:14:45it would have still been an Auchmithie smoky.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47But because we had the rail link,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51we commercialised on what was a very good recipe,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54and we managed to make a little bit more of it.
0:14:54 > 0:15:00Again, the rail came in very handy where wives of the fish merchants
0:15:00 > 0:15:04would go on the train and go to their nearest city which is Dundee.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08They would just have wicker baskets strapped across their shoulders,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10full of Arbroath smokies,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and they would sell them to the housewives of Dundee.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I have a funny feeling you're leaving all this to me now, Stuart,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17- are you?- It's for the best.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20You're welcome to give a hand any time you like, you know!
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Arbroath's fame for its smokies and its pretty harbour
0:15:24 > 0:15:26attract day-trippers and holidaymakers
0:15:26 > 0:15:29who can reach here by train.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Having helped produce and stack them,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35'it's now time for me to taste the smokies.'
0:15:35 > 0:15:37I've heard that Marco Macari,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39the owner and chef at a local restaurant,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41'has some innovative recipes.'
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Marco!- Hello! - Hi, I'm Michael.- Hello.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51I have been hearing about Arbroath smokies,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54I've seen Arbroath smokies, I've smoked Arbroath smokies,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57so I've come actually to taste some Arbroath smokies.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Sure, yes we certainly can help you out there.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00I think you can.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03- How many different ways could I have them?- Well, we...
0:16:03 > 0:16:07On the menu currently, we have about four or five different ways,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10but it really is a very versatile ingredient.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12The most popular way is to have it traditionally,
0:16:12 > 0:16:17just warmed up as it is, "from the barrel," as they call it.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18So that's what...
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Especially tourists, they come to have it in the traditional manner.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25And if I wanted to be less traditional, what would I do then?
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- Well, we could give you some pate... - OK.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32we could do some dauphinoise with a chowder through it.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37We could give you some linguine with crayfish and smoky.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- I'll tell you what, how would it be if I leave it to you?- Excellent.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Thank you very much.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46'Marco's described four of the smoky recipes on offer.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48'I wonder what his fifth might be?'
0:16:49 > 0:16:51That looks lovely. What is it?
0:16:51 > 0:16:53This is Arbroath smoky ice cream.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Arbroath smoky ice cream?
0:16:55 > 0:16:57What have you been smoking?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04That's amazing. That is amazing.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08I'll tell you, anyone who didn't like that would be a real cold fish.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09I'm glad to hear it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13'Arbroath smoky ice cream is surprisingly delicious,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17'but I'll leave smoked fish off my breakfast menu tomorrow.'
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Fumigated and ready for a new day,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I'm beginning the next leg of my Scottish journey.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31This crowded train is taking me towards Montrose.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32My Bradshaw's says,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35"The appearance of Montrose is peculiarly striking -
0:17:35 > 0:17:39"the basin in all the beauty of a circular lake,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"the fertile and finely cultivated fields
0:17:42 > 0:17:44rising gently from its banks.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47"The town, harbour and bay stretching further,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50"and the lofty summit of the Grampians
0:17:50 > 0:17:53"closing the scene towards the North West
0:17:53 > 0:17:56"present to the traveller one of the most magnificent
0:17:56 > 0:18:01"and diversified amphitheatres found in the United Kingdom."
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Now there's something to look forward to on this sunny morn.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10These days, the train brings commuters to the town,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14but in the 19th century, Montrose was home to wealthy merchants
0:18:14 > 0:18:18who were attracted by the rich agricultural hinterland
0:18:18 > 0:18:20that enabled the natural harbour to flourish.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Today, the port of Montrose is modern and bustling,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31and I'm prepared to bet that its transformation
0:18:31 > 0:18:34since Victorian times owes something to...
0:18:34 > 0:18:36the railways.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And one in particular transformed the local economy.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45In 1848,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49opened by the Aberdeen Railway, and later bought by the Caledonian,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51it ran to Montrose from nearby Brechin,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55carrying produce between the Vale of Strathmore and Montrose.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03The line closed to goods traffic in 1981, but I'm driving to Brechin,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05where a section of the railway has been restored
0:19:05 > 0:19:08by steam enthusiast, Steve Pegg and his colleagues,
0:19:08 > 0:19:13who've kindly invited me to take the controls of their locomotive.
0:19:15 > 0:19:16Steve.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20- Michael!- I find you up close and dirty with the locomotive.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22- What are you actually doing? - We're oiling it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24There's a multitude of oiling points on these things,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and every one has to be filled up before we can go anywhere.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- Have you done that one already? - I've done that one. Would you like to have a go?- Yeah.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33So if you want to take the lid off that one there, Michael. Give it a twirl.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Now, when you're oiling, you always have an oily rag in your hand in case of any spillages.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41- Right, OK. Thank you. - There we are. And if you just want to fill that up with that...
0:19:43 > 0:19:44How much is it going to take?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Oh, not a lot.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48A couple of fluid ounces.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- Just showing at the top there, is that right? - That's fine, excellent.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The Victorians, what kind of oils were they using in the early days?
0:19:54 > 0:19:58In the very early days, oils were often animal oils or vegetable oils,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02which were OK for the smaller locos that were originally built,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04but weren't particularly good
0:20:04 > 0:20:06for higher speeds and higher temperatures.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10It was only really later on that mineral oils came in in a big way,
0:20:10 > 0:20:15which allowed engines to improve in size and performance at that stage.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18With the loco oiled and steam up,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21it's time to take to the tracks.
0:20:21 > 0:20:22Brake off!
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Toot the whistle to let them know we're coming.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28WHISTLE BLOWS
0:20:28 > 0:20:29Excellent.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- Now, gently open the regulator. - There we are.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34- There we go.- Whoa!
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- We're off!- We're off. We're going backwards!- We're going backwards.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47A little bit fast, Michael.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50If we could slow down, that would be marvellous.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53That's it. Coming to a gentle stand now, just ideal.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03That is fun.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05That gives you such a feeling of satisfaction,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09being able to stop a great powerful machine like this in its tracks.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- This was the railway line down to Montrose, yes?- Yes, indeed.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16What sort of cargoes were going in and out of Montrose?
0:21:16 > 0:21:17Oh, there would be all kinds of things.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20There would be timber from the Baltic states,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22coal and lime going to Brechin...
0:21:22 > 0:21:27There was quite a flow of guano, which was a phosphate fertiliser.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Coming the other way, there'd be agricultural produce...
0:21:29 > 0:21:33There was a manure works in Brechin that collected it all together,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35and loaded it into wagons, which went off to farmers,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37where it would be put back in the field.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Everything was recycled.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Bird poo and, er...horse... dropping.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46MICHAEL LAUGHS The things they had to use before agrochemicals came in.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It's called organic these days.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50The Caledonian was an eclectic railway,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53transporting agricultural fertilisers,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and with its proximity to the castle at Balmoral,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59also the most precious passenger of Bradshaw's day.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00Now...
0:22:00 > 0:22:02If you look...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- You see that row of trees down the left hand side, Michael?- Yes.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08They were planted at Queen Victoria's request,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10because when she was going to Balmoral,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12the Royal Train would stop here for her breakfast
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and she didn't like the locals seeing her eating.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18So they were planted on her request and they're still here to this day.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19That's wonderful. You know...
0:22:19 > 0:22:22She usually, I think, stopped her train when she was going to eat.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26She did not like particularly to eat on the move.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27Whereas I love it.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35I've returned to Montrose Station
0:22:35 > 0:22:39to catch a train northbound to my next destination.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I'm now in Aberdeenshire, and Bradshaw's tells me,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49"It forms the north east corner of the island
0:22:49 > 0:22:51"to the easternmost point of a triangle
0:22:51 > 0:22:55"which juts out far into the German Ocean."
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Because of the conflicts of the 20th century,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59that was renamed the North Sea,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02but the name of the city where I'm going now, Aberdeen,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04is as durable as granite.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05And Bradshaw's tells me that,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09"It is white granite which gives the city a handsome appearance.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13"The almost inexhaustible supplies of this stone are close at hand."
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Well, almost a century and a half later
0:23:16 > 0:23:19is a good time to find out just how inexhaustible they've been.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25During the Middle Ages, the people of Aberdeen lived from fishing,
0:23:25 > 0:23:26weaving, wool and leather.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Recently, the oil and gas found under the North Sea
0:23:31 > 0:23:34has made the city a sort of Houston of Europe.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37But in Bradshaw's day,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41because of the unfailing supply of another expensive mineral,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Aberdeen was known as the Granite City.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48'The town's Victorian buildings are resplendent in it.'
0:23:50 > 0:23:55In a nearby quarry, production manager Andy Henderson
0:23:55 > 0:23:58will show me how the stone is extracted.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Andy, it would be difficult to describe the scale of this thing.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Absolutely massive.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- Stretches hundreds of yards.- Mm-hmm.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Amazing sight.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14How many tonnes of rock are you going to move today?
0:24:14 > 0:24:1523,000.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18And we have five tonnes' worth of explosives to do that.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- ANDY LAUGHS - That is an enormous explosion.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23- RADIO:- 'Firing in 10 seconds.'
0:24:23 > 0:24:2510 seconds - I must say, my heart is racing.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27ANDY LAUGHS
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Prepare to have the earth moved.
0:24:31 > 0:24:32EXPLOSION
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Lord! Look at that!
0:24:36 > 0:24:39It has changed the shape of the quarry!
0:24:39 > 0:24:43It's brought down an unbelievable amount of stuff.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Wow!
0:24:44 > 0:24:45That's all there is to it.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49- Just 23,000 tonnes that have moved from one place to another.- Mmmm.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51- You could sell tickets to that, couldn't you? - ANDY LAUGHS
0:24:51 > 0:24:52It's maybe a thought!
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Is the method similar to the Victorian, then?- Very similar.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57I think the explosives are probably better,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59more efficient than they were back then.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02We'll be boring larger holes, if you like, than they would have,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05because in Victorian times, they'd have been doing
0:25:05 > 0:25:07maybe inch-and-a-half holes,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09something approximately that size, probably by hand.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Now we're using a big drilling rig
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and putting in higher quality explosives.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- Different sorts of explosives from the Victorians?- Definitely, yeah.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Much more efficient. We'll get more yield, if you like,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21for less explosives than they would have had to use.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24And considerably safer now, as well.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27They'd have been transporting explosives into the site
0:25:27 > 0:25:29as explosives, if you like.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Here, we'll actually mix them prior to them being necessary.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33Sounds a bit safer.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Definitely.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Aberdeen's granite industry developed from the 18th century,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44with stone first sent to London for paving in 1764.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48It formed the base of Trafalgar Square's original fountains.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53As the industry expanded, materials and skills were so plentiful
0:25:53 > 0:25:56that much of the city of Aberdeen was constructed from the rock.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Quarries were deep, so retrieving the stone was a challenge.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Before the steam-powered derrick cranes of the 1880s,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06the industry relied upon the invention
0:26:06 > 0:26:09of a local quarry owner, John Fyfe.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12His "Blondin," named after a famous tightrope walker,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16consisted of steel cables strung across the quarry
0:26:16 > 0:26:18which carried a trolley.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21From that, an enormous bucket was lowered into the hole.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24The process is now mechanised.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I wonder how much more stone is left?
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Andy, my Bradshaw's guide written more than a century ago
0:26:31 > 0:26:35predicts that these reserves of granite are inexhaustible.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Would you agree with that?
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Pretty much, to be quite honest with you.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I mean, here, the current extraction rates at this quarry,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44you've got in excess of 150, probably closer to double that -
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- probably about 300 years. - That's a lot, isn't it?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And then this is not the only quarry, let's face it.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51It isn't, no, it isn't.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54It's probably one of the major ones left in this area,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56but certainly not the only one.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Many of the great buildings of Aberdeen,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and even many of the houses are made of this sort of granite.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04It gives the city a very distinctive look, doesn't it?
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Well, It's what it's called - the Granite City, the Silver City -
0:27:07 > 0:27:09the one that sparkles back at you.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19This leg of my journey has reminded me
0:27:19 > 0:27:24how much 19th century Scotland depended on hard physical work -
0:27:24 > 0:27:28to heave the cargoes onto ships, to weave the hessian in the mills,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32to quarry the granite and to land the fish,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37and even as I discovered today, to drive a locomotive.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Our modern world owes a heavy debt
0:27:39 > 0:27:44to what the Victorians called "the horny hands of toil."
0:27:45 > 0:27:48On the next leg of this journey,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I ride the most northerly heritage line in Britain.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57And I learn how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- Do you think anyone's spotted us yet?- I don't think so. I'll keep an eye out, OK?
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I traverse one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Really is a spectacular piece of architecture and engineering.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13And I discover that life isn't always sweet
0:28:13 > 0:28:15on a shortbread production line.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Stop the conveyor belt, I want to get off!
0:28:18 > 0:28:19SHE LAUGHS
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd