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