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 > 0:00:21Stop-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 across the length
0:00:29 > 0:00:34and breadth of the isles to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I'm now completing my journey from High Wycombe to Aberystwyth.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I've left behind me the smoke stacks of the West Midlands in the
0:01:01 > 0:01:0719th century and I'm on the Cambrian railway, looking to discover what
0:01:07 > 0:01:12was the impact of industrialisation on rural and coastal towns in Wales.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16'This scenic line opened up mid Wales to 19th-century travellers,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18'and my Bradshaw's Guide steered them
0:01:18 > 0:01:21'towards all that the region had to offer.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25'Today, I'll experience Victorian entertainment in one of Wales'
0:01:25 > 0:01:27'best-loved resorts...'
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Here are the waves hitting the shore and here is the bay of Aberystwyth.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32Isn't that marvellous?
0:01:32 > 0:01:36'..hear how the railways took Welsh textiles into even the most
0:01:36 > 0:01:38'exclusive households.'
0:01:38 > 0:01:40When Queen Victoria sat down,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43there was a good piece of Newtown flannel between her and the throne.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44HE LAUGHS
0:01:44 > 0:01:49'And unleash the power of a 19th-century engineering marvel.'
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Whoa!
0:01:51 > 0:01:55- Listen to the sound of that water! - It's got 125 feet of head behind it!
0:01:55 > 0:01:57HE LAUGHS
0:02:01 > 0:02:04This trip began in the Chilterns and has taken me
0:02:04 > 0:02:08through the Victorians' beloved Shakespeare Country, and revealed
0:02:08 > 0:02:11the rich industrial heritage of the 19th-century Midlands.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Now I'm heading for Wales, and my final stop on its west coast.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'On this last leg I'll begin in rural Welshpool,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24'then stop off in Newtown,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'before exploring the beautiful county of Ceredigion.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Judging from the many fields here studded with sheep and cows,
0:02:33 > 0:02:38this area remains agricultural, as it was in the 19th century.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40My first stop will be Welshpool.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Bradshaw's tells me that it's "a place of considerable trade,"
0:02:44 > 0:02:48which I think must be a reference to a market economy.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55'I'm on the Shrewsbury to Welshpool line.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59'Opened in 1862, it gave the town a new lease of life.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07'I'm meeting local historian Chris Martin to hear the tale.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:12- Hello, Chris.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Welshpool.- Thank you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Rather a momentous pedestrian bridge?
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Yes, it was put in when the bypass was constructed in 1990.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You can see the old station is over here.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23'Chris is leading me to an abandoned spot beside the tracks.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27'Here, Victorian visitors could have witnessed livestock
0:03:27 > 0:03:28'being herded onto trains,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'as a result of Welshpool's thriving cattle and livestock market.'
0:03:32 > 0:03:38So, in the heyday of the railway, how did the market here function?
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Well, the market dates from more-or-less immediately after
0:03:41 > 0:03:43the railway was built.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46There was a terminal here built as sidings into the market,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49so you could get stock in and out of the market,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53you could take it out to the Midlands, bring in from the Midlands.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55'Welshpool's rail links improved further
0:03:55 > 0:04:00'when the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway opened in 1903.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'One of a number of narrow-gauge routes built from the late 1890s
0:04:04 > 0:04:08'to stimulate the flagging rural economy, it gave remote
0:04:08 > 0:04:11'farming communities direct access to markets.'
0:04:11 > 0:04:14What was that line like?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Well, the line sort of came in at the northeast end of the town,
0:04:18 > 0:04:19at a station, Raven Square,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22then came down through the built-up area of the town.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25You could see engines weaving their way through the traffic.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Health and safety nightmare, I suspect.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32'Thanks to improvements in the roads, the narrow-gauge line
0:04:32 > 0:04:36'closed in the 1950s, and while a stretch outside the town
0:04:36 > 0:04:40'reopened as a heritage line, the tracks in the centre were removed.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46'The market in the open air lasted in Welshpool until 2009,
0:04:46 > 0:04:52'when it moved to a modern under-cover site out of town, built at a cost of £13 million.'
0:04:54 > 0:04:58- Hello, Frank, how very good to see you.- Welcome to Welshpool. - Thank you.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03'Retired auctioneer Frank Knight is giving me a guided tour.'
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I had no idea I'd be seeing anything quite as vast as this.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- It's sheep from one end to the other, isn't it?- It is. It's quite a spectacle.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13How long have you been with the market, Frank?
0:05:13 > 0:05:19I left school in 1957 and joined the firm running the market then,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and I've been here ever since.
0:05:21 > 0:05:27How does it rank now amongst national and international markets?
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- It's the largest sheep market in Europe.- Really?
0:05:29 > 0:05:34We've always claimed that and nobody's ever disputed it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37'Nowadays the livestock come by road,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40'and on market day, the building throngs with buyers and sellers,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42'all anxious to seal a bargain.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:48- Are you a sheep farmer?- I AM a sheep farmer.- Good to see you.- Pleased to meet you.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50How long have you been in the business?
0:05:50 > 0:05:56Well, I'm 66 years of age now, and I've been in country life or farming life all my life, really.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Do you have any memory of the narrow-gauge, steam railway?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01I just about remember it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06The engines then didn't make a big noise but you saw the steam, then knew the train was coming.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- It makes you nostalgic, doesn't it?- It does, only trouble is you feel old
0:06:11 > 0:06:14when you look back and see them things happening.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Not old, just lucky to remember those days?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Lucky to remember those days, that's the main thing, we're here to remember.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- Morning, you buying or selling? - Selling.- These are yours?- Yes.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26How often do you bring lamb in here?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Every week. Every Monday, there's a market.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33You try to sell so you've got a continuous cash flow every week.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35You bet, good luck.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'The seller's fate is in the hands of the auctioneer.'
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- You're auctioning the sheep this morning?- Yes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- How many?- Not so many today - only about 4,500, 5,000.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47That sounds like quite a lot to me. How many on a really good day?
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Up to 10,000...lambs, that's without ewes, there's 5,000-odd ewes here as well.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54How do the bidders bid?
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- Very sneakily - winking, twitching their nose.- Really?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- You're serious, aren't you?- I am.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02You say what the next number is and they go...?
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Yeah, you got it. You watch now when they go, you'll see.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11We'll keep a watch out. Good luck with your auction.
0:07:12 > 0:07:1558, 20, 80, 89.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Sold at £62.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Sold at £63.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'It strikes me that, while the setting may have changed,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'the back-and-forth of the auction would have been just the same
0:07:33 > 0:07:36'in Bradshaw's day.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43'The wool produced by Welsh sheep
0:07:43 > 0:07:46'has long been a significant source of the country's wealth.'
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'I'm now rejoining the Cambrian railway
0:07:49 > 0:07:53'and heading for a place where it gave rise to a booming Victorian industry.'
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Having now spent some time with woolly animals,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I'm attracted by this entry in my Bradshaw's for Newtown.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07"A spacious flannel hall has been erected."
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Now, any former politician knows how TO flannel,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14but as for the material, my education looms ahead.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16'Flannel is a soft fabric,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19'which has been woven from Welsh wool for centuries.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24'In the late 1700s, technological advances revolutionised it
0:08:24 > 0:08:27'and dozens of factories sprang up in Newtown.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'But only in the railway age did this traditional product
0:08:30 > 0:08:32'become a global brand.'
0:08:36 > 0:08:40- Hello, David.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Newtown. - Very good to be here.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43'Local historian David Pugh is sharing the story.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:46What difference did the railways make to the flannel business here?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Well, that was the second phase of the flannel business.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54In the mid-19th century, it declined and then...
0:08:54 > 0:09:00the railway through to the rest of the country opened in 1860...
0:09:00 > 0:09:06and also, thousands of miles away, something else happened, the American Civil War.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09The Northern states blockaded the Southern ports,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13cotton couldn't get out to Manchester, and the cotton industry collapsed
0:09:13 > 0:09:17in Manchester, and the silver lining from that particular cloud fell
0:09:17 > 0:09:23in Newtown, because if you can't have cotton, have soft Welsh flannel instead.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28And the chap that saw the opportunity...
0:09:28 > 0:09:32with the railway coming and the Civil War was a local draper,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and that's his monument over there, that building.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40'The imposing Royal Welsh Warehouse was built by Newtown entrepreneur
0:09:40 > 0:09:46'Pryce Pryce-Jones, whose big idea changed the way we shop forever.'
0:09:46 > 0:09:49It's a palatial entrance, who was this Pryce-Jones?
0:09:49 > 0:09:51He was a local man of humble origins.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54He became an apprentice draper,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56then started own business in the town centre.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Then, when the railway came, he had this idea, mail order.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Supposedly the first in the world. Certainly in Europe, Pryce-Jones
0:10:03 > 0:10:07was the first to have a mail order store where people wrote in with their orders,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12and the parcels were dispatched by rail just across the road.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16'Pryce-Jones started out with small local orders for Newtown flannel,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20'but as the railway network expanded, so did his business.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24'By 1879, he was doing a roaring trade.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:28He'd made enough money to leave his premises in the town centre,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32which were much smaller, and build this vast Royal Welsh Warehouse...
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and notice that it's not facing the town, it's facing the railway,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39because it was the railway that it was...intended to impress...
0:10:39 > 0:10:42travellers passing through the town, to see this great building.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45If you go round the back, it's not nearly so ornate.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'Pryce-Jones soon became a national figure,
0:10:48 > 0:10:54'elected as Conservative MP in 1885 and receiving a knighthood in 1887.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58'He's even credited with the invention of the parcel post,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01'having suggested to the Royal Mail that the system for letters
0:11:01 > 0:11:04'be extended to packages.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08'And the railways carried his flannel products right to
0:11:08 > 0:11:10'the top of Victorian society.'
0:11:10 > 0:11:14- That really is a most handsome window.- It is.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18To commemorate Queen Victoria's patronage of his business. She was
0:11:18 > 0:11:22a regular customer, as he claimed were all the crowned heads of Europe.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25What sort of products do you think she bought from him?
0:11:25 > 0:11:26Well...
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Welsh flannel hand-woven, very soft,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36ideal for wearing next to the skin, so when Queen Victoria sat down
0:11:36 > 0:11:39there was a good piece of Newtown flannel between her and the throne.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41HE LAUGHS
0:11:41 > 0:11:43'Today, mail order has been transformed once again
0:11:43 > 0:11:46'by the advent of the internet.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'It's so interesting to learn that the story started here.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53'Before I rest for the night I've got one more journey to make,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56'and it's a feast for the eyes.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00'I'm following a section of the Cambrian Line built in 1863,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'whose stunning route crosses the Cambrian mountains
0:12:03 > 0:12:05'and the River Severn.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15'This picturesque landscape must have delighted Victorian railway
0:12:15 > 0:12:19'travellers, and I'm leaving the tracks to take a closer look.'
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Machynlleth, and what a beautiful train journey that was,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28along that broad river valley, all those beautiful greens.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31And it's so nice to see on a rural train service like this,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33the train was virtually full.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'Machynlleth is the gateway to the southern part
0:12:38 > 0:12:41of Snowdonia National Park, and my Bradshaw's
0:12:41 > 0:12:45enthuses about this region's "Cyclopean precipices...
0:12:45 > 0:12:49"upheaved at our very path."
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'It recommends exploring the pretty area around Dolgellau
0:12:52 > 0:12:57'and who better to enjoy it with than local artist Keith Davies?'
0:12:57 > 0:12:59You're a painter, aren't you?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02What do you find compelling about this countryside?
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Well, just everything.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The light's fantastic. but everything I want to paint is here...
0:13:06 > 0:13:09the mountains, the forest, the beach, the sea.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12If you can't get inspired here, you can't get inspired anywhere.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'Soon after my guidebook was published, a branch line was
0:13:15 > 0:13:19'built which passed through Dolgellau en route to the coast.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'Closed in the 1960s, it's now a popular walk,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24'and while the main attraction is the scenery,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27'traces of the railway heritage can still be seen.'
0:13:27 > 0:13:31This really is enchanting as the sun goes down.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34It's absolutely amazing, an artist's dream.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And this, quite evidently, is the old railway station?
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Yes, it is. We start with the booking office, the ticket office,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and on the end, the stationmaster's house.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47'Today the old railway buildings form part of a small hotel.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'An ideal spot for my Bradshaw's and me to spend the night.'
0:14:03 > 0:14:07To wake to such a morning in such a wonderful landscape,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10it's a joy to be alive, a joy to travel.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'It's time for me to retrace my steps to Machynlleth...
0:14:16 > 0:14:20'and embark on the final part of the Cambrian Line.'
0:14:29 > 0:14:32This spectacular scenery is bringing me
0:14:32 > 0:14:36towards my last destination on the regular railway, Aberystwyth,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40of which Bradshaw says, "There's no station southward of Caernarvonshire
0:14:40 > 0:14:45"from which the Welsh Alps may be so advantageously seen,."
0:14:45 > 0:14:48It also bring me of course to the Irish Sea and a resort which,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52in the late 19th century, was populated with Black Country workers
0:14:52 > 0:14:57and their families, anxious to dip their coal-stained toes in the brine.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02'When my guidebook was published, this line was not yet complete,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05'stopping eight miles short of Aberystwyth.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11'Despite that, my Bradshaw's has a detailed entry for the town.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15'Its author clearly knew that this place would astonish railway tourists.'
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Aberystwyth station is built on a scale that reminds us
0:15:21 > 0:15:24that this was once a substantial resort.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I like to imagine, in Victorian times, the steam engines
0:15:27 > 0:15:32smoking behind as thousands of excursionists disembark,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35many of them about to see the sea for the first time.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39'By the early 1900s,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43'Aberystwyth was welcoming thousands of visitors every year,
0:15:43 > 0:15:48'and the seafront was lined with Victorian buildings and a fine new pier.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:52'I'm admiring it with local historian Michael Freeman.'
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- Michael.- Hello, Michael.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58I must say, I'm bowled over by this view, it's absolutely superb.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01I always enjoy looking at it, especially at sunset.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Was Aberystwyth already an important resort before the railways?
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Yes, from the 1770s, the gentry came here in quite large numbers.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11It was quite an exclusive resort because it was
0:16:11 > 0:16:14so expensive to travel across the mountains of Wales.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17And where were they staying in those pre-railway days?
0:16:17 > 0:16:22There were a few hotels, or "inns" as they called them then...
0:16:22 > 0:16:24so that's mostly where they would have stayed,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27then they had an assembly room where they would have met to socialise
0:16:27 > 0:16:29and dance and play cards.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33'But this genteel resort was soon to change forever,
0:16:33 > 0:16:39'with the arrival of the Aberystwyth & Welsh Coast Railway line in 1864.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43'At a stroke, a whole new section of society could afford to travel here.'
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Where were they coming from?
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Mostly the Midlands, Birmingham area, because all the trains could come here
0:16:48 > 0:16:52quite easily then, there were far more train lines in Wales than earlier on.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56'The early railway tourists came to exchange the smoke
0:16:56 > 0:17:00'of Britain's industrial heartland for fresh air and sunshine.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02'But by the end of the 19th century,
0:17:02 > 0:17:07'more sophisticated entertainment was available.'
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Ah, exposed to the elements.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'This funicular railway was opened in 1896,
0:17:13 > 0:17:18'part of an ambitious programme to turn so-called Constitution Hill
0:17:18 > 0:17:20'into a special tourist attraction.'
0:17:20 > 0:17:22The view of Aberystwyth is absolutely superb.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24It is magnificent from up here,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and many people would have climbed the hill just to see that.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29'Supposedly the longest in Britain,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32'the funicular led tourists to hilltop pleasure gardens,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36'including a Victorian favourite attraction, the camera obscura.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41'This optical device allowed tourists to see a moving
0:17:41 > 0:17:45'image of the world outside from within the confines of a building.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'Modern visitors can experience a 1980s reproduction
0:17:48 > 0:17:52'of the 19th-century original.'
0:17:52 > 0:17:54So what am I seeing there?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57This is a live image of what's going on outside.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It's projected from a mirror above us onto this table.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Here are the waves hitting the shore and here is the bay of Aberystwyth.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Isn't that marvellous?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11'The principle is the same as a pinhole camera
0:18:11 > 0:18:13'and dates back to antiquity.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15'By Victorian times,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20'improved lenses had seaside tourists marvelling at the perfect picture.'
0:18:20 > 0:18:22In the late 19th century,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24nobody would have seen a moving image before?
0:18:24 > 0:18:27No, it must have been exciting for them, to see that,
0:18:27 > 0:18:32but of course, the cinema took over and this went out of fashion...
0:18:32 > 0:18:34at the beginning of the 20th century.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Well, I think this has given me
0:18:36 > 0:18:41almost as clear an image of Victorian Britain as my Bradshaw's.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44'The Victorians made the seaside break a British institution,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48'and right through the 20th century, the people of the Midlands flocked
0:18:48 > 0:18:51'to the so-called "Biarritz of Wales."
0:18:51 > 0:18:53'Before my last train of the day,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57'I'm catching up with Birmingham-born Pat Hovers,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00'who first visited Aberystwyth over 50 years ago.'
0:19:00 > 0:19:02What kind of a resort was it in the '60s?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06It was very popular, because coming to the seaside
0:19:06 > 0:19:09was an adventure in those days, and Midlanders very much came to
0:19:09 > 0:19:12this part of Wales, to Aberystwyth, whereas
0:19:12 > 0:19:17the Manchester people would go north to Blackpool. It was where the railway lines go.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20So what did you do in Aberystwyth. Was it ice creams and candy floss?
0:19:22 > 0:19:23Paddling.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27You had to go in the sea if you came to the coast.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And, yes, ice creams on the prom. Just walking along the prom,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34there was always something going on, Punch and Judy sometimes,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and the pier and the amusements.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Something must have appealed to you as you've now settled in the area?
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Indeed I have, yes.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45I can't think what it was. I could say,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49"Rwy'n hapus iawn i fyw yn y diwylliant Cymreig,"
0:19:49 > 0:19:50but my accent isn't very good.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- What would that mean?- "I'm very happy to live in the Welsh culture."
0:19:53 > 0:19:57I remember my children coming home and saying, "The Brummies are here."
0:19:57 > 0:19:59What they actually said was,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02"The otters and grotters are here." I said, "What do you mean?!"
0:20:02 > 0:20:06"Oh, they come from Birmingham and they say, 'It's 'otter here than it is at home.'
0:20:06 > 0:20:11I had to remind them they were born and bred in Birmingham,
0:20:11 > 0:20:12so we would not laugh
0:20:12 > 0:20:15at the otters and grotters, no, not at all.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19'When my guidebook was published, tourists wanting to explore
0:20:19 > 0:20:24'the area around Aberystwyth had to go by coach or on foot,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28'but very soon, along came a much more satisfactory way to travel.'
0:20:30 > 0:20:33You may think that there's nothing so beautiful as to see
0:20:33 > 0:20:37the Welsh landscape slip by through the window of a train.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39But what about this?
0:20:39 > 0:20:41All-round visibility
0:20:41 > 0:20:44in the first-class observation saloon
0:20:44 > 0:20:46of the Vale Of Rheidol Railway,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49which has been carrying tourists for 110 years.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56'First opened in 1902 to serve local lead mines, this narrow-gauge line
0:20:56 > 0:21:00'was soon popular with holidaymakers, and remains so today.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09'From vintage 1920s and '30s carriages,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14'tourists can admire stunning views on their way to a landmark
0:21:14 > 0:21:16'favoured by Victorian visitors...'
0:21:17 > 0:21:20My Bradshaw's says that Pontarfynach,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23or "the devil's bridge" is no more than 12 miles away,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and although those words were written 40 years before this line was built,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31it is indeed just short of 12 miles, following the course
0:21:31 > 0:21:33of the River Rheidol.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38I can hear the locomotive straining ahead as we climb 650 feet
0:21:38 > 0:21:42through intense greenery of this gentle Mid-Wales country.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49'I'm leaving the train at Devil's Bridge station,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53'which takes its name from an 11th-century bridge over the River Mynach.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'Since surmounted by two newer bridges, this curiosity can be
0:21:57 > 0:22:01'admired en route to the nearby Devil's Bridge Falls.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'Rendered in paint by Turner and in verse by Wordsworth,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10'their natural beauty magnetised Victorian tourists.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16'But I'm heading off the beaten track, in search of a man-made marvel.'
0:22:16 > 0:22:18During the course of my travels,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I've admired many feats of Victorian engineering,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25but now I've ventured some distance from the nearest railway station
0:22:25 > 0:22:29to see one that, even by the standards of the age,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31was vast and audacious.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38'This epic site is the extraordinary Elan Valley reservoir system,
0:22:38 > 0:22:43'whose series of dams holds back up to 100,000 megalitres of pure Welsh water.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48'Begun in the 1890s, it's a fitting final stop on my long journey
0:22:48 > 0:22:50'from the heart of England to Mid Wales.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54'Because this water is destined for the taps of Birmingham.
0:22:54 > 0:22:59'I'll hear the explanation from site manager Noel Hughes.'
0:22:59 > 0:23:02- Hello.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Elan Valley.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05'As industrial Birmingham boomed and its population mushroomed,
0:23:05 > 0:23:10'the inadequate water supply led to devastating epidemics of cholera
0:23:10 > 0:23:11'and typhoid.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16'So the City Corporation bought land in the Elan Valley, 70 miles away.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22'Their bold vision was to carry water by pipeline to Birmingham.'
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Give me an idea of the scale of this thing.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25It was phenomenal.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31It was one of the largest Victorian engineering complexes at the time.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36Liverpool had certainly constructed a dam some ten years prior to that
0:23:36 > 0:23:41to supply water to the city, but on this scale, it's phenomenal.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43How did they transport the materials they needed?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Well, in this area you'd expect them to quarry
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and use the local stone.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53However, the local stone here is so hard, it's one of the hardest granites in Wales,
0:23:53 > 0:23:58so they transported the stone from the South Wales valleys by railway.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04There was about 33 miles of railway constructed in the Elan Valley
0:24:04 > 0:24:07to assist with the building of the reservoirs themselves.
0:24:07 > 0:24:14'The ambitious project needed dismaying tonnages of stone and unimaginable numbers of men.'
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Over the 12 years that it took to construct the dams,
0:24:18 > 0:24:2150,000 people went through the books.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25- Goodness.- At any one time, there was 5,000 people working.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28They must have made a construction village, I suppose?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32They did, what they called the navvy village which held
0:24:32 > 0:24:35somewhere in the region of 2-2,500 people at any one time.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38It was a wooden shanty town,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41constructed just downstream of the first dam.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'With typical Victorian attention to detail,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48'every aspect of the project was carefully conceived,
0:24:48 > 0:24:53'and the result is a system of dams which are both functional and elegant.'
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Here we are, Michael, Penygarreg Dam.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I mean, of course it's huge,
0:24:59 > 0:25:04but I didn't expect it to be so beautiful with this lovely, cascading foam.
0:25:04 > 0:25:10That's right, yes. It was designed that way to oxygenate the water as it cascades over.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13It must cost a lot to maintain a Victorian structure?
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Not at all. The construction itself is designed to be almost maintenance-free.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21It's as good now as when first constructed.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23They were fantastic people, those Victorians.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25They knew what they were doing!
0:25:26 > 0:25:28'By the time the project was complete,
0:25:28 > 0:25:35'Victoria's reign had ended, and her son Edward VII opened the pipeline in 1904.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39'Amazingly, the dam's inner workings have barely changed since then.'
0:25:41 > 0:25:43- Helmet for you, Michael.- Thank you.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50- Would like to go first?- Is it a long way?- There's 174 steps to go down!
0:25:52 > 0:25:57'Our destination is the valve chamber, right in the heart of the dam.'
0:25:58 > 0:26:04What we have here is the original Victorian valves that were installed some 110 years ago.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08'Normally, water flows over the top of the dam into the next reservoir,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12'but the valves are used in times of drought to regulate the supply.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Eventually, it reaches the main reservoir, where it's filtered,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21before being gently propelled by gravity along a closed aqueduct to the Midlands.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I tell you what we'll do, we'll do what the king did 110 years ago.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- Let's release the water to Birmingham.- Let's give it a go.- OK.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- HE GROANS - There we go. And again.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36Whoa, listen to the sound of that water!
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Indeed, it's got 125 feet of head behind it!
0:26:40 > 0:26:41HE LAUGHS
0:26:41 > 0:26:44The water is roaring past us!
0:26:46 > 0:26:49I think that should be enough to keep 'em going for tomorrow.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52The whole chamber is soaking with the water!
0:26:53 > 0:27:00Water, water everywhere. Enough for Birmingham to drink.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05'Feeling the sheer power of the water brings home
0:27:05 > 0:27:10'the admirable self-confidence of the engineers who built this dam.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14'No challenge was too great for the visionaries of the railway age.'
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Guided by my Bradshaw's, my travels through the West Midlands
0:27:20 > 0:27:23reminded me that for the majority of Queen Victoria's subjects,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27industrialisation brought squalor, disease
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and dangerous working conditions.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But regular wages also produced higher living standards,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38new engineering supplied clean water, and the railways opened up
0:27:38 > 0:27:45the country and seaside to city dwellers who'd never before seen such beauty.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Victorian Britain offered for the first time to working people...
0:27:49 > 0:27:51broad horizons.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55'On my next journey,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59'I'll travel sea-to-sea from the Solent to the Humber,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'starting at the centuries-old naval hub of Portsmouth.'
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Fire! CANNON FIRES
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'I'll visit a surprising 19th-century place of worship.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:14It's not only the first UK mosque, it's the first in Northern Europe.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'Put in a shift at London's oldest fish market.'
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Man wants his fish today, not the weekend.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23'And marvel at Lincoln's most-impressive cathedral.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Like fingers of honey-coloured stone. Absolutely breathtaking.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd