0:00:04 > 0:00:09For Edwardian Britons, a Bradshaw's was an indispensable guide
0:00:09 > 0:00:11to a railway network at its peak.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17I'm using an early 20th-century edition to navigate a vibrant
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and optimistic Britain
0:00:19 > 0:00:22at the height of its power and influence in the world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27But a nation wrestling with political,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30social and industrial unrest at home.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Dressed in the colours of the Welsh flag,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I begin in south Wales
0:00:58 > 0:01:01on a journey that will also take in southwest England.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05At the time of this Bradshaw's, 110 years ago,
0:01:05 > 0:01:11the Victorian age was over and King Edward VII reigned.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16Railways, coal and the British Empire were at their zenith,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20but this was not a tranquil age -
0:01:20 > 0:01:26big changes were under way in technology, society and politics.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32Starting in Carmarthenshire,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36this journey will take me east through industrial south Wales,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40passing through its major cities - Swansea and Cardiff -
0:01:40 > 0:01:43before crossing the border into England.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I'll explore Edwardian Bristol,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49then set a south-westerly course to take in rural Somerset
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and the Devon coast, en route to my final stop in Cornwall.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00This first leg gets into gear at Whitland
0:02:00 > 0:02:02and continues on to Llanelli.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06I'll travel to Gowerton and finish at Swansea,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10the birthplace of one of the 20th century's best-loved poets.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15On this journey, I burn rubber in the hot seat...
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- Well, this is exciting! What speed are we doing?- About 70.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Follow in the footsteps of the great Welsh bard...
0:02:23 > 0:02:25So, I suppose Dylan Thomas came here, did he?
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I don't think there's a pub in Swansea that he didn't go to!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31And uncover a spiritual renaissance.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34"I stir up a few friends who turn back to Jesus,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37"but he will need thousands of friends in Wales."
0:02:45 > 0:02:47At the beginning of the 20th century,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Britain had 20,000 miles of railways.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55In south Wales, they threaded up the valleys and linked the villages.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Locomotives had exceeded 100mph,
0:03:00 > 0:03:05but Edwardians who craved speed looked to a different technology.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The motor car demanded individual skill
0:03:08 > 0:03:12and offered the freedom of the open road.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16I'm alighting at Whitland,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20a small Carmarthenshire town with a tradition of dairy farming.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24But I'm bound for the coast to join the gathering crowds
0:03:24 > 0:03:27at the site of what was Britain's very first
0:03:27 > 0:03:29international motor rally.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36It took place on the stretch of beach at Pendine Sands in 1909,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39pioneering the development of modern motorsport,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and today it's still a magnet for petrolheads
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and those who feel the need for speed.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- I did 98mph last year. - Why do you do it?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52Once you've raced, there isn't anything else.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I'm currently the fastest woman in the world.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- You're the fastest woman in the world?- I am, yes. Yeah.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59What was your record?
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Um, the actual official record was 264.1mph
0:04:04 > 0:04:06over a standing mile.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- You went at 264.1mph on a motorbike?- Yes.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- And you're here to tell the tale? - Yes.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- Well, I want to get the ton at least on it today.- 100mph?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- Yeah.- And why do you wear thimbles to do that?
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Ah, because it's very important to give the thumbs up to
0:04:21 > 0:04:23the right people at the right time.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25You know, "Yes, we're good," or, "No, we're not."
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- That's what that's all about. - What are they, then?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29They're actually off my battery.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31It's the covers, it's so I don't lose them.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The royal family had become accustomed to travelling
0:04:36 > 0:04:41the country by rail, but King Edward VII became the nation's first
0:04:41 > 0:04:46motoring monarch when he purchased a Daimler automobile in 1900.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50The Pendine Museum Of Speed overlooks the famous
0:04:50 > 0:04:52seven-mile stretch of sand.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55- Chris.- Hi. Bore da.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Motor historian Chris Delaney can tell me
0:04:58 > 0:05:02about the groundbreakers of world land speed records.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Chris, today there's the roar of engines all around us.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09How did Pendine Sands become associated with motor racing?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12At the turn of the 20th century, you can't race on the roads.
0:05:12 > 0:05:1420mph speed limit,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18dangerous roads designed for horses, not designed for the motor car,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22but this, out here, is a large area of flat, hard sand.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25It's a great natural racecourse.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30The glory days, when the Sands put land speed record attempts
0:05:30 > 0:05:33on the world stage, came about because of the rivalry
0:05:33 > 0:05:37between an English racing journalist and a Welsh engineer.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And so, 1924, Malcolm Campbell comes along in the first Blue Bird
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and takes the land speed record, here, on Pendine.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49And then John Godfrey Parry-Thomas, born in Wrexham, in north Wales,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51comes and does it as well in 1926.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52What sort of speeds?
0:05:52 > 0:05:56He pushed it over 170mph, which was an incredible speed
0:05:56 > 0:06:02for the time, and then Campbell came back and took it back again.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06And it was in April, 1927, that Parry-Thomas came back here
0:06:06 > 0:06:10in an attempt to retake his record from Malcolm Campbell.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Sadly, the car skidded, turned over.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Unfortunately, he was killed in the process.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22So this is the very car in which Parry-Thomas died?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Obviously, substantially restored, but, yes, this is it.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Despite the obvious dangers of speed competitions,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36the hard sands at Pendine
0:06:36 > 0:06:40continue to attract thrill-seekers chasing records.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45Welcome to 2017 Pendine record attempts. Are we all happy?
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- ALL:- Yeah. - MAN:- Very.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53This event was established by former motorcycle racer Trevor Duckworth...
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Thanks, gentlemen. - ALL:- Thank you.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57..with the aim of providing competitors
0:06:57 > 0:06:59with organised conditions
0:06:59 > 0:07:01in which to race safely.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03So, today is straight lining?
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Yeah, today's record attempt on the famous Pendine Beach...
0:07:07 > 0:07:11We've got classes for all types of machines and the fast stuff
0:07:11 > 0:07:15will be nudging 200mph at the end of the measured distances.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18I might take a spin on the sand myself in a three-wheeler.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Any particular tips for me?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Yeah, I hold a lot of world records on three-wheelers,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25believe it or not, and the thing to do is just set off nice
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and gently, and then just build the speed up through the gears.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Short shift and just let it get into top
0:07:31 > 0:07:33and that will give you the best speed you can have.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Maybe 130, if you're brave.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37I was thinking more like 50.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38TREVOR LAUGHS
0:07:50 > 0:07:54My carriage is a modern interpretation of the three-wheeler
0:07:54 > 0:07:59first designed by the Morgan Motor Company in 1910.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Trevor will be my instructor from the passenger seat.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- Well, this is an amazing experience for me, Trevor.- It will be, yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10I don't think I've ever done anything quite like this.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11Yeah, let's go, let's do it.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14KLAXON BLARES
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Brake.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18- Whoa!- Change...change gear.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Keep going.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Right, a bit more, a bit more.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24You can feel the back end move, but it's all right. Just keep going.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Higher gear, that's it, keep going.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28That's it, nice and steady.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- Nice and steady.- Nice and steady.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32- Top gear.- Fifth gear?- Yep, right.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- That's it. Just keep going, a bit more.- Getting faster and faster...
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- A bit more.- I've got the accelerator down.- Absolutely fantastic.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- We're reaching the finish point... - A bit more.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Well, this is exciting.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- What speed are we doing? - I think we're about 70.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50- And off!- Just let it slow down.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Right, nice and steady, we're starting to brake.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- Well, Trevor, that was amazing.- All right? Well done.- Thank you so much.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Fantastic fun.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18"Stands the church clock at ten to three?
0:09:18 > 0:09:22"And is there honey still for tea?"
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The poet Rupert Brooke makes us look at the period
0:09:24 > 0:09:28before the First World War through rose-coloured spectacles.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33In fact, the Government was terrified of industrial strife
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and of possible rebellion in Ireland
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and the two came together threateningly in 1911,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43when railwaymen at Llanelli went on strike,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46potentially closing the rail corridor for troops
0:09:46 > 0:09:51who would be needed to suppress any revolt in the Emerald Isle.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06From the late 19th century, Llanelli was known as Tinopolis,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09thanks to its flourishing tin plate industry.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13I'll retrace the fateful events of the 1911 railway strike
0:10:13 > 0:10:15with historian Russell Grigg.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17- Hello, Russell.- Hello, Michael.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19- Very good to see you. - Nice to see you, too.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22So, why was there trouble here at Llanelli in 1911?
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Well, essentially, because of the topography of the railway station.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29So, you have a bottleneck between two level crossings,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31the eastern and western crossings.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36So, essentially, it was a good place for the strikers to actually
0:10:36 > 0:10:38undertake their protest.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40What was the strike about?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43There were major concerns about the pay and working conditions.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44I mean, typically, a railway worker then
0:10:44 > 0:10:48would earn around 20 shillings a week, £1 a week, whereas the
0:10:48 > 0:10:52average salary then was probably nearer around 30 shillings a week,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57but also it's quite a dangerous occupation, or dangerous employment.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00In the ten years prior to the 1907 period,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04around 5,000 railwaymen were actually killed.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11In the years before the Great War, disgruntled British workers
0:11:11 > 0:11:15from dockers to miners were turning to industrial action.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20In 1911, railwaymen joined the fray
0:11:20 > 0:11:22with their first-ever national strike.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Here, in Llanelli, workers blockaded the line.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30How did the strike progress?
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Eventually, troops were sent here to obviously try to open the two
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- level crossings.- What happened next?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Major Brownlow Stuart went up on the bank
0:11:39 > 0:11:42to try and talk to the protesters.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45One report says that he got his watch out and he said,
0:11:45 > 0:11:46"Look, you have one minute.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50"The Riot Act will be read, one minute to disperse."
0:11:50 > 0:11:53The dispersal didn't occur, five shots were fired
0:11:53 > 0:11:57and we know that some killed two young men,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59one aged 19 and one aged 21.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02What was the reaction of Llanelli to these deaths?
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Well, clearly, that was a major trauma
0:12:04 > 0:12:05and there was a great deal of anger.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07News travelled very quickly.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Of course, the railway workers themselves,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11there were only around 500 of those,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14so they were supplemented by the tin plate workers.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17So that gathering numbers started to look at where
0:12:17 > 0:12:20they could vent their anger and their frustration.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22So, what happens next is the attention shifts
0:12:22 > 0:12:25from the railway station itself towards the goods shed.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27After the deaths,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30what had started as a peaceful strike turned to violence.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Tracks were torn up, trains and shops ransacked,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39and a freight wagon containing explosives was set alight,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41resulting in four more fatalities.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44This was a riot that turned really into looting, was it?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Exactly, and I think there is a distinction to be drawn,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49or certainly the records try to distinguish between those
0:12:49 > 0:12:53who were rioting and those who were looting, and the punishments
0:12:53 > 0:12:57meted out at the end following the inquest reflected the difference.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- A painful history for Llanelli. - Absolutely so.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The goods shed still stands in Llanelli,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08one of the few surviving examples in Wales.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Robert Lloyd heads up a project committed to restoring it.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Robert, can anything be done with these fine buildings?
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Yes, lots can be done to it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I mean, it looks derelict now, obviously,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but this is an iconic building in Llanelli.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26It's a Grade II listed building, built in 1875.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29So, the Goods Shed Trust have been working since 2011, really,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33to restore it and to get ideas for rejuvenating the place
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and we intend telling the bigger picture of how Llanelli went
0:13:35 > 0:13:38from a little village to this huge industrial complex,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40the Tinopolis of Llanelli.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Tinopolis' unofficial anthem is Sosban Fach, or Little Saucepan,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52said to have been sung by the strikers in 1911
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and today by the Llanelli Male Choir.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59# Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tan
0:13:59 > 0:14:03# Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
0:14:03 > 0:14:17# A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach. #
0:14:17 > 0:14:19My goodness, gentlemen, that was stirring!
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Gentlemen who sing that really mean business, don't they? MEN LAUGH
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Thank you.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- How do you feel, having sung like that today, how do you feel?- Proud.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28Proud?
0:14:29 > 0:14:34- When Wales wins at the rugby, yes? - Yeah!- Is that...?
0:14:34 > 0:14:36I mean, it does happen, does it? Yes, yeah.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- MEN:- Ooh! - LAUGHTER
0:14:41 > 0:14:44When Wales wins at the rugby, what do you like to sing then?
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- Amen.- Amen!
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- Could I have a moment of Amen? ALL:- Yes!
0:14:49 > 0:14:51# Amen
0:14:51 > 0:14:55# Amen, amen, amen
0:14:55 > 0:14:59# Amen, amen
0:14:59 > 0:15:03# Amen, amen, amen. #
0:15:12 > 0:15:15A new day, and I'm resuming my travels,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17heading east in the direction of Swansea.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29A satirical song goes,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32"Have you ever been to Wales where they brew the finest ales?
0:15:32 > 0:15:37"And you want to drink on Sunday but you have to wait till Monday."
0:15:37 > 0:15:41And Sunday observance is still an important influence in Wales.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44At the beginning of the 20th century, Nonconformists -
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Methodists, Baptists and the like -
0:15:47 > 0:15:51easily outnumbered Anglicans of the established church.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56And according to newspapers of the day, a Welsh revival was under way,
0:15:56 > 0:16:02featuring a preacher called Evan Roberts making 40,000 converts.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I must relive that revival.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13Gowerton Station opened as Gower Road in 1854.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16The village that it serves
0:16:16 > 0:16:19is known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22I'm bound for the nearby town of Loughor -
0:16:22 > 0:16:26the birthplace of the leader of the religious revival
0:16:26 > 0:16:28that gripped Edwardian Wales.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- Hello, Bill.- Hello, Michael. Very nice to meet you.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I've arranged to meet historian Bill Jones.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Bill, I've been looking at a newspaper from December 1904 -
0:16:42 > 0:16:45"The revival wave spreading.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46"Scenes of enthusiasm.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49"Great change in the habits of the people."
0:16:49 > 0:16:50It was quite a thing, this Welsh revival.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Oh, this is a remarkable episode in many respects
0:16:53 > 0:16:57and we're here almost at the peak of the revival at the end of 1904,
0:16:57 > 0:17:02although it lasted, in many areas, right through until 1905 as well.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06By this time the movement had spread from this chapel, here, in Loughor,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09out towards other parts of Wales
0:17:09 > 0:17:14and in many ways the revival is helped by the railways, of course.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Who was Evan Roberts?
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Evan Roberts was born in 1878. He was the son of a collier,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22he also had worked underground himself,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25but had then decided he wanted to become a minister of religion
0:17:25 > 0:17:29and, in order to do that, had become a student at the grammar school
0:17:29 > 0:17:30at Newcastle Emlyn.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Just a few weeks into his studies,
0:17:35 > 0:17:3926-year-old Roberts experienced a profound religious awakening
0:17:39 > 0:17:42after attending a meeting led by Methodist evangelists.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47He returned to his hometown of Loughor to spread the word
0:17:47 > 0:17:51and his passionate preaching was well received from the start.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58Roberts soon began touring Wales, addressing huge crowds.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00For the next year, he was constantly on the road.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05What happened to Evan Roberts?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08This, of course, was an intense moment in his life
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and physically and mentally demanding,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and he has what most people would acknowledge would be
0:18:12 > 0:18:16some sort of a breakdown and then he retires from public life.
0:18:17 > 0:18:18Extraordinary.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Wales had been swept by periodic waves of religious fervour
0:18:23 > 0:18:28since the 18th century, but the 1904 revival was the biggest yet.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Lively meetings characterised by spontaneous outbursts of emotion
0:18:34 > 0:18:39and rousing singing converted an estimated 100,000 souls.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Alun Ebenezer's uncle, a tin plate worker from Llanelli,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46played a part in the story.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47Now, tell me about your uncle.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50My uncle was the main singer with Evan Roberts
0:18:50 > 0:18:53and some of the other revivalists.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55His name was Sam Jenkins.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Can you remember what your uncle would sing?
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Yes, there was one song in particular which my uncle had
0:19:02 > 0:19:08translated into Welsh and it was, um, For Saving A Sinner Like Me.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11He asked for the word "sinner" to be changed to "rebel",
0:19:11 > 0:19:14so it was changed to For Saving A Rebel Like Me,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18and that became quite a well-known hymn during the revival.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21In Evan Roberts' day,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Anglicanism was Wales' established religion,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28but in 1920, Nonconformists won a long-desired victory
0:19:28 > 0:19:33when the Church of England lost its official status in Wales.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37By then, however, Nonconformism was in decline.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The revival led by Roberts had been its high-water mark.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43"Hear, my brethren, he gave of himself.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46"Hear, my friends, Jesus comes out of the grave.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49"Men must keep their promise, God will come to them.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51"Give him your all, all lands.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55"I stir up a few friends who turn back to Jesus,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58"but he will need thousands of friends in Wales."
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Bill, the revival at the time did have quite an effect
0:20:01 > 0:20:03on Welsh society, didn't it?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06There was a significant change in sort of people's habits,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10if you like. There was a decline in drunkenness, that's evident.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13There was also... Undermined popular culture at the time,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16particularly sports that had become very well-known.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Rugby clubs closed,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20but it's undoubtedly one of the most remarkable events
0:20:20 > 0:20:23in the history of modern Wales and one of international significance.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35From this small town, I'll travel one stop
0:20:35 > 0:20:38to Wales' second-largest city.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46"I was born in a large Welsh industrial town
0:20:46 > 0:20:48"at the beginning of the Great War -
0:20:48 > 0:20:52"an ugly, lovely town - or so it was, and is, to me -
0:20:52 > 0:20:56"crawling, sprawling, slummed, unplanned, jerry-villa'd,
0:20:56 > 0:21:02"and smug-suburbed by the side of a long and splendid-curving shore."
0:21:02 > 0:21:07I'm on my way to Swansea in search of the poet who penned those words,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12who, in an alcohol-fuelled life, wrote like an angel.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15- Excuse me?- Yes.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Does Dylan Thomas mean anything to you?
0:21:18 > 0:21:23- Um, I know he's a famous Welsh writer.- Um, are you Welsh yourself?
0:21:23 > 0:21:28- Um, I've got Welsh heritage, but I was born and live in London.- Ah-hah.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30And would you know...
0:21:30 > 0:21:33..would you know any of the works that Dylan Thomas was famous for?
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Uh, Under Milk Wood is really the only one I know.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38- It's the most famous, I think.- Yes.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I was just reading a tiny bit there, I don't know whether you heard it?
0:21:40 > 0:21:44- Yes.- The way he plays with the words...- The words, yeah.- Wonderful.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46It was absolutely beautiful, yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- Well, I'm going in search of Dylan Thomas.- Enjoy your search.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Thank you very much.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Abertawe, as the city is called in the native tongue,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02was a hub of south Wales' industrial revolution.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07And as soon as I step off the train, my Thomas quest is rewarded.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14The poet was born and raised in Swansea's western suburbs
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and as a boy he played in the beautifully planted Cwmdonkin Park.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Fondly described by Thomas as a world within the world
0:22:25 > 0:22:29of the sea town, the park lies a short walk from his boyhood home.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34The house where Dylan Thomas lived as a child.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36It's unexpected, it's comfortable,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39it's prim, it's proper, it's suburban.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Geoff Haden manages the house... - Hello, Michael.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44And welcome to the Dylan Thomas Birthplace.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- Great to see you, Geoff, thank you very much.- Come on in.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49..and conducts guided tours.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54It has a very authentic period feel.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Well, I'm glad you like it, it took a long time to get it to this stage.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00There was very little to go on, but we were really lucky, we found
0:23:00 > 0:23:04the maid, Emily, who had worked here for five years when she was 15
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and Dylan was 16, and so she was able to tell us
0:23:07 > 0:23:10all about the house, the colours, the furnishings
0:23:10 > 0:23:11and the layout of the house.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12A maid?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15So we're talking about quite a middle-class family.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Dylan himself described this house as his parents'
0:23:18 > 0:23:20professional Glamorgan villa.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22So that's quite sardonic.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- Did he write in this house?- He wrote two thirds of his published work.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Um, he lived here for 23 years.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33The foundation for all his work came from this house and this area.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35And might I see the place where he wrote?
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Of course you can, it's his little bedroom upstairs.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41This semidetached house was built in 1914,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44the year of Dylan Thomas' birth.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48But by 2004, it was in use as student digs.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Geoff bought the house and has carefully restored it.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55It is very surprisingly small.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58So much creativity came out of such a tiny room.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Well, Dylan described it as a room that was so small,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03you had to go outside to turn around.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Big enough for a bed, a desk, a chair.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08There was a good library here?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10A very good library in his father's study
0:24:10 > 0:24:12and that's where Dylan was allowed
0:24:12 > 0:24:14to go and read anything and everything
0:24:14 > 0:24:18from Tiger Tim's Annual to Shakespeare and Dickens.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19Why do you think we still feel
0:24:19 > 0:24:21so much interest in this son of Swansea?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I think it's because he's a bit of an enigma.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27He is, to some people, a drunk and a womaniser.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31To others, he's a small, shy boy who becomes a celebrity.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33He's like the first rock star,
0:24:33 > 0:24:38and like so many of those rock stars, he was self-destructive.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Thomas published his first book when he was 20.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Although he's known as a poet, his vast body of work also
0:24:45 > 0:24:50includes film, radio and television scripts, short stories and plays.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- Jeff.- Sit down.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54Thank you so much.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Jeff Towns is a lifelong Dylan Thomas fan.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- Well, Jeff, thank you very much. - Cheers.- Cheers.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05- So, I suppose Dylan Thomas came here, did he?- I'm sure he did.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I don't think there's a pub in Swansea that he didn't go to!
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Does Swansea appear a lot in his work?
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Particularly in his prose, really.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14And there's Return Journey, a journey back to Swansea.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18A Child's Christmas In Wales is Swansea. Holiday Memory is Swansea.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21And we can recognise specific places in the work, can we?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23You can, if you know the geography,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25because he wrote a short story called The Followers,
0:25:25 > 0:25:31his only ghost story, and right next to us is Salubrious Passage,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34the Georgian passageway, and this is the No Sign Wine Bar,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38but I think Dylan thought that those were just too Dylan-esque for him.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40So, Salubrious Passage becomes Paradise Alley
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and the No Sign Bar becomes The Vaults.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47- He refers to Swansea as, "Ugly - lovely to me."- Mm.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Which was it for him, do you think?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52He was a little bit ashamed of his bourgeois middle-class upbringing
0:25:52 > 0:25:55and he wanted to be more bohemian.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59So, at times he would say he couldn't wait to get away from Swansea,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but once he went away, he couldn't wait to get back.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05There's a wonderful Welsh word, "hiraeth".
0:26:05 > 0:26:09It doesn't translate, but hiraeth means a love of home,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and wanting to be home, and his letters are infused -
0:26:12 > 0:26:15"Swansea is still the best place.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19"I want to hear our sweet town accent."
0:26:19 > 0:26:21He was passionate about his hometown.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23But the thing about Dylan Thomas was, he never grew up.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28You know, that poem, Fern Hill, "As I was young and easy,"
0:26:28 > 0:26:29his problem was that he never grew up.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32And then drink was a problem.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36I mean, being drunk was part of his shtick, what a writer did,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40and I think, as his life progressed, it took hold of him
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and by the time he was in America, drinking double whiskies,
0:26:43 > 0:26:48big whiskies and getting plied with drink, it just became too much.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57His was a short and turbulent life.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Dylan Thomas died when he was just 39 years old.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Spread below me is what Dylan Thomas called the sprawling,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19crawling town of Swansea.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21By the beginning of the 20th century,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24the relentless march of technology had urbanised
0:27:24 > 0:27:29and industrialised south Wales with tumultuous results.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33One was the rail strike in Llanelli, which resulted in several deaths.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Another was the Welsh religious revival,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40which urged the Welsh, amongst the smoke and the grime
0:27:40 > 0:27:46and the pursuit of profit, to rediscover God and to give up drink.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50The latter message at least was lost on Dylan Thomas.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Next time, I discover how money is made in Wales...
0:28:00 > 0:28:02And when the guard opens it will come out.
0:28:03 > 0:28:04HE LAUGHS
0:28:04 > 0:28:07..test my sea legs and my lungs...
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Oh, come down!
0:28:09 > 0:28:11GROANING: Oh, come down!
0:28:12 > 0:28:17..and get back on the track over 1,300 feet above sea level.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19TRAIN WHISTLE HOOTS