0:00:04 > 0:00:08For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11At a time when railways were new,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide to understand how trains transformed
0:00:20 > 0:00:26Britain - its landscape, its industry, 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.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57On this final leg of my journey from England's heartlands to
0:00:57 > 0:01:01moorlands, I'll be discovering how the Victorian age marked
0:01:01 > 0:01:05a change in our attitude to nature, reflected in many things,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09from ambitious engineering projects to romantic poetry.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22My route, which began in Birmingham, now arrives in south-west England,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24where I'll be visiting ancient farmlands
0:01:24 > 0:01:28and battlegrounds, before ending up on the wild
0:01:28 > 0:01:32uplands of one of Britain's most glorious national parks.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38Today, I'm starting out in romantic Bridgwater in Somerset, then on
0:01:38 > 0:01:43to historic Taunton, before arriving at my final destination, Dartmoor.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46On this leg of the journey,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I get to grips with a miracle of Victorian engineering...
0:01:51 > 0:01:53I've never felt so much power.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57ANGRY SHOUTING
0:01:57 > 0:02:02..stand trial in Taunton and suffer the full weight of the law...
0:02:02 > 0:02:06I plead guilty and throw myself upon the mercy of this court.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10..and go looking for hidden treasure on Dartmoor.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12- I've found it!- Hurray!
0:02:12 > 0:02:14SHE LAUGHS
0:02:18 > 0:02:23I'm now approaching the end of my journey, and the town of Bridgwater.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Bradshaw's tells me that at Nether Stowey, Coleridge lived
0:02:26 > 0:02:33from 1796 to 1798 after marrying, and here he wrote The Ancient Mariner.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Wordsworth was his neighbour, and composed his lyrical ballads,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41the subject of many interminable discussions,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45as the friends walked over the hills together.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48I'm headed for Somerset's Little Poets Corner.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Lying at the edge of the Somerset Levels,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57the ancient inland port of Bridgwater is seven miles from the sea,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01and has been an important trading centre since Saxon times.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05The railway arrived here in 1841, and the station,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09designed by Brunel, is the perfect jumping-off point for my visit.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14In nearby Nether Stowey is a small cottage once
0:03:14 > 0:03:17lived in by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22who wrote some of his most famous work here, including Kubla Khan.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I hope to discover more about the poet's life in the village
0:03:26 > 0:03:28from Coleridge expert Tina Mitchell.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32- Hello, Tina.- Hello, Michael!
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Tina, what was it that brought the Samuel Taylor Coleridge family
0:03:36 > 0:03:40- to this cottage?- They were looking to escape their debts, and they met up
0:03:40 > 0:03:42with a friend, a local man of substance, Tom Poole.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45This was the only cottage at the time that he could find for them,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and he described it as "a bit of a hovel".
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I mean, nowadays, it looks very nice indeed, a lovely village
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and a lovely cottage. You're telling me it was something different then?
0:03:53 > 0:03:56When they moved in, you have to imagine a much smaller cottage.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It was thatched, there was an open sewer running past the front door,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03so the stench in summer would've been something unimaginable.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Was it a coincidence that the Wordsworths were neighbours
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- staying close by?- No, it wasn't.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09They'd met previously while walking
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and a friendship began which was to last a very, very long time.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16So, the Wordsworths actively looked to move here to be near to
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Coleridge and the Wordsworths went on almost daily walks
0:04:22 > 0:04:26together in the nearby Quantock Hills.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29But his long-suffering wife Sarah stayed behind, to try to make
0:04:29 > 0:04:32the best of their new home.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Tina, what were conditions like for them?
0:04:35 > 0:04:37You have to imagine that the cottage then,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41when they moved in, was very dark, it was damp, it was very draughty.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43It was overrun with mice.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45How did Coleridge's wife Sarah feel about that?
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Obviously, her priority was to her child Hartley.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52She wanted to get the cottage as cosy as possible as fast
0:04:52 > 0:04:54as possible and as warm as she could.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Was this a period of strain for the marriage, do you think?
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Originally, no.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00They were very much in love when they moved into the cottage.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Unfortunately, when Samuel Taylor Coleridge was in Germany
0:05:03 > 0:05:05for a long period, Berkeley, their second child,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09became very ill while he was away and died in the February.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Samuel Taylor Coleridge didn't come back until the July,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14so obviously, this put a great strain on the marriage
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and was the beginning of the end of the marriage.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Nowadays, it's generally accepted that Coleridge was probably
0:05:21 > 0:05:23suffering from manic depression,
0:05:23 > 0:05:28which over the years was exacerbated by his opium addiction.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32But when he moved to Nether Stowey, he was still a young idealist,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37seeking the simple life for his family, surrounded by nature.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Tina, the garden looks very beautiful.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Was it like this in Coleridge's day?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44When they moved in, it was twice the size of what you see today.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47His idea was to live a life of self-sufficiency.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Unfortunately, he was slowly taken away to other areas,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54such as writing his poetry and talking long into the night,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56and the garden unfortunately suffered
0:05:56 > 0:06:00and ended up as more of a wild garden than a vegetable garden.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02So if the garden was abandoned,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05that, at least, implies that this was a period when he was writing.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It was while he was here that he was most prolific.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11It was the birthplace of the Romantic literary movement
0:06:11 > 0:06:13and while he was here, in those short three years,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16he wrote Kubla Khan, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
0:06:16 > 0:06:18and he wrote This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23'This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison, was inspired not so much by nature,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25'but by his sorrow at missing out on it.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Coleridge was about to set off on yet another walk with his cronies,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32when his wife, presumably now heartily fed up,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35spilt a pan of boiling milk over his foot.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41He retired to the said lime-tree bower in pain, to vent his angst.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Let's have a read of that famous sulk.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50"Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53"This lime-tree bower my prison! I have lost
0:06:53 > 0:06:55"Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
0:06:55 > 0:06:58"Most sweet to my remembrance even when age
0:06:58 > 0:07:02"Had dimm'd mine eyes to blindness! They, meanwhile,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05"Friends, whom I never more may meet again,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09"On Springy heath, along the hill-top edge,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11"Wander in gladness..."
0:07:11 > 0:07:15- You've got to feel sorry for him, haven't you?- Stuck here on his own.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Bradshaw's comments that, "Somerset possesses every gradation,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31"from the lofty mountain and barren moor, to the rich
0:07:31 > 0:07:33"and cultivated vale
0:07:33 > 0:07:37"and then descends to the unimprovable marsh and fens."
0:07:37 > 0:07:41But that was to underestimate Victorian ingenuity.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46The low-lying land could be improved and made suitable for agriculture.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And these newly raised banks of the River Parrett,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53are intended to protect these fields from flooding.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00'Man has been battling nature for control of the Somerset levels
0:08:00 > 0:08:02'since Roman times.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06'This 160,000 acres of coastal plain
0:08:06 > 0:08:10'drains naturally into two rivers, the Tone and the Parrett.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14'But the majority of the land lies below sea level,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17'so a combination of tidal surges and heavy rains,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22'such as we've seen in recent years, can have catastrophic consequences.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'Until the Victorian age, when floods came, residents
0:08:26 > 0:08:31'and farmers could only watch and wait for the water to subside.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34'But in 1830, an act of parliament ordered
0:08:34 > 0:08:39'the construction of a steam-powered pumping station at Westonzoyland,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43'to eject water from flooded land back into the river.'
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Hello!
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Are you going towards the Victorian pumping station?
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- Yes, please jump on.- Thank you.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00'I'm hitching a ride on one of the original log-carrying
0:09:00 > 0:09:04'locomotives that would have kept the boiler supplied with fuel.'
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17'In Victorian times, the station attendant,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20'who operated the pump, would live here.'
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Hello, Michael, welcome to Westonzoyland Pumping Station.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27I'm looking forward to this.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30'Nowadays, this remarkable machine is kept in working
0:09:30 > 0:09:35'order by enthusiasts, including Alan Davies and John Trenchard.'
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- This is a Victorian engine? - It is indeed, Michael.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42It was built in 1861, developed by John George Appold.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47And he demonstrated it in 1851, at the Great Exhibition.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Was this Victorian engine pretty effective as a pump?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52It was very effective.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56In fact, at the International Exhibition, of 1862,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58one of these was set up with a tank of water.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01It could pump 100 tonnes of water a minute.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05That is about an inch of water off an acre of land every minute,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- which is quite phenomenal. - Absolutely phenomenal.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10By the end of the Victorian era,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13there were eight pumping stations on the Somerset Levels.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16This is the only one still operational,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19although it's not part of the drainage system any more.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I've never felt so much power.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38In 2014, after some of the worst January rains on record,
0:10:38 > 0:10:4325 square miles of the Somerset Levels were left underwater.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46There followed the largest mobile pumping operation ever
0:10:46 > 0:10:47undertaken in Europe.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53With 120 pumps working around the clock, capable of moving 8.5 million
0:10:53 > 0:10:59tonnes of water a day, enough to fill Wembley Stadium seven times over.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Carymoor station was one of those on the front-line
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and I'm heading there now to meet Tim Musgrove,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09of the Environment Agency, to hear how they coped.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Tim. - Hello, Michael.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- I've just come from seeing a Victorian steam engine...- Yes.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18..which, though working, is not moving water around any more,
0:11:18 > 0:11:19but these are.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23- Yes, these two do and do most winters.- What is their job?
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Their job is to get the water from the moor
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and push it out into the river.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30These engines themselves look quite elderly.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Yes, they're 1954, they went in and they're just clocking up
0:11:34 > 0:11:37with 750,000 hours without any breakdowns.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40What is the capacity? How much water can they pump?
0:11:40 > 0:11:44They're pumping just over 2,200 litres a second, each.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48You had, in Somerset, devastating floods in 2014.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50What was that like for you?
0:11:50 > 0:11:52It was a busy time, I can't deny.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55In here it was all flooded for two months.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Were the engines damaged?
0:11:56 > 0:11:59No, no, the engines don't get any water on them,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01they are built too high out of the water.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Could I actually see the engine running?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Yes, we're just doing a maintenance run,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08so we can start them up, run and pump some water.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Success!
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Can we see what it's doing?
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Did I really do that?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- So that's, what, about two tonnes of water a second?- Yes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28And this is, which river now?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30This is the River Tone and it flows down
0:12:30 > 0:12:33and out to the River Parrett and then into the Bristol Channel.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- And then safely into the sea.- Yes.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44'I'm returning to Bridgwater Station,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47'to catch the Great Western service, heading south.'
0:13:06 > 0:13:10I shall spend the last night of this journey in Taunton.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Bradshaw says, "The town, as seen from the station,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16"has a most pleasing appearance.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22"It's situated in the central part of the luxuriant Vale of Taunton Deane."
0:13:22 > 0:13:25And it mentions the Castle Hotel, but, for once,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27I've no need for my Bradshaw's.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29It's a place I know well.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45'My guidebook gives fulsome praise to this ancient borough town,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49'but before I explore parts unknown, I'm going to relax
0:13:49 > 0:13:53'and enjoy myself in familiar surroundings.'
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- Thank you, that looks lovely. - Thank you.- Thank you.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04I know this hotel well,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08cos I've often spent weekends here listening to classical music.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11But, tomorrow, I must look into Taunton's history
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and something altogether more discordant.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27'The next day, I'm up early and out to soak up the atmosphere of this
0:14:27 > 0:14:29'historic town.'
0:14:29 > 0:14:32The name Taunton means, "Town on the River Tone"
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and there's been a settlement here since the Bronze Age.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It grew to be prosperous in the Middle Ages,
0:14:38 > 0:14:40thanks to the wool trade.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But my focus is on the end of the 17th century.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47The English Civil War was over, but, once again,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49the monarchy was under threat.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Bradshaw's tells me that, here in Taunton,
0:14:54 > 0:15:01"The ill-fated Duke of Monmouth proclaimed himself King, in 1685."
0:15:01 > 0:15:05He'd risen in rebellion, against the new monarch, James II, who,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08unlike his predecessor, was a Catholic.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11There followed a mighty clash of arms
0:15:11 > 0:15:15and the last battle to be fought on English soil.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22The Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate
0:15:22 > 0:15:27son of King Charles II, living in self-imposed exile in Holland.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33In February 1685, he landed in Dorset with 82 men and rode to Taunton,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38where the Protestant-leaning citizens welcomed him.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Something they would come to regret.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I'm heading to St Mary's Church in Chedzoy,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48ten miles north of Taunton, to hear about the decisive
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Battle of Sedgemoor, from the head of Somerset Museum, Steve Minute.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Hello, Steve. Beautiful church.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58It is, one of the many fantastic ones in Somerset.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04'Chedzoy Church has 13th century origins and a tower 70ft high,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08'which gives a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.'
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Why have we come to the roof of the tower of beautiful Chedzy Church?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Well, there was one small incident
0:16:15 > 0:16:17that occurred immediately before the
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Battle of Sedgemoor, which had a huge impact
0:16:20 > 0:16:22on the events at that time.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28On the morning of 5th July 1685, a local man, by the name
0:16:28 > 0:16:34of William Spark, he was a farmer, came up here with his spyglass.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38He looked out from where we are now, across to Westonzoyland,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40where the Royal army was camped
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and saw that they weren't particularly well-protected.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47And, as a consequence of that, Monmouth changed his plans.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50And on the night of 5th July, he set out,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53in view of a surprise attack on the Royal army.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55What was the result of the attack?
0:16:55 > 0:16:57It was an utter disaster, sadly, for the Duke of Monmouth
0:16:57 > 0:16:59and his followers.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The night was very misty, they couldn't find
0:17:02 > 0:17:05crossings of some of the ditches and then a pistol was fired.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Almost certainly one of the Royal Cavalry
0:17:07 > 0:17:09had spotted something happening.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12The rebels panicked and hundreds of people were killed.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18There followed an infamous period in British history.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20The fleeing rebels,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and anyone thought to have sympathised with them,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26were rounded up and put on trial at what became known as
0:17:26 > 0:17:29the Bloody Assizes.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33"After the defeat at Sedgemoor, King James' chief justice,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37"Jeffreys, the worthy tool of such a monster,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42"held his Bloody Assizes, at Taunton." Just here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45"Hundreds of poor wretches were condemned to death,
0:17:45 > 0:17:50"after being persuaded to throw themselves on the King's mercy.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54"The executioner hanged one man three times."
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I just can't imagine what it would've been like to be one of the accused.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Bring on John Hucker.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09- Traitor!- Traitor!- Hang him!- Traitor!
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Silence!
0:18:12 > 0:18:15John Hucker, you stand accused of high treason,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19by lately being in armed rebellion against your lawful King.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23I am obliged by law to give you the right to plead guilty or not guilty.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26However, I will extend leniency, where possible,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29to those who plead guilty.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34I have a muster roll here, from the Duke of Monmouth's army,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38with your name on it, as a Captain of Horse.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42I also have diverse, loyal witnesses who will swear they saw you with
0:18:42 > 0:18:46the Duke and indeed followed him all the way to the battle at Sedgemoor.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49That being so, how do you plead?
0:18:54 > 0:18:58In view of your words, my Lord, I plead guilty
0:18:58 > 0:19:01and throw myself upon the mercy of this court.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05"Guilty", eh?
0:19:05 > 0:19:10Regrettably, the depth of your crime is such that mercy has flown.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14So, John Hucker, I find you guilty of high treason
0:19:14 > 0:19:16against your lawful King.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence?
0:19:19 > 0:19:24- He's a traitor!- Traitor!- Liar! - String him up!- Traitor!
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Silence!
0:19:26 > 0:19:30I stand before my God, as a man of conscience.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35I could not remain idle and see England led back to popery.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And, for that, I shall die.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Indeed you will.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45John Hucker, one time captain of rebel horse, your lands,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48properties and monies will be forfeit to the Crown.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I sentence you to a traitor's death, you will be hanged by the neck,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57cut down whilst still alive and then drawn and quartered.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59May God have mercy on your soul.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Captain, take him away.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15In all, 144 men and women were condemned to death at the Assizes.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17I'll have a black tea, please.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21'Luckily, for us actors, it's a refreshing cup of tea,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23'not the gallows that beckons.'
0:20:23 > 0:20:31I must say, you were a very fearsome crowd, you really were. You!
0:20:31 > 0:20:32You, screaming at me.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Thank you all very much indeed.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39I've got a train to catch,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41so...I can't hang around.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49'Divesting myself of 17th century garb, I return to Taunton Station
0:20:49 > 0:20:53'for the final leg of this 200 mile railway adventure.'
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The last station on my journey will be Exeter St David's.
0:21:05 > 0:21:11Bradshaw says that, "Dartmoor and the waste called Dartmoor Forest occupy
0:21:11 > 0:21:15"the greater portion of the western district of Devonshire, which
0:21:15 > 0:21:19"extends from the Vale of Exeter to the banks of the River Tamar."
0:21:19 > 0:21:25What a lovely, vast area, in which to play a massive game of hide and seek.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Dartmoor and Dartmoor Forest cover about 365 square
0:21:34 > 0:21:38miles of rugged upland and wooded valleys.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43Interspersed with craggy, granite outcrops, known as tors.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48It was officially designated a national park in 1951,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53but the Dartmoor Preservation Society was established back in 1883.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57And it was popular with Victorian walkers and nature lovers.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03News has reached my ears of a Dartmoor tradition,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06called letterboxing, which has enthusiasts
0:22:06 > 0:22:10descending from all over the country to scour the landscape.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14To find out how it all started and what they're looking for,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19I'm heading up onto the moor to meet keen letterboxer, Pat Reed.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Hello, Pat.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Shilstone Tor.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Thank you very much. Well, it's a remote spot,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30but I've been sent here to find out about letterboxing.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32What is it, when did it begin?
0:22:32 > 0:22:39It began in 1854, it was started by a man called James Perrot,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42who put the first letterbox in a place called Cranmere Pool,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46in a rather remote part of Dartmoor.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48He left it there, he had his visiting card,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51he left that behind in it as well.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52And then people used to go
0:22:52 > 0:22:57and put their own visiting cards in, to show that they'd actually
0:22:57 > 0:23:00transversed that really difficult part of the moor.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01It was a challenge,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04but even the ladies, in their long dresses, managed it.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07And that must've been quite something, I think.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09How do you get your clues?
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Well, in October and March, on the days when the clock goes forward and
0:23:13 > 0:23:17the clock goes back, we have what is called, a "letterboxer's meet".
0:23:17 > 0:23:20At that meet you can buy a catalogue.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Which is what I'm holding in my hand now
0:23:23 > 0:23:27and this tells you where all the boxes are.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30"Black Spots, no.66, Shilstone Tor.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34"White chimney 086 degrees, a backward L-shaped,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37"small holly in boulder very close."
0:23:37 > 0:23:40This is written in gobbledegook.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Well, I will help you. Tell me what the bearing is on the tor.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45172 degrees.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47So there is the compass,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51so you need to move this dial around until 172 is there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Keep it in your hand.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57You have to go where the arrow is telling you to go.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Pat, you've given me a little clue, I think
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- I'm meant to go in that direction. - I think you'd better!
0:24:06 > 0:24:09'Having been nudged gently in the right direction,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13'I now must keep my eyes open for landmarks.'
0:24:13 > 0:24:17When we set out, I couldn't see any white chimney,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20but, I must say, that white chimney, actually, is very obvious.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21It is very obvious.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27Pat, I can see the tree, so I'm putting that now to 335.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- Do you know, I'm getting quite... - You're getting very good at it.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Well, I don't know about that, but I'm getting in to it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- Getting the hang of it. - And enjoying it.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Could you remind me, what are we looking for?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Yes, we're looking for an L-shaped rock, with a small holly growing in it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45- Right.- So we have to climb, I think. A little bit.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Let's climb, here we go.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54'20 minutes later, after a lot of bracken bashing, we strike lucky.'
0:24:54 > 0:24:56- I've found it!- Hooray!
0:24:56 > 0:24:59A backward, L-shaped rock.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01But finding the rock was not the point, was it, Pat?
0:25:01 > 0:25:03It was to find the box.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Exactly, but the clue tells you that it's under the rock,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09so you've got to look and see.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- There we have it.- Ah-ha!
0:25:12 > 0:25:17(The moment I've been waiting for.)
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Is it money?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21No.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24- MICHAEL LAUGHS - No such luck.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- Oh.- That's the visitors' book.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27And a stamp...
0:25:28 > 0:25:32..of a dog, by the look of it. What happens next?
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Every letterboxer carries an ink pad and a book and a stamp.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Here is your special Great British Railway letterboxing stamp.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Ah, thank you.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45'Until the 1970s,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49'there were no more than a dozen letterboxes around Dartmoor.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53'But in the last 40 years, it's become so popular that there are said
0:25:53 > 0:25:57'to be over 5,000 and definitely room for one more.'
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Pat, do you think I might create my own letterbox?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03I think that would be a wonderful idea and I know just the spot
0:26:03 > 0:26:06where you could do just that thing.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Pat, what a wizard spot. That is wonderful.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Absolutely perfect, it'll take your box.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25Put my stamp inside, seal the box.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- Into the hole.- Yes.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35How will people find the Great British Railway Journey's box?
0:26:35 > 0:26:38The clue for this box will appear in the next
0:26:38 > 0:26:41edition of the Catalogue of Dartmoor Letterboxers.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- They'll have to buy the book. - They will indeed.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51The Victorians were remarkably inventive in every sphere.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58From industry, to the arts, to how they spent their leisure time.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02It was an age of change and progress, powered by the railways.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06My rail journey that began in urban Birmingham has
0:27:06 > 0:27:10ended on desolate Dartmoor, passing Jerusalem on the way.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16It started with a whistle and, I feared, would end with a hanging.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Once again, my Bradshaw's has brought our island history dramatically
0:27:20 > 0:27:22to life.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26With all its triumphs, tragedies and treacheries.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Every time I step on a train, a new treasure hunt begins.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Next time...
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Urgh!
0:27:48 > 0:27:51That is a Princess Alexandra style false fringe.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Real human hair from the 1880s.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03- Sounding better.- That's pretty impressive for a first attempt.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Got it in one!
0:28:08 > 0:28:101,500 townspeople threatened that,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13if Mortimer was brought out to them, they would hang him.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16I imagine you Sackvilles have been fairly cautious
0:28:16 > 0:28:17about public opinion ever since.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Extremely!