0:00:04 > 0:00:08For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13At a time when railways were new, Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
0:00:13 > 0:00:15to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I'm using Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains
0:00:19 > 0:00:21transformed Britain -
0:00:21 > 0:00:26its landscape, its industries, society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I crisscross the country 150 years later,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it helps me to discover the Britain of today.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Today, I am excited to be embarking on the Heart of Wales line.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Completed only in 1868 to serve the needs of the agricultural,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14tin and anthracite industries,
0:01:14 > 0:01:20now it's used mainly by locals and tourists who gasp at its spectacular
0:01:20 > 0:01:26viaducts and tunnels on a line that is historic, scenic and epic.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This week, I'm travelling across Britain
0:01:40 > 0:01:42from west Wales to East Anglia.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48My journey, which began in Pembroke Dock, continued to Swansea
0:01:48 > 0:01:52and now passes through the valleys and mountains of Wales,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56crossing into Herefordshire and moving south-east to Oxford
0:01:56 > 0:02:00to take in Bedford and to end in Cambridge.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Today's leg begins in Swansea,
0:02:04 > 0:02:09moves north to marvel at the exotic in Llandeilo,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11finds a room with a view in Ludlow,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14heads south to Leominster, before arriving in Hereford.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23On this journey, I receive a lesson in Welsh pronunciation...
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Start from Pantyffynnon to Llandeilo,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30then there's Llandeilo to Llandovery, Llandovery to Llanwrtyd.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32You don't get confused with all your Llans do you?
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Well, I don't! HE CHUCKLES
0:02:37 > 0:02:40..step into my dancing shoes for a quadrille...
0:02:45 > 0:02:47And away they go!
0:02:47 > 0:02:51..and put my schoolboy scrumping skills to good use.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Heavens. That is delicious!
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- Nice and fruity, isn't it?- Oh!
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Be even better when it's alcoholic!
0:02:57 > 0:02:58HE LAUGHS Definitely.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Part of your five a day, that.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This part of the line had been built by 1857,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and so my Bradshaw's lists the stations which are tongue twisters
0:03:15 > 0:03:17for the non-Welsh-speaker.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22Llanelly, Llandeilo, Llangadock, Llandovery.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I'll be getting off at Llandeilo in order to visit Aberglasney,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30magnetised, as Victorians were, by its old-fashioned gardens.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42At the time of my guidebook, in order to reach the gardens
0:03:42 > 0:03:46visitors would pass through the picturesque medieval market town
0:03:46 > 0:03:49of Llandeilo on the River Towy.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56With the expansion of the British Empire, exotic plants
0:03:56 > 0:04:00such as rhododendrons and azaleas reached Britain.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04By the mid-19th century, botany had gripped the nation.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08With it came revived interest in formal garden design
0:04:08 > 0:04:10of earlier eras.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16So it's no surprise that Aberglasney's Elizabethan parterres
0:04:16 > 0:04:20were a source of inspiration to green-fingered Victorians.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24I'm meeting Roger Evans of the Aberglasney Restoration Trust.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Roger, there's a delightful tranquillity here.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34A lady visiting about the time of my Bradshaw's Guide, Hermione Jennings,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37talked about it being a curiously old-fashioned place.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38What would she have meant by that?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42Well, the basic structure of the garden goes back to the early 1600s
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and has remained fundamentally unchanged since that time
0:04:46 > 0:04:48So these structures, what were their origins?
0:04:48 > 0:04:54When Bishop Rudd moved here as bishop of St David's in 1594,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57he brought with him the idea of cloisters
0:04:57 > 0:05:00from his previous posting at Gloucester Cathedral,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and so he built these magnificent cloisters.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08And fortunately, these remain now the only cloistered gardens
0:05:08 > 0:05:09left in the UK.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15But not all of the gardens are frozen in time.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20In 2005, the Trust created something new - a Ninfarium.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26It took its inspiration from the Italian gardens of Ninfa,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28planted amongst medieval ruins.
0:05:31 > 0:05:37The Ninfarium occupies the mansion's ruinous central rooms and courtyard.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43It's subtropical in here!
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I sense how exciting the grand glass houses of the 18th
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and 19th centuries must have seemed to the Victorians.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Amongst the tropical plants I am meeting volunteer gardener,
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Helen Scutt.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08The Victorians had a fondness for glasshouses?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12They did because I suppose it was a different environment for them,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14they could express their artistic urge.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17And of course, when all these plant explorers came back
0:06:17 > 0:06:20with these new exotic plants, things like pineapples,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22these strange, bizarre things -
0:06:22 > 0:06:25ginger and passion flowers -
0:06:25 > 0:06:27they had nowhere to grow them
0:06:27 > 0:06:29because, of course, it's rainy and wet in Britain.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34So they had to build these houses, if you like, to show them off in,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37so why not create something quite beautiful at the same time?
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Everyday Victorians were inspired by the grand glasshouses
0:06:42 > 0:06:45of Regent's Park and Kew Gardens.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48With innovations in manufacturing
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and the abolition of the window tax in 1851,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54they might hope to emulate them at a domestic scale.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57What do you think the Victorians
0:06:57 > 0:06:59would have made of a space like this?
0:06:59 > 0:07:00They would have loved it.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04They liked anything that was new and off-centre and exciting,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06and I think this is a very exciting space.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10They were building grottos and other sort of garden buildings,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13so to come into a ruined garden like this,
0:07:13 > 0:07:14I think they would have loved it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20It's now time to resume my journey north-east,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23through mid Wales towards Ludlow.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I am going back on the Heart of Wales line
0:07:27 > 0:07:30as it enters ever-more picturesque countryside.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32The best place to see its twists and turns
0:07:32 > 0:07:35is from the driver's point of view in the cab.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44I am keen to appreciate why this line, completed in 1868,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46is known as one of the most scenic in Britain.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Long-serving driver Haydn Williams
0:07:51 > 0:07:53is happy for me to ride shotgun.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07A very picturesque line, Haydn.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Do you think it is up there with the best in Britain?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Oh, definitely.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12The best, probably.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14How long have you been driving it?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Uh.. Since 1970, I started.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18And this is the line I started on.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- Good heavens. That is a long time. - That is a long time.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23There's some quite spectacular features, aren't there?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25You've got a couple of viaducts and a tunnel?
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Yes, we've got Cynghordy Viaduct,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29which is just the other side of Llandovery.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Plus you've got Sugar Loaf Tunnel.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34It's 1,001 yards long.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Much of the Heart of Wales line is single track
0:08:38 > 0:08:43and a Victorian signalling system that allows trains to pass safely
0:08:43 > 0:08:44is still in use today.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Single track, how do you manage occupation of the track?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52With the token.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56This is what gives you permission to be on the track.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58This train doesn't go anywhere without this.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02When do we exchange that?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05We exchange it now in Llandovery, for the next section.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Do you know how long that system has existed?
0:09:08 > 0:09:09Well, before I started!
0:09:09 > 0:09:10HE LAUGHS
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Very ancient indeed!- Oh! Well, yeah.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Electronic token block signalling was in service by 1880.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Only the driver in possession of a token
0:09:26 > 0:09:29could occupy a block of track at a given time.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It proved fail-safe.
0:09:32 > 0:09:352957 at Llandovery. I put Llandeilo-Llandovery token in.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Can I have the Llandovery-Llanwrtyd token out, please?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43- You've asked permission to get the token.- Yes.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- And he's now going to release that? - That's it. And we get the light.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48If you don't get the light, you can't get the token out.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Should then get a series of lights. There we are.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I've got Llandovery-Llanwrtyd token,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56the white set-for-departure light is lit and the TPWS is flashing.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58There's only one of these tokens, is there?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01There's more than one token but there's only token out at one time
0:10:01 > 0:10:02and this is the only one that can be released.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05You cannot release any more tokens out of the machine now
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- until we put this one back in.- Aha.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- So we can be clear that the track is ours?- Yes.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20- So we have our new token. - Yes, we do.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23How many places are there along the line
0:10:23 > 0:10:26where you have to exchange the token?
0:10:26 > 0:10:29The five sections are start from Pantyffynnon to Llandeilo,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32then there's Llandeilo to Llandovery,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Llandovery to Llanwrtyd, Llanwrtyd to Llandrindod,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and Llandrindod to Knighton.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41It's easy for you to say!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Then the final one, Knighton to Craven Arms.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Oh, that one I can manage!
0:10:47 > 0:10:50You don't get confused with all your Llans do you?
0:10:50 > 0:10:51Well, I don't!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54I am looking forward to the Cynghordy Viaduct.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Will I get a good view of it?
0:10:56 > 0:10:57Yes, you will.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00It gives you quite a view of the valley either side as well,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02which is quite spectacular.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Oh, I can see the arches now spreading out below.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07That is beautiful!
0:11:08 > 0:11:10That is superb.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30In 1860, the Central Wales Extension Railway
0:11:30 > 0:11:32commissioned the Cynghordy Viaduct.
0:11:32 > 0:11:3818 arches long, this magnificent structure of sandstone and brick
0:11:38 > 0:11:42stands at a dizzying height of 100 foot over the Bran Valley.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- What's our next stop, Haydn? - Llandrindod Well is our next stop.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54It's where we change tokens and I will change with the other driver.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Ah, well. I have really enjoyed my ride had a fantastic view
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and I have enjoyed your passion for Heart of Wales Line.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- Thank you.- Thank you so much. Bye-bye.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Today, the line carries around 200,000 people a year,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19but historically it carried freight - mainly iron and coal.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Britain was building great iron ships
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and railways for world markets and the demand for coal,
0:12:26 > 0:12:31used in iron smelting and for steam power, was growing rapidly.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37By the 1870s, Welsh coal production had exceeded 18 million tonnes.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43As the train pulls into Llandrindod Wells, I'm in for a surprise.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47Well, hello!
0:12:47 > 0:12:50CROWD SHOUTS: Hello!
0:12:50 > 0:12:53What a wonderfully, beautifully dressed group of people you are!
0:12:53 > 0:12:54- Very nice to see you. - How do you do?
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Why are you having a Victorian festival?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Victorian town, spa town,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03and this is an annual festival which has been going for 33 years.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06We heard you were on the train, so we've all come to welcome you.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08- That's really sweet of you. - We're thrilled to bits to see you.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- Can I just hold that? - You may hold the Bradshaw's! Oh!
0:13:12 > 0:13:15THE CROWD CHEERS
0:13:15 > 0:13:18May I say that I never seen a better dressed group of people
0:13:18 > 0:13:20on any railway station in Britain!
0:13:20 > 0:13:22- Have a wonderful festival! - Thank you.- Thank you.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23Thank you very much.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Once connected to the line in 1868,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39remote spa towns like Llandrindod Wells
0:13:39 > 0:13:42were transformed into holiday resorts.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Tourists from South Wales, the Midlands and Northeast England
0:13:46 > 0:13:50flocked to the town's spas and pools to take the waters.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I am now on my way to Craven Arms,
0:14:01 > 0:14:05where I shall take a mainline train and head south into Shropshire.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20My destination now is Ludlow.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Bradshaw's tells me that of the old castle, the only remains are
0:14:24 > 0:14:28a chapel in the Norman style, a great hall
0:14:28 > 0:14:30and a keep 100ft high.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33I can think of no better way to end my day
0:14:33 > 0:14:35than with a delightful panorama.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47The arrival of the train in 1852 transformed Ludlow into
0:14:47 > 0:14:52something of a tourist magnet, with the castle as its main attraction.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07And before I turn in for the night, I am heading straight to the top.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13By the 15th century, Ludlow Castle was the seat of government
0:15:13 > 0:15:16for Wales and the border counties,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and thanks to its pivotal role in the War of the Roses,
0:15:19 > 0:15:20a royal palace too.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Ah, yes. What a view.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Looking that way towards Wales.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Here taking in the county of Shropshire.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40An excellent vista over the ruins of the castle.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45That, I believe, with the fine tower, is the church of St Laurence.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48And the River Teme just below me.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52As so often before, Bradshaw's has been a reliable guide.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16After a good night's sleep, I am continuing my journey south
0:16:16 > 0:16:17towards Hereford.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32My first stop today is Leominster.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Bradshaw's tells me that it has,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39"..a considerable trade in wheat, wool, hops and cider.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45"Many of the buildings of timber and plaster are grotesquely ornamented."
0:16:45 > 0:16:47It recommends the Lion Hotel.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Leominster was at a hub of Georgian coach routes.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Hotels like the Lion, offering travellers entertainment,
0:17:09 > 0:17:10experienced a boom.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I'm visiting the Lion Hotel's ballroom.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20For it was here in 1853 that a grand ball was held
0:17:20 > 0:17:23to celebrate the opening of the Ludlow to Hereford railway.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26James.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Morning, Michael. - Very good to see you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Owner James Hinton has kindly offered to show me inside.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37It's superb!
0:17:38 > 0:17:41With its lovely pillars and its chandeliers.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Tell me about the history of this ballroom.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48The hotel itself was a coaching inn and, obviously before the railways,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52coaching was the prominent means of getting people and parcels
0:17:52 > 0:17:54around the country.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57And this was the grand assembly room for the hotel.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Built in 1840 in the fashionable neo-classical style,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05it was designed to host formal dances.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10But the Lion Hotel's lavish improvement came too late.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Within a decade of reopening, it was bankrupt.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16What happened to the hotel?
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Well, unfortunately the railways are what happened to the hotel.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22You're serious? The impact of the railway was that immediate?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Yes. You didn't need a horse and carriage to get to Hereford -
0:18:25 > 0:18:27you had the railways.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Suddenly you could travel around the country within a day
0:18:30 > 0:18:32as opposed to three or four days.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Within a week of the service being up and running,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37the hotel was available to let.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41I notice that the ballroom is in superb condition,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43so I'm assuming it's still used for functions?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Oh, very much so. It still gets used for, would you believe,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48- Victorian dancing.- Really?
0:18:48 > 0:18:49Yes!
0:18:50 > 0:18:52MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:18:52 > 0:18:55How elegant! How beautiful!
0:18:56 > 0:18:57Welcome, ladies.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Evidently, you do perform Victorian dances here.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Yes, we do. Yes.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Every week.- Every week?
0:19:06 > 0:19:11Yes, we have a practice and run through mostly quadrilles.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18A Quadrille was a fashionable formation dance imported from Paris.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Together with the waltz, polka and mazurka
0:19:21 > 0:19:25it became a favourite on the Victorian dance floor.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29As you may have feared, I'm going to give it a go.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33TRIO PLAYS A CLASSICAL PIECE
0:19:47 > 0:19:50For the aspiring middle class, strict protocols governed
0:19:50 > 0:19:54how to behave and dress, and they extended to the ballroom.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Ladies danced by invitation
0:19:57 > 0:20:01and introductions could be made only by a husband or chaperone.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14The rule book is extensive.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16I'm clutching on to the rule that says,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19"What happens in the ballroom stays in the ballroom."
0:20:26 > 0:20:31Apart from a few bruised toes, my performance will be forgotten.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Thank you.
0:20:42 > 0:20:43Dear lady.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45SHE CHUCKLES
0:20:48 > 0:20:53After my impromptu dance lesson, I'm in need of refreshment.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Travelling south through the West Midlands,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59my final destination of this leg promises to be just the ticket.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05I am going now as far as Hereford.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Bradshaw's tells me that, "The soil is a rich tract of meadow, orchard
0:21:10 > 0:21:15"and timber, and the internal trade is chiefly in agricultural products,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20"good cider and perry, which require a little brandy to qualify them."
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Well, I feel qualified by experience to sample them.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Hereford boasts a long history of cider making,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39which moved forward with the Industrial Revolution
0:21:39 > 0:21:42from farmhouse cider mills to factory production.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48The coming of the railway in 1853 opened new markets
0:21:48 > 0:21:51and the cider factories helped the industry to survive
0:21:51 > 0:21:56the Great Agricultural Depression of the late 19th century.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Today, there's a growing taste for specialist ciders,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02which keeps farmers like Dennis Gwatkin very busy.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Hello, Dennis!
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Hello there! Hello.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Vigorous action. I take it it's harvest time?
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Yes, it's this time of year again.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15These apples are much smaller than I imagined.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Yeah, they're cider apples.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19They're unlike your eaters and cookers.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21They're like little bullets, really.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23They're bittersweet.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Mmm. Not bad, though. Not bad at all.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31In 1877, 24,000 acres of Herefordshire
0:22:31 > 0:22:33were given over to orchards,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35more than any other county in Britain.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Bradshaw's talks about needing a little brandy to qualify the cider.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43What does that mean?
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Some of the cider, especially the farm ciders years ago,
0:22:46 > 0:22:47was pretty rough stuff.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49The scrumpy, as you might say.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And sometimes when it was drank in the pubs or cider houses of the day,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57they put a little bit of brandy with it to make it a bit more palatable.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59So how to make cider. First grow your apples,
0:22:59 > 0:23:00second get the apples off the tree.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02- Can I give you a hand with that? - Yeah, by all means!
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Watch you head, watch you head.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08DENNIS LAUGHS
0:23:09 > 0:23:11We're not going to get drunk tonight, are we!
0:23:11 > 0:23:13THEY BOTH LAUGH
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Shaking the tree to harvest the ripe fruit is a tried and tested method.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Finally, I have enough apples to make my first batch of cider.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34This looks like a fine vintage piece of machinery you've got here.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Yeah, it's a Victorian cider mill and press, travelling mill and press.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40ENGINE CRANKS UP
0:23:40 > 0:23:41We're off!
0:23:45 > 0:23:48And away they go!
0:23:48 > 0:23:53The machinery may be outdated but the production method is sound.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56The mill passes the apples between two stone rollers
0:23:56 > 0:23:59to produce pulp for the press.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01MACHINE CHUGS
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I learnt my technique shovelling on a steam engine!
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Similar thing, I guess.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16My next task is to fill the press with layers of pulp
0:24:16 > 0:24:18sandwiched between porous cheesecloths
0:24:18 > 0:24:19to separate out the juice.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Getting near full, I would say, now. That's getting near enough.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Now we've got to fold the cloths over to form the cheese.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29We take the press board off.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- Nice heavy board.- Yup.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33A couple of oak blocks.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Now the hard work begins.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And you'll begin to see the juice start to run.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Excellent. We have our first drops, I think.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44It's coming.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45TRICKLING
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The juice is strained through the cloth into a barrel,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51where it will ferment for two months.
0:24:54 > 0:24:55MICHAEL STRAINS
0:24:57 > 0:24:58We've got a good flow there.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Can you actually drink that stuff?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Oh, yeah. It's pure apple juice, that.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03Now's the time to drink it
0:25:03 > 0:25:05to know what sort of cider you're going to get.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06MICHAEL GROANS
0:25:07 > 0:25:08Straight off the press.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Heavens! That is delicious.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- Nice and fruity, isn't it?- Oh! Mmm!
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Be even better when it's alcoholic.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19DENNIS LAUGHS Definitely!
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Part of your five a day, that.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27After today's physical exertion, I feel a refreshment is deserved.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29I can't imagine a more charming hostelry
0:25:29 > 0:25:31than Dennis' historic cider house.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Who came in here?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37The farm workers, the locals.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40And that thing which looks as if it belongs to a St Bernard,
0:25:40 > 0:25:41what is that?
0:25:41 > 0:25:43DENNIS CHUCKLES That is a costrel.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46That is an old term for a vessel that would have been taken out
0:25:46 > 0:25:49in the fields every day by the farm workers
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and that was actually paid as part of their wages.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Cider?- Cider. Definitely, yeah.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The better the cider, the better the farm workers, the farm got,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59so it was in their interest to make sure they made a good drop.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01They were allowed two of those a day.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Cos all that stuff was banned in the middle Victorian period
0:26:05 > 0:26:06by a thing called the Truck Act.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Yes, I think the politicians stepped in
0:26:09 > 0:26:10and stopped a good thing, as usual!
0:26:13 > 0:26:17The 1887 Truck Act was one of many attempts to stamp out
0:26:17 > 0:26:21the practice of payment in kind and with it bonded labour.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The rapid changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution
0:26:25 > 0:26:29prompted enlightened Victorians to enact a raft of laws
0:26:29 > 0:26:32aimed at protecting both adults and children at work.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35- What have we here? - This is a pint of Yarlington Mill.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40It is a nice medium-sweet, fresh sort of tasting cider, that one.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Oh. That is lovely. Mmm, I like that.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Would I know about it if I drank a pint or two?
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Oh, most definitely.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51This is about 7% in alcohol, so it's...
0:26:51 > 0:26:52You're not serious?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Oh, most serious.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Oh, my goodness. Well, bottoms up!
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And thank you very much for offering me this lovely pint.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Not a problem at all.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05I think for your hard day's labour, this is payment in kind.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I thought that had been banned!
0:27:10 > 0:27:14A perfect day is drawing to a close and there's just enough time
0:27:14 > 0:27:18to finish my pint before heading to the station to continue my journey.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27From this part of my journey,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31I should like to forget my attempts to stumble around a ballroom.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35And cider laced with brandy, as recommended by my Bradshaw's,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37would certainly induce oblivion.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41But I shall long remember the Heart of Wales railway,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44a Victorian masterpiece, in itself a thing of beauty,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48which has enabled generations to appreciate the splendours
0:27:48 > 0:27:53of the Welsh hillsides passing their carriage window at a leisurely pace.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'Next time, my heart is in my mouth as I go down a mine...'
0:28:03 > 0:28:06We're 300ft below the surface and it's a strange feeling, isn't it?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08It is, yep.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10'..I plough my way through Oxfordshire...'
0:28:10 > 0:28:12- You happy there? Are you a relaxed man?- Yeah.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- Good. I'm very relaxed about this. - Keep... Don't put it quite so tight.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- That's it. Perfect. - Very nice.- Perfect!
0:28:18 > 0:28:21'..and I glimpse some racy artwork at Blenheim Palace.'
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Ooh la la! There's a lot of flesh on display.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28They were perhaps a little too risque for the ladies to see.