Woking to Walton-on-Thames

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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 > 0:00:19I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains

0:00:19 > 0:00:21transformed Britain,

0:00:21 > 0:00:25its landscape, its industry, society and leisure time.

0:00:25 > 0:00:31As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me

0:00:31 > 0:00:33to discover the Britain of today.

0:00:54 > 0:00:57I'm continuing my journey through Surrey.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01Today, I hope to discover how the Victorian middle classes

0:01:01 > 0:01:05created beautiful homes and gardens.

0:01:05 > 0:01:07And, by the end of the 19th century,

0:01:07 > 0:01:11demanded a revolution in personal transport to match that

0:01:11 > 0:01:15in public transport represented by the railways.

0:01:15 > 0:01:18The pace of change in Victorian Britain altered

0:01:18 > 0:01:21everything in life, including death.

0:01:29 > 0:01:32Following my Bradshaw's guidebook, I travelled through

0:01:32 > 0:01:36the county of Kent and took a route south of London into Surrey.

0:01:37 > 0:01:40Passing through the Home Counties, I'll visit racetracks

0:01:40 > 0:01:45and royal residences before ending riverside in Henley-on-Thames.

0:01:48 > 0:01:51Today, I make a sombre start in Woking.

0:01:51 > 0:01:54I then put down some roots in West Byfleet,

0:01:54 > 0:01:57before racing through Weybridge

0:01:57 > 0:01:59to an intense end in Walton-on-Thames.

0:02:02 > 0:02:04I get my hands dirty at Wisley.

0:02:06 > 0:02:10You're being quite rough with that. I'd be frightened to do that.

0:02:10 > 0:02:12In the long term, this will do the plant no end of good.

0:02:12 > 0:02:14- So a bit of rough love?- Absolutely.

0:02:14 > 0:02:18Pitch up to see some early camping kit.

0:02:18 > 0:02:19This looks handy.

0:02:19 > 0:02:22Probably not when it's full, Michael.

0:02:22 > 0:02:23That is actually a washing-up bowl.

0:02:23 > 0:02:25THEY LAUGH

0:02:25 > 0:02:29And get a fright at the wheel of a vintage racing car.

0:02:29 > 0:02:31The throttle's got stuck.

0:02:32 > 0:02:34The throttle's got stuck.

0:02:34 > 0:02:36No, the throttle's got stuck.

0:02:37 > 0:02:40Thank you very much. That was a nasty moment.

0:02:43 > 0:02:46I'm passing close to the enormous Brookwood Cemetery,

0:02:46 > 0:02:50opened in 1864, the year of my guidebook,

0:02:50 > 0:02:52to cope with burials from London.

0:02:52 > 0:02:57But towards the end of the 19th century, with the enormous increase

0:02:57 > 0:02:59in the metropolitan population,

0:02:59 > 0:03:02the ingenious idea of exporting bodies from London

0:03:02 > 0:03:06to suburban cemeteries was running out of steam.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09And the city was about to lose the plot.

0:03:12 > 0:03:14My first stop today is Woking.

0:03:14 > 0:03:18A busy interchange station with fast links to London,

0:03:18 > 0:03:21as well as mainlines to the South Coast and the South West.

0:03:24 > 0:03:26Just west of Woking,

0:03:26 > 0:03:30the Brookwood Cemetery is the largest in western Europe.

0:03:30 > 0:03:32Built to inter the capital's dead,

0:03:32 > 0:03:37it was supplied by trains from Waterloo with corpses and mourners.

0:03:40 > 0:03:42A decade after Brookwood opened,

0:03:42 > 0:03:46a movement began to promote a controversial alternative to burial.

0:03:49 > 0:03:53Professor Hilary Grainger is a member of the Cremation Society.

0:03:56 > 0:03:59Hilary, I suppose with cemeteries like Brookwood filling up,

0:03:59 > 0:04:03- that would lead to an interest in cremation.- It did indeed.

0:04:03 > 0:04:05And it was not simply a question of space,

0:04:05 > 0:04:09but it was also a question of hygiene.

0:04:09 > 0:04:13Cremationists in the 1870s became very concerned about the miasma,

0:04:13 > 0:04:15the gasses that they believed were being emitted

0:04:15 > 0:04:18from overcrowded cemeteries, spreading disease.

0:04:18 > 0:04:22So the Cremation Movement was historically secular,

0:04:22 > 0:04:24concerned with health and hygiene.

0:04:24 > 0:04:29And also, of course, was underpinned by advances in Victorian technology.

0:04:29 > 0:04:33Had it not been for Victorian engineering in terms of

0:04:33 > 0:04:37furnace developments, then cremation couldn't have taken place.

0:04:37 > 0:04:39Cremation had been the most common way

0:04:39 > 0:04:42to dispose of corpses during the Roman Empire.

0:04:42 > 0:04:45But for almost 2,000 years,

0:04:45 > 0:04:48the Christian church had stipulated that they must be buried.

0:04:50 > 0:04:52Despite religious opposition,

0:04:52 > 0:04:57the movement to promote cremation was established in 1874.

0:04:57 > 0:04:58And four years later,

0:04:58 > 0:05:03it constructed Britain's first purpose-built crematorium at Woking.

0:05:04 > 0:05:07The Cremation Society was founded by Sir Henry Thompson,

0:05:07 > 0:05:10who was the surgeon to Queen Victoria.

0:05:10 > 0:05:13He, together with 15 like-minded people,

0:05:13 > 0:05:16signed a declaration in favour of cremation.

0:05:16 > 0:05:19And one of the early advocates made the comment that they were

0:05:19 > 0:05:23seeking purification rather than putrefaction.

0:05:23 > 0:05:26- So, then, the cremations began? - Um...no.

0:05:26 > 0:05:29Sir Henry Thompson and colleagues cremated a horse,

0:05:29 > 0:05:33but that caused a huge uproar in Woking, led by the vicar.

0:05:33 > 0:05:36And he, together with a number of residents,

0:05:36 > 0:05:39made a deputation to the Home Secretary,

0:05:39 > 0:05:42who declared that cremation was not a legal act

0:05:42 > 0:05:46until there was some sort of parliamentary authorisation.

0:05:46 > 0:05:52A curious court case in 1884 effectively changed the law.

0:05:53 > 0:05:56After a Welsh druid, Dr William Price,

0:05:56 > 0:05:58had cremated the body of his child,

0:05:58 > 0:06:03a judge ruled that it was not criminal if no nuisance was caused.

0:06:07 > 0:06:09That made cremations legal.

0:06:09 > 0:06:13And they began here at Woking Crematorium in 1885,

0:06:13 > 0:06:16with three taking place in the first year.

0:06:18 > 0:06:21Given the religious opposition to cremation,

0:06:21 > 0:06:23it's quite surprising that this building,

0:06:23 > 0:06:26which is clearly 19th century, looks ecclesiastical.

0:06:26 > 0:06:30That is because a crematorium posed a real problem for an architect.

0:06:30 > 0:06:32It was a new building type,

0:06:32 > 0:06:34for which there was no architectural precedent.

0:06:34 > 0:06:37And in that sense, rather analogous, I think,

0:06:37 > 0:06:39to early Victorian railway stations.

0:06:39 > 0:06:42And so architects, I think, in the early years,

0:06:42 > 0:06:45designed crematories that looked like churches.

0:06:45 > 0:06:47But, of course, they're not churches.

0:06:47 > 0:06:49And many people find it surprising

0:06:49 > 0:06:51that they're not consecrated buildings.

0:06:52 > 0:06:56Since cremation was regarded as unconventional,

0:06:56 > 0:07:00the building was designed to be reassuringly traditional.

0:07:01 > 0:07:05So now we've come inside, we find this splendid catafalque.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08Again, lots of religious symbolism.

0:07:08 > 0:07:12Indeed, the catafalque is not only the structure upon which

0:07:12 > 0:07:15the coffin sits, but it's also the means by which it's removed

0:07:15 > 0:07:19mechanically and horizontally through to the cremator room.

0:07:19 > 0:07:23In many early crematoria, coffins descended in an imitation of burial.

0:07:26 > 0:07:27The early adopters of cremation

0:07:27 > 0:07:31were typically drawn from the realms of science, medicine,

0:07:31 > 0:07:33arts and literature.

0:07:34 > 0:07:38Here we have Thomas Hardy, the novelist, who was cremated,

0:07:38 > 0:07:42and his ashes were taken to Westminster Abbey for internment.

0:07:42 > 0:07:46Very striking. He's come all the way from Dorchester, that's a long way.

0:07:46 > 0:07:49It is, but you have to remember there were very few crematoria

0:07:49 > 0:07:50built at this time.

0:07:53 > 0:07:56Well, I'm just the far side of the catafalque,

0:07:56 > 0:07:59and on the other side is that beautiful brass door.

0:07:59 > 0:08:03Here, it's just plain wood, and what a contrast,

0:08:03 > 0:08:05this is a stainless steel table,

0:08:05 > 0:08:08and here's the handle that winds the coffin through.

0:08:11 > 0:08:13- Hello, Phil.- Hello, Michael.

0:08:13 > 0:08:16So, this is where the cremation actually takes place?

0:08:16 > 0:08:18Yes, this is what we call a cremator.

0:08:18 > 0:08:21What is the process that goes on in there?

0:08:21 > 0:08:23The process is basically the lighting of the coffin

0:08:23 > 0:08:27from the heat of the chamber, and from then on it's combustion.

0:08:27 > 0:08:29And then all that matter is reduced.

0:08:29 > 0:08:31How long does that process take?

0:08:31 > 0:08:33Approximately 90 minutes.

0:08:36 > 0:08:42It wasn't until 1968 that the number of cremations began to exceed burials

0:08:42 > 0:08:47and today, cremations make up well over 70% of funerals.

0:08:49 > 0:08:54What looks like a graveyard but is not a graveyard?

0:08:54 > 0:08:55This.

0:08:55 > 0:08:57In the early days of cremation,

0:08:57 > 0:09:02Victorians and Edwardians clung to the idea of burying ashes.

0:09:02 > 0:09:06It was as though they could not let go of an ancient ritual

0:09:06 > 0:09:10in an age that prided itself on its rationalism.

0:09:16 > 0:09:19Back at Woking Station, I'm taking a London-bound train.

0:09:19 > 0:09:22But I won't be going anywhere near the capital,

0:09:22 > 0:09:26as this leg of the journey takes me just three miles along the tracks.

0:09:26 > 0:09:29I'm now passing through what Bradshaw

0:09:29 > 0:09:32describes as "a succession of picturesque views

0:09:32 > 0:09:34"which will delight the traveller,

0:09:34 > 0:09:38"affording pleasing specimens of English forest scenery."

0:09:38 > 0:09:42In the 19th century, the middle classes wanted to bring nature

0:09:42 > 0:09:45closer to their homes, to their gardens,

0:09:45 > 0:09:48and they did so with Victorian earnestness,

0:09:48 > 0:09:53and they benefitted from an explosion in the number of available specimens.

0:09:59 > 0:10:02I'm alighting at West Byfleet, which is the station closest

0:10:02 > 0:10:07to the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley.

0:10:12 > 0:10:16Across its 240 acres of decorative flowerbeds,

0:10:16 > 0:10:17glasshouses,

0:10:17 > 0:10:20laboratories and an arboretum,

0:10:20 > 0:10:23it displays species from around the world.

0:10:23 > 0:10:25Throughout the 19th century,

0:10:25 > 0:10:29the RHS educated the Victorian gardener

0:10:29 > 0:10:32as interest in horticulture bloomed.

0:10:32 > 0:10:36I'm meeting the director of horticulture, Tim Upson.

0:10:36 > 0:10:39I believe the origins of the Royal Horticultural Society

0:10:39 > 0:10:41go back to the beginnings of the 19th century.

0:10:41 > 0:10:43What was going on in that period

0:10:43 > 0:10:46to make people want to found such an organisation?

0:10:46 > 0:10:48We were founded in 1804.

0:10:48 > 0:10:52Seven gentlemen proposing a new horticultural society,

0:10:52 > 0:10:56really just to understand this vast wealth of new plants

0:10:56 > 0:10:59which were coming in from around the world.

0:10:59 > 0:11:01And to promote the practice,

0:11:01 > 0:11:05science and art of horticulture is really what we're still about today.

0:11:05 > 0:11:09These people were, I take it, gentlemen with substantial estates?

0:11:09 > 0:11:13Yes, John Wedgewood of the Wedgewood pottery family,

0:11:13 > 0:11:18Sir Joseph Banks, one of our great scientists, and an explorer.

0:11:18 > 0:11:21What's the history of this particular site at Wisley?

0:11:21 > 0:11:25This was actually the estate of George Fergusson Wilson.

0:11:25 > 0:11:27He was a chemist by profession,

0:11:27 > 0:11:29but what he wanted to do was to experiment

0:11:29 > 0:11:33about how to grow some of these new plants

0:11:33 > 0:11:35which were being brought into the country.

0:11:35 > 0:11:38And this site offered the opportunity, as he described,

0:11:38 > 0:11:42to grow some of these new plants in half a dozen different conditions.

0:11:42 > 0:11:44So, it's about experimenting

0:11:44 > 0:11:48and trying to understand what these new plants needed.

0:11:48 > 0:11:50A successful Victorian businessman,

0:11:50 > 0:11:54Wilson sowed the seeds of today's experimental gardens,

0:11:54 > 0:11:58which passed to the RHS in 1903 upon his death.

0:11:58 > 0:12:00We've met in the rockery,

0:12:00 > 0:12:04which strikes me as a particularly Victorian sort of garden.

0:12:04 > 0:12:06Yes, very much of that era.

0:12:06 > 0:12:11In fact, they used a light railway to move these big Sussex sandstone

0:12:11 > 0:12:13boulders around the slopes here,

0:12:13 > 0:12:17and it's one of the fabulous features of this garden.

0:12:17 > 0:12:20Do you think the British today are more or less passionate

0:12:20 > 0:12:22than the Victorians were about their gardens?

0:12:22 > 0:12:26There's still a lot of passion. We're a great gardening country.

0:12:26 > 0:12:30I think we're beginning to realise how important horticulture

0:12:30 > 0:12:32and green spaces are to our general lives.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34It makes you feel better.

0:12:34 > 0:12:36Get a bit of soil under your nails.

0:12:36 > 0:12:39That's right, that's what it's all about really.

0:12:41 > 0:12:46The gardens were initially only open to RHS members,

0:12:46 > 0:12:51of which there are now 440,000, but today Wisley is open to all.

0:12:53 > 0:12:54What brings you to Wisley?

0:12:54 > 0:12:57- A walk. - It's a very pleasant morning.

0:12:57 > 0:13:00- Is it a good place for a family day out?- Fantastic. We come here a lot.

0:13:00 > 0:13:02What do you enjoy about it?

0:13:02 > 0:13:04They love being in the big green house.

0:13:04 > 0:13:07And they like building the dens.

0:13:07 > 0:13:10Why do you think the British are so crazy about gardens?

0:13:10 > 0:13:13Very therapeutic. Gardening is very therapeutic.

0:13:13 > 0:13:14I suppose we have the weather for it -

0:13:14 > 0:13:18a lot of places are very dry, so it's difficult to grow plants.

0:13:18 > 0:13:21Whereas we have... I suppose it's easier to grow a variety.

0:13:22 > 0:13:25Growing the many thousands of varieties of plants,

0:13:25 > 0:13:30and educating the public about them, is a team of up to 200 gardeners.

0:13:30 > 0:13:32- Hello, Stewart.- Hello, Michael.

0:13:32 > 0:13:35- I gather we're going to plant a tree. - That's right.

0:13:37 > 0:13:40I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from gardener Stewart Hall.

0:13:44 > 0:13:47Stewart, the leaves are on the turn and there's a chill in the air.

0:13:47 > 0:13:50Is this a good time to be planting a tree?

0:13:50 > 0:13:53That's right, autumn is always the best time to plant trees.

0:13:53 > 0:13:56If you plant in summer, you have to think about watering continually,

0:13:56 > 0:13:58so yes, autumn is always the best time.

0:14:00 > 0:14:03Right, if I do that, you'll be able to pull the tree out.

0:14:03 > 0:14:06Comes out quite easily, and we can have a look at the root system.

0:14:06 > 0:14:10It's got a healthy root system, it's not too pot bound.

0:14:10 > 0:14:14But it can always do with quite a nice rigorous breaking up.

0:14:14 > 0:14:17This will encourage the roots to spread outwards.

0:14:17 > 0:14:21You're being quite rough with it. I'd be frightened to do that.

0:14:21 > 0:14:23When we're demonstrating to the public,

0:14:23 > 0:14:26they get quite surprised that you can be quite ruthless

0:14:26 > 0:14:29with this, but in the long term this will do the plant no end of good.

0:14:29 > 0:14:31- Bit of rough love.- Absolutely.

0:14:34 > 0:14:38This tree is a type of acer called October Glory,

0:14:38 > 0:14:41and should have a lifespan of around 100 years.

0:14:43 > 0:14:45So, we'll give it a nice good soak.

0:14:45 > 0:14:48What I'll do is I'll give it a nice thick cover of compost.

0:14:48 > 0:14:52Well, Stewart, I've enjoyed getting my hands dirty.

0:14:52 > 0:14:53- Thank you so much.- My pleasure.

0:14:53 > 0:14:55- Thank you for helping.- Bye!- Bye-bye.

0:14:58 > 0:15:03As the day ends, I feel I've left my mark on these beautiful gardens.

0:15:08 > 0:15:12It's a new day and I'm rejoining the tracks at West Byfleet to

0:15:12 > 0:15:17make my way along this busy London commuter line to Weybridge.

0:15:18 > 0:15:20Throughout Queen Victoria's reign,

0:15:20 > 0:15:24trains were the only form of high-speed transport.

0:15:24 > 0:15:29But all her successors have witnessed the irresistible rise

0:15:29 > 0:15:32of private high-speed transport on the roads.

0:15:32 > 0:15:36I hope to appreciate the moment of transition

0:15:36 > 0:15:38when I leave this train at Weybridge.

0:15:46 > 0:15:51Within walking distance of the station is Brooklands Museum.

0:15:51 > 0:15:54It charts the rise of motor racing from the early

0:15:54 > 0:15:57prototypes of the Victorian era, through to today.

0:15:59 > 0:16:03Brooklands is the birthplace of British motorsport,

0:16:03 > 0:16:07as it was the first purpose-built race track in the world

0:16:07 > 0:16:11and was crucial to the development of the British motor industry.

0:16:11 > 0:16:14Alan Wynne is the director of the motor museum.

0:16:16 > 0:16:20So, when does motor racing really get going?

0:16:20 > 0:16:24On the Continent, in the latter years of the 19th century.

0:16:24 > 0:16:29In this country, with the exception of very few hillclimbs and sprints

0:16:29 > 0:16:36on private ground, nothing until 1907, when Brooklands track opened.

0:16:36 > 0:16:39Why the big difference between the Continent and the UK?

0:16:39 > 0:16:42It was all down to legislation, originally.

0:16:42 > 0:16:46Speed limits, in particular. Up until 1896, you've got

0:16:46 > 0:16:49a speed limit of 4mph, a man with the red flag walking in front of you.

0:16:49 > 0:16:53Then we went to 12mph and then to 20mph,

0:16:53 > 0:16:55but that's not the stuff of motor racing.

0:16:55 > 0:16:57So what happens to change that?

0:16:57 > 0:17:02It's really down to Hugh Locke King, an enthusiastic motorist.

0:17:02 > 0:17:04He owns all this land around here,

0:17:04 > 0:17:09goes off to Sicily to see the Coppa Florio motor race on public roads,

0:17:09 > 0:17:13laments the lack of British motor cars and drivers

0:17:13 > 0:17:16and is told that the reason is, there's just nowhere where the

0:17:16 > 0:17:20British manufacturers can develop fast motor cars.

0:17:20 > 0:17:24So he comes back, resolved to build this track and we end up with

0:17:24 > 0:17:28a two-and-three-quarter mile concrete racetrack, 100 feet wide,

0:17:28 > 0:17:31the first purpose-built motor racing circuit in the world.

0:17:31 > 0:17:33Shall we go and have a look at it?

0:17:33 > 0:17:37Yeah, come aboard an earlier car and we'll show you what it's all about.

0:17:43 > 0:17:47Given how dominant trains were in meeting Britain's transport

0:17:47 > 0:17:49needs when this track was built,

0:17:49 > 0:17:54only a visionary could have imagined how far the motorcar would develop.

0:17:56 > 0:17:58Brooklands cost £150,000 to build.

0:17:58 > 0:18:02The equivalent to £16 million today.

0:18:02 > 0:18:05And it nearly bankrupted Locke King.

0:18:07 > 0:18:12Steep bankings at each end allowed the cars to corner at great speeds.

0:18:14 > 0:18:17Because there was no precedent to how you would run a motor race

0:18:17 > 0:18:20on a closed circuit, the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club

0:18:20 > 0:18:22just borrowed the rules of horse racing.

0:18:22 > 0:18:26So to this day in motor racing we have the cars assembling in a paddock

0:18:26 > 0:18:30under the control of the clerk of the course, indiscretions of

0:18:30 > 0:18:32the drivers are dealt with by stewards, all of the things

0:18:32 > 0:18:37that pertained in motor racing right now will come straight from horse racing.

0:18:37 > 0:18:38Fantastic.

0:18:38 > 0:18:44This iconic track hosted the Junior Car Club's famous 200 miles races

0:18:44 > 0:18:47in the 1920s and '30s.

0:18:47 > 0:18:51And staged the first ever British Grand Prix in 1926.

0:18:53 > 0:18:57Racing ceased at Brooklands on the outbreak of the Second World War,

0:18:57 > 0:19:00when the site was used to build Vickers military aircraft.

0:19:03 > 0:19:06Today, sections of the track remain

0:19:06 > 0:19:11and I'm throwing caution to the wind to take this beauty out for a spin.

0:19:13 > 0:19:14What is this car?

0:19:14 > 0:19:17A 1929 Bentley 4.5 litre,

0:19:17 > 0:19:22as raced by legends of motor racing like Tim Birkin.

0:19:22 > 0:19:25He raced this car in the double 12 race in 1929.

0:19:25 > 0:19:27Still going strong.

0:19:27 > 0:19:29Still going extremely strong.

0:19:30 > 0:19:35- Right, so all three switches on the right-hand side down.- All down.

0:19:35 > 0:19:37Ignition to fully retarded.

0:19:37 > 0:19:40- Press the starter button here. - ENGINE IGNITES

0:19:50 > 0:19:54Takes a bit of getting used to. The throttle is in the middle,

0:19:54 > 0:19:56the brake's on the right...

0:19:58 > 0:20:03You imagine streaking along the course, 100, 120mph,

0:20:03 > 0:20:08the crowds going crazy, racing green streaking past them.

0:20:08 > 0:20:11This car can easily go over 100mph,

0:20:11 > 0:20:14but I'm not aiming for a track record today.

0:20:15 > 0:20:16I'm enjoying this!

0:20:17 > 0:20:21Well, I'm glad you're getting to learn a vintage motorcar

0:20:21 > 0:20:23in such a wonderful, evocative place as this.

0:20:23 > 0:20:25Ah, could be better, could it?

0:20:30 > 0:20:34The world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit.

0:20:34 > 0:20:37One of the finest cars ever built in Britain.

0:20:37 > 0:20:39How lucky am I?

0:20:41 > 0:20:45But sadly, I'm no expert at driving this vintage vehicle.

0:20:47 > 0:20:50I've cut the... The throttle's got stuck.

0:20:50 > 0:20:52The throttle's got stuck.

0:20:52 > 0:20:54No, throttle's got...

0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Yes, sorry, you knocked the hand throttle.- Oh, OK.

0:20:59 > 0:21:01Thank you very much, that was a nasty moment.

0:21:03 > 0:21:05As I leave the racetrack,

0:21:05 > 0:21:08I make my way back to the train track at Weybridge.

0:21:20 > 0:21:23My next stop will be Walton-on-Thames.

0:21:23 > 0:21:28I want to look at a Victorian who brought together in one activity

0:21:28 > 0:21:30many of the fashions of the day.

0:21:30 > 0:21:35An interest in nature, a wish to escape from the urban grime,

0:21:35 > 0:21:40a concern for fitness and for manliness and on a dull and damp day

0:21:40 > 0:21:44like this, what better time to think about camping?

0:21:48 > 0:21:53Walton-on-Thames is situated on the south-west mainline

0:21:53 > 0:21:55and served by fast trains,

0:21:55 > 0:21:59some of which stop only once between here and London Waterloo.

0:21:59 > 0:22:03It seems a most unlikely place to find a campsite.

0:22:03 > 0:22:07Owned by The Camping and Caravanning Club, it's the oldest

0:22:07 > 0:22:12remaining site in their network and was established in 1913.

0:22:12 > 0:22:16I'm meeting Candy Evans who writes for their magazine.

0:22:16 > 0:22:20So people have been pitching their tents here for more than 100 years.

0:22:20 > 0:22:22How did camping as an activity get going?

0:22:22 > 0:22:25It dates back to a gentleman by the name of Thomas Hiram Holding,

0:22:25 > 0:22:28the gentleman that is sitting in this tent here.

0:22:28 > 0:22:32He had spent his early years, the 1840s, in America,

0:22:32 > 0:22:34part of the wagon trains.

0:22:34 > 0:22:38And as he got older, he then went into making tents for his own use

0:22:38 > 0:22:42and for his friends and in 1901, he combined that

0:22:42 > 0:22:46with his love of cycling and started the Association of Cycle Campers.

0:22:48 > 0:22:53Born in 1844, Holding was 57 when he formed the association,

0:22:53 > 0:22:55which started out with just 13 members.

0:22:57 > 0:23:01By 1906, the association had several hundred members and would

0:23:01 > 0:23:06later go on to become The Camping and Caravanning Club that we know today.

0:23:08 > 0:23:11And as far as cycling and camping is concerned,

0:23:11 > 0:23:14- did they have special bikes to do that?- They did, yes.

0:23:14 > 0:23:18And you can see on here that he has special carriers for

0:23:18 > 0:23:21his Primus stove and another one for his milk bottles.

0:23:21 > 0:23:24And we have actually got a Primus here,

0:23:24 > 0:23:26which dates back to those sort of days.

0:23:26 > 0:23:29I must say, I think I remember what to do with this.

0:23:29 > 0:23:35Put down the feet for it to stand on, and you put the supports in here...

0:23:36 > 0:23:38..which is going to...

0:23:38 > 0:23:40keep up your saucepan.

0:23:40 > 0:23:42That bit screws in there...

0:23:44 > 0:23:46..burner sits on top...

0:23:46 > 0:23:50And then I seem to remember that you have to prime it like mad.

0:23:51 > 0:23:54What else have you got here? This looks handy.

0:23:54 > 0:23:55Probably not when it's full, Michael.

0:23:55 > 0:23:58That is actually a washing-up bowl.

0:23:59 > 0:24:01- But obviously...- I see.

0:24:01 > 0:24:03Once a year you would waterproof that

0:24:03 > 0:24:06and you would carry your water in this water carrier here.

0:24:06 > 0:24:09Again, it would be waterproofed, waxed once a year

0:24:09 > 0:24:11and that will do you for the season.

0:24:12 > 0:24:14At the turn-of-the-century,

0:24:14 > 0:24:18camping as a leisure pursuit was very much in its infancy.

0:24:18 > 0:24:19Equipment had to be improvised

0:24:19 > 0:24:24and the novice camper needed guidance on how to survive the great outdoors.

0:24:25 > 0:24:27Holding wrote a seminal book,

0:24:27 > 0:24:31The Campers' Handbook, to impart his many tips.

0:24:31 > 0:24:34It was extremely important to possible new campers of the day,

0:24:34 > 0:24:37because it told you absolutely everything,

0:24:37 > 0:24:40everything from what to take with you, how to transport it,

0:24:40 > 0:24:42the food you might like,

0:24:42 > 0:24:46through to how to deal with snorers on the campsite.

0:24:46 > 0:24:48One of the most important things is the clothing.

0:24:48 > 0:24:52I mean, here for example is the lady with her skirt on.

0:24:52 > 0:24:55"The best kind of skirt for camping is one that finishes three inches

0:24:55 > 0:24:59"off the ground and it should not be less, nor need it be more."

0:24:59 > 0:25:03So what did he think people could get out of camping?

0:25:03 > 0:25:06Well, for him, I think a lot of it was about health.

0:25:06 > 0:25:10Holding maintained that if you had a cold when you went camping,

0:25:10 > 0:25:11it would go immediately.

0:25:11 > 0:25:15I think he was very much of his time, a Victorian man for whom

0:25:15 > 0:25:18the outdoors was a very important part of life and it was very much

0:25:18 > 0:25:21a case of getting people out of the cities and into the countryside.

0:25:21 > 0:25:25In those days, there were no statutory holidays and in fact,

0:25:25 > 0:25:28most of the people who could afford to do this would

0:25:28 > 0:25:30have been the upper middle class and it was very

0:25:30 > 0:25:34much a case of those people getting out and doing what felt right.

0:25:34 > 0:25:37So once he's got all this going, how does it catch on?

0:25:37 > 0:25:39Remarkably rapidly, actually.

0:25:39 > 0:25:43By the time Robert Falcon Scott goes on his ill-fated expedition

0:25:43 > 0:25:47to the Antarctic, he was the president of the club.

0:25:47 > 0:25:51And by the 21st birthday of the club, Baden-Powell of the

0:25:51 > 0:25:53Scouting movement was very heavily involved

0:25:53 > 0:25:56and had become the president.

0:25:56 > 0:25:59And there's a lovely picture there of him, obviously very relaxed

0:25:59 > 0:26:03and in his element, being surrounded by other fellow campers.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07Today, The Camping and Caravanning Club has over half a million members

0:26:07 > 0:26:11and over 100 campsites the length and breadth of Britain.

0:26:11 > 0:26:13Hello!

0:26:13 > 0:26:14Sorry to trouble you.

0:26:14 > 0:26:18And it's come a long way from the sheets and poles of a century ago.

0:26:18 > 0:26:22- Do you mind if I just sit down for a moment?- Not at all.- You're welcome.

0:26:22 > 0:26:25You've got a very smart motorhome. Have you been touring long?

0:26:25 > 0:26:27Over two years now.

0:26:27 > 0:26:29Our three children, who we raised in Sydney,

0:26:29 > 0:26:34have all put down their roots here and when we retired, they said,

0:26:34 > 0:26:38"Mum and Dad, you've got to come over and join us, the family's moved."

0:26:38 > 0:26:42So we're partly enjoying retirement and partly looking for somewhere

0:26:42 > 0:26:44we might ultimately settle.

0:26:44 > 0:26:47Are you are getting near to making a decision?

0:26:47 > 0:26:48Um...

0:26:48 > 0:26:50- Well, no.- Not really.

0:26:50 > 0:26:52We came over the with a list of things we wanted to do

0:26:52 > 0:26:55and after two years, the list is even longer now,

0:26:55 > 0:26:58so we haven't ultimately decided where we're going to settle.

0:26:58 > 0:26:59We enjoy this life.

0:27:01 > 0:27:04Today's campers might have fancier equipment

0:27:04 > 0:27:08and more home comforts, but the spirit of adventure that ran

0:27:08 > 0:27:11through Victorians like Thomas Hiram Holding, endures.

0:27:13 > 0:27:17During the Victorian era, those who could afford leisure visited

0:27:17 > 0:27:20the countryside using the train.

0:27:20 > 0:27:22By the end of the century,

0:27:22 > 0:27:26some were using bicycles to go camping or motorcars to tour.

0:27:26 > 0:27:31The middle classes imported nature into their urban gardens.

0:27:31 > 0:27:33But they added to the pressure on space,

0:27:33 > 0:27:39as reflected by the desperate search for places to bury the dead.

0:27:39 > 0:27:42Cremation was the obvious answer,

0:27:42 > 0:27:47but it required the overthrow of two millennia of Christian theology.

0:27:51 > 0:27:56Next time, I'm let loose on the longest vine in the world.

0:27:56 > 0:27:59Have you ever allowed an incompetent like me to do this?

0:27:59 > 0:28:01- No! No. - HE LAUGHS

0:28:03 > 0:28:06I get fired up, like an early Victorian gent.

0:28:06 > 0:28:08I've hit my man!

0:28:08 > 0:28:13And I find how the course of British history was set in Esher.

0:28:13 > 0:28:17If Charlotte had not died, Victoria would never have been conceived

0:28:17 > 0:28:19and we'd never have had the Victorian era.