0:00:04 > 0:00:08For Edwardian Britons, a Bradshaw's was an indispensable guide
0:00:08 > 0:00:11to a railway network at its peak.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I'm using an early 20th century edition
0:00:16 > 0:00:19to navigate a vibrant and optimistic Britain
0:00:19 > 0:00:22at the height of its power and influence in the world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29But a nation wrestling with political, social and industrial
0:00:29 > 0:00:30unrest at home.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56The part of my journey across northern England
0:00:56 > 0:01:00concludes in Liverpool, where I'll admire the architecture.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The Victorians had drawn inspiration for their buildings
0:01:03 > 0:01:06from the Middle-Ages,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09reviving a Gothic style in impressive structures
0:01:09 > 0:01:12such as St Pancras Station in London.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Would the Edwardians follow in their paths?
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I'll then move on to Wales,
0:01:17 > 0:01:22and ask how the principality felt about its identity,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26absorbed in a United Kingdom at the time when Ireland
0:01:26 > 0:01:29was moving, it seemed, towards home rule.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39My journey started in East Yorkshire,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and carried on to the historic city of York.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47From there, I went inland across the industrial heartlands of West
0:01:47 > 0:01:48and South Yorkshire.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53I'm now on my way to Liverpool, from where I'll head to Wales,
0:01:53 > 0:01:58tucking its northern coast to finish in Caernarfon.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I start this leg of my journey in the city of Liverpool.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I'll then visit the suburban town of Maghull,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10before crossing the Welsh border to reach Abergele,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13and I'll finish in the Welsh mountains in Dolgarrog.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Today, I take a rail trip down my own memory lane.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I had this of very one when I was a child.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24This was my starter set.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Hear of an Edwardian aristocrat
0:02:26 > 0:02:29whose roses by any other name would smell as sweet.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35They turned out to be named after people that the Countess knew.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38And I learn to catch the next wave in Snowdonia.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Another wave coming!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56My Bradshaw's reveals that, at the beginning of the 20th century,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00you could sail from Liverpool to New York and Canada,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03South Africa, Australia, New Zealand,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06China and Japan.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The city had been getting richer from shipping for many decades.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11In the Georgian period,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15its picturesque hills rising above the Mersey estuary
0:03:15 > 0:03:20had sprouted long, elegant terraces of merchant houses.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23In the Edwardian era it was still constructing,
0:03:23 > 0:03:28adding to its stock of striking commercial and public buildings.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Liverpool's port was founded by King John in 1207.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52By the time that it celebrated its 700th anniversary,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56the Edwardian city was at the centre of seven miles of docks
0:03:56 > 0:03:58extending along the River Mersey.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Over the last 100 years,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04the city has been renowned for its vibrancy.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06During a couple of phases of my life,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I felt the magnetism of Liverpool.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11My first employer was a shipping company,
0:04:11 > 0:04:12located in one of these
0:04:12 > 0:04:15magnificent early 20th century office buildings.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19And then, much later, when I had ministerial responsibility
0:04:19 > 0:04:21for urban regeneration,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I met the wonderful Dean of the Anglican Cathedral,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29who used the prestige of the Church to build housing and a hospital
0:04:29 > 0:04:31to help to revitalise the city.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34And, whenever I return here,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38I'm reminded of moments in my life that are important to me.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48It's a real pleasure to return to Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51It's the largest cathedral in the United Kingdom,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54but it was still a building site at the time of my Bradshaw's.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Canon Val Jackson is archivist here.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Val, am I right in saying that, at the end of the 19th century,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Liverpool has an Anglican bishop, but not a Cathedral worth the name?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Not a cathedral worth the name, no.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11There was St Peter's Pro-Cathedral, which was very small and very dark.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16There wasn't enough space to hold a big civic service.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18So, Bishop Chavasse and his committee
0:05:18 > 0:05:21wanted somewhere that was worthy of the second city of the Empire.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26In charge of the diocese at the time,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Bishop Chavasse made plans for a new place of worship at the top
0:05:30 > 0:05:33of St James's mount, visible from everywhere,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35and launched an open competition,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39calling for a 20th century design of cathedral.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42The competition was won by a 22-year-old,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45who had never designed a church or a cathedral,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47called Giles Gilbert Scott.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Was Giles Gilbert Scott a devout Anglican?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52No, he was from a family of Roman Catholics,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56which was a very brave decision to appoint him,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00because Liverpool at the time was at the height of sectarian difficulties.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04People weren't allowed to marry in mixed marriages,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06schools didn't have mixed relationships,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Bishop Chavasse had the vision to try and join the two groups
0:06:10 > 0:06:12of Christians together in the city.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Giles Gilbert Scott came from a family of architects.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22His grandfather, George Gilbert Scott,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25designed St Pancras Railway Station in London.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28But, because of the young man's lack of experience,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30a mentor was appointed,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34a seasoned church architect, George Frederick Bodley.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36The partnership was unhappy.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Gilbert Scott was considering resignation
0:06:39 > 0:06:41when Bodley died in 1907,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43giving him a free rein.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47He started to apply his vision to the Lady Chapel,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49which was then under construction.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Welcome to the Lady Chapel of the cathedral,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55which is quite different from the main space.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Here we have one of the original drawings signed by Scott and Bodley,
0:06:59 > 0:07:00and this, of course,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03was designed when he was still under Bodley's mentorship.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And this is what should have been the original design
0:07:06 > 0:07:07with four lights in the windows,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11but as you can see now, there are just two lights in each window.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13So he's made them longer and more elegant.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16And put in more plain glass to let more light through.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Liverpool was a very industrial city at the time,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21so there was a lot of smoke and pollution.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Did he make many other changes?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Yes, having won the competition with this design,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28for two towers for the cathedral,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33when he had a free rein, he realised he was better having a central tower
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and making the whole cathedral a great space.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Maybe it's just that I'm used to it, but actually what we have today,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42it seems to me, is vastly superior to that.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Absolutely. This was his finest achievement.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48After changing the face of Liverpool,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Gilbert Scott went on to design the red telephone box,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54which remains iconic today.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Liverpool's Catholic community built its own cathedral.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Despite its futuristic look,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07it was completed 11 years before its Anglican equivalent.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I'm now travelling on Merseyrail's Ormskirk line out to Maghull,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38to the suburbs of Liverpool,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41to see how Edwardians spent their time at home
0:08:41 > 0:08:44when they had a moment for pleasure and play.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Maghull has a particular significance
0:09:01 > 0:09:05in the history of model railways, and in my life.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- Les!- Good morning, Michael, welcome to Maghull!
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Thank you.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14I've arranged to meet modern railway enthusiast Les French
0:09:14 > 0:09:15to track this story.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19It starts with a man whose name I knew from a very early age.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Les, the blue plaque says it,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Frank Hornby, Toy Manufacturer.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26But what was the background of this man?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Frank came from quite humble beginnings,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33and he was a clerk in his father's business, but he had an idea,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35in his own words, on a train journey.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37On Christmas Eve he saw a train,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41and realised that, with very simple parts, he could reproduce that train
0:09:41 > 0:09:43as a toy for his children.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47He said that was when the idea of Meccano was born.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Meccano, I'd always thought this was an Italian name,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53How did it become Meccano?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56It was initially known as "mechanics made easy",
0:09:56 > 0:09:58which in itself was quite a mouthful,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01but he had an idea that if you came up with a name
0:10:01 > 0:10:03that was pronounceable in any language,
0:10:03 > 0:10:04it would help export sales.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08So, he took "make" and "know".
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Make something, know how it was made,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and "make" and "know" became Meccano.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The tools were extraordinarily simple, weren't they?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Very. Pre-drilled strips, axles, pulleys,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22maybe a wee bit of string to make a crane.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24But it was not a cheap toy.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27In 1901, it cost seven shillings and sixpence,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29which was half a week's wages for your average man.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- And the business was quite successful?- Quite exceptionally so.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34The largest toy company the world has ever known.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39At some point, the brand name Hornby gets attached to model railways.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40When did that happen?
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Around about 1920, when he developed the 0-gauge railways,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47which were originally clockwork, made of tin plate.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49After that, they made them electric
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and the rest, as they say, is history.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Within a decade, Hornby's model trains outsold Meccano.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02Today, vintage Meccano and Hornby toys are highly prized.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07The Frank Hornby Heritage Centre in Maghull holds a fine collection.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Les, this is amazing.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14What an extraordinary display of vintage toys, Meccano.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17It's our way of commemorating our most famous resident.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The prime part of our collection is actually this,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23which is the very first set that Frank Hornby made.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27And, in fact, it's "Mechanics Made Easy", before it became Meccano,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29around about 1901, 1902.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31And this is kind of, I think,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34the very heights that the model train reached, I mean,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37this is just a superb piece of engineering.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38And, at the other end of the scale,
0:11:38 > 0:11:43this was a cheapie, because I had this very one when I was a child.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44This was my starter set.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47So, you know, a few straights, a few curves,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49a very basic little locomotive and its tender, and...
0:11:49 > 0:11:53..later I got this one, slightly more sophisticated,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56a tank engine with three wagons in the dark red.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00You know, I could not have described them to you, but seeing them,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I know exactly that those were the ones that I had when I was a kid.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Of course you kept them boxed, in immaculate condition, didn't you?
0:12:07 > 0:12:08I wish I had!
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Les, this is really superb, I mean, this is a dream.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Look at the quality of this rolling stock,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23look at how beautiful it all is.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25I could spend all day here.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30I mean, Frank Hornby gave so much to generations of children.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Back in Liverpool,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I seek an evening drink at the Philharmonic Dining Rooms.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03Hello, good evening.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- Hello, there.- Can I have a half, please?- Yeah, course.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08You've got a lovely looking pub here.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10- Why, thank you. - It dates back to when?
0:13:10 > 0:13:121898, it was built.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Most of it is Grade II and Grade I listed.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17The gents' toilets, in particular, are the only functioning
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Grade I listed toilets in the country that we know of.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Wonderful! Well, what a great place to end the day, thank you so much.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25- No worries, thank you.- Good health.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Completed shortly before Edward VII became king,
0:13:31 > 0:13:33the pub took its design cues
0:13:33 > 0:13:37from the saloons of the grand ocean liners that sailed from Liverpool.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41The gents' really are magnificent.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45There are antique tiles, and on the floors and on the walls,
0:13:45 > 0:13:46there are mosaics.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Here are windows devoted to Baden Powell,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and to Field Marshal Lord Roberts,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55both Edwardian heroes, and veterans of the Boer War.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59And here are rooms devoted to Brahms and Liszt,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02who were not Edwardians, but in Cockney slang,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05their names imply inebriation.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32It's a new morning on the tracks.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37This time, I'm crossing the Mersey on my way to Chester.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I have a connection at this Grade II listed station
0:14:40 > 0:14:42to reach my next destination,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Abergele & Pensarn in Wales.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54Queen Victoria's oldest son, Bertie,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57was Prince of Wales for very nearly 60 years,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01until her death, and his accession to the throne as Edward VII
0:15:01 > 0:15:03in 1901.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Wales has lost much of the railway network that it had
0:15:07 > 0:15:08at the time of my Bradshaw's.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Lines that served coal-rich valleys in the south
0:15:11 > 0:15:13had been torn up.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And here, in the north on this line, we've lost Sandycroft,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Queen's Ferry, Connah's Quay,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Bagillt, Holywell, Mostyn,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Talacre and Foryd.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26But, even 100 years ago,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29they were passed unnoticed by the Irish Mail
0:15:29 > 0:15:31and the Irish Night Express
0:15:31 > 0:15:33as they swept by.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Abergele & Pensarn is on the North Wales coastline...
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Thank you, bye-bye.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48..which links London with Dublin, via Holyhead.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Edwardian travellers would have encountered a rising tide
0:16:00 > 0:16:02of Welsh nationalism.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and they would have marvelled at the sight of Gwrych Castle.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08- Hello.- Hello.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Mark Baker is founder of its preservation trust.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Mark, it's a most romantic ruin.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16How old is the castle?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Most of what you see is dating to around about 1810, so it's Georgian.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23However, there are parts which date to around about 1485,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25so very late medieval.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Which family was the house associated with?
0:16:28 > 0:16:29It was the Lloyds of Gwrych,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33and they were descended from the noble tribes of Wales,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and they trace their ancestry right back to the fall of Rome
0:16:37 > 0:16:40when tribes moved down from the north of England
0:16:40 > 0:16:41and settled in this area.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43In the period that I'm following at the moment,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45the Edwardian period, who would've been here?
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Winifred Bamford Hesketh.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49She was the sole heiress of the estate,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53and she married the 12th Earl of Dundonald.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55What sort of a woman was Winifred?
0:16:55 > 0:17:00Strong, very determined, and incredibly passionate about Wales.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03So, from here, she's tried to get the Welsh agenda
0:17:03 > 0:17:06at the top of the list at Number Ten.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10The Countess and her husband were in an arranged marriage.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13And, although she bore him five children,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15he lived in his native Scotland,
0:17:15 > 0:17:16while she stayed at Gwrych Castle.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21She saw herself as the last of the Lloyds of Gwrych.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23How did the castle come to be a ruin?
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The castle was bought in the late 1980s by an American,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29who was an absentee owner,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32New Age travellers moved in, and asset strippers,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36and they systematically dismantled the interior of the castle,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38and sold it.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So, the main building is literally just a ruin.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44And you are trying to do something about it?
0:17:44 > 0:17:4520 years ago, when I was 12,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49I was passing the castle every day to and from school,
0:17:49 > 0:17:54and I would see the buildings slowly becoming more and more deteriorated
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and derelict.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00So I decided to set up the castle trust, and since then,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I've been campaigning for the restoration.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05A 12-year-old set up a castle trust?
0:18:05 > 0:18:10I know it's, well... At the time, it was quite natural for me,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13but when one looks back, it is rather odd.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16So, you know, it's my life.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18It's absolutely extraordinary.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Congratulations. What is it you had to do here?
0:18:21 > 0:18:24So, the gardens were completely derelict.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25This was a forest.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29We carried out a systematic archaeological excavation
0:18:29 > 0:18:31and we found some of the plant tags,
0:18:31 > 0:18:36and they turned out to be named after people that the Countess knew.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38So there was a set of roses.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41One was her hairdresser, one was her costumier,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43and she had them planted along the walls.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46They were climbing roses, so we've had them put back here.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48And what hope for the buildings?
0:18:48 > 0:18:53Well, we're in the process of negotiating a sale to the trust
0:18:53 > 0:18:55from the current owners.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59So our plan will be to restore it back to its former glory.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02That's fantastic. I'm lost in admiration.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The trust has already obtained a lease,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08enabling Mark and a team of volunteers to begin restoration
0:19:08 > 0:19:11of the gardeners' tower.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Welcome to the countess' writing room.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18So, this was one of her private spaces at the castle,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21and she would sit in here, write her letters, her diaries,
0:19:21 > 0:19:27and, on that fire, is where her husband, after her death,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29burned all of her private papers.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Why on earth would he do that?
0:19:31 > 0:19:33He was very angry.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38And felt that she had disinherited him from what he was owed.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43She had left the castle to the royal family on her death.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47She knew that he would try to destroy the vision of the Lloyds,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50which was the castle, and that's what he set out to do.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Why are you so devoted to the castle, and also the countess,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56the last of the Lloyds?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00With the castle, it's somewhere that I see,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05really regenerating, not only the buildings, but the local area.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And I think the Countess was such an enigma.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10She's not been celebrated,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and that's part of the legacy of her husband,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15trying to erase her from history.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46My journey continues west,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50along the coast before a change of trains at Llandudno Junction.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06I then divert south, towards the Snowdonia National Park.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13I'll leave this train at Dolgarrog.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19it was not yet important enough to have a railway station.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22But, a new industrial process electrified the place
0:21:22 > 0:21:24and set it on its metal.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Hello.- Hello. How are you? - Very well, thank you.- Good, good.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- It's one of the loveliest lines. - Yeah.- Do you enjoy it?
0:21:34 > 0:21:36It gets really busy in the summer. Foreigners.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Foreigners includes the English, we don't know how to pronounce them!
0:21:39 > 0:21:42- Dolgarrog, right?- Yes, this will be your stop now.- All right.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- Bye-bye then. - Lovely, thanks very much.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Situated in the Conwy Valley,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Dolgarrog takes its name from a mythical Welsh creature, Y Garrog.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04a new industrial process kept the town busy.
0:22:04 > 0:22:05Aluminium smelting.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09The works that were here have now closed.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18Thank you very much.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23Hywel Thomas is among the last generation to have worked there.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25- Hywel, hello.- Hello Michael.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Good to see you.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32- Thank you for choosing such a cosy pub. Cheers.- Cheers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Aluminium. Why was it so important to us?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Well, aluminium was regarded as this new wonder metal.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It's an extremely light metal,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and it can be made to be quite strong
0:22:46 > 0:22:49by adding other elements to it.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Does it occur naturally?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53It's the most abundant element on the earth's crust,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57but it doesn't occur in its natural metallic form.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00So it's in clay.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It's in the slate waste in Blaenau Ffestiniog.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07The metal must be recovered from its ore by heating and melting,
0:23:07 > 0:23:08or smelting.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Aluminium was expensive to process,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14but the development of a new cheaper method
0:23:14 > 0:23:16allowed for larger scale production,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19requiring lots of electricity.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24It's about 18,000 kilowatt hours per tonne of aluminium produced.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- That sounds like a lot.- It is a lot.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Why did they choose the hills of North Wales for the factory?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Dolgarrog is on very high ground,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and an average rainfall of three metres per annum.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38There was abundance of water, basically,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and hydroelectric power was the perfect means
0:23:41 > 0:23:45to reduce alumina to aluminium.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48In the early 1900s,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50a lightweight metal like aluminium
0:23:50 > 0:23:54was ideal to feed growing industries, especially aviation.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01It also served to create lighter and more efficient household items,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03such as saucepans and frying pans,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06previously made from copper and cast iron.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09The factory expanded rapidly,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13and would go on to play a vital role in aircraft production
0:24:13 > 0:24:15during the Second World War.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19At its height, 800 people worked at the works.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21Whole families worked there.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Was it a tough place, the factory? Dirty, noisy, hot?
0:24:25 > 0:24:27It was heavy industry. There was no respite at night,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30and there were complaints after the company closed
0:24:30 > 0:24:33that people couldn't get to sleep because it was too quiet.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36And it closed in...?
0:24:36 > 0:24:422007, precisely 100 years from when it opened in 1907.
0:24:42 > 0:24:43It was a sad time.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50The water that was so useful to the aluminium smelting works
0:24:50 > 0:24:54has now been harnessed in a very different way.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58It's being used to create the longest man-made surfable waves
0:24:58 > 0:25:00in the world.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05What a bizarre sight!
0:25:05 > 0:25:08A surfer racing towards me in a place where there used to be
0:25:08 > 0:25:10an aluminium factory!
0:25:10 > 0:25:13What a fantastic example of regeneration
0:25:13 > 0:25:14in a derelict industrial area.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18You may say that a surf beach looks out of place in the Welsh hills,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21but so did an aluminium factory.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27The best way to understand the thrill of the waves
0:25:27 > 0:25:29is to take to the water.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Hello!
0:25:31 > 0:25:34My instructor today is Welsh national surfing champion,
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Jo Dennison.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37So how do we begin?
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I'll start by just telling you how we get waves here.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42So we've got a big wave foil.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43It's shaped like a snowplough,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46so the snowplough gets pulled through the water
0:25:46 > 0:25:49and we get waves either side of the pier.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50And what do I need to know?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52OK, so lying on the board.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54You want your toes just on the tail here.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58OK, perfect. Just look forward.
0:25:58 > 0:25:59Always looking where you want to go.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Arch your back a little bit, so you can see the wave coming.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Look over your shoulder. Then you're going to start to paddle.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10As it gets closer, you're going to go faster.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And then you should catch the wave,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- hands under the armpits and lean back.- Right.- Good.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Wow!
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Another wave coming!
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Ooh!
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Cracking wave!
0:26:55 > 0:26:57- That was a good one!- Nice one!
0:26:59 > 0:27:01That was great, Jo, thank you!
0:27:02 > 0:27:03What a thrill, eh?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Thank you very much.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23In the years that I've known Liverpool,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I've seen it transformed by regeneration,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and by striking new buildings.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34Giles Gilbert Scott invented a new architecture for the Edwardian age,
0:27:34 > 0:27:38breaking from the Victorian Gothic style of his famous grandfather.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40He was a prodigy,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44taking on the enormous task of Liverpool Cathedral,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46aged just 22,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and wrestling with it for the rest of his days.
0:27:49 > 0:27:55Mark Baker was just 12 when he set up a trust to save Gwrych Castle,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00and I have a feeling that that too will be a life's work.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Next time, I follow in the footsteps of Edwardian climbers.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- We made it!- Good stuff.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- A great view.- Yeah, stunning.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Meet a descendant of a great British Prime Minister.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16How would you assess Lord George's role in winning World War I?
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Victory was his goal, not glory.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23And, after the Flying Scotsman, watch out for a flying Englishman.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Oh, my goodness!
0:28:25 > 0:28:26Oh, so close to the ground!