0:00:04 > 0:00:06For Victorian Britons,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09George 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 > 0:00:17I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide
0:00:17 > 0:00:19to understand how trains
0:00:19 > 0:00:21transformed Britain.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Its landscape, its industry,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I crisscross the country 150 years later,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it helps me to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I'm concluding my journey around Southern England.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Today, sticking close to the River Thames,
0:01:00 > 0:01:05I'll find out how the aquatic rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge
0:01:05 > 0:01:06was institutionalised
0:01:06 > 0:01:10and how women who were satisfied with neither one of them,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14by degrees gained their own university.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18But I'm looking forward to beginning with all the fun of the fair.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Following my Bradshaw's guidebook,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I travelled through the county of Kent,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29took a route south of London,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32through the picturesque towns of Surrey,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and visited racetracks and royal residencies.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The final leg of my journey will take me along the river
0:01:39 > 0:01:42to Henley-on-Thames.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47Today, I take a ride in Egham, push the boundaries in Staines,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50drink in the industrial past of Slough
0:01:50 > 0:01:54and cross the finishing line in the home of rowing.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59I attempt to pull my weight on the River Thames...
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Push and relax. Hands away.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Sorry, I've lost it completely.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07..discover the radical implications
0:02:07 > 0:02:11of one of the country's first universities for women...
0:02:11 > 0:02:12I think it really was the starting point.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17By having an education, by having a choice, they demanded other choices.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21And let off some steam at a vintage funfair.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25MICHAEL LAUGHS Oh, it's horrible!
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Oh! Enough! Enough!
0:02:29 > 0:02:30Stop!
0:02:40 > 0:02:41Under each place name,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45my Bradshaw's tends to give the date of the annual fair.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Originally, these were important gatherings for farmers
0:02:49 > 0:02:51to trade with each other.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55But over time, they became associated with amusements.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And those amusements were, of course,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00transformed by the coming of steam.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I'm travelling on the South Western line
0:03:07 > 0:03:09that links London Waterloo to Reading.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11And my first stop is Egham.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18On the outskirts, I find a vintage travelling steam fair -
0:03:18 > 0:03:23custodian of rare and beautiful Victorian machines.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35I step back in time to Bradshaw's day and put my mettle to the test.
0:03:37 > 0:03:38Oh!
0:03:43 > 0:03:47'It looks as if my Herculean strength hasn't quite hit the mark.'
0:03:48 > 0:03:50BELL DINGS
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Well done to you, that's how it's done.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Steam engines had been developed for use in factories and railways.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And in time, Victorian entrepreneurs
0:04:00 > 0:04:03harnessed the new technology for entertainment.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05I'm meeting Joby Carter
0:04:05 > 0:04:09whose father started the steam fair in the 1970s,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14collecting and restoring these superb Victorian fairground rides.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Joby, this is a very fine kind of antique ride.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- When does that date from? - Circa 1895.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23- That's amazing. And powered? - By steam.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Before steam power, how would the rides be driven?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Predominately, rides were hand powered.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32So, you had a hand crank in the middle of rides
0:04:32 > 0:04:33and they had animals.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36They may have had an animal in the centre pulling the ride round.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40The dawn of the steam engine transformed the fairground industry
0:04:40 > 0:04:41beyond all recognition.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45One - because they could transport the rides with heavy locomotives
0:04:45 > 0:04:48and they could power the ride with centre engines,
0:04:48 > 0:04:49like the one in the galloper
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and the one on the steam yachts we have here.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Now, your steam yachts really are a very elegant piece of work.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Tell me about them.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Well, the steam yacht originally was designed
0:04:59 > 0:05:02by William Cartwright in 1888.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04And along came Frederick Savage,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07who was a farm machinery manufacturer,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11got into the fairground game and pilfered the idea, if you will,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14changed a few things to get round the copyright.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And it was Savage's that built the most steam yachts.
0:05:17 > 0:05:23Ours was built in 1921 and it was the original white-knuckle ride.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It was a real, real thrill ride.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And how rare is it to have this kind of example of a steam yacht?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32It's incredibly rare and, without any shadow of a doubt,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35it's the finest example left in the world.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41With these daring new rides, came the great showman.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Tasked with luring thrill-seeking Victorians onto the amusements.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Roll up, roll up, roll up for the steam yachts!
0:05:50 > 0:05:55You'll be mesmerised, you'll be hypnotised!
0:05:55 > 0:05:58You'll be swung from side to side!
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Are you brave enough to come on the steam yachts today?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05You'll be scared out of your wits!
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Having talked the talk,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12it's now time for me to experience this white-knuckle ride.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18So, the seats are marked yellow for cowards
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and then brave and then very brave.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25And no self-respecting Briton could sit anywhere
0:06:25 > 0:06:28except the very brave seat.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29Come on then.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Oh, my goodness.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Oh, no. Oh, no.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38HE LAUGHS
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Oh, this is horrible. No, no.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Oh, the swing is appalling and in a Victorian device,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48you're only held in by your own arms.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Oh, oh, oh!
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I'm going vertical! I can't believe...
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Oh, enough!
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Enough! Stop!
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Oh, thank goodness we're slowing down.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Those Victorians really knew how to scare you.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22Glad to be back on solid ground, I remain in Egham
0:07:22 > 0:07:26and I'm heading up the hill as I hope to learn a thing or two.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Fortunately for us, some Victorians who made a tremendous fortune
0:07:34 > 0:07:38were interested in philanthropy and their own posterity.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44And so it is that there is a corner of Surrey that is forever Holloway.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Royal Holloway is a spectacular university campus
0:07:52 > 0:07:54now part of the University of London.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Its grand and traditional appearance perhaps belies
0:07:58 > 0:08:01its radical pioneering origins.
0:08:01 > 0:08:08Founded in 1886 by Thomas Holloway, a wealthy philanthropist.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11It was one of Britain's first colleges for women.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17The current principal is Professor Paul Layzell.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Paul, in order to found this extraordinary institution,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Thomas Holloway must have had a lot of money. Where did he make it?
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Well, Thomas and Jane Holloway were very wealthy.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28They produced pills and potions
0:08:28 > 0:08:31that they claimed cured a variety of ailments.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34But his secret to success was he was a brilliant marketeer,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36he understood the power of advertising
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and that's what sold the pills.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Do we think the pills were efficacious?
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I'm told that they did you no harm.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45I think they were a mild laxative.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48What turned his mind towards philanthropy?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Well, the Holloways had no children and it was his wife, Jane,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54who thought about creating a college for the education of women.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58How undersupplied were women at that time with higher education?
0:08:58 > 0:09:00There weren't many opportunities.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04There was Bedford College which was founded in 1849 in Central London.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07And you certainly couldn't get a degree until about 1900,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10when both Bedford College and Royal Holloway College
0:09:10 > 0:09:11joined the University of London.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Thomas and Jane had been a devoted couple
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and following her death in 1875,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23he resolved to build the college for women in her memory.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Holloway employed the architect William Crossland
0:09:26 > 0:09:27to design this building.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29It's based on the Chateau de Chambord
0:09:29 > 0:09:30in the Loire Valley.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33There it's white limestone, here it's red Victorian brick.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35I notice that there's a statue of Queen Victoria
0:09:35 > 0:09:38in your first court and you're known as Royal Holloway.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41So did the Queen attach herself to the college?
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Yes, the Queen was invited to come for the opening in 1886,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48she liked it so much she granted the use of the royal title,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51which is quite unusual in higher education institutions.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54In the late 19th century,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58higher education for women was controversial.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Many saw it as fraught with danger.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Care was taken to guard against ill health,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07brought on by "strong brainwork."
0:10:07 > 0:10:12There was a strict timetable and rules to keep women respectable.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The first year's intake was just 28 students,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18but numbers grew rapidly.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Facilities included a beautiful gilded chapel.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26As well as an art gallery, filled with works
0:10:26 > 0:10:29from the leading painters of the day.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33I'm meeting its curator, Laura McCulloch.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35So, how did it come about
0:10:35 > 0:10:38that a university college had an art collection?
0:10:38 > 0:10:40It was all down to Thomas Holloway, the founder.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43And I think the idea was that he needed something
0:10:43 > 0:10:44to lure people to the college.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46So he thought having an art gallery
0:10:46 > 0:10:48would mean they'd come and then, of course,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50once they're here, they couldn't help but see
0:10:50 > 0:10:52how amazing the college was.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54So I'm sure it was advertising.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56But he was a 19th-century man so, of course,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59he would have understood the idea of art for education as well.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02So, I think it's a kind of dual purpose.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05This painting here with its range of female beauties,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07what's that about?
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Well, what you have are women
0:11:09 > 0:11:12who have not had enough money for a dowry
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and they're being sold off at auction,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17a marriage auction in ancient Babylon.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Really, I think the artist is trying to get his viewers
0:11:20 > 0:11:24to compare ancient Babylon to Victorian Britain, saying,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26"Have we really moved that far away?"
0:11:26 > 0:11:28And I think the implied answer is,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32"No, we are still not giving our women any choice.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35"They must marry if they want to support themselves."
0:11:35 > 0:11:37So, what role do you think Royal Holloway College plays
0:11:37 > 0:11:41in changing the world that's been parodied in that painting?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43I think it was one of the first stepping stones
0:11:43 > 0:11:44for women to get freedom.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48One of our students, Emily Wilding Davison, was a suffragette.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It allowed women to congregate together,
0:11:50 > 0:11:51to talk about their status,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and I think it really was the starting point,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56by having an education, by having a choice,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58they demanded other choices.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00And there's a painting that gladdens my heart -
0:12:00 > 0:12:02a painting of a railway station.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05It is. That's Paddington station.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07And it was painted by William Powell Frith,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10who really made his name with very large crowd scenes,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12very complex scenes with lots of little narratives
0:12:12 > 0:12:16but showing all the classes mixing together in these crowds.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18And, really, it's a celebration
0:12:18 > 0:12:21of the technology of Victorian Britain.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22Over half the painting is dedicated
0:12:22 > 0:12:25to the architecture of Paddington station.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Which, of course, you couldn't have without Victorian technology.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30And then, the bottom half with the crowd scene -
0:12:30 > 0:12:33now that's a celebration of Victorian society itself.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35And it's quite a useful document, isn't it,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38to tell us about what railway travel looked like
0:12:38 > 0:12:40- at the end of the 19th century? - Absolutely.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Royal Holloway is today recognised as one of the leading
0:12:46 > 0:12:48research universities in the country.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53It has around 8,500 students.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57And since 1945, has generously admitted men.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Thomas Holloway might today be considered a bit of a quack
0:13:04 > 0:13:07and might be remembered as rather a rogue.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10But his fortune built a college
0:13:10 > 0:13:12that changed women's place in society
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and an art collection that provides a social commentary
0:13:16 > 0:13:18on late 19th-century Britain.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And that has earned him a position of honour in British history.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35From Egham, I'm travelling just one station along the main line
0:13:35 > 0:13:37for my overnight stop.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I'm going to spend my evening in Staines,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44drawn by this reference in Bradshaw's
0:13:44 > 0:13:48to the city boundary stone on which is inscribed,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"'God preserve the city of London AD 1280.'
0:13:51 > 0:13:54"It marks the limit of the Lord Mayor's jurisdiction
0:13:54 > 0:13:56"over the River Thames.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59"When the civic authorities make their tour of inspection,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03"they disembark here and wine is placed for them on the stone."
0:14:03 > 0:14:07And that seems like a ritual that's worth re-enacting.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15To pay off debts incurred fighting the Third Crusade, in 1197,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19King Richard I sold the rights and revenues of the Lower Thames
0:14:19 > 0:14:21to the Corporation of the City of London.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Staines stood at the title limit of the river
0:14:25 > 0:14:28so it was an obvious place to mark the boundary.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Between the 12th and the 19th century,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33the City of London could charge tolls
0:14:33 > 0:14:34and levy taxes on fishing
0:14:34 > 0:14:37along great stretches of the River Thames.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40And they would visit each of their boundary stones
0:14:40 > 0:14:43on three-day tours of inspection.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47When the authorities lost that right in 1857,
0:14:47 > 0:14:52they return from their last inspection symbolically by train
0:14:52 > 0:14:55back to the City of London to drown their sorrows.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11'It's the start of my second day.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15I'm rejoining the railway at Staines and heading to Slough.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19But I need to change at Windsor and Eton Riverside.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Windsor and Eton have two stations.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28One by the riverside, one called Central.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30You can walk between the two.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33But the existence of two stations which are not joined together
0:15:33 > 0:15:37is testimony to the railway mania of the Victorian age
0:15:37 > 0:15:41when lines were constructed higgledy-piggledy.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47In the shadow of the 11th-century Windsor Castle
0:15:47 > 0:15:51and a stone's throw from Eton College, established in 1440,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53I'm taking the riverside path
0:15:53 > 0:15:56for my seven-minute walk between the stations
0:15:56 > 0:15:58as I leave the South Western network
0:15:58 > 0:16:01to join the trains of the Great Western.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11It's still early, misty morning.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Luckily, I slept well last night.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15There are some people who believe
0:16:15 > 0:16:17that they rely for a good nocturnal rest
0:16:17 > 0:16:21on a product made at my next stop, Slough.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24Slough is known as home
0:16:24 > 0:16:28to one of the largest industrial trading estates in Europe.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Just 20 miles west of London,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34the town was bisected by the old Great West Road
0:16:34 > 0:16:36and the Great Western Railway -
0:16:36 > 0:16:40factors which attracted businesses from the mid-19th century.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47In 1840, Slough was the closest station to Windsor Castle
0:16:47 > 0:16:51and so was built bigger and grander than others along the line.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58I'm to visit another local landmark built with trains in mind -
0:16:58 > 0:17:00the original British Horlicks factory
0:17:00 > 0:17:04which still produces the drink today.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05To find out about its history,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I'm meeting the company's archivist, Jill Moretto.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Jill, how does this product start life?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15In the early 1870s, James and William Horlick
0:17:15 > 0:17:17emigrated to Chicago in the United States
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and went into business together.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22James had done his apprenticeship in a chemist in London
0:17:22 > 0:17:24working with infant foods
0:17:24 > 0:17:26and the two brothers decided that this would be the product
0:17:26 > 0:17:29that they would make themselves and market.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32So, what was the market opportunity for this new infant food?
0:17:32 > 0:17:34In the Victorian times,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36milk could sometimes take a long time to get
0:17:36 > 0:17:39from the farms into the city, then out to the people who needed it.
0:17:39 > 0:17:40By the time it got there,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43it could cause illnesses or it might even cause death.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45So by putting the milk in the product itself,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47then you just needed to add water.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49It was a sterile... It was much safer for the child.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51This is a Horlicks feeder.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53This is the predecessor to a baby bottle.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56So, before plastics. So, it was stoppered at the one end.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58You'd put your powder in, your water and mix it all up.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Then, the baby would have the teat on the end.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06In 1883, the Horlick brothers had obtained a United States patent
0:18:06 > 0:18:08for their dehydrated milk product
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and were exporting it to their homeland as a baby food
0:18:11 > 0:18:13and later an energy drink.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18Demand was such that they started production in the United Kingdom.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Buying land from Eton College in 1906,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24to build a factory alongside the railway line.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27This is a card sleeve, probably 1920s.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29You can see on the front we have,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31"For infants, invalids, the aged and travellers."
0:18:31 > 0:18:35"Infants, invalids, the aged..." I understand that. "Travellers"?
0:18:35 > 0:18:38It was used by explorers, so, Roald Amundsen
0:18:38 > 0:18:41and Admiral Byrd took it on their polar expeditions
0:18:41 > 0:18:43to sustain themselves.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44It could replace a meal.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48During one of their expeditions in the 1930s,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51they named a major mountain range after their sponsor
0:18:51 > 0:18:56and to this day they are the Horlick Mountains in Antarctica.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59So, I think of this product being advertised
0:18:59 > 0:19:02as being very good for sleep.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04So how did it change?
0:19:04 > 0:19:07As milk became more available, it got pasteurisation,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10the need to have this infant food for children wasn't as big.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13They changed their marketing to keep their product going,
0:19:13 > 0:19:14so they marketed it as a sleep aid.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- And this is the drink itself.- Yes.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19I think I may be a novice to this.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20So, it's warm.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Ooh, very wheaty, isn't it?
0:19:25 > 0:19:27- Yes. And quite thick. - And quite thick.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30And...
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Now revived, I'm off to see how modern production is managed
0:19:41 > 0:19:44in a facility that's over 100 years old.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49The site director of the factory is Steve Smith.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Steve, a powerful, almost heady smell
0:19:52 > 0:19:54which is very distinctive of the product.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56What makes it smell like that?
0:19:56 > 0:19:58So, you're right at the front end of the process,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Michael, here at Slough.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And that's where we mash the product together
0:20:02 > 0:20:05with the malted barley and the wheat flour.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And that, with hot water, that provides us with that smell.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12But I'm quite pleased that you've got, excuse me,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15what appear like some quite antique pieces of machinery here.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17This is one of our evaporators.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19This equipment itself is 1929.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22That said, if we remove the stuff, the equipment,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24we actually change the flavour of the product
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and therefore lose some of its traditional flavour.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31This factory produces up to 14,000 tonnes a year
0:20:31 > 0:20:33for domestic consumption
0:20:33 > 0:20:37and to supply growing markets in Malaysia and Africa.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40And where else is the product popular today?
0:20:40 > 0:20:42So, in India.
0:20:42 > 0:20:4538 million households drink the product
0:20:45 > 0:20:50where, I guess, 190 cups of Horlicks every second are consumed every day.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And why is that such a strong market, do you think?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56I think it's about helping support the malnutrition agenda.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59So, really, the way the product's being used in India today
0:20:59 > 0:21:01is not dissimilar for the way it was used
0:21:01 > 0:21:03in the United Kingdom a century and a half ago?
0:21:03 > 0:21:04Absolutely right.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13I'm heading back to Slough station for the last leg of my journey
0:21:13 > 0:21:17which takes me along the mainline westwards to Twyford station.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24This will be my interchange for the branch line
0:21:24 > 0:21:27to my final destination of Henley-on-Thames.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- Hello, are you the station master of this...- Hello. Yeah.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- ..of this lovely station? - Yes. Welcome to Twyford.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Thank you very much indeed.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37So, you're changing over now,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40you're going back to being called the Great Western Railway?
0:21:40 > 0:21:41We are, yes, yes.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43- How does that feel to you? - It's quite...
0:21:43 > 0:21:46It's good, it's good. I remember the Great Western, yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47What are your memories of it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Oh, well, I started on the railway in '62
0:21:50 > 0:21:52and it was still very much Great Western in name
0:21:52 > 0:21:54although it was British Rail then, of course,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57but all the staff were Great Western staff.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- So you've been on the railway since 1962?- Yes.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03And how much longer would you have to go, do you think,
0:22:03 > 0:22:04working on the railways?
0:22:04 > 0:22:08- I retire at the end of this month. - No.- Yes.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09My goodness, you'll miss the railway.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Yes, after 53 years,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13but we've all got to go sometime.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I'm now on the little shuttle train to Henley.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Bradshaw's tells me that it's
0:22:28 > 0:22:31"delightfully situated on a sloping bank of the Thames
0:22:31 > 0:22:34"over which there's a handsome bridge of five arches
0:22:34 > 0:22:38"connecting the counties of Oxford and Berkshire."
0:22:38 > 0:22:42The straight stretch of the river in the early 19th century
0:22:42 > 0:22:46attracted the eligible blades of Oxford and Cambridge
0:22:46 > 0:22:49to compete in boats, with no messing.
0:22:52 > 0:22:5440 miles from Central London
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and beyond the last of the capital's suburbs,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00the River Thames winds through more rural surroundings
0:23:00 > 0:23:02to reach Henley-on-Thames.
0:23:06 > 0:23:07Located in Oxfordshire,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11it's a pretty and affluent market town.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18The river has always been key to its fortunes.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25I'm going to the River and Rowing Museum to lap up
0:23:25 > 0:23:29some of its watery history with curator, Eloise Chapman.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- Hello, Eloise.- Hello, Michael.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36This is a beautiful but, I must say, very heavy looking boat.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38What's the history of this?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40So, this was the boat that won
0:23:40 > 0:23:44the first ever Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, won by Oxford in 1829.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46And that race was actually rode at Henley-on-Thames
0:23:46 > 0:23:47rather than in London.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50It was started by two students,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52one went to Cambridge, one went to Oxford.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55And they met one summer holiday and waged a bet against each other
0:23:55 > 0:23:57as to who could win a race on the Thames.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Why did they choose Henley?
0:23:59 > 0:24:02They chose Henley because we have a very straight stretch of river here.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05There's a lot of boat builders in the area. A lot of people came to
0:24:05 > 0:24:07the area just to have fun on the river at the weekends.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So, it seemed like the ideal place, I imagine, for them.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11And then at some point,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race moves away to London.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16There was only one race held in Henley-on-Thames.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17And they went to London after that.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19I think because it had proved such a popular race
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and they wanted to be somewhere where, you know,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24there was a bigger arena for the competition.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race has become a sporting highlight
0:24:28 > 0:24:31since that first occurrence in 1829.
0:24:31 > 0:24:38And as of 2015, Cambridge has won 81 races and Oxford 79.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40The town lost the varsity race
0:24:40 > 0:24:45but invented its own prestigious rowing event - the Henley Regatta.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47The regatta got going in 1839.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49And to begin with, it was really a social event,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51a way of bringing people to the town
0:24:51 > 0:24:53and making some money for the town as well.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54And then about 20 years later,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57with the coming of the railway, it became a much bigger social event
0:24:57 > 0:25:00because people could come in from London and all the surrounding area.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05Crews race a course of just over a mile.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09And since 1851, when Prince Albert became patron,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12it's been known as the Henley Royal Regatta.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15They must've needed a lot of muscle
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and expended a lot of sweat rowing that boat.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Oh, yeah, I mean, a huge amount. And they're not easy boats to row.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27And to find out what it takes to be an oarsman,
0:25:27 > 0:25:32I'm heading to the Henley Rowing Club to try my hand.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Under the tuition of rowing coach Stan Admiraal.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- Stan.- Hello there, Michael.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45- Good to see you.- Good to see you.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47- Reporting for my training.- Perfect.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Let me just introduce you to the basics of rowing
0:25:50 > 0:25:54and let me teach you in a quick and brief way how we do that.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Just enough that I don't drown. - Yeah. Perfect, no problem.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00So, we grab the handle
0:26:00 > 0:26:05and we just push on our legs and we stretch out.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08It's what I call position one.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Then move the hands away first, all the way.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Good. Position two.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Then we reach forwards, but we keep the knees flat.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Call that position three.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Perfect. And then slide forwards.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24We're going to take on the next stroke
0:26:24 > 0:26:26so I'm going to push on my legs again.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Going to open up. Perfect.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40'It's one thing to learn the technique on a rowing machine.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'Time to put it to the test on the river.'
0:26:43 > 0:26:44Where shall I sit?
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- You can have a seat here in the middle of the boat.- Ah-ha.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- And you're going behind? - Then I'll sit behind.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53'I'm enlisting in a rowing eight for my first rowing experience.'
0:26:54 > 0:26:57So, if we all sit backwards and backstrokes -
0:26:57 > 0:26:59so that's position number one.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Go. Push on the legs.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Hands away.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Push on the legs. Hands away.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Good. Push. Legs.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Michael, try to push on your legs.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Sorry, I've lost it completely.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I've got to get the rhythm back.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Arms straight. Push on the legs. Up.
0:27:17 > 0:27:18Better.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21So, Michael, keep thinking about those legs.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Really push your seat backwards and keep your arms straight.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Going straight.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33'I don't think my old university will be head-hunting me.'
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Whoa.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38'But it's been an oar-some experience.'
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Keep it loose. Push on the legs.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43In, out.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Since I embarked on my rail journey in Kent,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I've dynamited a quarry,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56been flung about in a steam-powered fairground ride,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00fought a duel, driven a Bentley and rode on the River Thames.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Along the way, I discovered that the pace of change
0:28:04 > 0:28:06in Victorian social attitudes
0:28:06 > 0:28:09matched the progress in science and industry.
0:28:09 > 0:28:15In our own digital age too, we fundamentally changed our views
0:28:15 > 0:28:20on the equality between the genders, races and sexualities.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23The continuing development of our outlooks
0:28:23 > 0:28:27is as unstoppable as our technological inventiveness.