0:00:04 > 0:00:06For Victorian Britons,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11At a time when railways were new,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
0:00:13 > 0:00:14to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide
0:00:17 > 0:00:21to understand how trains transformed Britain -
0:00:21 > 0:00:23its landscape, its industry,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25society and leisure time.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28As I crisscross the country,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30150 years later,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it helps me to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I'm now concluding my Scottish journey.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00While Victorian English flocked to Scotland,
0:01:00 > 0:01:05the world beyond these shores also felt the Caledonian influence.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Men of fortune left their mark in the New World,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12and around the globe sportsmen discovered a Scottish pastime
0:01:12 > 0:01:14that suited them to a T.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25My journey has taken me across Scotland,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27from west to east.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28It began at the Clyde estuary,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31heading through the Scottish Lowlands to Glasgow.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35It continued to Stirling and Perth,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38touching the Highlands.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Now I'm travelling east to Fife
0:01:40 > 0:01:42to the famous university town of St Andrews,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45before heading south to Scotland's capital city.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50On today's leg, I start on the bracing east coast,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54before heading inland along the Firth of Forth,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and on to the theatrical city of Edinburgh.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02And my journey ends in the former mining village of Newcraighall.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I pay homage at the birthplace of golf...
0:02:07 > 0:02:10- Great shot, Michael! - (I can't believe I hit it!)
0:02:10 > 0:02:14..discover how a poor Scot gave away a fortune...
0:02:14 > 0:02:17He wrote The Gospel Of Wealth, and in that he said,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20"He who dies thus rich dies disgraced."
0:02:20 > 0:02:23..and tread the boards at the Edinburgh Fringe.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27I demand to know where you deposited the handbag that contained that infant.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28I left it
0:02:28 > 0:02:30in the cloakroom
0:02:30 > 0:02:34of one of the larger railway stations in London.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47"No-one can say he has seen Scotland,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50"who has not paid St Andrews a visit."
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Thus declares Bradshaw's. And, with a university founded in 1411,
0:02:55 > 0:03:00and my mother's school of St Leonard's in 1552, no wonder.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03"One branch of manufacture flourishes - making balls for golf,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06"a favourite game played on the links
0:03:06 > 0:03:08or flat sands along the sea-shore."
0:03:08 > 0:03:10I think I'll swing by!
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Leuchars station may not be familiar,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20but most people will have heard of the world-famous golf course nearby.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27St Andrews Golf Club was founded in 1843 with 11 members
0:03:27 > 0:03:29who were mostly tradesmen,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31including a dancing master and a butler.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33They were soon joined by
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Allan Robertson, the foremost golfer of his day,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37and MacKenzie Turpie,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40who competed in the 1900 Paris Olympics
0:03:40 > 0:03:42when golf was included.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I'm going to visit a golf club factory,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51where they maintain the special skills needed
0:03:51 > 0:03:54to craft traditional hickory-shafted clubs by hand.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I'm meeting Hamish Steedman, its chairman.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Hamish, I'm getting the feeling of a lovely traditional workshop here.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07How far back in history does golf go?
0:04:07 > 0:04:12The earliest documented evidence of golf was 1452,
0:04:12 > 0:04:13when James II banned golf,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16in favour of archery practice.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19But we know ball-and-stick games
0:04:19 > 0:04:21have been played from the earliest days.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24The Scots were the first to actually play
0:04:24 > 0:04:27towards a hole in the ground to hit a ball in,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and that's really defined the start of golf.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33So, for over 600 years it's been played at St Andrews.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36What was the game like here in St Andrews?
0:04:36 > 0:04:37Well, the history demonstrates
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that links courses have been here for centuries.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44The links land for example is really the common ground
0:04:44 > 0:04:46between the shoreline and the farmland.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48It wasn't manicured as it is today
0:04:48 > 0:04:52and, in fact, it was nearly lost to rabbits, in the early 1800s,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55when the rabbit holes almost took over the golf holes.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02It took a handful of rocks to fill in the rabbit holes,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04plus pluck and a favourable wind
0:05:04 > 0:05:06to see those early golfers
0:05:06 > 0:05:09safely through 11 holes out and the same 11 back.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14So, Michael, this is one of the long-nosed clubs here
0:05:14 > 0:05:18that was used throughout Victorian times and before.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20We have the splice shaft here,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22the leather face insert,
0:05:22 > 0:05:27the ram's horn, to protect the leading edge of the club,
0:05:27 > 0:05:28and the most important part...
0:05:28 > 0:05:33Each club was weighed with lead-weight poured into the club.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Even now the skill lies in precise measurement of the molten lead.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42- Hello, Angus.- Hello, there.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44- What temperature is your lead?- Hot.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45THEY LAUGH
0:05:45 > 0:05:47What weight are you trying to achieve now?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50The head weight's usually three to four ounces,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52and you add lead till it comes up to the eight-ounce mark,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56and that's the standard weight that we make the putters.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00When the molten lead has cooled a little,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02it's hammered and left to set.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Nowadays golf clubs and their shafts are made from steel and titanium,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12but hickory clubs smack of history and craftsmanship.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Hickory is obviously the shaft of the golf club.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's not indigenous to this country,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19but it was used in tooling -
0:06:19 > 0:06:23your pickaxes, shovels, broom handles -
0:06:23 > 0:06:26and the wood is indigenous to North America.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So it was imported.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30So you are still making Victorian golf clubs...
0:06:30 > 0:06:32There must be a market for them?
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Yes, there is.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36We export, primarily, around the world.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39We're involved with the World Hickory Open Championship
0:06:39 > 0:06:41that's played here every year.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Last year we had 14 different countries playing in it.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47So it is a growing interest in the hickory game.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49And it's exciting to see.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53In Victorian times, the game was regarded as a great leveller
0:06:53 > 0:06:55between ranks and classes.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57When matched in skill,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00king and commoner played on equal terms.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Lacking skill, I'd hoped at least to look the part.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Hamish, I can't say that I feel completely sensible in this gear.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16What's the origin of it?
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Well, the plus-fours were typical of country wear.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Ideal for golf, ideal for hunting and shooting,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28because you don't get the bottom of your trousers dirty.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And, of course, the greens, the golf courses in those days,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34weren't manicured like they are today.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And, certainly, Scottish rough isn't very pleasant at the best of times, anyway.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Lovely weather. Beautiful views.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Although that flag looks a rather long way.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Nice slowly back,
0:07:48 > 0:07:49nice easy forward.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50That's you.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52And follow through, straight to the hole.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57Oh!
0:07:57 > 0:08:01I personally blame that one on the stiffening sea breeze!
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Michael, with the hickory clubs, you trust the club.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05So it's a nice and easy swing back
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and swinging through, trusting the club, and hitting towards the hole.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Great shot, Michael.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13(I can't believe I hit it.)
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Let's hope I haven't peaked already!
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Oh, stop-stop-stop-STOP!
0:08:26 > 0:08:27Ran on.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I hope no-one was looking down from the famous St Andrews clubhouse,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36which has occupied this splendid Victorian mansion since 1933.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42- I'll get the flag for you, Michael. - Oh, thank you.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Not sure that it will be needed.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51- Oh...- Close.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53I'm feeling a bit below par today.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Not before time, I must resume my journey south from Leuchars station.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16My next stop will be Dunfermline.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Bradshaw's tells me it's
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"a large burgh town in the county of Fife,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23"whose inhabitants are engaged in the manufacture
0:09:23 > 0:09:26"of diaper, damask and table linen."
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I'm here to find out about the son of a linen worker
0:09:29 > 0:09:33who moved from below the salt to the top of the table.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47The ancient town of Dunfermline dates back to Neolithic times.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Perched on a rocky hilltop, it's crowned by a magnificent abbey -
0:09:52 > 0:09:54the resting place of Scottish kings.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59The Victorian visitor armed with Bradshaw's guide
0:09:59 > 0:10:03came to see a Scotland swathed in romance.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05On my own travels abroad, I have been impressed
0:10:05 > 0:10:08by the philanthropic works of Andrew Carnegie,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12but I knew little of his poor beginnings here in Dunfermline.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16To discover more about this remarkable man,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20I'm meeting Lorna Owers from the Carnegie Birthplace Museum.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23I believe that this beautiful park might not be open to the public
0:10:23 > 0:10:26if it weren't for the generosity of Mr Andrew Carnegie.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29That's true. When Andrew Carnegie was a child,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31he wasn't allowed to go into the park,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33it was owned by Colonel Hunt,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35and it was a private estate,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and the locals were allowed in one day a year,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40on a public holiday,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43but because Andrew's uncle was a Chartist
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and very anti-establishment -
0:10:46 > 0:10:49which didn't go down too well with Colonel Hunt - he and his family
0:10:49 > 0:10:51were banned from the park, including Andrew.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Chartism was one of the most important popular reform movements
0:10:56 > 0:10:57of the 19th century.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Working-class men hadn't gained the vote
0:11:00 > 0:11:03in the great parliamentary reforms of 1832.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Radicals drew up a People's Charter -
0:11:05 > 0:11:07so becoming known as Chartists -
0:11:07 > 0:11:11which included the demand for universal male suffrage.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Riots broke out, and Colonel Hunt
0:11:13 > 0:11:16may have feared disorder in his park.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Carnegie vowed that one day he would hold a public meeting there,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21and in the end, of course, he bought the park
0:11:21 > 0:11:23and gave it to the people to enjoy.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26A lot of people think that he only started his philanthropy
0:11:26 > 0:11:28when he retired, but actually
0:11:28 > 0:11:32he wrote a memo to himself when he was 33,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and he'd decided at that point to retire when he was 35,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38before he discovered the steel industry,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42and he was going to give his money away for good causes,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44he was going to get a proper education -
0:11:44 > 0:11:46because he'd only had four years at school -
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and he was going to buy a newspaper.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And he didn't get a proper education,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55because he discovered steel and kept working until he was 65.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59But he did start giving his money away - actually, when he was 43 -
0:11:59 > 0:12:00and he left a huge legacy.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03There are now 22 institutions worldwide
0:12:03 > 0:12:05which are still going strong,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09which are spending something like 150 every minute of every day.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12So it's quite an impressive legacy.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15And here in the town, of course, Dunfermline
0:12:15 > 0:12:17has benefitted from the library,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and the swimming baths, and the music institute
0:12:20 > 0:12:21and, of course, our Carnegie Hall,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25which was built after the original American, New York, Carnegie Hall.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29And give me some sort of indication of what kind of a man he was?
0:12:29 > 0:12:32He wrote The Gospel Of Wealth, and in it he said,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35"He who dies thus rich dies disgraced."
0:12:35 > 0:12:38In other words, you should give your money away.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39You can't take it with you.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- And he was really as good as his own motto.- He was, indeed.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46He gave away 350 million dollars in his lifetime,
0:12:46 > 0:12:51and that's probably the equivalent of over 100 billion nowadays.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58A truly inspirational example from a man of humble beginnings.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Lorna is taking me to his birthplace.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Carnegie was born at this cottage in Moody Street in 1835,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08where his father worked as a hand-loom weaver.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Competition from the linen factories
0:13:10 > 0:13:12hit these artisans hard
0:13:12 > 0:13:14and the family emigrated to America,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17where Carnegie began to work on the railroads
0:13:17 > 0:13:20before making his fortune in steel.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Despite acquiring great wealth,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25he retained an affinity with Dunfermline
0:13:25 > 0:13:28and his wife bought him this cottage for his 60th birthday.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Today it survives as a museum celebrating his life.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42Andrew Carnegie was given a record number of freedoms of cities.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44We have 56 in the museum,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46and this was his very first,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49which he was presented with in 1877
0:13:49 > 0:13:51from Dunfermline,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and it's the one he was most proud of.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Of course - his native city, to which he was so generous.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57That's right.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00It was mainly thanks for the library and the swimming baths.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03We also have the original manuscript
0:14:03 > 0:14:06of Triumphant Democracy, one of the many books he wrote.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10This is unusual, because it's in his own handwriting.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13"The United States have already reached the foremost rank
0:14:13 > 0:14:15"among civilised nations.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19"The old nations of the Earth creep on at a snail's pace,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23"America thunders past with the rush of the express train."
0:14:23 > 0:14:28I love a man who uses a railway analogy.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43It's back to the tracks for me to travel further south,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47for a night at Fife's most southerly village.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Bradshaw's tells me that "in the neighbourhood of Queensferry,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54"by the southern approximation of opposite promontories,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58"the River Forth is forced into a narrow strait."
0:14:58 > 0:15:01That enabled the building, after my Bradshaw's,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04of the famous Forth Rail Bridge.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Before that people relied on the ferry.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10And the northern point was marked by a light.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17North Queensferry lies between two huge bridges -
0:15:17 > 0:15:20the Forth Road Bridge and the red Forth Rail Bridge.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30I'm meeting Queensferry Trust chairman James Lawson
0:15:30 > 0:15:31in this stunning setting
0:15:31 > 0:15:33to find out more about the light.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37This just has to be the greatest view of the bridge, doesn't it?
0:15:37 > 0:15:40You only get the sense of scale when you are down here.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45'And absolutely dwarfed by the bridge is the light.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Now, James, I don't want to be rude,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51but I was expecting something a little larger.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Well, it is what it is.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Designed and put up by Robert Stevenson,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02perhaps the grandfather of all Scottish lighthouses.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And how does it work now, James?
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Well, there's a single wick,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and there is an oil reservoir,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and you just light it with a match.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14It originally burned whale oil,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16commonly in use until about 1850,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19when the much cheaper paraffin became available.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The light would have guided sailors towards the safety of the pier.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27The tower's not much more than 20 feet tall.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32What you see here is the oil reservoir.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34The oil comes out through this S-bend tube
0:16:34 > 0:16:36to the bottom of the wick.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38You light the wick here,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42and then put on the glass funnel.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44You lift the whole mechanism up,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46with this unit here.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Very, very clever.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Well, it is certainly getting towards dark...
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Shall we give it a go?
0:16:52 > 0:16:53Why not?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58It's hard to imagine now how dependent traffic would have been
0:16:58 > 0:17:00for navigation on this little light.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03In the 1840s, ferry boats traversing the Forth
0:17:03 > 0:17:07would have picked their way between trading ships from the continents.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11It's interesting to reflect that this little light burned on
0:17:11 > 0:17:14until the opening of the road bridge in 1964.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29After a night's rest, it's back to the station
0:17:29 > 0:17:32for the penultimate leg of my journey across Scotland.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Edinburgh, says Bradshaw's,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38is "one of the most ancient cities in the country
0:17:38 > 0:17:40"and the capital of Scotland.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43"It is not inaptly termed the modern Athens."
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Now you may think that a little bit of an exaggeration,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50but think of this - the ancient Greeks brought theatre to the masses,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55and if one city has done as much as Athens to popularise theatre,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57it could claim to be Edinburgh.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Edinburgh's origins are as a defensive stronghold
0:18:05 > 0:18:07on this imposing rocky ridge.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09From the seventh to the ninth centuries,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11it was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and, after that, a royal residence of the Scottish kings.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- STATION PA:- 'We are now approaching Edinburgh Waverley.'
0:18:23 > 0:18:26I'm alighting at Edinburgh Waverley.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Developed in 1854, the station sits in the valley
0:18:29 > 0:18:31between the medieval old town
0:18:31 > 0:18:33and the 18th-century new town.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Today it's Britain's busiest
0:18:37 > 0:18:39mainline station outside London,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43with around 60,000 people passing through each day.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48When Britain built its railways,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52that changed everything for good or ill.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55For example, when Queen Victoria came to the throne,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Edinburgh had the sort of theatre scene
0:18:57 > 0:19:00that you'd associate with a capital city.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04But in 1859, the Theatre Royal Edinburgh closed its doors,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07claiming that there had been an exodus of talent -
0:19:07 > 0:19:11of writers and actors - attracted by the bright lights
0:19:11 > 0:19:15of the West End of London, and now able to travel easily by train.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Well, if that was so,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19the process was reversed after the Second World War,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23when talent came from all over Britain to the Scottish capital,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25attracted by the Edinburgh Fringe.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35The Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest arts festival.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38This wonderful craziness began in 1947
0:19:38 > 0:19:41when a group of uninvited theatre companies gate-crashed
0:19:41 > 0:19:45the launch of the city's International Cultural Festival.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01Today the Fringe fills 25 days with more than 3,000 shows.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The result is a joyful anarchy combining household names
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and hopeful amateurs.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09Merci, monsieur.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15- Do you come to the Fringe often? - No, it's my first time.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17In fact, it's my first time in Edinburgh.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Oh, my goodness. How on earth do you decide what to go to?
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Easily, I've let a friend of mine choose.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24How are you enjoying the Fringe?
0:20:24 > 0:20:25Yeah, I am actually performing.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27What are you performing?
0:20:27 > 0:20:31I'm a choreographer, presenting my work at Dance Space.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33What do you hope to get out of being at the Fringe?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Uh, I guess visibility and lots of fun, to be honest.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39I mean, it's great to be in a place where you can see so many things.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- What's the best thing you've seen? - You!
0:20:42 > 0:20:44THEY ALL LAUGH
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- I feel sorry for you, then. - Oh, do you?
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Well, we're not so sure about that.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51- Do you come every year?- Yeah, we try to come every year, yeah.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53And what makes you come back every year?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Just the atmosphere!- Atmosphere! - Atmosphere. Yeah.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- It's brilliant. - A 20-minute journey on a train.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01See if I can squeeze in there.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Anyone else, come in. Let's take a selfie.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- Let's do the world's biggest selfie. - World's biggest selfie.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16'I mustn't let this adulation go to my head.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19'I've secured tickets for an alternative take
0:21:19 > 0:21:22'on Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24'where women play men and vice versa.'
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Hello...to our wonderful audience.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Right, can everyone stand up.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31Everyone.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Everyone, please. Thank you kindly to you.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37'Ah-ha... It seems this production is short of a cast member.'
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Some victims left?
0:21:41 > 0:21:43You, sir. What was your name, sir?
0:21:43 > 0:21:44Michael.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47'No surprises. I've drawn the short straw.'
0:21:47 > 0:21:49APPLAUSE
0:21:51 > 0:21:53'Great names have trodden these boards before me -
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'John Cleese and Emma Thompson, to name but two geniuses of comedy.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00'My wig should get a laugh,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02'and beneath it I'm playing Miss Prism,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06'the forgetful governess who mislays the baby in her charge.'
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Prism,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10where is that baby?
0:22:10 > 0:22:11- HIGH VOICE:- Lady Bracknell...
0:22:11 > 0:22:13LAUGHTER
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I-I-I admit with some shame that I do not know.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18I only wish that I did!
0:22:18 > 0:22:22I had with me a somewhat old but capacious handbag
0:22:22 > 0:22:25in which I'd intended to place the manuscript of a work of fiction
0:22:25 > 0:22:29that I've written in my few unoccupied hours.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31In a moment of mental...obstruction
0:22:31 > 0:22:34for which I can NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36I deposited the manuscript in the bassinet
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and placed the baby in the handbag.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I demand to know where you deposited the handbag containing that infant.
0:22:43 > 0:22:44I left it
0:22:44 > 0:22:46in the cloakroom
0:22:46 > 0:22:48of one of the larger
0:22:48 > 0:22:50railway stations in London.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53What railway station?
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- TINY VOICE:- Victoria.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57LAUGHTER
0:22:57 > 0:22:59'Entrusted to the railways...!'
0:23:12 > 0:23:16I'm now travelling on a line that once joined England and Scotland.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Bradshaw's tells me that the Waverley route
0:23:21 > 0:23:25"passes through country that assumes a highly picturesque character
0:23:25 > 0:23:28"and becomes rich in its historical association,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31"being immortalised by the pen of Sir Walter Scott."
0:23:31 > 0:23:33The Old Waverley line that ran
0:23:33 > 0:23:35from Carlisle through the Borders to Edinburgh,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38like so many lines in my Bradshaw's Guide
0:23:38 > 0:23:41passed into history, remembered only by grandparents.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43But now a section of it from Edinburgh
0:23:43 > 0:23:46to Galasheils and Tweedbank will reopen.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50This part of the Waverley Line was built
0:23:50 > 0:23:54by the North British Railway Company in 1849.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57At the time, Newcraighall was a mining village,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59built around a pit that's since closed.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04I've come to meet project director Hugh Wark.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11The Waverley railway is a very well-known railway,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14at least in Scotland. How does it feel to be rebuilding it?
0:24:14 > 0:24:16When I started my career
0:24:16 > 0:24:19we were still ripping up some of the old railways
0:24:19 > 0:24:20that had been closed.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22So, it's great at this stage to be
0:24:22 > 0:24:25actually working to reopen one again.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30The line, like so many, was a victim of the Beeching cuts.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The announcement of its closure in 1967
0:24:33 > 0:24:35provoked fierce local protest,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38even sabotage attacks.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39So it's quite emotional
0:24:39 > 0:24:42to be driving along what will be the route of this new line.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46With 50km of track,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49this is the longest domestic passenger line to be reopened
0:24:49 > 0:24:51in the United Kingdom for 100 years.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57The buffer in front of us here is the end of the existing railway.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59It is actually a folding buffer
0:24:59 > 0:25:01to allow our new engineering trains
0:25:01 > 0:25:03to come onto the line,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06but it's also the start of the new line
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and this three and a half kilometres
0:25:09 > 0:25:12of brand-new railway - not on the original Waverley route, at all.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14The reasons we've diverted the railways
0:25:14 > 0:25:17to take it through this area called Shawfair
0:25:17 > 0:25:19is because it's a major development area,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and some of the bridges in this area, and the station
0:25:22 > 0:25:23just along the line,
0:25:23 > 0:25:28is all part of bringing economic development into this area.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37All the communities down the line
0:25:37 > 0:25:39see the benefits the railways are going to bring,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and they're all really looking forward to having stations
0:25:42 > 0:25:46in the local communities, that'll give them good transport access
0:25:46 > 0:25:49to Edinburgh and down into the Borders.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55And in honour of the line's remarkable reversal of fortune,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Hugh invites me to leave a mark on the beautiful Lothian bridge viaduct
0:25:59 > 0:26:01during its restoration.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06- Michael, how are you? My name's Willy.- Good to see you.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I see you've got some quite big cracks here.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Does all that have to come out?
0:26:11 > 0:26:13In the worst case scenario, yes.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14But in this case, we were lucky.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Sounds like you are doing this
0:26:16 > 0:26:18with a great deal of respect for the original structure.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Amazing respect. Amazing respect for the masons,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23and the engineers that built it, as well.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25I'm really in awe of these guys.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26We're so lucky that it's lasted.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28That it's not been demolished.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30The very fact it has lasted shows you how skilful they were.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31It certainly does.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Invited to position even one brick, I gain a new sense of respect
0:26:35 > 0:26:39for the hundreds who toiled to build this viaduct.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Put your trowel up to it,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and just push it in along the bed.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44- Like that?- Yep. That's perfect.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Pushing that along the bed there.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Make sure you've got all of it, right to the back.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Oop... I see why it's a skilled job.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09You've done a great job, Michael. Thank you very much.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11One small brick
0:27:11 > 0:27:13in one arch of 23 arches
0:27:13 > 0:27:16of this enormous Victorian structure,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18because those people had big ideas.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29Victorian railways bound England and Scotland together as never before.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34Despite that, the Scottish retained a distinctive national culture,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36expressed not least in the sports
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and the ware that I've sampled in recent days.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43One of the advantages of Scotland is that people like me,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46associated with it only through ancestry,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50swell with pride at what the Scots have done for the world.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52That's certainly what I've been feeling
0:27:52 > 0:27:55as I've travelled with my Bradshaw's.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Next time I'll scoop a cool treat in suburban London.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- Sludging, yes?- Sludging. - Keep going.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Not sure I want to be known for making sludgy ice cream.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Learn how the Railway Age was also a boom time for cemeteries...
0:28:14 > 0:28:19Some wag had written, "New graves warmed by steam!"
0:28:19 > 0:28:22..and visit an exotic 19th-century attraction
0:28:22 > 0:28:25that still draws a crowd today.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27It's a great way for people to get close to animals...
0:28:27 > 0:28:29A bit too close possibly!
0:28:29 > 0:28:30THEY LAUGH