0:00:16 > 0:00:20Britain is a country that owes a great deal to its rail empire.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27For 100 years, the railways dominated the development of this country,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30the network that supported a global superpower.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38But today, our island is home to 10,000 miles of disused lines,
0:00:38 > 0:00:43a silent network of embankments, platforms and viaducts.
0:00:45 > 0:00:52For me, and many others, they've become a perfect platform for exploring the country on foot.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15This week, I've come to Wales, to the market town of Dolgellau, to be precise.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18In the distance are the southern hills of Snowdonia National Park.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Northern Wales tends to conjure up images of mountain scenery,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28rivers and lakes which, of course, are all major tourist attractions.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31But the railway walk I'm taking today follows a line that was
0:01:31 > 0:01:34actually built to bring those tourists here in the first place.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38It promises a surprising history and beautiful scenery,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and yet this is one of the quieter corners of Snowdonia.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And the railway walk apparently is the only way to fully appreciate it.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And, of course, I want to find out why.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01From Dolgellau, my walk today follows the line that once
0:02:01 > 0:02:07reached out from the West Midlands all the way to the Welsh west coast.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11It was one of numerous lines that ran across Wales by the end of the 19th century,
0:02:11 > 0:02:16connecting these remote parts with Birmingham, Manchester and beyond.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20But in the Beeching era of the 1960s, the majority of these routes
0:02:20 > 0:02:24were deemed surplus to requirements, and disappeared from the map.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33I'm going to head downstream for a few minutes to find the old railway track bed.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37You can see that ancient road bridge.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41On the other side of that bridge is where the railway station used to be. Nothing at all left now.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49The cars and lorries of the Dolgellau bypass now rush past where the railway once stood.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55But in 1867, this was where two rail empires met head on.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58The race to control a route to the Welsh coast saw the English
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Great Western Railway build a line through Wales as far as here.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08But it was the much smaller Cambrian Railway company that built the line
0:03:08 > 0:03:12inland from the coast, the section that I'll be walking today.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Before I set off, let's take a closer look at the route.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I'll head west out of Dolgellau following the river and the bypass
0:03:23 > 0:03:26towards the head of the Mawddach Estuary.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31From here, the old railway makes its own path,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36across the reed bed and flood plains to meet the River Mawddach at Penmaenpool Bridge.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Now the river really begins to look like an estuary.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55The railway path hugs the south bank as it follows the corridor through the Welsh hills.
0:04:04 > 0:04:11Before the estuary mouth, I pass through the slate mining community of Arthog,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16where tramways once crossed the line, taking the slate down to the waterside.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And then there's a long curve as trains once reached the bustling
0:04:23 > 0:04:29Barmouth Junction, the final landmark before the stunning approach to Barmouth itself.
0:04:33 > 0:04:40Barmouth Bridge may be man-made, but what finer way could there be to reach the Welsh west coast?
0:04:55 > 0:04:59There are two things I've learnt since I've been in Dolgellau.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03One is that the history of Welsh railways is slightly complex.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04The other one is that the pronunciation of
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Dol-geth-lye or Dol-geth-lee is a bit of a mystery wrapped in a riddle.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11So I'm going to meet someone who's going to clear it up for me.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And she's from Lancashire!
0:05:14 > 0:05:18When she's not preoccupied with her bed and breakfast business overlooking the Mawddach,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Jacky O'Hanlon leads walking and bike tours of the estuary,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and of course all of them make use of Dolgellau's old railway line.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28So, Dol-geth-lee, or Dol-geth-lye?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30I don't know why I'm asking you from Lancashire, but you've been here for
0:05:30 > 0:05:33a while now so you've heard all different pronunciations.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Dol-geth-lye when you ask people - is the very Welsh way.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Or Dol-geth-lee is also right, and people will mix between the two.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46- Just when you think you've got it, they'll use the other one.- So there is no right or wrong really.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50There's a definite wrong, if you go Dollagaloo, but there's two rights.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53What on earth is a woman from Lancashire doing here?
0:05:53 > 0:05:58We heard about the scenery, the beautiful biking that's here, the walking that's here.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02The estuary, to be honest, it was a big surprise how spectacular that was.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06It's absolutely beautiful, hidden away, and it's a lovely place to live.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10It's nice to share that with people and introduce them to a bit more about the area.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Here we are in this very picturesque setting and we're about to cross over to where the railway begins.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21We cross the river, and the other side of the footbridge is where the trail joins the actual railway track.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24You've mentioned Barmouth.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27That was one of the big reasons for the railway line,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30to ship the tourists in, but it wasn't all about tourists.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35No, Dolgellau had a very busy web trade, lots of weaving, that went out on the railway lines.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Also slate mining along the estuary went out on the railway.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40I think a lot of people don't know how much there was here,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43because it's beautiful and tranquil and very quiet.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46The idea that once it was full of slate quarries and mining and
0:06:46 > 0:06:49shipbuilding and weaving and everything else.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Now there's sheep grazing on the mountains, and that's about it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54What should I keep my eyes peeled for along the way?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57The trail takes the south side of the Mawddach estuary.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Along the north side you'll the mountains, where all the Welsh gold, the mines were up there.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- Where I might find some? - You might need to cross the river!
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- Do a bit of digging!- Indeed!
0:07:08 > 0:07:13As well as the remnants of the railway, you'll also see Penmaenpool Bridge, which is beautiful.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18- And also there's some tank traps from World War II.- Tank traps?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20- Why?- During World War II they suspected that
0:07:20 > 0:07:25an invasion may come in through the estuary and they put blockades in the way to keep the tanks back.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Tank traps don't sound picturesque and pretty in any way.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33They're not as bad as you might think they might look. They have a certain something about them.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35When you encounter them, you'll know what they are.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37OK.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Jacky's agreed to meet me further down the line
0:07:41 > 0:07:45to lead me through some of the less well known landmarks on the estuary.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50But for now, it's time to cross the River Wnion and join the old Cambrian Railway.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56So this is it.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58This is where the old track bed used to be.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03You can't actually make out where it would have come out of Dolgellau there,
0:08:03 > 0:08:08but you can see the bypass. Just there, but not for long.
0:08:11 > 0:08:17The railway origins of my path soon become more obvious.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Within half a mile, a distinct embankment appears.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Then you're joined by another tell- tale feature of a railway line -
0:08:26 > 0:08:33an avenue of trees, lining the route as it cuts through the silted-up area of the upper estuary.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40This is now designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest...
0:08:41 > 0:08:45an important breeding ground for wetland birds, and a varied
0:08:45 > 0:08:50environment of salt marsh, swamp and perfectly flat grazing grounds.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00That might look like a field in front of me but in fact
0:09:00 > 0:09:04it is the largest reed bed in Wales, quite boggy underfoot.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Follow my finger through to the village and that's where
0:09:07 > 0:09:09the two rivers meet, the River Mawddach and the River Wnion.
0:09:09 > 0:09:15Then the eye travels into the valley to the right hand side and you should be able to smell gold
0:09:15 > 0:09:18because that's where a lot of the Welsh gold mining industry took place.
0:09:20 > 0:09:27The rush for Welsh gold in this area started in the 1860s, the same decade as the railway's arrival.
0:09:27 > 0:09:34Since then, the industry has grown and shrunk repeatedly, with the most recent activity ending in 1998.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37The northern side of the Mawddach Estuary
0:09:37 > 0:09:41has produced some of the most prized and highly valued gold in the world.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46And to this day, British Royal Weddings are usually topped off with a ring made of Welsh gold.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16Ah, I can spy the toll bridge at Penmaenpool. There she is.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Pretty obvious landmark.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Since 1879, the wooden bridge has served as a permanent crossing of the estuary,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29connecting the railway station at Penmaenpool
0:10:29 > 0:10:33with the north side of the estuary and the gold mining industry.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41If it's 60p for a car, what is it for a Bradbury?
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Er, double!
0:10:43 > 0:10:45£1.20. That's still a bargain.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- What is it to walk over? - 20p to walk over.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It goes to pay the repairs and the paintwork.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56The bridge replaced a ferry service here, but of course
0:10:56 > 0:11:02it provided one more obstacle to a shipping industry already being overrun by the railway.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10You don't have to be an expert to notice the signs of a railway station at this point of the walk.
0:11:10 > 0:11:17Firstly, there's the signal box in the cream and brown colours of the Great Western Railway.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Then there's a very familiar-looking station building
0:11:22 > 0:11:25and an immaculately maintained signal.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33Penmaenpool is a brief snapshot of the past, topped off by the centuries-old George Hotel.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41It's a favourite with locals and somewhere that I'm meeting an unlikely railway double act.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49Keith Davies and Des Thomas have known each other for a number of years now.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54One is English, one is Welsh, one's an artist, and one's a former train driver.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00But the important thing is Keith's passion for accurately painting the past.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03How long have you been based here as an artist, Keith?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05About seven years, 2001.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11Through many hours of going through the archives, looking for information on the railways,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16I managed to find Des, who worked and lived here.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20It was fantastic, because to talk to somebody makes it all come to life.
0:12:20 > 0:12:26- When was this painting? - It's 1960, with Foxcote Manor,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28which is running at Llangollen now, all restored.
0:12:28 > 0:12:36Des, now, when you look at Keith's painting, when you look at that picture...
0:12:36 > 0:12:40how real is it to you? How much does it bring back to you?
0:12:40 > 0:12:41It's like being on it.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44And I probably was on that train!
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Driver's on this side, fireman on the other side.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53All you do is open the regulator, sit down and watch it go.
0:12:53 > 0:12:54That was it? Easy!
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Look at the scenery and enjoy yourself.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Des, let's talk a little bit about your career.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01How old were you when you started on the railways?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04About 15.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- What was the first job?- Cleaner. You've got to go through the stages
0:13:07 > 0:13:12like, you know, like every other trade, apprentice upwards till you
0:13:12 > 0:13:18- become a driver.- And how long, do you think, from start to finish, before you became a driver?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I'd say about 12-15 years.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24And what did you feel when you were told for the first time in fact,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28where were you when you were told that the railways were gonna close?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31We were in the sheds there.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34The foreman of the sheds received letters to say
0:13:34 > 0:13:38that Dr Beeching had arrived and they were going to close the line.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Not very happy.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- It must have been sad and shocking news for you.- It was.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46When the railways closed, everything else was rapidly closing down.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50The wool factories, they didn't last very long afterwards.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51They closed them down.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Shops shut.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Nothing there, was there?
0:13:56 > 0:14:00What did you think of Mr Beeching himself, or Dr Beeching?
0:14:00 > 0:14:01I'll pass on that!
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Can you remember your last day working on the railways?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Yes, we had to take the last little tank engine which
0:14:11 > 0:14:16took the local train, we had to take that back to Machynlleth.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18And we were hooting the whistles all the way there and back.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Really sad time.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Then we had to travel home by bus,
0:14:26 > 0:14:33and that was the end of us. End of the railway.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Leaving the pub, you pass the site of old sidings
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and a handful of buildings that once served the station and the line.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Then you pass through a cutting, once blasted through this finger
0:14:54 > 0:14:58of hillside to create a flat and direct route for the railway.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59LAMBS BLEAT
0:15:02 > 0:15:06All right, I know they're lambs.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08And I know it's the time of year.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10But I've never heard such noisy sheep.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12BAA! BAA!
0:15:12 > 0:15:14They won't shut up.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Of course it's no surprise when you walk along old railway tracks,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23that the path is excessively long and straight.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34For over three quarters of a mile, the embankment stretches out across the sands of the estuary.
0:15:34 > 0:15:40The valley may look wide and unthreatening, but flash floods have been a feature here for centuries.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44As recently as 1976, one such flood helped
0:15:44 > 0:15:50the creation of this path today, as it washed away much of the rocky ballast left behind by the railway.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54But your reward for this straight trudge
0:15:54 > 0:15:58is a view that you won't find on any other rail line in the country.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05There's the first sighting of Barmouth Bridge in the distance.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Reflecting in the water, just a thin line from here.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10It must be about four miles away.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15For much of the rest of the walk, Barmouth Bridge becomes a teasing goal,
0:16:15 > 0:16:20regularly disappearing from view, then reappearing moments later
0:16:20 > 0:16:26just a little bit closer, as the railway hugs the line between the hillside and the estuary.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05It's nice to get off the track and go off-piste for a while.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10And, from here, you get the most magnificent view of Barmouth Bridge proper, for the first time.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12And it really is enormous.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14It's about half a mile long.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Just think, the Victorians didn't even have to get off the train to soak in this view.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43That rather grand looking building over there is Caerdeon Hall.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45In fact, apparently, the whole of the north bank
0:17:45 > 0:17:48is littered with big fat houses built by wealthy Victorians.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Caerdeon Hall itself was a bit of a literary haven.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56Tennyson, Ruskin, Darwin, even my mate Wordsworth from the Lakelands
0:17:56 > 0:18:00would come and hang out here for some estuary inspiration.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11The Mawddach estuary has certainly not been short of promoters in the past.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17The Great Western Railway advertised the trip to the Welsh coast as one of the most enchanting in the world.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23And it was Ruskin, certainly no great lover of railways in general, who once expressed the view
0:18:23 > 0:18:30that the only walk better than the one from Barmouth to Dolgellau was the walk from Dolgellau to Barmouth.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38Without the old railway line here, you wouldn't be able to do this, to walk straight through the estuary.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41You can see it clearly here on both sides.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47And I love these old telegraph poles.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51The bits of railway furniture, if you like, left from the good old days.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53The only bits.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00Whereas the north side of the estuary was defined by its mining industry, the south side
0:19:00 > 0:19:07that the railway line hugged was more agricultural, and there's still some stunning farms today.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13But, as you approach Arthog, and as Jackie suggested,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17this bank hasn't always been a place of peace and tranquillity.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25Aha! Now these must be the World War Two remains that Jackie was telling
0:19:25 > 0:19:30me about, because I'm fairly certain this concrete doesn't date back to Victorian times.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35I'm also very certain, looking at them, that they would have done a very good job of stopping tanks
0:19:35 > 0:19:40getting past. Sturdier than my Greek grandmother. Sorry, Yaya, but...
0:19:48 > 0:19:50As you approach the tiny mining village of Arthog,
0:19:50 > 0:19:56it's difficult to imagine a place less likely to witness a major invasion!
0:19:56 > 0:20:01This quiet collection of cottages owes its existence to the slate mining in the area.
0:20:01 > 0:20:07And from the air it's impossible not to notice the crater left behind by the local industry.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Today, it seems as quiet as the rest of the village.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20But nothing could be quite as sleepy as the remains of Arthog station.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Jacky, hello again.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- It's not much of a station, is it? - No, there's not a lot left.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I was expecting there would be more, I must say.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- You're standing where the platform would have been.- Right.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33- And the trail would have gone along there.- Yeah.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36And this is it. It was all made of wood, and there's not a lot survived.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Would the station have been built for tourists? Not here?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43No, not here. This station was built to support to the slate quarrying.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45All along here were slate quarries.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47You can still see the heaps.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49And the cottages where the quarrymen would have lived.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53This station was built to support that, take it out to Barmouth and beyond.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Now we are quite close to the water here, which I know now it floods,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00and presumably it would have done back in the good old days as well.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02It would have flooded then.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04There is a story, who knows if it's true, about
0:21:04 > 0:21:10the stationmaster for this station, clinging on during the floods, to his station, until the water subsided.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14And he was able to survive by holding on to the timber-built station.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Yes! Which would probably have washed away, parts of it.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Right, we've done Arthog. What else are we going to see out here?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22We're going to see some more World War Two remains.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Ah. Because I've just seen the tank traps back there. So there's more?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28There's more this way.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36More concreteness!
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Yes, this is the remains, part of the remains of the World War Two
0:21:40 > 0:21:45marine training camp that was here, Camp Iceland. One of a number of marine training camps in this area.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48There was one over the hill, Camp Burma, where my grandpa trained in the war.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51What were they all training for, the marines, around here?
0:21:51 > 0:21:53Reputedly training for the D Day landings.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- And your grandpa was one of them? - He was, yes.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00The presence of so much activity here in the 1940s
0:22:00 > 0:22:04is a surprise to me and I'm sure to many other visitors to the area.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10But there was one reason why marines came to this spot outside Arthog in particular.
0:22:10 > 0:22:16In 1894, a Cardiff entrepreneur by the name of Solomon Andrews had thought he could turn this
0:22:16 > 0:22:20waterside spot into a tourist destination to rival Barmouth.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24He came here with grand plans to develop villas and transport facilities.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30His dream barely got off the ground, but it did leave the
0:22:30 > 0:22:34marines with enough facilities to set up their training base.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35But it didn't take off as a resort?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- It didn't take off as a resort. - Why not?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I don't know. They had problems with subsidence.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43They had problems with flooding.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45And it never really came. JETS ROAR
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It was the marines, now it's the RAF training in this area.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Yeah.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52All the time.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Yeah, let's go and have a look at the houses.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57So these are the posh bits that Solomon Andrews built?
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Yes, these are the houses that he built for part of his...
0:23:00 > 0:23:04resort, that were then made use of by the marines' training camp.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07They had all of the first floor, with doors adjoining, so they could get
0:23:07 > 0:23:12from one end to the other without having to come outside. And half of the ground floor.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Some residents stayed in the ground floors of their houses,
0:23:15 > 0:23:16and the marines made use of the rest of it.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- We can't go in there obviously now. - We can't go in there, no.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20The footpath goes around.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28With Jacky's help, it's time to head back to the railway and the final station en route to the coast.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- It looks like we're one another railway track.- It does.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35This is a tramway that was put here.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Solomon Andrews made use of tramways all in this area
0:23:37 > 0:23:44for providing building materials for his holiday resort, and also the idea to use it to bring people in and out.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- The visitors?- The visitors! - The visitors that never came.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49The visitors that never came. This would connect his resort that we've
0:23:49 > 0:23:52already seen, to the railway station that we're going to go and see.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53Right.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01One mile short of Barmouth, my old railway path meets with an active railway.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06In an area that lost so many of its major rail arteries to Dr Beeching's axe,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10the Welsh coastal line was fortunate to survive.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14And today, it does feel eerily quiet.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17This used to be a platform of what was then Barmouth Junction station.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20- Yeah.- And it was a very busy station in its day.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22The line between Dolgellau
0:24:22 > 0:24:27and the Cambrian coast on our right, and the Cambrian coastline's over to our left, the siding here.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- So it was a big junction. - It was a big junction, yes. It had five platforms.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34The only ones in Wales that were bigger were Swansea and Cardiff.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- And what's it called now? Not Barmouth Junction.- Morfa Mawddach. - Say that again?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- Mor-va Mao-thach.- Morfa Mawddach.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Jackie, this is where we part ways.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- I'm heading there.- Yes, enjoy your walk over the Barmouth viaduct.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49I will, thank you very much. Thank you for all your information.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51- No problem. - I have lived and learned today.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- Enjoy your walk.- Thank you.- Bye.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Here's another tramway. But to be honest, by now, all of your
0:25:08 > 0:25:12attention is just focused straight up ahead on Barmouth Bridge.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23And so to the last bit of my walk, which is shared with the quiet,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25but definitely still active coastal line.
0:25:32 > 0:25:38Opened in 1867, this viaduct, known simply as Barmouth Bridge, is the longest in Wales.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44It was one of the final and most complex pieces of the link
0:25:44 > 0:25:47connecting England and the Welsh coast at Barmouth.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53It was hi-tech too, featuring a sliding section
0:25:53 > 0:25:56at the northerly end that would allow ships to pass through.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05At 2,292 feet long, the bridge is made up of 113 timber spans
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and an eight-span iron section.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Each iron column had to be sunk 120 feet below sea level
0:26:15 > 0:26:19through layers of silt and mud to find the rock floor below.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26So here I am smack bang in the middle of the Mawddach estuary,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29with a view that carries you all the way back to Dolgellau.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33But I might not have been here at all, because if you look back through the newspaper archives,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36you'll know that in 1980, this bridge was actually closed.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39It was riddled, infested with shipworm.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Luckily it was treatable with worm-proof glass reinforced cement.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Try saying that after a pint at the end of a long walk!
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Ship worm.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01SEAGULLS CRY
0:27:06 > 0:27:12The original sliding metal gate mechanism may have been immune to ship's worm,
0:27:12 > 0:27:18but it took 37 minutes to open and close, so it wasn't a massive success.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23A hundred years ago, it was replaced with this more conventional swing bridge.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27But even this hasn't swung open now for over 20 years.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35So, with Barmouth ahead, this is it, the end of the line that once brought fashionable people
0:27:35 > 0:27:38from England all the way to Welsh west coast.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44And, as I've seen today, those visitors of the late 19th century are just one of many developments
0:27:44 > 0:27:47that this stretch of water has witnessed in recent centuries.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54It's quite funny that here we are in the most Welsh part of Wales,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56where the national language is commonly spoken.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00And yet this town is known by the frightfully English name of Barmouth
0:28:00 > 0:28:03when it's got a perfectly good Welsh name of Abermaw.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Which goes to show that those Victorian railway tourists have
0:28:05 > 0:28:07certainly left their mark, haven't they?
0:28:12 > 0:28:15But despite the railway and the mining, and the quarrying and the
0:28:15 > 0:28:21shipping, and all the millions of visitors to Snowdonia every year, today I've found a little stretch
0:28:21 > 0:28:25of water here in Wales that I think is one of their better kept secrets.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26Until now.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:34 > 0:28:36E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk