0:00:04 > 0:00:08For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13At a time when railways were new, Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
0:00:13 > 0:00:15to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I'm using a Bradshaw's guide
0:00:17 > 0:00:21to understand how trains transformed Britain,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26its landscape, its industries, society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30And, as I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me
0:00:30 > 0:00:33to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54My journey continues through the open countryside
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and industrial heartland of north-west England,
0:00:57 > 0:01:02where leafy Victorian suburbs grew around polluted urban centres.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07On this leg, I find out how the Industrial Revolution created
0:01:07 > 0:01:11new social classes, and about its wider impact on leisure
0:01:11 > 0:01:13and popular culture of the day.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21I began in Cumbria,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25headed south through the dramatic landscape of the Lake District,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and the mill towns of Lancashire,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31onto Merseyside's historic docks.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35I'm now travelling towards my final destination
0:01:35 > 0:01:36in the heart of Staffordshire.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42On today's leg, I take a trip to middle class suburbia,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46head to the Victorian centre of silk,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49visit a Cheshire market town,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52steam my way through the Churnet Valley,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and end my journey at Alton Towers.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01'In this episode, I'm blown away by beauty.'
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Just soared over the valley. Absolutely beautiful.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08'I work up a sweat, the Victorian way.'
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Stoking up the fire,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13giving the locomotive a bit of oomph.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Builds good biceps, that.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18'And experience the thrill of the rollercoaster.'
0:02:18 > 0:02:20THEY SCREAM
0:02:30 > 0:02:35I am now completing my journey through north and north-west England,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38and my first stop today will be Ashley.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Bradshaw's tells me that, "The Valley of the Bollin about this locality
0:02:42 > 0:02:46"is particularly attractive to the denizens of Manchester.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48"We should not be surprised
0:02:48 > 0:02:52"if, in a few years, it is studded with handsome residences."
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Ashley is a leafy commuter village in Cheshire,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03close to the border with Greater Manchester.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07By the time of my guidebook, rail links with the city
0:03:07 > 0:03:10were well established and the area was becoming gentrified.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Newly moneyed middle class professionals
0:03:15 > 0:03:18and industrialists fled the pollution of the city
0:03:18 > 0:03:20in favour of grand suburban villas,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22befitting their new social standing.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Tremendous demand for domestic service followed,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and women found work cooking and cleaning in middle class households.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Thousands of chimneys needed to be swept,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and those skills are still practised today.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Martin Cavanagh has offered to show me the tricks of the trade.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46How did you get into chimney sweeping?
0:03:46 > 0:03:49My father was a chimney sweep. He did it for 50 years.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I've been sweeping chimneys since I was 16.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54We used to run about knocking on houses,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and canvassing for chimney sweeping when I was about eight years old.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00But when you were eight years old, you weren't actually made to go
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- up the chimney like a Victorian? - No, no. Thank God!
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Martin's brought me to a typical Victorian middle class house
0:04:07 > 0:04:11which would have seen its fair share of sweeps in Bradshaw's day.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Unlike my forbears, I'll be keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Why is it Victorians had to send people up chimneys?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Why couldn't they just use the brushes, as we're doing?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27They didn't have this kind of system. They hadn't invented these
0:04:27 > 0:04:29till probably the 19th century.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32When they started using coal, they found that the chimneys
0:04:32 > 0:04:34sooted up a lot more, so they had to invent some
0:04:34 > 0:04:36type of way of getting up there,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39and the young kids were the ideal thing.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43The Industrial Revolution brought a housing boom,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47and the numbers of properties with chimneys grew rapidly.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Buildings were designed to greater heights with chimney pots
0:04:50 > 0:04:52grouped together.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Did Victorians have twisty and turny chimneys?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58- Certainly.- Yeah.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Sometimes they went up 45 degrees,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03some of them were 90 degrees.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Because there's more than one flue,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08so if there's two chimneys directly above each other
0:05:08 > 0:05:11one has got to bend around the other one further up.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12And so these children would go up
0:05:12 > 0:05:15through these narrow, narrow chimneys, would they?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Nine inches by nine inches,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20sometimes nine inches by four inches,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22where they corbel over in the stack.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24And did kids get stuck in chimneys?
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Several cases where children have been trapped
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and they've died.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Master sweeps sent boys as young as four up hot flues.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38The children propelled themselves by their knees and elbows
0:05:38 > 0:05:42which were rubbed raw, brushing and scraping out the tar and soot
0:05:42 > 0:05:44until they reached the top.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49If an accident didn't kill them, the carcinogenic soot might.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Where did the chimney sweeps get their children from?
0:05:51 > 0:05:57Families. Sometimes poor families sold them to the master sweeps.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00And were the sweep masters kind or cruel to the children?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Some masters were kind.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06When they got a bit older and could not do chimney sweeping any more
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and they got them into other jobs.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Some of the cruel masters, they even lit fires underneath them
0:06:12 > 0:06:14to get them to go up the chimney.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Orphaned and poor children were indentured to master sweeps
0:06:18 > 0:06:22in return for board, food and clothing.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Employers did well by selling the soot.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- Was the soot valuable then? - They used to sell it for dyes,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32they used to sell it for farming.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34So it was a valuable fertiliser?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Yes, it used to be sold abroad by the bushel.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Martin, the brush appears to be at the top of the chimney,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- should I bring it down now?- Yes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43- So just reverse the process? - Yes.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Hold on tight, and unscrew.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49I could have made it easier for you by using smaller canes,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- a smaller brush. That would be too easy.- Wouldn't it just!
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Despite successive laws to regulate
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and later to outlaw child sweeps, the practice continued.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04The publication in 1863 of Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies
0:07:04 > 0:07:06highlighted their plight
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and fuelled the demand for change.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12But it took a further decade of campaigning for a ban.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Have you thought, Martin, every time you send one of these up the chimney
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- that's a child that doesn't need to go.- That's definitely true.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I've enjoyed my lesson from Martin
0:07:26 > 0:07:29but there's no time to perfect my newly acquired skill.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31I have a train to catch.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36My next destination is Macclesfield, and to get to there
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I must change at that great junction of north-west England, Stockport.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03The approach to the station will take me across the impressive
0:08:03 > 0:08:0927-arch Stockport Viaduct built of 11 million bricks.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12At 110 feet high, it was the biggest in the world
0:08:12 > 0:08:15when it was completed in 1840.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22From here, it's a ten-mile trip south through Cheshire countryside
0:08:22 > 0:08:24to Macclesfield.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Bradshaw's says of my next destination that
0:08:35 > 0:08:37the silk and cotton factories should be viewed.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41From my travels, I know a little bit about the history of cotton,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43but not of silk.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47I'm hoping that at Macclesfield, I'll find someone to spin me a line.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00By the time the railway arrived in 1849, Macclesfield was perhaps
0:09:00 > 0:09:04the largest producer of finished silk in the world.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11150 years later, pharmaceuticals and digital businesses dominate here
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and just two silk factories remain.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17One of them is a couple of miles south-east of the town
0:09:17 > 0:09:20on the edge of the River Bollin in Langley.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23I'm meeting design director Jo Ratcliffe.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- Very good to see you. - Welcome to Adamley.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27So, Jo, to begin at the beginning.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- Silk comes from silk worms, is that right?- It does, yes.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- And where are these industrious silk worms?- They're all living quite happily in China.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38That's always been the case, hasn't it, because there used to be
0:09:38 > 0:09:41- a Silk Road from China to the UK. - There did.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45In actual fact, Macclesfield is the official end of the Silk Road.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50During the late 18th century, high prices in London prompted
0:09:50 > 0:09:54merchants to turn to cheaper provincial centres like Macclesfield
0:09:54 > 0:10:00for finished silk, and by the early 19th century, business was booming
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The Industrial Revolution created a new class of wealthy entrepreneur
0:10:04 > 0:10:06with expensive tastes.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Silk gowns, ties, top hats and bonnets
0:10:10 > 0:10:13became important middle class status symbols.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15The more extravagant the attire,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19the clearer the message that the wearer was not a manual worker.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25And in the old days, in the 19th century for example,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28was the silk coming in as cloth or as thread?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31It would have been brought in as thread.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34There would have been several mills in Macclesfield
0:10:34 > 0:10:35where they wove the silk.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39As time has gone on, the silk has become too expensive
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and we buy it in now, we buy it in loom state
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and we do all the other processes here, the after processes -
0:10:45 > 0:10:48the dying, the printing,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51steaming, finishing. Everything is done here.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Over the years, the company has acquired a rather special
0:10:55 > 0:10:58collection of original designs.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01These books date back to the mid-1800s,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and they're all actually hand-painted designs.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Beautiful work.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- Now, today you use computers, I suppose?- We do, yes.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11But can you still do this sort of stuff?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15We've used this design quite recently to create this hank.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17So that is our same lady?
0:11:17 > 0:11:20It is, I have given her a little bit of a face-lift!
0:11:20 > 0:11:21Yeah, you have. And, obviously,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23you can make anything you like of the colours,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25but isn't that beautiful?
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- So that's the sort of thing that you can buy today?- It is yes.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Wow, that's really beautiful. Lovely.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33In the early 19th century,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37around 10,000 people worked in Macclesfield's silk factories,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41which numbered 70 in the 1820s and '30s.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Today, it's a niche industry, with Jo's company employing
0:11:45 > 0:11:47a staff of 32
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and printing around 2,000 metres of silk a week.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Some of your machinery looks quite ancient, but still doing the job?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57It is. In fact, some of it's Victorian.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Is it really?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01So how does the process begin?
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The first process that we do is boil the cloth,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06then it goes through the dyeing process.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10When we're dying wool, can we dye it in rope formation like that.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14But silk, because it's a more delicate fibre, has to be dyed flat,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and that's dyed in the machine over there.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23Once the silk is dry it's ready for screen printing.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26The method for creating the stencils that make up the pattern
0:12:26 > 0:12:30has moved on considerably since Victorian times,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33when hand carved blocks were in use.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35'It looks simple but it takes years of practice.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38'One mistake and a whole length of silk may be ruined.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40'Terrible thought.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Today, Jo uses a computer to split the design into individual
0:12:44 > 0:12:48colours, and lasers each one onto a separate screen,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51ready for printing.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55But the final process is reassuringly lo-tech.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Now it's time to get my hands dirty.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Graham Cooper, a printer and screen engraver,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03is to guide me through the process.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- You're printing this lovely bit of red silk are you?- I am.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The colour's in. If you'd like to go round the other side
0:13:09 > 0:13:11and give me a hand.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Get hold of the rubber. Pull it towards you.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Drawing a rubber blade over the screen pushes the colour
0:13:17 > 0:13:20through the exposed sections of the stencil onto the cloth.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26The process is repeated for each colour until the image is complete.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Graham, how many colours can you put onto a silk?
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- We have printed up to 19 colours before.- Lovely stuff.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37And we'll have a look at what we've just printed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Wow. If it isn't our lady again.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Going to be very, very beautiful.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45I would of course stay and help Graham finish the job,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48but Jo has something to show me.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Before you leave, Michael,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I thought you you'd like to see a selection of handkerchiefs.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55They are absolutely wonderful, aren't they? Beautiful, bright colours.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59- Can I have the lady we've been looking at?- You certainly can.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00There she is.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02She makes what I've got at the moment
0:14:02 > 0:14:04look quite dull, doesn't she? Let me get rid of that.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11It's not every man who has a secret lady in his pocket.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- That looks marvellous.- Thank you.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Feeling the Victorian dandy
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I'm ready to embark on the final leg of my day.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Bradshaw's tells me that, "the route from Macclesfield to Congleton
0:14:27 > 0:14:29"is rich in natural beauties,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33"and furnishes various objects worthy of attention,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38"amongst which is a stupendous viaduct across the Dane Valley."
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Oh, happy Dane! I'm looking forward to this.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48The journey to my hotel in Congleton is less than ten miles south
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and doesn't disappoint.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05We just soared over the valley. Absolutely beautiful!
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Bradshaw's describes Congleton as,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15"a municipal borough and old town
0:15:15 > 0:15:19"with manufactures of silk and cotton".
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Today, most of the mills are long gone.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I'm heading to the heart of the town to find a hotel
0:15:24 > 0:15:27called the Lion & Swan, as mentioned in my guidebook.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37It's the final day of my journey
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and I'm hoping that the inclement weather will clear
0:15:40 > 0:15:42before I arrive at my next destination.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49I've left the north-west of England and travelled 12 miles south-east
0:15:49 > 0:15:52to a rural village station on the edge of the Peak District
0:15:52 > 0:15:54in the West Midlands.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Cheddleton Station opened in 1849.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Now it's the headquarters
0:16:01 > 0:16:04of North Staffordshire's Churnet Valley Railway.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09According to Bradshaw's, "The Churnet Valley railway line
0:16:09 > 0:16:14"passes through one of the loveliest valleys in England".
0:16:14 > 0:16:17And thanks to the achievements of railway enthusiasts,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20it's still possible today to appreciate
0:16:20 > 0:16:23the wonders of the vale from a steam train.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26Originally, this branch line
0:16:26 > 0:16:29crossed nearly 28 miles of valley and moorland
0:16:29 > 0:16:33between North Rode in Cheshire and Uttoxeter in Staffordshire.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Connections at either end created a direct link
0:16:37 > 0:16:39to Manchester and to London.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Over 150 years later, just over five miles of track are still in use.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50And one of the people responsible for its preservation
0:16:50 > 0:16:53is David Kemp, Director of Churnet Valley Railway.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58David, the Churnet Valley, according to my Bradshaw's,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01is one of the loveliest in England. What makes it so?
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Well, it's essentially a rural line.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08And when it was running its original length,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11joining the Manchester line ten or a dozen miles north of here
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and the Derby line to the south, it was a very useful line.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17But most of the countryside is very attractive all the way down.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19It follows the river all the way down.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Why was it a useful line, what was it carrying?
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Back in the 19th century, lots and lots of industry around here.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Iron smelting, copper, all sorts of things.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Coal and what-have-you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31There's quite a lot of quarries around here, as well.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36The railway first carried freight, but soon opened up
0:17:36 > 0:17:39one of the most scenic parts of the country to passengers, too.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Leisure-seeking Victorians travelled from all over Britain.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46But a century later,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49tourists and freight traffic weren't enough to sustain
0:17:49 > 0:17:55the Churnet Valley line and sections of track were closed in 1963.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58What's the modern history of the railway?
0:17:58 > 0:18:00When was it rescued?
0:18:00 > 0:18:03What you see in terms of the lines that we're involved with
0:18:03 > 0:18:08and going down to Froghall, um...are all left, basically,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10because they served quarries at the time.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13If it hadn't been for that, then it'd all have gone.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14Now, all that traffic stopped,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18um...about 20 years ago in the early 1990s.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21And that's when the preservation movement started.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I suppose, like all these heritage railways,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27it rests very heavily on the enthusiasm of volunteers.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Yes, it's the guys who turn up at 5:00 in the morning
0:18:30 > 0:18:32and get the engines fired up in the middle of winter
0:18:32 > 0:18:36and, er...you know, wander about under engines,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39trying to sort of defreeze them and all the rest of it.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Yeah, you've got to be pretty dedicated to do this job.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47David has certainly whetted my appetite for the journey ahead.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51I'm ready to step into the shoes of a Victorian tourist
0:18:51 > 0:18:52and lap up the scenery.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54WHISTLE
0:18:54 > 0:18:55TOOT!
0:19:07 > 0:19:09The Churnet Valley sort of tells the story
0:19:09 > 0:19:11of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Of course, there's a river running through it
0:19:13 > 0:19:15which was used for navigation,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18then, in the first part of the Industrial Revolution,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20a canal was built to carry minerals.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Then the railway company took over the canal
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and finally, bits of the canal
0:19:25 > 0:19:27were filled in to lay down railway lines.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36As we reach Consall Station, set deep in the valley,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38I've a treat in store.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Engineer John Peake has invited me to ride with him to the next stop.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55But apparently, there's no such thing as a free ride.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Tremendous heat now coming out of the boiler!
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Stoking up the fire!
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Giving the locomotive a bit of oomph!
0:20:12 > 0:20:14This is good exercise, isn't it?
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Yeah. Keeps you fit.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Builds good biceps, that!
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Was this a Churnet Valley Railway locomotive?
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Yes. Originally, it was built in Poland.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It was imported into the UK
0:20:26 > 0:20:29by a gentleman at the Spa Valley Railway.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Then, for various reasons,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33the gentleman decided he wanted to sell it,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35so a group of volunteers at the railway
0:20:35 > 0:20:38raised the money and bought the steam loco,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40just like when they first started preservation.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41How old is it?
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It was built in 1952.
0:20:43 > 0:20:451952!
0:20:46 > 0:20:50So, little Polish locomotive, you're even older than I am
0:20:50 > 0:20:52and you're a long way from home.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53Yes.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02After all that exertion, I'm ready to return to my carriage
0:21:02 > 0:21:04for the remainder of the journey.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06TOOT!
0:21:06 > 0:21:09The Churnet Valley is indeed beautiful.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12And I think it's beauty is enhanced
0:21:12 > 0:21:15by the smoke of a steam locomotive.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19This is pollution Victorian style!
0:21:19 > 0:21:22And I think it's pollution that we can forgive.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The Churnet Valley line ends at Froghall,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31but at the time of my guidebook,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35it would have continued to my final destination in Alton,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37just four miles south-east.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43Opened in 1849, Alton station served an established noble family
0:21:43 > 0:21:46travelling to and from their nearby stately home.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Bradshaw's has brought me to the princely seat
0:21:51 > 0:21:53of the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57"Built in 1814, a magnificent hall
0:21:57 > 0:22:00"with an armoury 120-feet long."
0:22:00 > 0:22:04And its gardens are a picture of tranquillity.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06But this is Alton Towers.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10And I think my visit will be worth the ride.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15The country estate was first taken on by the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1412
0:22:15 > 0:22:19and remained in the family for over five centuries.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22To find out more about its fascinating history,
0:22:22 > 0:22:23I'm meeting Liz Greenwood,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26who's been with Alton Towers for 25 years.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30The house appears to be pretty much gutted.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Is anything from my Bradshaw's Guide still there?
0:22:32 > 0:22:35I mean, for example, the armoury?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38The armoury's there, although it's perhaps not quite as you'd expect.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40- Come and have a look.- Ha! Thank you.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44In the early 20th century, the cost of war,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47death duties and the burden of income tax
0:22:47 > 0:22:52forced many upper-class families to abandon their country houses.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57In 1924, Alton Towers was sold to a group of local businessmen.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And over the following three decades,
0:22:59 > 0:23:04the house was gradually stripped bare and its contents sold off.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- Ha-ha-ha!- And here we are in the armoury.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Liz, it's a very impressive room indeed.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19It seems there are just a few pikestaffs and suits of armour left.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Presumably, this would have been filled with such things.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Originally, each of these plinths would have a suit of armour.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27If you think about it, the whole intent of these sorts of buildings
0:23:27 > 0:23:28was to impress the visitor.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30It was to show the wealth of the earls that owned the house.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34How has this historic and, I must say, rather gloomy
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and rather ghostly house lent itself to being a theme park?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40This is the first area of the house
0:23:40 > 0:23:42we've been able to incorporate into a ride.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46This armoury now forms part of the queue line into a ride called Hex.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49No other theme park has got an 18th-century mansion in the middle of it.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52It also lends itself brilliantly to Halloween activity.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54So people are lapping up the gloom and spookiness.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57People lap up the atmosphere of the house, which is just amazing.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Outside, the estate once laid claim
0:24:01 > 0:24:04to some of the most magnificent gardens in Britain.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Today, much of the parkland is occupied by the theme park,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11but the gardens have remained true to their original design.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14When I thought about Alton Towers,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I assumed it was just a modern theme park, but actually,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20it has a history going back to the 19th century, doesn't it?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Yes. Originally, it was open to the public in about 1860.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25And guests were allowed to wander around the gardens.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28So it's always been open to members of the public.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30And in fact, the original earls were very keen to have
0:24:30 > 0:24:32original and unique features in the gardens.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35And they laid them out, essentially, in small themed areas.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37So, even then, it was a kind of themed park?
0:24:37 > 0:24:40It was kind of the precursor to the modern theme park, yeah.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Urbanisation and the arrival of the railways
0:24:44 > 0:24:46changed popular culture and leisure forever.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50By the time of my guidebook,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53rail travel was reconnecting middle and lower class Victorians
0:24:53 > 0:24:54with the countryside
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and bringing entertainment to the masses.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04I came across this flyer from the 1890s
0:25:04 > 0:25:07advertising stuff that was going on here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09"Alton Towers Illuminated.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11"Horse leaping for £100.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13"Ella, Zuila and Lulu.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17"These are apparently ladies who walk on a wire over the lake
0:25:17 > 0:25:21"500-feet across, 75-feet high."
0:25:21 > 0:25:24And then, "Sante, the man with the iron head.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26"Granite blocks, which were obtained locally,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29"broken on his head by sledgehammers.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32"£200 forfeited if a fraud."
0:25:32 > 0:25:35So this stuff has been going on for a very long time.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Yes. And in fact, the fetes often attracted up to 30,000 people.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40They were very popular, very common across the UK.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43And they attracted acts from all over Europe.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45It was where you came to see something unique and original
0:25:45 > 0:25:48that you wouldn't get the chance to see anywhere else.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Alton Towers' appeal lives on.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54And it's one of the most-visited theme parks in the United Kingdom.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59People flock here each year to enjoy over 50 rides and attractions.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05What have I let myself in for?
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Oh!
0:26:11 > 0:26:13SCREAMING
0:26:13 > 0:26:14HE LAUGHS
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Are you scared? You have those butterflies!
0:26:18 > 0:26:21It's better if you haven't seen it before, isn't it?
0:26:21 > 0:26:22- Yes.- Oh, dear!
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Is it too late to get off?
0:26:27 > 0:26:29SCREAMING
0:26:32 > 0:26:33SCREAMING
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- EERIE TANNOY:- Undo your safety belt and exit to the left.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Ensure you collect all your personal belongings.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I've been on many tracks in my life,
0:26:58 > 0:27:03but never have I been accelerated to 60mph in 2.5 seconds
0:27:03 > 0:27:07with 4.5 Gs of pressure on my body, and I'm wrung out!
0:27:07 > 0:27:12All this week, I've enjoyed a rollercoaster of a ride,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14thanks to Bradshaw's.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19At the beginning of my journey through north England
0:27:19 > 0:27:23at the Honister slate mine, I was struck as so often before
0:27:23 > 0:27:26by the suffering of working men and women
0:27:26 > 0:27:28during the Industrial Revolution.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And it came home to me that industrialisation
0:27:31 > 0:27:32and the spread of the railways
0:27:32 > 0:27:36took a heavy toll on England's blessed plot.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39The artist Lowry painted the effects
0:27:39 > 0:27:41and aesthetes like John Ruskin
0:27:41 > 0:27:45set out to protect this green and pleasant land.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48To all the other achievements of the Victorians,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52we can add a dawning concern for the environment.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03'Next time, inspired by a brave Victorian, I take the plunge.'
0:28:03 > 0:28:04I can't believe I'm doing this.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12'Enjoy the exhilaration of steam.'
0:28:12 > 0:28:15At the moment, we're doing 18mph.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18That is basically the equivalent of doing 75 on the main line
0:28:18 > 0:28:20because we're nearer to the ground.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23'And scale the heights of the operatic world.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:27# Yah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! #