0:00:06 > 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 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:29 > 0:00:31across the length and breadth of these isles
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Steered by my Bradshaw's Guide, I'm now at the halfway point
0:00:57 > 0:01:01of my journey from London Paddington to Newton Abbot.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Today, I shall complete my crossing of the county of Somerset.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10On this leg, I'll be exploring a church that moves
0:01:10 > 0:01:12in mysterious ways.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16That's extraordinary! It really is moving from side to side!
0:01:16 > 0:01:22I'll find out just what it takes to run a 19th-century signal box.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24I had no idea what a signalman needed to do
0:01:24 > 0:01:27was so responsible and so physical
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And I'll summon all my strength
0:01:31 > 0:01:35to shift a 110-tonne steam locomotive.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36HE GROANS
0:01:36 > 0:01:39She's moving! I can't believe it, she's moving.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44On this journey, I'm paying tribute to Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47master engineer of the Great Western Railway.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51I started at Paddington station, one of his finest monuments,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54travelled west through Wiltshire and into Somerset,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and I'll finish at Newton Abbot in Devon -
0:01:57 > 0:02:00the scene of one of his magnificent failures.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03I'm covering 25 miles on this leg,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07travelling north-west through Somerset
0:02:07 > 0:02:09ending on the coast at Minehead.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18My first stop today is Taunton.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21My Bradshaw's tells me that it was successfully defended
0:02:21 > 0:02:24against the Royalists during the English Civil War
0:02:24 > 0:02:27and also that, there, the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth
0:02:27 > 0:02:31proclaimed himself King in 1685.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Legend has it that Queen Victoria was so incensed
0:02:34 > 0:02:38by this history of anti-monarchic feeling
0:02:38 > 0:02:40that whenever she crossed Taunton,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44she would draw the curtain in her railway carriage window
0:02:44 > 0:02:47so as not to see her disloyal subjects.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Looks like Taunton is trying to make up for its anti-Royalist past...
0:03:08 > 0:03:11"Somerset's county town," says my Bradshaw's,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15"has a most pleasing appearance, situated in the central part
0:03:15 > 0:03:18"of the luxuriant Vale of Taunton Deane."
0:03:18 > 0:03:25The guidebook's also captivated by one church, St Mary Magdalene.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Bradshaw's tells me that the tower of Taunton's gothic church
0:03:28 > 0:03:32is of Henry VII's age, 153 feet high,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34of light and elegant proportions,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and set off with pinnacles, battlements and niches
0:03:38 > 0:03:41in the elaborate style of that day.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44And I'm hoping the vicar can tell me more.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47BELLS PEAL
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- Hello, Michael. Welcome. - Lovely to see you.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59My Bradshaw's tells me that the tower here is of Henry VII's age,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- so it's very historic. - Ah! But it isn't quite.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08It's not strictly true - it's a facsimile of the original.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14The original was 1508, but in Victorian times, they rebuilt it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18They've rebuilt it very faithfully because it doesn't look Victorian.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Well, you know what the Victorians were like, they always liked to add,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26but they resisted that temptation. They didn't put a clock face there.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30They just built it as it was because it was so magnificent.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36The restoration of the church and tower was overseen
0:04:36 > 0:04:39by renowned Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43One of Britain's most prolific architects,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47over 800 buildings in the UK were restored or designed by him,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51including, in London, the St Pancras Midland Hotel
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59So, St Mary Magdalene's tower is in esteemed company.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00Out into the glorious sunshine.
0:05:02 > 0:05:03MICHAEL PANTS
0:05:03 > 0:05:06As we came up, my heart was pounding more and more.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09The steps were getting steeper and steeper,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and also, thinner and thinner! I have size 11 feet!
0:05:12 > 0:05:15- MICHAEL SIGHS - Not easy...- Not easy.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Rod, having walked up all those steps,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24gives you an appreciation of the task of building this tower in 1508
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and the Victorians rebuilding it. What do you know of the rebuilding?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30There is a lovely story about the Victorian rebuild.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32In those days, of course,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35it was before they had a lot of mechanical help,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37so the building was done by pulleys, blocks, tackles
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and a donkey.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42The donkey went backwards and forwards for several years
0:05:42 > 0:05:46down Hammet Street, pulling the heavy stones up the tower.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Then, right at the end,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51when the tower was finished in its magnificence,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56the builders took the donkey all the way up, to here where we stand now,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00to give him a good view of what he'd helped to build.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02The donkey must have thought it was
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- an "Eeyore-some" view.- Goodness me!
0:06:04 > 0:06:07HE CHUCKLES Yes, I'm sure he did!
0:06:07 > 0:06:12There is something else about the tower and that relates to the bells.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15There are 15 bells - 12 are regularly rung -
0:06:15 > 0:06:18but they are infamous in the bell-ringing world.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21They are not terribly good, they need replacing.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Well, you just watch what happens when I call them up.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33OK, folks, ready to ring.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35BELLS RING
0:06:44 > 0:06:47BELLS RING, MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:06:47 > 0:06:49I know what happens!
0:06:49 > 0:06:51The tower sways!
0:06:51 > 0:06:54I am standing in the centre of the tower and it's going...
0:06:55 > 0:06:57..wobbly...
0:06:57 > 0:06:59BELLS CONTINUE
0:06:59 > 0:07:03That's extraordinary, it really is moving from side to side.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07I was once in a skyscraper in an earthquake and it felt like this.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- Luckily, I trust Victorian builders. - Yes.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13BELLS PEAL
0:07:20 > 0:07:23The Victorians' appetite for railway building meant that
0:07:23 > 0:07:25by the end of the 19th century,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29whilst mainlines joined the country's major cities,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32branch lines had penetrated almost every corner of the country.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40One such line, engineered by Brunel, was the West Somerset Railway,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43which ran from Taunton to the Somerset coast.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Today the line starts five miles out of town.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53When my Bradshaw's was written, the West Somerset line was new.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57"14 miles long, It runs through Bishops Lydeard, Crowcombe,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01"Stogumber and Williton, to the market town of Watchet."
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Today, it runs from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08a distance of 20 miles, making it the longest stretch
0:08:08 > 0:08:12of standard-gauge heritage railway in the United Kingdom.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16I'm going on it, and I'm steaming with excitement.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25I've done a lightning change,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28because on this trip, not for me the passenger carriage.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31No, I'm headed for the footplate.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Hello. Pleased to meet you, Michael.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- Can I come on? - Please do. Come aboard.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Driver Merv Hebditch has invited me to travel up front.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46Always an exciting moment when your steam locomotive leaves the station.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49TRAIN HISSES AND CHUGS
0:08:49 > 0:08:51TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:08:51 > 0:08:52WHISTLE BLOWS
0:08:55 > 0:08:59What a glorious sound this locomotive is making!
0:08:59 > 0:09:03TRAIN HISSES AND CHUGS
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Brunel was commissioned to build the line.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15It was operated by the Bristol & Exeter Railway Company
0:09:15 > 0:09:20and opened in 1862. Over a decade later, the line was taken over
0:09:20 > 0:09:23by that most famous of railway companies
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and one very close to Brunel's heart - the Great Western.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31To be in England on a summer's day is bliss,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35but to be on a steam locomotive in West Somerset is heaven.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Like other small rural branches, the line closed in the 1970s.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46However, it reopened as a heritage railway some years later,
0:09:46 > 0:09:51and is enjoyed today by passengers who like a ticket to nostalgia.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54We've got quite a crowded train!
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Why do you think the British people are so fascinated by steam engines?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01They're just a living thing.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05We put the fire in the morning, it comes to life, creates steam,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08it makes a noise. I've been doing this 52 years,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10and I still get a buzz out of it.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24- I'd like to stay on, but this is my stop.- It'd be nice if you could.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27I'm disembarking at Williton,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31although it's only mentioned in passing in my Bradshaw's Guide.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34I'm here to visit something that's a magnet for rail enthusiasts -
0:10:34 > 0:10:37a signal box that's nearly as old as the line itself
0:10:37 > 0:10:39and still operational.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44'Signalman Nick Budd pulls the levers.'
0:10:44 > 0:10:48- Hello!- Hello, Nick, that looks like hard work.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52- It is. It's nice and warm today. - Are you a signalman, born and bred?
0:10:52 > 0:10:56No, I was an airline captain, would you believe?
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Then I gave it up, and decided to come here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02What did you used to fly?
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Boeing 747s.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It just shows the railways attract allsorts.
0:11:08 > 0:11:14So, in those days, you had 400 lives under your supervision,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- and you do today.- Absolutely. The only difference is speed.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20In those days, I was flying planes at 650mph,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and today I'm controlling trains at 25mph.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- When's our next train? - The next train is in 20 minutes.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32That doesn't sound like much time to a trainee signalman like me!
0:11:34 > 0:11:38First, you set the route, and then the signals.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Now...
0:11:40 > 0:11:42These levers are colour-coded.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44The black ones are the points.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46The blue ones LOCK the points.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48The red ones are for signals.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50The white ones are spare levers.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54The one and only brown one locks and unlocks the gates
0:11:54 > 0:11:56on the level crossing.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I think I'd rather fly a 747! That sounds pretty complicated!
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Well, that's only the beginning.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05'My first job is to close the gates.'
0:12:07 > 0:12:09- Hope we are still in time. - I think, just.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12'Next, they need to be locked.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:14And home.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Time to put off the signal now. Number 23, please.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27It is quite pressurised, isn't it?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30The very idea that you're responsible for people's lives.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Usually, there's a train coming the other way at the same time.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38'Thank goodness there isn't today! This is complicated enough!'
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Signal.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Back.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Gates...
0:12:47 > 0:12:49unlocked.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53With the train in the station, now I have to open the gates again.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Oh, dear! How do these open?
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Ah...
0:13:00 > 0:13:01No.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03There's a lever the other side.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Thank you, that was a helpful tip. There we go.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13I had no idea that what a signalman needed to do
0:13:13 > 0:13:16was so responsible and so physical.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22OK, the train's here. The gates are open,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25the signal's on. What next?
0:13:25 > 0:13:29- Now we need a token for the train to go to the next signal box.- Right.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31- Three and one?- Three and one.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40KEY RATTLES
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Take it out.- I have to take that out? - That's it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'This Victorian token system was a safety measure to ensure
0:13:48 > 0:13:53'that no two trains could ever be on one stretch of single track
0:13:53 > 0:13:55'at the same time.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59'Only a driver with the token in his possession could proceed.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01'Let's hope I've got this right!'
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I think you're expecting this.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- You're not the signalman! - I am for now.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10- Safe journey!- Thank you very much. - Bye, now.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- That went smoothly. - All we have to do now
0:14:13 > 0:14:14is put that back in the machine,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18so that we can get another one out sometime.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24A kind offer, but I think that's my lot for the day.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26For now, it's onwards.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30I'm looking forward to experiencing the ride as a passenger.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40My final stop of the day is Watchet,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42which my Bradshaw's tells me has
0:14:42 > 0:14:44"a coastguard station prettily seated
0:14:44 > 0:14:47"in a secluded creek on the Bristol Channel."
0:14:47 > 0:14:51It sounds like a delightful place to watch the last rays of the sun.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55In the 19th century, Watchet was a busy commercial port,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57shipping locally mined iron ore
0:14:57 > 0:15:00across the Bristol Channel to the Welsh furnaces.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The only ships docking here today are sailboats and yachts,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07as the port is now an active marina.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12A beautiful sunset on the Somerset coast,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15and I'm lucky to be in Watchet to watch it.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29The sun has risen on another beautiful morning.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36I'm continuing my journey north on this wonderful heritage line.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38My Bradshaw's tells me that
0:15:38 > 0:15:42"Dunster Castle, standing on the cliff to the south,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45"is within a very short distance". But when my guide was published,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47you couldn't get there by train.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Now you take the Dunster Castle Express.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01For wealthy landowners in the rural wilds,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05the arrival of the railway presented huge financial opportunities.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12Some sought profit by allowing the rail companies to build tracks
0:16:12 > 0:16:15through their estates, whilst others saw the potential
0:16:15 > 0:16:17in bringing tourism and trade to their area.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22One such champion was George Luttrell.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26In 1867, he inherited the Dunster estate -
0:16:26 > 0:16:30at the time, one of the largest in Somerset.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So keen was he to revitalise his corner of the county
0:16:32 > 0:16:35that he backed plans to extend the line
0:16:35 > 0:16:38from Watchet via Dunster to Minehead,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and he became the first director of this new railway.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And now, appearing out of the smoke from the engine
0:16:47 > 0:16:49as though it were looming out of a mist,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53is the magnificent sight of Dunster Castle,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55brilliantly lit on this sunny day.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58What a sight!
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Today, Dunster is in the hands of the National Trust,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27and volunteer guide Martin Harborne has kindly agreed to tell me more.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32What a wonderful room. How old is the castle?
0:17:32 > 0:17:36The castle, 1,000 years old. Originally there was a Saxon castle here,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40then when the Normans arrived, they built there big stone castle.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45- Then the Luttrells took it over? - Indeed. In 1376, they purchased it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48They were here an awfully long time. Was it 21 generations?
0:17:48 > 0:17:5021 generations, 600 years,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54right through until 1976, when the Luttrell family handed it over
0:17:54 > 0:17:56to the National Trust for their custody.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59I'm interested in one particular Luttrell,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01a Victorian, George Luttrell.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04George Fownes-Luttrell, that's his portrait up there,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08and he was involved in the total alteration of the castle,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11by the well-known architect of the day, Anthony Salvin.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14What sorts of things did he do?
0:18:14 > 0:18:18He completely transformed the castle from an Elizabethan-style castle,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22where the family lived at one side, the servants lived on this side
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and they entertained in the middle...
0:18:24 > 0:18:28He turned it into a Victorian comfortable gentleman's residence
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- with an upstairs and downstairs. - And using the latest technology?
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Absolutely, yes, he wanted all the latest technology,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37things that were almost unheard of down here -
0:18:37 > 0:18:41bathrooms, and gas supplies and those sorts of things,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44which, in the 1870s, was really cutting-edge stuff.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50The remodelling took four years and cost over £25,000,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54which was more than Luttrell's yearly income from the estate -
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'a sobering £2.5 million in today's money.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:07The billiards room was an important part of a Victorian household?
0:19:07 > 0:19:08A most essential part.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12This was a gentlemen's room. During the Victorian period,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15this would have been full of the smells of cigars and brandy
0:19:15 > 0:19:17and only the men were allowed in here.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Was this another innovation of George Fownes-Luttrell?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23It was. Prior to the alternations,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27this was the kitchen of the main house.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Unheard of in Victorian times,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33parts of the house had central heating, and the new kitchen,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37which was built in the basement, was well ventilated with windows.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44It was also state-of-the-art. Mod cons included a two-oven cooker,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48a built-in bain-marie and a dumbwaiter.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53This pioneering attitude towards new technologies continues unabated.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57In 2008, it became the first Grade I listed National Trust property
0:19:57 > 0:20:00to have solar panels installed.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03George Luttrell would be proud!
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Can you think of anything you'd rather have than a beautiful castle?
0:20:07 > 0:20:11I can - a beautiful castle with a view of steam trains.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19And that's where I'm headed.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Back to Dunster station to pick up the extended line,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27which so helped invigorate this rural corner of Somerset.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43My journey continues through stunning Somerset toward Minehead,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47which my Bradshaw's describes as "a beautiful watering hole".
0:20:47 > 0:20:51But when the railway reached there from 1874,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55then holiday-makers began to arrive by the train load.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Formerly a small fishing port, Minehead was already popular
0:21:01 > 0:21:04amongst the wealthy as a fashionable sea-bathing resort
0:21:04 > 0:21:07from as early as 1752.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12However, it wasn't until train travel
0:21:12 > 0:21:17that it became easily accessible and affordable for the middle classes.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19The West Somerset Railway should have linked
0:21:19 > 0:21:24across the Porlocks with the Lynton to Barnstaple line,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28but even for the Victorians, those hills proved too great an obstacle,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and so, Minehead is the end of the line.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- Hello.- Hello!- How was the train journey?- Wonderful, stunning.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- Do you know Minehead?- Not at all.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01- Are you going in to have a look? - Yes. Where do you suggest we go?
0:22:01 > 0:22:05All I know is my Bradshaw's calls it a beautiful watering hole.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10- Oh!- So, sounds like we've got something to look forward to.
0:22:10 > 0:22:16- A pint or a gin and tonic?- Could be either! Enjoy your day! Bye-bye!
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Today the station is packed with steam fans,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24but in Victorian times, it was tourists from the Big Smoke
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and South Wales crowding the platform.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32I'm meeting General Manager of this heritage railway, Paul Conibeare.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- Paul, hello. - Michael, welcome to Minehead.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39It's a vast station with these great, long platforms.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42That emphasises how important it was in its heyday.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Yes, it was a very busy Great Western terminus,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48and it's very long to cope with the visitors it anticipated on the day.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51It is the terminus. I can see hills ahead -
0:22:51 > 0:22:54presumably the Porlocks are what prevented it from going further.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57There were plans to go to Porlock and Lynmouth, but Sir George Newnes,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00who was involved in the Lynton-Barnstaple railway
0:23:00 > 0:23:02didn't want the riff-raff in their part of the world.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- The riff-raff from Minehead?- Yes.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10I notice, on your trains, that you have the engine on the front.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15That must imply that you have some way of turning them around?
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Luckily, we've invested in a new turntable, which was fitted in 2008,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22to provide the ability for the first time since the early '60s
0:23:22 > 0:23:25to turn the locomotives so they face the right direction
0:23:25 > 0:23:28for the cameras and the visitors to the railway!
0:23:28 > 0:23:32The turning-around of extremely heavy locomotives was a problem
0:23:32 > 0:23:36that confronted rail companies until the dawn of the diesel era.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39At Minehead, they had to be turned in a locomotive shed
0:23:39 > 0:23:41some distance from the tracks -
0:23:41 > 0:23:45a slow process, which ate into the efficiency of the line.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47The shed was demolished in the 1960s.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53This new turntable - a Victorian original for the most part -
0:23:53 > 0:23:57was purchased in 1974, but due to lack of funding and space,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00it wasn't put in place until 2008.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03We now have a locomotive weighing 110 tonnes,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07which our driver, David, will show you how to turn.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I'll just use my little finger. Hello, David. Reporting for duty, sir.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- We're just going to push it, are we? - Just push it.- OK, here goes.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19HE GROANS
0:24:19 > 0:24:22She's moving. I can't believe it.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Don't know about you, David, but I'm putting quite a lot of...
0:24:25 > 0:24:29- effort into this. - I have weight on my side!
0:24:29 > 0:24:33And now...that it's...in motion...
0:24:33 > 0:24:36it gets a little bit...easier, because...
0:24:36 > 0:24:39it...has...momentum.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Somebody tells me that stopping this thing
0:24:42 > 0:24:47- is even harder than getting it going.- I'll do the stopping.- OK.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53We're arriving...at our end point...
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I'm ceasing to push, cos it's moving on its own momentum
0:24:56 > 0:24:58and you're now braking it.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02And, ohhh...
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Overshot a tiny bit.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Just easing it back.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10You're learning to do that pretty well.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Ah...
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Next time, I'll do it alone.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- APPLAUSE - What can I say?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Thanks to the likes of George Newnes,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34a key player in establishing the twin resorts of Lynton and Lynmouth,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37the rail link was never built.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40So I can go no further by train.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Instead, I'll cross the impenetrable Porlock Hill by road
0:25:43 > 0:25:47to reach the next notable attraction mentioned in my guide.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Bradshaw says that tourists "should proceed to the far-famed
0:25:51 > 0:25:55"valley of the rocks on foot, along the cliff wall,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57"whence the scenery is very fine.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00"The view in the valley is exceedingly grand.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05"He should employ a guide to accompany him on his first visit,"
0:26:05 > 0:26:08and mine is called Terry.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15- Hello.- Hello, Michael.- What gave rise to these formations of rock?
0:26:15 > 0:26:20One time, the river ran through here, carving out this valley,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24then the river diverted to its present course running into Lynmouth.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26The crags you can see here
0:26:26 > 0:26:28were mainly caused by the weathering action
0:26:28 > 0:26:34over thousands of years, leaving complicated and intriguing shapes.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Beautiful view. It does take your breath away.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43At this point, we're about 500ft above sea level.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- Whoa, it's a long way down.- Yes.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- So, who created this path? - It was one of the hotel owners.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53He wanted it for his tourists. He wanted a romantic walk,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55something that was sensational.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58It must've attracted painters and writers over the years.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02It did. Some of the early visitors were Keats and Shelley.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05They went home and romanced about this place
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and they nicknamed it "Little Switzerland".
0:27:08 > 0:27:12At one point, it was said it was the grandest walk in England.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I've had a wonderful journey from Taunton,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33enjoying travel, Victorian-style, by steam train.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37I've filled my lungs with smoke and my eyes with smuts.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40What better place to blow them away, than here on the Devon cliffs
0:27:40 > 0:27:43where the romantic poets drew inspiration -
0:27:43 > 0:27:45one of the finest views in England.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55On my next journey, I get up close with a piece of natural history...
0:27:55 > 0:27:59It's a moa egg, it's an extinct bird from New Zealand.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04There's only 36 specimens of a decent size been catalogued in the world.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09I visit a garden used as a viewing platform for public hangings...
0:28:09 > 0:28:11We've got three tiers going up,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and according to the records, they were full.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It was shoulder-to-shoulder, line-to-line of people.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19..and encounter a timepiece like no other.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22In my political career, Peter, I met a few two-faced liars,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25but this is my first experience of a four-faced liar.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- One of them's correct, though! - THEY LAUGH
0:28:43 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd