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For Edwardian Britons, a Bradshaw's was an indispensable guide to | 0:00:04 | 0:00:09 | |
a railway network at its peak. | 0:00:09 | 0:00:11 | |
I'm using an early 20th century edition to navigate a vibrant | 0:00:13 | 0:00:17 | |
and optimistic Britain | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
at the height of its power and influence in the world. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
But a nation wrestling with political, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:27 | |
social and industrial unrest at home. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
I'm nearing the end of my railway adventure in the tracks | 0:00:54 | 0:00:58 | |
of King Edward VII. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:00 | |
My journey, which began in Cromer, | 0:01:05 | 0:01:07 | |
will also end by the sea on England's south coast. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
On this part, | 0:01:10 | 0:01:12 | |
I'll learn the ropes in Southampton, I'll horse around in | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
the New Forest, I'll look at houses built on sand in Bournemouth, | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
and as I approach Brownsea Island, I'll be prepared. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:24 | |
My journey began on the Norfolk coast and took me | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
via Cambridgeshire to the capital. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
Travelling south, I admired the Sussex countryside, | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
en route to the coast. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:44 | |
From there, I turned west to explore Portsmouth | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
and the Isle of Wight. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
I'm now continuing through Hampshire and Dorset, | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
towards my final stop, reached from Poole. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
This leg starts at the Hampshire village of Swanwick, | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
near Southampton, stops at Brockenhurst for the New Forest | 0:01:58 | 0:02:01 | |
and Bournemouth for the seaside. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
My last call will be Poole, from where a ferry will carry me | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
to Brownsea Island. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
-On my way... -Explorers alert. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
..I promise to do my best with the Scouts... | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
Once a Scout, always a Scout. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
..find warhorses in the Hampshire wilderness... | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
Do you like to be brushed? Look at that! | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
Beautiful sheen to this coast! | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
..and experience the charms of a British institution, | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
born in the Edwardian era. | 0:02:32 | 0:02:35 | |
-Do you always dress to match your beach hut? -Yes. Always. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
My first stop will be Swanwick, seven miles east of Southampton. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:51 | |
Today, it's known as a centre for Air Traffic Control, | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
but given its location, it's long had links to the sea. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
My Bradshaw's carries an advertisement for the | 0:02:59 | 0:03:01 | |
American Line, Southampton to New York service, calling at Cherbourg. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:07 | |
Now, any seafarer would want to know the difference between a bowline, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
a sheet bend and a clove hitch. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
I've often wondered how those bound for a life on the ocean wave | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
were sent forth on an even keel. | 0:03:18 | 0:03:20 | |
At the time of my Bradshaw's, the British Empire was at its zenith, | 0:03:37 | 0:03:42 | |
sustained by a vast fleet of commercial ships. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
There was huge demand for skilled seamen. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
And to learn how Southampton met it, | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
I've come to the Warsash Maritime Academy, on the River Hamble. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
I'm meeting former cadet Roger Holt. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
Southampton becomes a very important port for the merchant navy, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:13 | |
as we now know it, during the 19th century? | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
Oh, absolutely. And really this is when it all kicked off. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
The channels were dredged to take the ever-larger ships. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
And, of course, passenger shipping became immensely important, | 0:04:22 | 0:04:26 | |
particularly transatlantic trade. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
It was really getting a head of steam. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:31 | |
How long have we recognised that commercial shipping needs men | 0:04:31 | 0:04:35 | |
and boys to be properly trained for their job? | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
As far as Southampton is concerned, we can go back to 1909, | 0:04:38 | 0:04:42 | |
when the Gilchrist School of Navigation was established. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
In the early 20th century, | 0:04:47 | 0:04:49 | |
sea schools were springing up across the country. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
And their graduates would soon face extraordinary perils. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
During the First World War, some 15,000 merchant seamen died, | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
trying to keep the Empire supplied. | 0:05:01 | 0:05:04 | |
Roger, it occurs to me that Navy is a military term, | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
-yet we speak of a merchant navy. -Of course. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
It goes back to the First World War, after the recognition of the | 0:05:11 | 0:05:16 | |
service provided by the commercial service by King George V. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:21 | |
And he established the term "merchant navy." | 0:05:21 | 0:05:26 | |
From that time, at least, we've recognised that our survival | 0:05:26 | 0:05:29 | |
in time of conflict depends on our commercial shipping. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
Yes, indeed. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
The Gilchrist School later evolved | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
into the Warsash Maritime Academy, which moved to this site in 1946. | 0:05:36 | 0:05:41 | |
-Were you here as a cadet yourself? -Yes, I was. -And what was it like? | 0:05:41 | 0:05:45 | |
It was something that possibly today we would know as a boot camp. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:49 | |
Essentially, this place was designed for leadership. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
We wore boots, we wore gaiters, we wore battledress. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:57 | |
And we ran everywhere. | 0:05:57 | 0:05:59 | |
-Good training? -I thought it was fantastic. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:02 | |
I think it was a very good grounding for a life at sea. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:06 | |
Now, I imagine the regime is a bit different from in your day. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
-Is that right? -Yes. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:10 | |
The training has become much more academic, but there is still | 0:06:10 | 0:06:14 | |
room for the knowledge of good seamanship practice. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
You still need to know your knots? | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
You still need to know your knots, Michael, | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
particularly on a dark night in a storm. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
These days, Warsash is part of Southampton Solent University. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:30 | |
Alongside old school rope skills, | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
today's cadets use hi-tech simulators to prepare for a | 0:06:36 | 0:06:40 | |
life at sea, handling everything from super yachts to oil tankers. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
Danielle Blackburn and David Dale are current cadets. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
Danielle, you're coming to the end of your course now, is that right? | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
Yes, that's correct. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:53 | |
I'm just coming to the end of the three years of the course. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
And to what extent is it a practical or an academic course? | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
We do a lot of practical elements here at the college, | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
alongside the academics, and then obviously, at sea, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
it's completely practical and hands-on. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
And now, I suppose, a lot of electronics and IT? | 0:07:06 | 0:07:08 | |
Definitely, yeah. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
Also matched up with the more traditional | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
methods of navigation and safety. | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
Dave, has it been decided what you're going to be doing next? | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
I'm with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
but I don't know which ship at the moment. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:20 | |
And what will your future role be on one of those vessels? | 0:07:20 | 0:07:23 | |
It'll be an Unlimited Officer of the Watch. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
As the Officer of the Watch, you are | 0:07:25 | 0:07:26 | |
the Captain's representative at sea. You have control of the ship. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
-Ships of any size? -Yes. -After your three-year course here, | 0:07:29 | 0:07:33 | |
do you feel ready for that enormous responsibility? | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
There's an awful lot of training involved. I do feel prepared. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:40 | |
Picking up the train in Southampton, I'm heading west. | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
I'm swapping the shore for the stunning wilderness | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
of the New Forest. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:07 | |
Today, this timeless landscape is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:21 | |
But in the past, the forest has played its part in conflict. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
Around the turn of the 20th century, | 0:08:26 | 0:08:28 | |
the New Forest was frequently used for manoeuvres | 0:08:28 | 0:08:31 | |
and made another important contribution to the military effort. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:35 | |
I'm alighting at Brockenhurst, | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
on the trail of some unsung Edwardian war heroes. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
New Forest resident James Young will introduce me to their descendants. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:58 | |
-Hello, James. -Michael. -How lovely to see you. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
And so wonderful, isn't it, to see | 0:09:02 | 0:09:04 | |
such a large number of New Forest ponies. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
-They're in good voice today. -At the moment, they're shading. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:10 | |
Very hot day. So it's part of their social behaviour that they | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
shade in the heat of the day. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:14 | |
They're all in groups, so they're calling, one to the other. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:18 | |
There are around 5,000 of the famous New Forest ponies, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
roaming freely across the 220 square miles of the National Park. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:27 | |
And what uses has man put them to? | 0:09:28 | 0:09:30 | |
Well, traditionally, they were used for forestry, | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
a big industry in the New Forest. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
They were also used in business, pulling the butcher's cart. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
A lot of tradespeople would use them. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
But at the turn of the 20th century, | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
these beautiful animals became warhorses. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
New Forest ponies were among half a million horses used | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
by the British military during the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. | 0:09:55 | 0:10:00 | |
And when the First World War broke out, | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
ponies from the New Forest were called to serve again. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
-Did they prove their worth in wartime? -Yes, they certainly did. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
I've read accounts of the end of a long hard day's march, | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
the finer-blooded, better-bred, thoroughbreds were just tired | 0:10:13 | 0:10:16 | |
and laid down, exhausted, whereas the sturdy, | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
strong forest ponies, they were the first ones up for their nosebag | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
and showed great toughness. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:25 | |
Although the ponies are semi feral, they are all owned | 0:10:26 | 0:10:30 | |
and looked after by local people, known as commoners. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
-How do you fit into it all? -Well, I'm a commoner of the New Forest. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:39 | |
There are about 500 of us, practising commoners. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:43 | |
I'm proud that we have the oldest established herd in the forest. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:48 | |
In the mid 19th century, | 0:10:48 | 0:10:50 | |
my great-great-great-grandmother brought eight New Forest mares with | 0:10:50 | 0:10:54 | |
her as a wedding dowry | 0:10:54 | 0:10:55 | |
and our New Forest ponies today descend directly from those ponies. | 0:10:55 | 0:11:00 | |
James also runs a stable and a riding school, | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
where some of his wild animals have been broken in, | 0:11:07 | 0:11:10 | |
to be ridden or shown. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:12 | |
Horse lover King Edward VII would probably have approved of show | 0:11:12 | 0:11:17 | |
pony Baccarat, named after his favourite card game. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
James, that is a beautiful animal, a fine example. Am I right? | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
You are right, Michael. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
And we took her off the forest, as a foal, so she's forest-bred. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
And she's been shown successfully all her life | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
and she's been champion at the breed show. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
-She's been the mare of a lifetime. -Congratulations. And why? | 0:11:36 | 0:11:40 | |
-What is it that is so brilliant? The colour is lovely, of course. -Yeah. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
She has good limbs, short cannon bones. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
That's the bone between the knee and the fetlock, which is | 0:11:46 | 0:11:49 | |
the next joint down. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:51 | |
Stands full square, has great strength in her hind leg, | 0:11:51 | 0:11:54 | |
which is the engine, if you like. | 0:11:54 | 0:11:57 | |
Everything you want in a forest pony, she's got it. | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
Do you like to be brushed? Yes! | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
Yes! | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
Look at that! | 0:12:06 | 0:12:08 | |
Beautiful sheen to this coat! | 0:12:08 | 0:12:12 | |
If you brush there, Michael, | 0:12:12 | 0:12:13 | |
you should bring out the dapples in this rich mahogany colour. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:16 | |
Here are the dapples. I'm seeing dapples here. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
Oh, beautiful horse! Are these ponies then self-funding? | 0:12:19 | 0:12:23 | |
Do you make enough money from the riding school and from | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
selling them to be riding ponies, then to support all the wild ponies? | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
We are very fortunate, in that we're able to combine our hobby with our | 0:12:31 | 0:12:35 | |
business in that we can use some of our ponies in our riding schools. | 0:12:35 | 0:12:38 | |
For most commoners, that's not possible. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:40 | |
We have this wonderful heritage | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
and it's vital that we keep it for the future. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
My next stop is 20 miles down the track. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:59 | |
I'm following in the footsteps of Edwardian tourists who | 0:12:59 | 0:13:02 | |
flocked by train to the booming resort of Bournemouth. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
According to a 1913 Bradshaw's Guide to British Bathing Spots, | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
it can hardly be described in a short compass, | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
owing to its extent, its diversity and its numerous attractions. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:18 | |
Bradshaw's says Bournemouth has many attractions, | 0:13:20 | 0:13:22 | |
but it's a city set amongst pine trees. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:24 | |
Is this true today? | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
Yes, there's still quite a few pine trees there. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
-And there's lots of attractions. -Do you live there? | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
I've lived there for 15 years. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
-What's the way of life like there? -Quite relaxed. -Nice climate. -Yes. | 0:13:33 | 0:13:37 | |
We seem to get better summers than other places. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
Do you own or do you use a beach hut? | 0:13:40 | 0:13:43 | |
I don't own one. I wish I did! | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
-Why? -Um, they're rather expensive. -Ah! | 0:13:46 | 0:13:50 | |
Especially at Mudeford Spit. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
I think they're the most expensive in the UK. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:56 | |
-One sold recently for £270,000. -Quite amazing. Absolutely amazing. | 0:13:56 | 0:14:02 | |
So if you had £270,000, would you rather have a garage in Chelsea, | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
a beach hut in Bournemouth, or a very expensive car? | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
-Most definitely a beach hut in Bournemouth. -Really? -Yes. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
Bradshaw's writes of Bournemouth, "The cliffs are somewhat broken, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
"but this is their charm, | 0:14:31 | 0:14:33 | |
"as the coast is penetrated by many picturesque chines." | 0:14:33 | 0:14:38 | |
With evening drawing in, I'll save the seaside for tomorrow. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:42 | |
I've set my sights on a hotel with a racy royal background. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
Mrs Lillie Langtry was an actress who scored some indifferent | 0:14:49 | 0:14:53 | |
stage reviews, but after her Grecian good looks were | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
painted by the portraitist John Everett Millais, | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
she embarked on a successful career as the girlfriend of aristocrats. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:05 | |
A woman of such beauty | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
and generosity of spirit was bound to catch | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
the attention of Bertie, later King Edward VII, | 0:15:09 | 0:15:13 | |
and according to her, he made little secret of their affair. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:18 | |
His biographer tells us that she built this Red House, | 0:15:18 | 0:15:22 | |
now a hotel, so I may be laying my head where the King laid his. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:27 | |
-Good evening. -Good evening, sir. Welcome to Langtry Manor. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
Thank you so much. Is there still great interest in Lillie Langtry? | 0:15:33 | 0:15:37 | |
Oh, absolutely. She really was quite a star of her day. | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
Why? What sort of thing? | 0:15:41 | 0:15:42 | |
Well, not only was she a Shakespearean actress, | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
she was the Prince's mistress and, of course, | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
she was on every journal cover, she was even on Pears' soap. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:52 | |
She was the face of that product. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
-So everyone knew about her. -And which room have you put me in? | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
-Upstairs and up on your left. -Thank you. -Excellent. -Thank you. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
Well, I've enjoyed the four-poster bed | 0:16:24 | 0:16:27 | |
and the Red House is a fine piece of real estate. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
It must have cost a pretty penny in its day. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
Now, I'm going to go in search of something much smaller. | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
One of the most striking things about Bournemouth is the long | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
line of beach huts that edge the sand. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
Nearly 2,000 of them altogether. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
Author Karen Averby knows their history. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:59 | |
-Karen. -Hello. -Hello, I'm Michael. -Nice to meet you. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
Now, these beach huts, so multicoloured, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
so beautiful, what is their origin? | 0:17:08 | 0:17:09 | |
They emerged towards the end of the 19th century into the 20th | 0:17:09 | 0:17:13 | |
century and really came into their own in the Edwardian period. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
They're often seen as sort of the direct | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
descendent of the bathing machine, | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
and while that's true physically, they're both wooden | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
constructions on the beach, they had very different functions. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
Bathing machines were invented in the 18th century. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
Inside, you could don your bathing costume, | 0:17:32 | 0:17:34 | |
then be wheeled into the sea. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
The bathing machine had been all about protecting modesty | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
and that changes in the Edwardian period, does it? | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
It does, very much so. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:46 | |
From the 1890s, we see a call for the end of segregated beaches. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:50 | |
So you would have families coming to the beach, they wanted to | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
enjoy it together, and so beach huts were perfect for that. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
-How did they eventually become so regimented? -In the early days, | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
people were setting up their own sort of constructions, | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
quite raggedy, and Bournemouth became a borough | 0:18:03 | 0:18:05 | |
right at the end of the Victorian period. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:07 | |
And in 1900, it had more powers to regulate these kinds of activities. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:12 | |
So the councils had very strict stipulations. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
So, Karen, it has its own plaque. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:21 | |
The first municipal beach hut in the United Kingdom. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:24 | |
Indeed, and we can see that it was designed by Frederick Dolamore, | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
the Chief Assistant Borough Engineer | 0:18:27 | 0:18:29 | |
of Bournemouth Council, and he was responsible for these designs, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
which were actually copied and used elsewhere as well. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:34 | |
-So, Dolamore has gone down in history, has he? -Dolamore has, yes. | 0:18:34 | 0:18:38 | |
He was responsible for much of the regeneration of this | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
part of the seafront in the Edwardian period. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
Ah, there we are. So, all the basic requirements. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:47 | |
Everything you could possibly need for a day at the beach. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:49 | |
You've got the fold-down table, some lovely cupboard space there. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:53 | |
And the ubiquitous deckchair, of course. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
In the early days, there would have been an awning stretching out, | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
so you could sit outside and just enjoy the view from here. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
I've never quite understood the appeal of this British | 0:19:03 | 0:19:05 | |
seaside staple. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
But perhaps beach hut owners Monica Adams | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
and Lyn McDonald can convert me. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:12 | |
-Hello, ladies. -Hello. -I'm Michael. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:15 | |
-Hi, I'm Lyn. -Hi. -Hi. -Monica? -Monica. -Very good to see you, Monica. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
What a beautiful beach hut. You've really made it jolly, haven't you? | 0:19:21 | 0:19:25 | |
-I just love it. -How long have you had this one? | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
-Since 2009. -And were you on a waiting list? -Yes. For eight years. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:32 | |
Eight years?! | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
So that is the demand for beach huts. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:36 | |
Yeah, and you have to be a Bournemouth resident. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
-Do you? -Yes. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:39 | |
Now, have you heard of Majorca, Ibiza...? Have you heard of them? | 0:19:39 | 0:19:44 | |
Yeah, yeah, yeah. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:45 | |
Yeah, we've been there too. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
But this is just at the end of the road. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:49 | |
But what about the weather? | 0:19:49 | 0:19:50 | |
There must be days that you're inside with the door shut | 0:19:50 | 0:19:53 | |
-and the rain pounding on the roof. -But we're dry. | 0:19:53 | 0:19:56 | |
We're in there and we can have our fish and chips | 0:19:56 | 0:19:58 | |
and look out on a blustery day. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
It's lovely down here on days like that as well. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
Our 6ft by 6ft space, it's very important. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
Simple pleasures, isn't it? Bottle of prosecco, have afternoon tea. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:12 | |
-Do you always dress to match your beach hut? -Yes. Always. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
I'm waving goodbye to Bournemouth | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
and taking a short hop along the coast in search of adventure. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:43 | |
This is Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. | 0:20:56 | 0:21:00 | |
I remember dipping into it when I was a Boy Scout, | 0:21:00 | 0:21:03 | |
with its exhortations to develop your moral fibre, | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
create a healthy body and keep a clean mind. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:10 | |
Published in 1908, it is an iconic product of the Edwardian age. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:15 | |
It was an extraordinary bestseller, until the Second World War | 0:21:15 | 0:21:19 | |
exceeded only by the Bible in the English-speaking world. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:23 | |
I'll take this train to Poole and head to Brownsea Island, | 0:21:23 | 0:21:27 | |
where it all began. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:28 | |
-Hello. -Welcome aboard. -Thank you very much. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
To reach the island, I'm taking one of the distinctive yellow ferries. | 0:21:56 | 0:22:00 | |
For over 100 years, this service has carried | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
passengers across the water, from Poole and Sandbanks. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
Brownsea Island strikes me | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
as being at just the right distance for a Boy Scout camp. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:18 | |
Not so remote that you couldn't get back in an emergency, but this | 0:22:18 | 0:22:22 | |
ferry ride puts distance between you and your home and your parents. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:27 | |
-Bye. -Welcome to Brownsea Island. -Thank you. | 0:22:38 | 0:22:40 | |
Brownsea Island now belongs to the National Trust | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
and is still used by the Scouts. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:48 | |
I'm meeting Tim Kidd, who is the chief commissioner in the United | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
Kingdom of a movement that today has over 400,000 young British members. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:58 | |
So, Tim, this very site, this open space, plays a | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
-really important part in the history of scouting? -Yeah, absolutely. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
This is the place where the first experimental camp took place, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
where Baden-Powell tried out his ideas of how | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
he could help young people to learn to work together. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
-Who was Robert Baden-Powell? -He was a military man. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:19 | |
And he ended up commanding forces in the Second Boer War. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
He returned to the UK to find, I think to his surprise, | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
he was something of a celebrity. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
Scouting is about survival and understanding nature. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
Where did he pick up those skills? | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
So those were definitely through his military career. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
The term "scouting" I think really started from the Americans, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:37 | |
who taught a lot of bush craft. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
What Baden-Powell did is saw the potential in this | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
to make a programme for young people, | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
and not just about the outdoors, but also about self-reliance | 0:23:44 | 0:23:47 | |
and giving young people skills they could genuinely use in their lives. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
Baden-Powell had already written one popular book, | 0:23:52 | 0:23:56 | |
a military training manual. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
Now, he wanted to rework it for young people. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
To try out his ideas, he organised a camp. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
What sort of children came here? Were they middle class? | 0:24:07 | 0:24:09 | |
They were 20 young people from mixed backgrounds. | 0:24:09 | 0:24:12 | |
Some were the children of friends of his, | 0:24:12 | 0:24:14 | |
-others were from the local area. -Was it a success? -Brilliantly so. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:18 | |
The following year, 1908, | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
Scouting for Boys was published in six instalments. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
It was an immediate hit. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:26 | |
The book is a colossal bestseller. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
-Did the movement grow at the same rate? -Absolutely the case. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:33 | |
In the UK, we've been growing every year for the last 12 years. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
-We've grown year-on-year. -And one other question. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
What has happened to the woggle? | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
Well, the woggle is still very much around. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
If I wear my uniform, then I wear my necker with a woggle. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
But when I'm wearing my T-shirt, my iScout stuff, I wear it in | 0:24:45 | 0:24:50 | |
a more relaxed way. This is called a friendship knot. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:53 | |
Scouting is of course no longer just for boys. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
And this mixed group of Scouts has been set | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
the task of improvising a shelter, using natural materials. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:04 | |
Greetings, happy campers! | 0:25:04 | 0:25:06 | |
Hello! | 0:25:06 | 0:25:08 | |
-Where does this fit in? -Just there. -Just there. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:11 | |
There we go. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
Ready for the ferns. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:18 | |
Ah, so, is this fun? | 0:25:23 | 0:25:24 | |
-Yes. -This is very enjoyable. -Why is it very enjoyable? | 0:25:24 | 0:25:29 | |
-It's just the whole sort of Scout atmosphere. -Yeah. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:33 | |
You know, the sort of being together and out and about in the wilderness. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:36 | |
This is what scouting's all about and especially being | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
here on Brownsea Island, where it all started. It's especially nice. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
And would you be willing to spend the night in a bivouac | 0:25:42 | 0:25:44 | |
-like that, do you think? -Give it a go. | 0:25:44 | 0:25:46 | |
Yeah? How long have you been involved in scouting? | 0:25:46 | 0:25:48 | |
-About two years. -Two years. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:49 | |
What do you tend to do when you have your meetings? | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
We learn about different life skills, like map reading | 0:25:51 | 0:25:54 | |
and basic cooking. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:56 | |
-How is your cooking coming on? -All right. | 0:25:56 | 0:25:58 | |
And what about the washing up? That's pretty tedious, isn't it? | 0:25:58 | 0:26:00 | |
-Yeah, but I enjoy it, so... -You enjoy the washing up? | 0:26:00 | 0:26:03 | |
-Mm-hm. -You ARE going to be a good Scout! | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
Ceremonies have been important to Scouts, ever | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
since Baden-Powell's day. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:11 | |
Unfurling, or breaking, | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
the Union flag is intended to remind them of duty to Queen and country. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
Explorers alert! | 0:26:18 | 0:26:20 | |
-Michael, would you like to break the flag? -Oh, thank you. | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
And a necker with a friendship knot. Once a Scout, always a Scout. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
In 1901, they changed the guard at Buckingham Palace and | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
King Edward VII was fundamentally different from Queen Victoria. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:13 | |
He would hardly have been Baden-Powell's model | 0:27:13 | 0:27:16 | |
of a clean mind in a healthy body, but new technology brought | 0:27:16 | 0:27:20 | |
about deeper change, as electric trains and motor cars | 0:27:20 | 0:27:24 | |
and aeroplanes gradually pushed aside the age of steam. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:29 | |
Mechanisation brought its dangers, as well as progress. | 0:27:29 | 0:27:33 | |
And many of the young men who were the first Boy Scouts would | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
apply their skills in leadership and survival on the Western Front. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:42 | |
Next time, I burn rubber in the hot seat... Wow! This is exciting! | 0:27:49 | 0:27:54 | |
-What speed are we doing? -About 70. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
..follow in the footsteps of the great Welsh bard... | 0:27:59 | 0:28:02 | |
So, I suppose Dylan Thomas came here, did he? | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
I don't think there's a pub in Swansea that he didn't go to. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:07 | |
..and uncover a spiritual renaissance. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:11 | |
"I stir up a few friends who turn back to Jesus. | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
"But he will need thousands of friends in Wales." | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 |