0:00:04 > 0:00:09For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11At a time when railways were new,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I am using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains transformed
0:00:20 > 0:00:26Britain, its landscape, its industry, society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me
0:00:31 > 0:00:33to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I am continuing my journey along England's south coast.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Today I will be travelling through, over and under the South Downs,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05which presented a formidable challenge to the railways
0:01:05 > 0:01:09as they sought new ways to carry aspirational travellers
0:01:09 > 0:01:14to the region's burgeoning marine resorts and indeed beyond.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Following my Bradshaw's, I am travelling from east to west.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30My journey started at the point nearest to our French neighbours
0:01:30 > 0:01:34and will take me through defensive forts and seaside resorts, across
0:01:34 > 0:01:39Thomas Hardy country before ending up at the last place in England.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Today my journey begins in the port of Newhaven.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48I then detour inland to Balcombe to see a wonder of the railways.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Travelling to Preston Park, I access the South Downs
0:01:51 > 0:01:55before a fruitful finish in Worthing.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59On this journey I marvel at exquisite railway engineering...
0:01:59 > 0:02:01That is an extraordinary view,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03almost as though we were in a Gothic cathedral or something.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Yes, there aren't many viaducts built like that.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10..take my pick in a temple of red fruit...
0:02:10 > 0:02:12All aboard for the Tomato Express!
0:02:14 > 0:02:15- Another go?- Yeah.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19..and test my patience against the southerly wind.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22If at first you don't succeed...
0:02:22 > 0:02:23try, try again.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26That is the mantra of kite flying, if ever there was one.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39My first stop today will be Newhaven.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44Bradshaw says, "Formerly a very obscure port or fishing town
0:02:44 > 0:02:48"but now a rising place of some importance as the port
0:02:48 > 0:02:52"of communication between London, Dieppe and Paris."
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Of all the Channel ports, Newhaven is the closest to London
0:02:56 > 0:03:01and so particularly convenient for English travellers going south.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06But potentially just as handy for French invaders moving north.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14The Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France had ended in 1815,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and during the reign of Victoria, relations with France
0:03:18 > 0:03:19were often cordial.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23The Victorian traveller was keen to see the Continent, and the railways
0:03:23 > 0:03:26wanted to capitalise on routes from London to Paris.
0:03:31 > 0:03:37The London to Newhaven line opened in 1847 and a ferry route to Dieppe
0:03:37 > 0:03:41was established soon afterwards, a service which still runs today.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46As the cars go on board the roll-on-roll-off ferry,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48it is easy to appreciate that the port is tidal.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52In the old days, the steamers would have had to take account of the tides
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and the trains would have met each arrival,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58and then there would have ensued over there, where the station was,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01that hustle and bustle of the transfer of trunks,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05hat boxes and portmanteaux, and the yelling of the hawkers and of
0:04:05 > 0:04:09the porters and the insistent lowing of the siren on the steamer.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13HORN HONKS
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Whilst tourists were enjoying trips to the Continent
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and the railway companies were making money,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23others were gravely concerned about possible attacks on this new port.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30The French monarchy was toppled once more by the revolution of 1848
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and British statesmen feared revolutionary contagion and invasion.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39I want to find out about what that meant for Newhaven.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Ed Tyhurst is an expert on its military defences.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- Hello, good morning, Michael. - Hello, Ed.- Nice to meet you.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50- You are occupying an impregnable position.- I certainly am.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Tell me this - I mean, in the middle of the 19th century,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the British are more and more going to the Continent for their holidays
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- and yet we are still very suspicious of French invasion.- Oh, yes.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04For hundreds of years a source of antagonism and possible conflict
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and originally, up where those 1970s houses are,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12that was the site of one of the earliest defences of the harbour.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14At the time of the arrival of the ferries, that had six guns,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16but this wasn't deemed enough.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It was decided that a new battery should be built
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and that is what we are standing on here.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23And what is this sort of construction?
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Did this all have a design, a name?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Ironically, it is a French name.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31It is called a lunette battery,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35and lunette is a French term for a crescent-moon-shaped structure.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41This defence had been considered sufficient for over a decade
0:05:41 > 0:05:44but France was now led by an ambitious emperor,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47nephew of the great Napoleon Bonaparte.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Our Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston,
0:05:50 > 0:05:55was very suspicious, so he brought about the Royal Commission
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and ordered the construction of more fortifications.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05In 1864, as part of a huge defensive building programme,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07work on Newhaven Fort began.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Now, I don't think I need to knock -
0:06:09 > 0:06:12there's no-one else in at the moment - so here we go.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Protecting the port and, more crucially, access to the capital,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25the fortress was the largest defensive structure built in Sussex.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Well, and here we are, Michael. Welcome to Newhaven Fort.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Which I must say is a complete surprise.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39There was no hint of this from down below.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I imagine all of this is sunk into the hill and invisible.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Yeah, that was the intention of the young man that designed
0:06:45 > 0:06:48the fort, a Lieutenant John Charles Ardagh.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51He wanted his fort to be hidden as best as possible
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and as you can see, I think he achieved that quite well.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Amazingly, Ardagh was just 22 years old
0:06:59 > 0:07:03when given the task of planning the defences.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05He devised innovative features.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09It is one of the first to be fully hidden into the landscape
0:07:09 > 0:07:11like it is, which you've seen.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The first mass use of concrete in a military structure before.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Some of the concrete you can see up above there on the western slope
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and actually, there is concrete hidden behind all
0:07:21 > 0:07:24the beautiful Victorian brickwork as well.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Which you don't think of in Victorian times.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29No, most forts at the time were brick and stone.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Every material but concrete, really.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Ardagh wanted to make concrete a principle factor of his defence.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40It took seven years to complete the work at a cost of £86,000,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42an enormous sum at the time.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46The building of Newhaven Fort was part of this big
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Palmerstonian programme, wasn't it?
0:07:48 > 0:07:52It certainly was, yeah. Newhaven Fort is one of around 70 forts
0:07:52 > 0:07:54that were built under this programme.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58By the time they were all finished at the turn of the 1870s,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02the French invasion that had been feared had never materialised.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08So a massive construction programme costing at the time £12 million,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11apparently all for nothing.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14All of the forts became known as Palmerston's Follies.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17They were regarded as follies but only because there wasn't a war.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I mean, he would have been thought very foolish
0:08:19 > 0:08:24if he hadn't built them. And I've now learned from you that actually
0:08:24 > 0:08:28these forts incorporated very important technological improvements.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29They certainly did.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Leaving the coastal defences behind, from Newhaven I am taking a short
0:08:37 > 0:08:41detour north onto the main line that runs between Brighton and London.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47As you are whisked between the two today, it is hard to comprehend
0:08:47 > 0:08:52what a challenge it was in 1841 to construct the line.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02The ingenious Victorians overcame the obstacle of the South Downs in style.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07"Towards Balcombe, the line crosses the River Ouse
0:09:07 > 0:09:10"by one of the finest viaducts in the kingdom.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12"It commands extensive views.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15"Hill and dale, woodland and pasture
0:09:15 > 0:09:20"succeed each other in infinite variety to the verge of the horizon."
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And yet, I expect that thousands of daily commuters from Brighton
0:09:24 > 0:09:28to London cross it without a sideways glance.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39The Ouse Valley Viaduct is a glorious feat of Victorian engineering,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42but it cannot be done justice from a train.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52I am alighting at Balcombe to head back down the line for a better look.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04On the train you pass it far too quickly, but standing here
0:10:04 > 0:10:07in the valley you appreciate what a wonderful structure it is.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11And then it is so beautifully decorated with a balustrade
0:10:11 > 0:10:12and eight towers.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21It is almost 500 yards long and, like many Victorian engineering projects,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24it is a work that blends science and art.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Local historian Alan Dearden is an expert on the viaduct.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Alan, hello.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36That is an extraordinary view.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I had not anticipated that the arches would be hollow like that.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41And it is a beautiful sight, isn't it?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Almost as though we were in a Gothic cathedral or something.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Yes, there aren't many viaducts built like that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And who was responsible for this thing of beauty?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54John Rastrick was the name of the designer
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and David Mocatta was an architect,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03and he was responsible for all the stonework that is 100 feet above it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09It is made up of 37 semicircular arches, and with foundations
0:11:09 > 0:11:15going 20 feet below ground, the structure required 11 million bricks.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21In total, there were about... approximately 550 navvies
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and skilled bricklayers, particularly stonemasons,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27who were either camped around here
0:11:27 > 0:11:30or lived in the surrounding villages.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34And when you think that the scaffolding was wooden poles
0:11:34 > 0:11:39held together by string, the workers went up on wooden ladders,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and there were only five known fatalities...
0:11:44 > 0:11:47The line had both to span valleys
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and to burrow through the South Downs.
0:11:53 > 0:11:59The partnership of designer John Rastrick and architect David Mocatta
0:11:59 > 0:12:03came together to build a series of impressive tunnels.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- Hello, David.- Hello, Michael, welcome to Clayton Tunnel.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08I believe you've got a pretty good view of it.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09Yes, I have, come this way.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Local resident David Porter is taking me
0:12:12 > 0:12:14to one of their more quirky creations.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17David, the portal of the Clayton Tunnel really is
0:12:17 > 0:12:19an extraordinary thing, isn't it?
0:12:19 > 0:12:21I mean, you could describe it as over the top.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Yeah, I think it is unique in the world, without a doubt.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Have you got any idea why this sort of fortification
0:12:26 > 0:12:28was built on this scale?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Well, nobody really knows for sure but I think the simplest
0:12:31 > 0:12:34explanation is it was quite simply to keep the local landowner happy.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37He would only give his permission if it had a suitably grand,
0:12:37 > 0:12:38impressive entrance.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42And that rather incongruous structure sitting in-between it
0:12:42 > 0:12:43- is where you live.- That's right.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45The cottage was added as an afterthought
0:12:45 > 0:12:47and it was actually built to house the tunnel keeper.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Why did a tunnel need a tunnel keeper?
0:12:50 > 0:12:54To keep the tunnel whitewashed and to light
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and to continually relight the gas lamps that lined the tunnels.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Now, we wouldn't think of lighting a railway tunnel today
0:13:01 > 0:13:04but I suppose that is a reflection of how nervous people were
0:13:04 > 0:13:06- in the early days of railways. - Absolutely right.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08What is it like to live there?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Well, you would actually think it is quite noisy but paradoxically
0:13:11 > 0:13:14it is actually very quiet and very peaceful,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16and I think that is simply because the railway line
0:13:16 > 0:13:18goes beneath you rather than to the side of you.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I'm not sure I believe you.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22- Why don't you come and have a look? - Thank you.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29The impressive entrance is justified by the tunnel beyond.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33It took 6,000 navvies three years to dig and blast
0:13:33 > 0:13:36a mile and a quarter through the chalk.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Right, do come in.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Well, you certainly have a wonderful view of the railway line.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Well, there is a train going through and, no, I agree it is not noisy.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54You can certainly hear it, though.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56You can hear it with the sash windows open,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58but you can't really feel any vibration.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Can you imagine what it would have been like, though,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02for the tunnel keeper when it was all steam trains?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Living on top of steam trains,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06I think the joke would wear thin after the first one or two
0:14:06 > 0:14:09because as the trains strike the sides of the tunnel,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11the steam and the smoke billows up
0:14:11 > 0:14:13and completely engulfs the building, so it wouldn't be much fun.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Clayton Tunnel was actually the scene of a major accident, wasn't it?
0:14:17 > 0:14:22Yes, it was. Back in 1861 on 25th August, which was a Sunday,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26two trains collided due to a combination of human error,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29mechanical error and really quite tough working practices -
0:14:29 > 0:14:32these men were working 24-hour shifts to get a day off.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34The worst possible thing happened
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and there was a dreadful collision and it was in the tunnel.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41- Many deaths?- Yes, there were 23 dead and 176 were very horribly injured,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44so it was a scene of devastation.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45Terrifying.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48As a result of that terrible tragedy,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52railway security and signalling systems were reappraised.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56It is also thought that it inspired Charles Dickens
0:14:56 > 0:14:59to write his ghost story The Signal-Man.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12It's a new day and I'll be continuing my journey along the south coast.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14This morning, I've returned to Balcombe Station.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20There was much about railways to frighten Victorians -
0:15:20 > 0:15:25locomotives belching fire and steam, long, dark tunnels,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28the risk of a railway accident
0:15:28 > 0:15:32and of murder most foul and bloody.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36I'm meeting James Gardner,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40an author who's written about one particularly gruesome event.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I believe we are very near the scene
0:15:44 > 0:15:47of the second railway murder in history, near Balcombe.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48That's correct.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53- The murder occurred on the 27th June, 1881.- Who was the victim?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55The victim was an elderly retired man,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58called Frederick Isaac Gold, and he was last seen at London Bridge,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00getting on the train back to Brighton.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Where was the body found and how?
0:16:02 > 0:16:06It was found in the middle of the Balcombe tunnel by two platelayers.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08- Was there a suspect early on? - There was.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12He got on the same express train as Frederick Isaac Gold
0:16:12 > 0:16:14and his name was Percy Lefroy Mapleton.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16When the train arrived at Preston Park,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21two ticket collectors saw this young man covered in blood.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25He said that he'd been brutally assaulted by a countryman,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27someone who looked like a countryman.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32The body in the tunnel had yet to be discovered,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36but with Lefroy covered in blood and with no attacker to be found,
0:16:36 > 0:16:38his story aroused police suspicions.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43An officer accompanied him to his home in Wallington,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46but there Lefroy gave him the slip.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50There was a terrific manhunt because there was panicking all over
0:16:50 > 0:16:53the country that there was a madman on the loose on the trains.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55The police were so desperate,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58for the first time they decided to print an image,
0:16:58 > 0:17:03an artist's impression, in the Daily Telegraph on the 1st July 1881.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Unfortunately, it wasn't very accurate
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and before long 50 Lefroys were arrested all over the country.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Four in one day.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16One American tourist was so fed up of being arrested,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20he asked police if they could keep him till they found the real Lefroy.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Eventually, the real Lefroy was apprehended
0:17:24 > 0:17:25in the East End of London.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29A jury found him guilty of murder and he was hanged.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35But the police's early bungling had shaken public confidence in them.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40The police suffered a lot in terms of publicity
0:17:40 > 0:17:41and there was a popular joke that went,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44"Why is it unnecessary to vaccinate a policeman?"
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And the answer was, "Because he never catches anything."
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Nonetheless, the idea of publishing an artist's impression
0:17:51 > 0:17:54of a wanted person, that certainly did catch on.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Behold, the head of a murderer,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59albeit possibly not a very accurate one.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I'm leaving Preston Park Station to make my way into the South Downs.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11This lovely landscape that had challenged the railway builders
0:18:11 > 0:18:13was also a great attraction.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19With the Bank Holidays Act of 1871,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22day trips and excursions were increasingly popular.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28I'm off to a favourite Victorian tourist spot, Devil's Dyke.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33Alan Reynolds is a kite enthusiast who knows the area well.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- Hello, Alan.- Hello, Michael. Pleased to meet you.- Fantastic.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39It's something, isn't it? It really is.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Why is it called the Devil's Dyke?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Well, the legend has it that the Devil was trying to build a channel
0:18:47 > 0:18:49for the sea to flood all the churches
0:18:49 > 0:18:51that were on the level ground beneath,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53but he was disturbed by a lady who lit a candle
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and he thought the sun was coming up.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Bradshaw says, "There are fine walks here over the Downs.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00"The summit of a high cliff in the neighbourhood,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03"called the Devil's Dyke, is much visited
0:19:03 > 0:19:05"for the fine views that it affords."
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I get the impression that this place was more popular
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- in the Victorian period even than now.- Yes, I think you're right.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13I mean, it must have been popular for them
0:19:13 > 0:19:16to have considered building a railway here, for a start,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18which they did in 1887 or thereabouts,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20which enabled huge numbers of people to come up here.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21At the height of the season,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24there were six trains a day running up on this line.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25I think, one Whitsun,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27there were 30,000 people up here, they reckoned.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30What sort of things did they find up here when they arrived?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33They found quite a bit of entertainment. There was a funfair.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36There was a cable car across the valley.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38You can still see the plinths where it was based,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41which must have been positively hair-raising for the Victorian mind,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I imagine, and there was a funicular, or a very steep railway,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48on the other face, to take you down to Poynings for tea.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Also, there was a fair degree of kite flying going on up here,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53which is how my interest in the area first arose, of course.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59The late 19th century was the golden age of kite flying.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01The huge rise in its popularity
0:20:01 > 0:20:06coincided with improvements in design, such as the box kite of 1891.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Victorian examples were often home-made, from silk and cotton.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18So, Alan, that seems a very beautiful kite. Is this an antique?
0:20:18 > 0:20:21It's not really an antique. It's a replica.
0:20:21 > 0:20:22It's the sort of kite
0:20:22 > 0:20:24that Victorians would have been able to make.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It's not a bad flier, but the wind is gusty today,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30so we've put a tail on it, which is made of modern kite fabric.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Now, for the novice kite flier, what would your tips be?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Um, well, first of all, choose your location.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39You want steady wind and then, once you've got it flying,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43if it's not doing what you want it to, let it have some more line out
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and when it's going where you want it to, hold on.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49- And so, if it's diving towards the ground, let it have rope...- Yes.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52- ..and if it's soaring, then keep it under tension?- That's right, yes.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- Right, shall we fly this?- Please.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Try now.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06'While kite flying took off in the Victorian era,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09'ours is hugging the ground.'
0:21:09 > 0:21:14If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16That's the mantra of kite flying, if ever there was one.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27'But when it finally soars,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30'I share the excitement of the Victorian day tripper.'
0:21:43 > 0:21:47After my uplifting experience, I'm leaving the South Downs
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and heading back towards the coast.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55My next stop will be Worthing.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59The guide book says that "its rise from an insignificant hamlet
0:21:59 > 0:22:01"to its present rank has been rapid,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05"owing to the superior mildness of its temperature,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08"arising from the shelter afforded by the Downs,
0:22:08 > 0:22:13"which exclude the chilling blasts of the northern and eastern winds."
0:22:13 > 0:22:17And, thanks to that microclimate, at the time of Bradshaw's,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19one important industry was growing.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Specifically, fruit and vegetables grown in glasshouses.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35In 1845, Worthing was connected by rail to London and beyond.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40Producers could now send their goods to the capital's Covent Garden Market
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and to the colder cities of the north.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Business boomed and Victorian growers cultivated grapes,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53strawberries, French beans, mushrooms, nectarines and tomatoes.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00The industry continues today, with vast glasshouses.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10I'm visiting a tomato nursery set up 38 years ago by Eric Wall.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13- Hello, Eric.- Hello, Michael.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Very good to see you, in this extraordinarily large glasshouse.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Now, the scale you're on here is enormous.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21Can you give me some idea of it?
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Well, yes, there's 30 acres of glass on this side.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28One of the biggest nurseries in the country.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30I noticed that you've got these little trolleys,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34like railway wagons, running between the tomato plants.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35Tell me about that.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Well, these are the heating pipes and, years ago,
0:23:38 > 0:23:40they would be in the centre of the bed.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44We moved them to the outside and created a rail system,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47so we exploited the railway idea
0:23:47 > 0:23:51and we use the flanged wheels to keep them on the track.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So, have you any idea how much track you have here?
0:23:54 > 0:23:59- On the site as a whole, it's over 40 miles.- Good heaven.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02So you're really quite a big railway operator, aren't you?
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Yeah. We don't use steam, though.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05THEY LAUGH
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Glasshouses first appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14but were astronomically expensive.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19In the mid 19th century, the glass and window taxes were repealed
0:24:19 > 0:24:22and manufacturing innovations reduced the cost.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25The giant glasshouse transformed market gardening
0:24:25 > 0:24:27into mass production.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34By 1899, there were around 50 acres of glasshouses in Worthing,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37employing 100 nurserymen.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38Hello, Chris. I'm Michael.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42'Chris is Eric's son and now runs the business.'
0:24:42 > 0:24:45When you're looking at your tomato crop to make sure it's doing well,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48what kind of characteristics are you looking for?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Well, we're obviously looking for good, even red colour
0:24:51 > 0:24:53on the tomatoes before we harvest them,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55cos they can be in the store tomorrow morning
0:24:55 > 0:24:58and on someone's plate by tomorrow afternoon.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Very, very quick. Are you still quite weather-dependent?
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Does it make a difference to you
0:25:02 > 0:25:04whether you have a good summer or a bad one?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Oh, completely weather-dependent.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10They talk about a 1% light equalling 1% yield,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13so the light over the 12 months plays a huge part.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16When the sun comes out, the plants grow quicker.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20The fruit ripens quicker and the demand is there for eating salads.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23I'm getting quite hungry, standing here.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- Is there any chance of trying one of your tomatoes?- By all means.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28- You carry on.- Any one?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Well, I'd take from the top of the truss, cos that's the most ripe.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33That's been ripening the longest.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39- Any tips on this? Just bite through it?- Straight through, yes.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Wow.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47When you take it straight from the plant,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49the flavour just explodes, doesn't it?
0:25:49 > 0:25:54What a lovely-looking and tasting tomato. Well done.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57Mm!
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Across the nursery, the rows of plants stretch 33 miles.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10Each day, the ripest of the 360,000 heads are harvested.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13- Hello, Gavin.- Hello, Michael.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- Do you mind if I join you on your railway wagon here?- Certainly.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Um, these plants are amazingly long. Tell me about them.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23When they come in, early season, they're very small
0:26:23 > 0:26:26and what we do is we trail them up to the wire
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and once they reach the wire, then we start layering them.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31It's like Jack And The Beanstalk!
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- So, they grow incredibly fast, don't they?- Yes, they do.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Now, where shall I make my cut?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39If you cut it right beside the stem,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42cos if we leave a small stub on there,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45then we could get disease into that,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- so it needs to be cut right beside the stem.- Right up by the stem.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Oh, wow! That looks beautiful.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59Getting up a bit of speed now.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- What about that one, Gavin? - Yeah, take that one.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05All aboard for the Tomato Express!
0:27:20 > 0:27:24The topography of southern England presented formidable obstacles,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27which 19th-century engineers overcame,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30sinking Newhaven Fort into the clifftop
0:27:30 > 0:27:34and carrying the London to Brighton railway over the Ouse Valley
0:27:34 > 0:27:38and through the Clayton Tunnel beneath the South Downs.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42Those beautiful hills provided a microclimate
0:27:42 > 0:27:45suitable for tomato growing, and Victorians showed
0:27:45 > 0:27:49that they could build glasshouses as well as haul stones.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Next time, I find out how shells went ballistic...
0:27:58 > 0:28:03You're kidding. Inflexible, which is only 15 years after Warrior,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05is firing this sort of ammunition?
0:28:05 > 0:28:09..discover the origins of one of the most revered Victorians...
0:28:09 > 0:28:12It's underneath this very tree
0:28:12 > 0:28:15that Florence felt very strongly that she was called by God
0:28:15 > 0:28:17to serve her fellow man.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22..and abandon the tracks to check out the railway's greatest competitor.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Tally-ho!
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Oh!