0:00:03 > 0:00:08For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:08 > 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 > 0:00:23Britain, its landscape, its industry,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me
0:00:31 > 0:00:33to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53This week's journey takes me across the North West of England
0:00:53 > 0:00:57through an area of outstanding beauty.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Where some saw the railway as an unwelcome addition to the landscape.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06I hope to explore how the Victorians tried to strike
0:01:06 > 0:01:09a balance between protecting the wilderness
0:01:09 > 0:01:13and making access to it more affordable for working people.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Beginning near the Scottish border, my route takes me
0:01:25 > 0:01:28through the stunning lakes and valleys
0:01:28 > 0:01:30and majestic mountains of Cumbria,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34continue south through an industrious Lancashire mill town,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38and then on to Merseyside's docks, before reaching my final
0:01:38 > 0:01:42destination on the edge of the Peak District National Park.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47On today's leg, I journey to the heart of the Lake District,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51before turning east along the tracks to Kendal.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Joining the mainline,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56I then head south for a dash of railway romance in Carnforth.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03'At my first stop, I revisit a literary hero familiar from my childhood...'
0:02:03 > 0:02:05He's a small rabbit, isn't he?
0:02:05 > 0:02:09He has to stretch up on his tippy-toes to post his letter.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14'..lend a hand making the archetypal fell walker's snack...'
0:02:14 > 0:02:16HE SNIFFS Wow!
0:02:16 > 0:02:18- Absolutely refreshing, isn't it? - It is, yeah.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21When you're making Kendal Mint Cake, it is very rarely you get a cold.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25'..visit the home of a man of extraordinary talents...'
0:02:25 > 0:02:28It is rather ironic that the greatest architecture
0:02:28 > 0:02:31critic of his age would end up living in a house to be
0:02:31 > 0:02:33looked out of, rather than looked towards.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37'..and finish off with a brief encounter on the platform.'
0:02:37 > 0:02:41It was an ideal location for people to meet by chance.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I'm continuing my journey around Northern England
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and enjoying the Lake District.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09Bradshaw's says it is a region of "lofty mountains, naked hills,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12"bleak, barren moors and lofty fells
0:03:12 > 0:03:15"intersected with pastoral vales."
0:03:15 > 0:03:19And the pastoral vales inspired a magical world of little
0:03:19 > 0:03:24talking animals that have entertained children for more than 100 years.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34I'm entering the picturesque universe of Beatrix Potter.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39She first arrived here at Windermere in 1882 to spend her summer holidays.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43The start of a lifelong love affair with the Lake District.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Windermere owes its very existence to an extension of the railway
0:03:48 > 0:03:51from Kendal in 1847.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55The station was built on farmland in a hamlet,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00which shrewdly called itself Windermere after the mere, or lake.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03It rapidly developed into a holiday hot spot,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07attracting 30,000 tourists the year that the railway opened.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Across the lake from Windermere is Near Sawrey,
0:04:13 > 0:04:19a tiny village where many of Beatrix Potter's famous stories were hatched.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Liz MacFarlane from the National Trust is giving me a tour.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27We are getting, really, a lovely view of the village.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30How did Beatrix Potter first encounter the Lake District?
0:04:30 > 0:04:33She first came here when she was 16.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35That was when she fell in love with it.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38What sort of a family did she grow up in?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Beatrix had a very privileged upbringing.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Her father became a barrister, but spent most of his time
0:04:44 > 0:04:47either at his club or indulging his hobby of photography.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50So, long holidays were the order of the day,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and that was how she got to know this part of the world so well.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Beatrix was educated at home by tutors and governesses,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and her schoolroom was full of animals.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Mice, rabbits, hedgehogs and bats.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08She was given the freedom to roam the great outdoors.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Her studies of the natural world inspired her wonderful stories.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15When did she first have success as a writer?
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Well, really from the first commercial publication
0:05:18 > 0:05:22of The Tale Of Peter Rabbit in 1902.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24It became instantly a bestseller,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28and in the first couple of years, it sold over 50,000 copies.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32So she became well known very, very quickly as a storyteller.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Beatrix's illustrations are full of imagery from the village,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44its narrow lanes and colourful cottage gardens.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So here you can see the postbox where Peter Rabbit
0:05:49 > 0:05:53- posts his Valentine's card.- Oh, yes, I remember that illustration.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55It is very sweet, because he is a small rabbit, isn't he?
0:05:55 > 0:06:00He has to stretch up on his tippy-toes to post his letter.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Beatrix made her first home in the village in 1905,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12here at Hill Top Farm,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15a property she had bought with the intention of leaving a rather
0:06:15 > 0:06:17remarkable legacy.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22It's a lovely, homely room, isn't it, with the roaring log fire?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25That's right. And it is pretty much as Beatrix left it.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28This is the kitchen, so the cooking would be done on the range,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32and it was really the heart of the farmhouse.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- And does it feature in the stories? - It does indeed, yes.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37In fact, we've got a copy of Samuel Whiskers here.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40And this is really her homage to the house.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43So you can see here Anna Maria running along,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- past the dresser that you can see just over there.- That is fantastic.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51'The house and Beatrix's belongings are as she left them,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55'which makes it look as though she's just popped out for tea.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00'And you get the sense of a woman living here who had many interests.'
0:07:00 > 0:07:03So this desk has a rather scientific look to it, doesn't it?
0:07:03 > 0:07:08This is not what I associate with Beatrix Potter, but I assume this is her work, is it?
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It is, absolutely. And this work came before the little books.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Beatrix was really interested in the natural world,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18from a scientific point of view.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22So, how would you say she felt about the Lake District?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Beatrix was passionate about the Lake District,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and this is an area she really wanted to look after.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30So what efforts did she actually make to preserve it?
0:07:30 > 0:07:34For instance, what was her attitude to railways?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37OK, so Beatrix wasn't very keen on the railways.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39And that was something that was instilled in her by
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Canon Rawnsley, who was one of the three founders of the National Trust.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46And Beatrix was one of its early supporters.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And the land, after her initial purchases of Hill Top
0:07:50 > 0:07:54and Castle Farm, were bought with that in mind, that they
0:07:54 > 0:07:58would be given to the Trust to be preserved in perpetuity.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02And that is exactly what has happened. This house, these lands,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04these belong to the National Trust,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and indeed these were part of the origin of the National Trust.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11That's right. Beatrix's bequest was the largest gift the Trust had ever
0:08:11 > 0:08:13received at that time.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Beatrix Potter's intention was to protect
0:08:19 > 0:08:22the beauty of these 4,000 acres,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but perhaps she also hoped to ensure that future generations of children
0:08:26 > 0:08:31might immerse themselves in nature and let their imaginations run wild.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36I'm on my way back to Windermere.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42Bradshaw's tells me that "the lake by road is almost 26 miles round.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45"The lake itself should be seen from the water to
0:08:45 > 0:08:47"take in all its beauties."
0:08:47 > 0:08:51To which I would add that the roads are narrow and you feel confined,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55while the water is broad and you feel free.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57So for me, it's the ferry.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16I can imagine Victorian tourists from industrial northern towns
0:09:16 > 0:09:21enjoying the lake, the steamboats and the busy hotels.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The railway really did bring tremendous change to the area.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30That change was strongly opposed by Beatrix Potter
0:09:30 > 0:09:34and other conservationists, like William Wordsworth and Canon Rawnsley.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It's perhaps thanks to their words of caution that the area still
0:09:40 > 0:09:42looks relatively unspoiled.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Even if you ARE admiring it from a train.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- So, where have you been today, Windermere?- We've been to Windermere.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01We came up here on Saturday
0:10:01 > 0:10:06and we went to Hill Top to view Beatrix Potter's house.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- And what did you think of that? - Fabulous, it is brilliant, lovely. Really nice.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- Did you know the works of Beatrix Potter?- Yes, as a child. - Were you brought up on them?- Yeah.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Moving along the Windermere line, we are approaching
0:10:19 > 0:10:23a town famous for its energy boosting confectionery.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28You know, when I last went to Kendal, I noticed how busy the local
0:10:28 > 0:10:31people were, because Bradshaw's says that "they are engaged in carpet
0:10:31 > 0:10:34"woollens, linseed, clog, comb, bobbin, fish-hook,
0:10:34 > 0:10:39"leather, rope, woollen cord, fruit trades and marble works."
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Such industrious people, some of them must have made a mint!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44SHE LAUGHS
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Kendal was nicknamed "The Auld Grey Town"
0:10:58 > 0:11:00because of its limestone architecture.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03The town looks rather sleepy today,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08but I'm on my way to what might be one of the most energising factory floors in the country.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- Morning, Michael.- Hello, Peter.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19Quiggins is the oldest surviving mint cake manufacturer in Kendal.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Peter McCafferty is a director.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Peter, is your company actually Victorian in its foundation?
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Er, yes, well, the company was established way back in 1840,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35but that wasn't in Kendal at the time, that was on the Isle of Man.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37What were you making there?
0:11:37 > 0:11:42I think...well, in those days, they started off making just sticks of rock.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45And as far as we're aware from historical records,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49I think it was the first company ever to put lettering inside a stick of rock.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52They had a visit from Prince Albert to the island,
0:11:52 > 0:11:57and so they put "Welcome, Prince Albert, to Mona" inside the stick of rock.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Brilliant. And you came to Kendal when?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00Very, very early 1900s.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03So, what was the origin of the mint cake?
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Well, the origin of mint cake is still really, to be honest, a mystery.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Folklore says that a batch of candy was being made,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and then mint cake was actually made by accident,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15but there's no evidence, really, that that is the case.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21The mint cake mishap supposedly took place in 1869.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25By 1914, word of its invigorating properties had reached
0:12:25 > 0:12:31Sir Ernest Shackleton, who took it with him on his Antarctic expedition.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35And it's to be found in the pockets of adventurers to this day.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Kendal Mint Cake actually went up on the very first time Everest was conquered
0:12:39 > 0:12:41with Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and ever since then, its been used by mountaineers,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47but more mainly today, really, by fell walkers.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- And it does pack a lot of energy, does it?- Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53If you're flagging on a walk, have a bit of mint cake
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and you'll run up the hill.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- Can we see it being made? - Yeah, let's do that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- Hello. I'm Michael.- Steve.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Good to see you. So, what's bubbling away in here?
0:13:08 > 0:13:13So we've got white sugar, water, glucose are the main ingredients.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14Just a pinch of salt.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17And then we bubble that to a very high temperature.
0:13:17 > 0:13:18We lift it off,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and that's when we add the secret ingredient -
0:13:21 > 0:13:23our special blend of mint.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26So, I am here to help. What can I do next?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Well, if you would like to add the fondant?
0:13:28 > 0:13:30- Fondant, this is, is it? - It's fondant.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- Comme ca?- You do it very carefully so you don't splash yourself.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37- Just ease it in.- Ease it in.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- It can be...not quite that safe.- OK.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Stand back, Peter.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46OK, Michael, now we have the mint.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48And remember, this is the secret ingredient.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50This is what makes it taste good.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Whoa!
0:13:52 > 0:13:56It's coming up into my eyes, that, er, oh, it's... Wow!
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- Absolutely refreshing, isn't it? - It is, yeah.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02When you make Kendal Mint Cake, it is very rare that you get a cold.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Oh, it really has cleaned out everything.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07And does it make your eyes sting after all these years?
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- I'm afraid it does.- Does it really? - Yeah.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- But it doesn't do you any harm?- No.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Just cleans you out.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Essence of mint - nothing like it for clearing the sinuses
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and making you cry like a baby!
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It's time to dry my eyes and finish the job.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Just trying to fill the moulds to the top,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36but without overflowing.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37I don't want to be too generous.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39I don't want to put the company out of business.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Well, thank you, Peter. I enjoyed that.- OK. No, it's been a pleasure.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53And, erm...because you've shown such an interest in the business,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56in the history of the business, we've found this really old tin,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58stacked it out with mint cake for you,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and that should empower you on your train journeys.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Oh, fantastic. I feel steam in my boiler already.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- Thank you.- Thanks, Michael.- Bye.- Bye.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20I am walking in search of one of the best views across the entire Southern Lakes,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24heading up rather gentle hills a couple of miles west of Kendal.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Since the earliest days of marketing mint cake, it's been associated
0:15:30 > 0:15:35with those walking up the fells and peaks to reach the summit,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40and so to end my day, I've come to the top of Scout Scar,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and I'm going to reward myself for my exertions
0:15:43 > 0:15:46with a little bit of minty energy.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02On this glorious morning, I have ventured 20 miles west from Kendal to Coniston Water
0:16:02 > 0:16:06to visit the home of a giant amongst Victorian intellectuals.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14When John Ruskin settled here at Brantwood in 1872 at the age of 52,
0:16:14 > 0:16:19he had written extensively on art, architecture and social reform.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23His thinking influenced intellectuals such as Proust and Ghandi,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and he still inspires those who discover him today.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Hello, ladies. So, you've just been to see the house.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34What impression do you have now of Ruskin?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Well, I was just absolutely bowled over by the fact
0:16:37 > 0:16:39that his interests were so varied.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44That it didn't matter whether it was geology, or botany, or painting.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46His pictures are extraordinary.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47That he designed the wallpaper.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I mean, he just did everything! I mean, what a man.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52So, what did you know about him before?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I knew he did philosophy and the way people should live
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and the general sort of...that sort of thing, but I...
0:16:57 > 0:17:02And he was an art critic, but I had no idea of all this other...
0:17:02 > 0:17:04What a person. We could do with him now, I reckon.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10One of Ruskin's most important works is the Stones Of Venice, in which he
0:17:10 > 0:17:15records the city's great Gothic architecture in painstaking detail.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Ruskin celebrated the Gothic for what he saw as
0:17:19 > 0:17:22its reverence for nature and natural forms.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Brantwood seems the perfect spot to study
0:17:26 > 0:17:30the relationship between man and his environment.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32And I'm meeting Howard Hull to find out more
0:17:32 > 0:17:36about the great man's attachment to the Lake District.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Howard, I find Brantwood... not exactly beautiful.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42How did Ruskin come here?
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Ruskin didn't create Brantwood to start with,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48it was an 18th-century cottage that he purchased.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50He really intended quite a humble dwelling
0:17:50 > 0:17:53to escape from celebrity and fame in London.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56He made two additions of his own to the house immediately,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00the turret and the dining room, on a Venetian style.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But it was when he got sick and his cousin moved in to
0:18:03 > 0:18:06look after him that the house began to expand.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09She got her hands on the chequebook and enlarged Brantwood around him.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And so it grew like a giant crystal, really, around the house.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17It's rather ironic that the greatest architecture critic of his age would
0:18:17 > 0:18:21end up living in a building that really isn't great architecture.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It's a house to be looked out of, rather than looked towards.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Howard, the thing that strikes you at once about this room, then,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41is the Gothic window. And suddenly you're thinking,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43"Maybe I'm looking out of a palazzo in Venice."
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Yes, it's like a sort of open colonnade.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47To invite the warm airs of Venice
0:18:47 > 0:18:50rather than the chill winds of Cumbria.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51But it was symbolic for Ruskin,
0:18:51 > 0:18:56of his attachment to a city that he understood in fantastic depth.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00In fewer than a million words, what was Ruskin's contribution to Venice?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03You could almost rebuild Venice using Ruskin's studies.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And indeed, a great deal of the conservation of Venice has
0:19:06 > 0:19:09relied upon information that Ruskin gathered about it.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13But the other thing that he did was to invite people to understand
0:19:13 > 0:19:15really how a city like Venice comes about.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17What the difference in society is
0:19:17 > 0:19:21that will produce either a Venice or a Bradford.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Both wealthy countries will produce different things
0:19:25 > 0:19:28according to their political and economic systems.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33- So this makes Ruskin political and a social reformer?- Yes.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Ruskin could be credited with being one of the people who gave
0:19:37 > 0:19:39capitalism a conscience, really.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Ruskin wanted us to see the consequences of our actions
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and to realise that no person
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and no system stands on its own without influence
0:19:48 > 0:19:51down the line on people and the environment in which they live.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00- This turret, then, was built by Ruskin?- Yes, it was.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03It's a sort of carriage lantern on the corner of the building.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06And immediately raises the question about his relationship with
0:20:06 > 0:20:10the landscape. Obviously, he wanted to preserve it?
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Yes, he wanted to preserve it.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14He wanted, above all, people to appreciate it,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17understand it, and have a proper relationship with it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22Was he, as it were, a poetic conservationist, or a practical one?
0:20:22 > 0:20:23Both.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Ruskin was very interested in the idea of actually learning
0:20:27 > 0:20:31the practicalities of managing land and exploring the way,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34physically and practically, that we can improve the land
0:20:34 > 0:20:38and get both physical sustenance from it and spiritual sustenance.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I'm travelling south, again on the Windermere line -
0:20:57 > 0:21:02one of the many which were so opposed by romantic conservationists.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Ruskin objected that the train rushed its passengers through an area
0:21:08 > 0:21:12which could be appreciated properly only at a gentle pace.
0:21:17 > 0:21:23I'm continuing towards the West Coast Mainline, and to reach my next stop,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26I must change trains at Oxenholme and then Lancaster.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33'This train coming into Lancaster now.'
0:21:49 > 0:21:53As I travel south from John Ruskin's beloved Lakes,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I'm moving from 19th-century Romanticism
0:21:56 > 0:21:58to 20th century romance -
0:21:58 > 0:22:00whistle-stop romance.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Next stop - Carnforth.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12'We will shortly be arriving at Carnforth.'
0:22:20 > 0:22:25Carnforth railway station provided the setting for Brief Encounter,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28David Lean's famous film from 1945
0:22:28 > 0:22:31starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The refreshment room where the characters first meet was
0:22:37 > 0:22:42restored in 2003, and is a thriving attraction these days,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46thanks to the efforts of volunteers such as Alec Crouch.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- Hello, Alec!- Hello, Michael.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- Good to see you.- Good to see you too.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Here we are in the famous refreshment room at Carnforth station.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00I just wonder, why do you think they set a romance in a railway station?
0:23:00 > 0:23:06It was an ideal location for people to meet, like that, by chance.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Do you think there's something romantic about railways?
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- I personally think there are, and I'm sure a lot of people do.- Why?
0:23:14 > 0:23:20There's something about journeys, travel, even going to work -
0:23:20 > 0:23:24it was quite exciting. It was different.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26In the film, we meet Laura,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30who enters the refreshment room with a piece of grit in her eye.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Alec, a local doctor waiting for his train,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36comes to her rescue with his handkerchief.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41They share a brief moment of physical contact and contemplate adultery,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45but back away from it and part for ever.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Why do you think they chose Carnforth station?
0:23:47 > 0:23:49David Lean, as far as we're aware,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52rather thought he would like Watford Junction.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55The Ministry of War Transport said,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59"No, you can't film in the London area,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02"we're very much in danger of bombing still."
0:24:02 > 0:24:07So he sent members of his production team out to various locations,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09and they came up and discovered Carnforth,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12which had everything that he wanted.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16There's an awful moment at the end of the movie,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20where Celia Johnson, Laura, rushes out to the edge of the platform,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23possibly contemplating suicide. Tell me about that?
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Yes, that's after she's said farewell to Alec.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32And she then rushes out onto the mainline platform,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36just as a night express is racing north.
0:24:36 > 0:24:43And her face really does show that she's contemplating,
0:24:43 > 0:24:44"What shall I do?"
0:24:44 > 0:24:47You can read her mind at that point.
0:24:47 > 0:24:54But then, she decides she's going to go home to her husband and children.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- She steps back.- Yes.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00The whole movie's about stepping back, isn't it?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02About staying behind the yellow line?
0:25:02 > 0:25:05In many ways, yes, yes, I suppose it...
0:25:05 > 0:25:07That's a nice way of putting it. Yes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- Are you tourists in Carnforth? - We are.- We are.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And have you come because of the movie?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- Yes.- We have.- Ah!
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Do you think the film today means as much to people as it did then?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Would you say it was an old-fashioned film?
0:25:28 > 0:25:30It captures a period of time that's gone.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Quintessentially English in the accents and the fact it's
0:25:33 > 0:25:36set in a tearoom at all is relevant to it all.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40The steam from urns and trains... Yeah, it is.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43It draws people in because it seems to say something
0:25:43 > 0:25:45about Englishness, I suppose.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Do you think if you remade Brief Encounter today with
0:25:47 > 0:25:50electric trains or diesels, it would be the same?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52No, I don't think so, because it's part of the period
0:25:52 > 0:25:55and the romance of the period that it was set in at that time.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Also inspired by a sense of duty, really.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Each wanted to do something, but felt compelled to do something else.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02I think that captures a moment -
0:26:02 > 0:26:04maybe we've moved on from there, in many respects.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10The refreshment room welcomes visitors from all over the world.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16So has owner Andrew Coates managed to recreate the atmosphere of the film?
0:26:16 > 0:26:18When I remember the tearoom,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21apart from the fact that the tea was a bit cheaper in those days,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25is that the service was a bit brusque and a bit unsympathetic.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Now, has that changed much?
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Not at all!
0:26:29 > 0:26:31No.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36And what about romances in your refreshment room? Any of those?
0:26:36 > 0:26:37Yes, yes.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40They'll come up to me, and they're going to get engaged,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44so they'll have a picture under the famous clock and then they'll
0:26:44 > 0:26:49say to me, "Would you mind putting this engagement ring under the cup?"
0:26:49 > 0:26:52So, it's like that.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53And then it'll be a table service.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Because there wasn't table service in the film.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00So you've got to charge them a bit more for that.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And then, when she comes to turn the cup over,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05the engagement ring would be underneath.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Do you know, under your heart of stone,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I think there lurks something a little bit warmer.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13I'd like to hope so, yeah.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19The sense of duty and self-sacrifice
0:27:19 > 0:27:23that was prevalent in wartime Britain may have faded.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27But the romance of the railway lives on at Carnforth.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33God-fearing Victorians like John Ruskin worried about the damage
0:27:33 > 0:27:35that man was doing to creation,
0:27:35 > 0:27:39particularly to the Garden of England.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43And a child of the Victorian era,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Beatrix Potter, used her fortune to safeguard the Lake District.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51The decades since have proved that our engagement with
0:27:51 > 0:27:55the environment has been more than just a Brief Encounter.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02'Next time, I dabble in 21st-century technology...'
0:28:02 > 0:28:07Feels like some medical procedure, like having my blood pressure taken.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09'..learn a thing or two about art...'
0:28:09 > 0:28:12I'm sure you're almost about to say matchstick figures, aren't you, Michael?
0:28:12 > 0:28:13Well, matchsticks they are not.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15They're much more observed, much more acute.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19'..and enjoy a good old Lancashire sing-song.'
0:28:19 > 0:28:22# As they did when he measured me finger
0:28:22 > 0:28:27# For t'little gowd ring last neet. #