0:00:02 > 0:00:06Sixty years ago, an extraordinary man called Harold Briercliffe
0:00:06 > 0:00:10wrote a string of books about his great passion - cycling.
0:00:10 > 0:00:16Now largely forgotten, these overlooked gems were the culmination of a lifelong journey.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18His destination? The whole of Britain.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21On two wheels.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Over half a century later,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26armed with one of his trusty cycling touring guides,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30and riding Harold's very own bicycle, a Dawes Super Galaxy,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32the touring cycle of its day,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'm re-tracing his tracks through the glorious landscape he loved.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I'm going in search of Britain by Bike.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45This is the Cotswolds, the Heart of England.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Lush, green uplands,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07inviting meadows, picture postcard views with burbling brooks.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10No wonder the Cotswolds is, for most people,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12the prettiest place in Britain.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I'm setting off to explore almost 45 miles of this perfection
0:01:15 > 0:01:17in a journey that provokes some
0:01:17 > 0:01:21fascinating questions about why we preserve the countryside this way.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It's a trip packed with beauty, a dash of folly,
0:01:24 > 0:01:28oh, and TWO men, both, rather confusingly, called William Morris.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32And tourists. Lots of tourists.
0:01:32 > 0:01:38It's not difficult to see why this area of the country is so appealing to visitors from across the world.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43There's something completely timeless about the sleepy villages,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46the yellowish stone of the buildings, the church spires
0:01:46 > 0:01:48rising above the hedgerows.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Harold Briercliffe was very keen on it, but he was not a man to be fooled by appearances,
0:01:52 > 0:01:58and he was well aware of how much hard work goes into maintaining beauty like this.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04I'm following parts of Harold Briercliffe's 343-mile cycle tour
0:02:04 > 0:02:09from Reading to Oxford, a distance of just 26 miles as the crow flies.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13My journey starts in Broadway, and then heads southeast on to
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Burford, Blenheim and finally the city of Oxford.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Harold, a no-nonsense northerner, originally from Rochdale, set off
0:02:22 > 0:02:27with tyres pumped, vowels flattened and a readiness to be under whelmed.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'Nearly everyone who visits the Cotswolds
0:02:31 > 0:02:33'comes home with a favourite village.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'"The most beautiful," is a typical superlative.'
0:02:36 > 0:02:39For many, that place is here...
0:02:39 > 0:02:42the very epitome of an English country village,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46known as the Jewel of the Cotswolds. But not by Harold.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51This is Broadway, one main street, very broad, as the name would suggest.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Lovely, big houses, set back from the road, built in Cotswold stone,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59which gives them a warmth and vibrancy,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03but Harold wasn't particularly taken with it.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05It was a bit too much for him.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09He preferred his beauty to be a bit more natural, more rugged,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13this place, for him, had a little too much lipstick, mascara.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18'There is more than a little unnecessary artifice about it all,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22'like a pretty woman who has made up rather too well.'
0:03:24 > 0:03:26That's the doctor's surgery.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30It looks like a museum. Seriously, that is the doctor's surgery!
0:03:33 > 0:03:36He's doing good trade, a lot of people.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41All right? So, tell me, what brings you to Broadway?
0:03:41 > 0:03:43This is exactly
0:03:43 > 0:03:45what we thought England would be.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The teashops and the thatched cottage roofs,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52just the buildings themselves and the quaint little streets.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Everyone's drawn to this vision of rural Britain.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01People want to live here, and they want to live in traditional Cotswold stone houses.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03I'll tell you what, this is interesting,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08because this is something that would really have changed since 1949. House prices.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12There is a seventeenth-century listed house here, mind you,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15it has got 9.4 acres with it, guide price, 1.8 million.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Gee whiz!
0:04:16 > 0:04:18And if you can't live here...
0:04:18 > 0:04:21well you can always visit. And millions do.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Remarkably, Cotswolds tourism was well established,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28even when Harold Briercliffe came in the 1940s.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Former MP Gerald Nabarro
0:04:30 > 0:04:32once claimed the village earned
0:04:32 > 0:04:36more foreign currency than anywhere of its size in Britain.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39But there's a price to pay. You can't have your cake and eat it,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42admits local teashop owner Laurie Avery.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Harold came through here in late '40s... how much has it changed?
0:04:48 > 0:04:56Broadway has been a tourist centre for probably 60, 70 years.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00In the early days, it was mainly centred around the antiques trade
0:05:00 > 0:05:01and the arts trade.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And it has just continued.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06The tourist season now runs here from March
0:05:06 > 0:05:08until the end of November, probably,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10and a little bit of Christmas,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and we have two quiet months now in January and February.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Many people retire to Broadway
0:05:15 > 0:05:18because they think they're going to get a quiet life,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and they just get people looking through their front windows
0:05:21 > 0:05:22most of the time.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Always being 'on show' can produce a theme park version of village life.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32And Broadway's place on the map actually increased this effect, according to cyclist Harold.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35'Broadway's position on a main highway
0:05:35 > 0:05:39'has given it a prominence which has not been altogether to the good.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'The prettiness and trimness seem to be overdone.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46You know, he's right.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48He's right about this place.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52It's as if everything's made for show. It's as if it's not quite...
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I mean, it's lovely, and it's pretty,
0:05:54 > 0:06:01and it's wonderfully maintained and there isn't a scrap of litter, but it doesn't quite feel real.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04It feels as if it's a film set.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's not, but it feels like it.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12In search of something a bit more real,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14I'm heading uphill to my next destination,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16which is shamelessly fake.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21Leaving the village behind, I'm on my way to Broadway Beacon,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23with its commanding views of the whole area.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Now, Harold recommended taking a little detour to go and see Broadway Tower,
0:06:27 > 0:06:32which is described as "The highest little castle in the Cotswolds."
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Apparently it's worth getting up there.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41This medieval castle, is a piece of architectural whimsy, an 18th century folly constructed
0:06:41 > 0:06:45by local aristocrat, the 6th Earl of Coventry.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49And Harold Briercliffe was very grateful he'd taken the trouble.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52'Here, at an altitude of 1,024 ft,
0:06:52 > 0:06:58'there is a tower, built in 1798, and from it, the eye ranges over
0:06:58 > 0:07:02'a panorama as varied as it is beautiful.'
0:07:03 > 0:07:07You hardly ever get a perspective like this,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09see for 50 miles in every direction.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11It's a complete 360.It's fabulous.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16What's amazing about this beautiful view
0:07:16 > 0:07:18is that not only is it the same as the one
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Harold described, but some of this countryside has changed
0:07:21 > 0:07:24precious little for almost two centuries.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29The pattern of the fields, hedgerows and dry stone walls are all still here.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32And that's what gives the landscape its unique appeal.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38With the naked eye, you can see Gloucestershire and Herefordshire and Worcestershire as well.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40You can see the Malvern Hills, which are 25 miles away.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46Beyond them, slightly shrouded in cloud, 50 miles away, are the Black Mountains in Wales.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And, if you've got 20p in your pocket, you can pop it in here...
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Go on you!
0:07:58 > 0:08:02If you've got 20p in your pocket, you can try and make this work!
0:08:06 > 0:08:09No, it doesn't want to work. If you've got 20p in your pocket,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12you can go and buy yourself some sweeties later.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13Even without a telescope,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17anyone can see this landscape's perfect for travel on two wheels.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22You can just see how it's rolled out.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And you get, obviously, very steep climbs and lovely,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27rounded hills on the south,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30and then an enormous expanse of flat land, and you look at that,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and you think, oh, good cycling country!
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Yeah. Won't even have to change gear.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40The glorious view drew others here. One person in particular,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42who would play an important role
0:08:42 > 0:08:45in preserving the distinctive character of the Cotswolds.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49In the 19th century, William Morris, the designer, writer,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53and pioneering conservationist, used the tower as a country retreat.
0:08:53 > 0:09:00A special room, decorated with Morris's distinctive prints and fabrics, commemorates his stay.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03And we'll be hearing more of him later in my journey.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07There's something comfortable about cycling in this area.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Even the gentle hills are fairly easy on the legs, and that's why
0:09:11 > 0:09:15it's a little surprising that Harold was less than impressed.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20'The scenery of the district is pleasing rather than noble,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22'soothing rather than inspiring.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27'Yet its own characteristics are striking enough.'
0:09:27 > 0:09:30And why was Harold so restrained in his praise?
0:09:30 > 0:09:33May be now, any patch of green not covered by Tarmac
0:09:33 > 0:09:35and used as a car park is deemed a rural paradise.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38But perhaps in Harold's day, there was simply
0:09:38 > 0:09:41so much unspoilt countryside you could afford to be picky.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47But there's not much unspoiled about the next section of Harold's route,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51along the Fosse Way, a Roman Road stretching more than 200 miles
0:09:51 > 0:09:53from Devon to Lincolnshire.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56In Harold's day it looked something like this.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Now, however...
0:10:00 > 0:10:04You need to be a Ninja cyclist to brave this sort of traffic.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10So instead of doing that I'm going off route following the Warden's Way,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14which takes you through some lovely villages here in the Slaughters,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and then on to Bourton on the Water.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Hi, there.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25'Bourton on the Water,
0:10:25 > 0:10:30'one of the most engaging of the larger villages in the Cotswolds.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33'A stream runs down the main street, through lawns,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'and is crossed by ornamental bridges.'
0:10:36 > 0:10:38From Bourton on the Water,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41the route takes us on smaller B roads to Great Rissington,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45then to Great Barrington, before arriving at my next stop, which was
0:10:45 > 0:10:47one of Harold's favourite places,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and the location for a historic spat between two people which has
0:10:51 > 0:10:55actually saved thousands of old buildings and iconic landscapes.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58This is Burford.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03'Burford is one of the best-preserved old towns in England,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'and one of the most picturesque.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10'Burford I would call a wonderful old townlet instead of a village.'
0:11:10 > 0:11:12This place is something else.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Do you know, Burford ranked 6th in Forbes magazine
0:11:15 > 0:11:17as most idyllic places to live in Europe.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22That means it has ranked above Budapest, Rome.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24And it's not that difficult to see why,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28because there's something really authentic about this place.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32It feels old, obviously, but it feels lived in.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35These are old people's houses.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41It doesn't have that same manufactured charm to it that one could accuse Broadway off.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45It doesn't seem to have sold out completely to the tourist industry,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48although, clearly it's very popular with them as well.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51'There is a variety of architectural styles
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'about the houses and inns at Burford,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58'but all are clearly of the Cotswolds.'
0:11:58 > 0:12:00It's strange to think a landscape like this
0:12:00 > 0:12:03could be an industrial heartland, but in the Middle Ages,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Burford stood at the centre of a lucrative business
0:12:07 > 0:12:13which provided over half of all the cloth in England courtesy of an animal known as 'The Cotswold Lion'.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Here in the 14th century, sheep outnumbered people
0:12:17 > 0:12:18by thousands to one,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20generating vast wealth...
0:12:20 > 0:12:26much of it used to glorify God in a series of magnificent churches.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29None greater than St John the Baptist, Burford.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34'The church stands on low ground at the foot of the hill
0:12:34 > 0:12:36'and close to the Windrush.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40'It has a Norman west door and several fine chapels.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:42One of the best things about cycling,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and doing it with a guidebook, is you get signposts,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48if you like, and obviously, you can do your own thing,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and you can stop where you like,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54but I'm quite enjoying following the route that Harold took,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56and seeing if things have changed
0:12:56 > 0:12:58and some of them not at all, and obviously,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01with Burford church, there's not a lot that can have changed.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13I've come to meet Burford's former verger, Peter Harris.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- Peter, hello.- Hello, good morning.
0:13:17 > 0:13:18This is...
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Nice to see you. - This is magnificent.- Yes.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24You know about big cathedrals and abbeys and,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26you know in bigger cities.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30But to come into what is essentially an extended village
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and find a church like this, it's like discovering treasure.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37It is, yes. This was built finally in the 15th century,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39the height of the wool trade.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43And it does fit in with the sort of a pattern with other wool churches.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45This sort of style of it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48In that time since Harold would have come here in 1949...
0:13:48 > 0:13:52- Yes.- ..to now, the Church has almost become the focal point
0:13:52 > 0:13:55for the new riches of the area, which is the tourist industry.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Well, yes.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Now, I went to Broadway Tower and saw the William Morris room,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and there is a connection with William Morris and this church.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Yes, it goes back to when these tiles were put down.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10And the then vicar was busying around,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12and William Morris came in and said,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15"What on earth are you doing to that lovely old stone floor,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17"putting these down?"
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And the vicar said, "It's my church, and if I want to stand on my head in it, I can do so."
0:14:21 > 0:14:24So, William Morris went home, thought about it,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and started the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Churches.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29So anything new that we do,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32we're supposed to get authority from the diocese.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37So the bad tempered argument over these historic tiles,
0:14:37 > 0:14:42unwittingly created the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46An unlikely key moment in the history of conservation.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50And the tops to these gravestones were tombs.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Why are they ridged like that?
0:14:52 > 0:14:55It's all again to do with the wool trade and you'll find them in
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Cotswold churches and sometimes in the Norfolk ones.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01They're supposedly wool merchants' tombs.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04That rolled top represents the bale of wool or cloth.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08It was rolled up into the woolsack as it were in those days.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12There was something about encouraging people to keep buying wool.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17In the sort of 16th century later on when the wool trade was declining
0:15:17 > 0:15:19a bit they passed a law, parliament,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23that everyone should be buried in a woollen shroud.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27If everybody had a woollen shroud, that would keep the business going for a while.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31The final structural additions to the building
0:15:31 > 0:15:34were made in the Perpendicular era, when the spire,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38porch and lady chapel were added to complete the appearance
0:15:38 > 0:15:40of the church as we see it today.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43It's remarkable to think that William Morris's ideas
0:15:43 > 0:15:46about what we now call "conservation"
0:15:46 > 0:15:47started right here in Burford.
0:15:47 > 0:15:53Nowadays, the preservation of the church relies on tourist donations, and maybe Harold's touring guides
0:15:53 > 0:15:57played some small part in making that possible.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07The next part of the route takes us from Burford along the River Windrush past Minster Lovell,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and the town of Witney and then on to Blenheim Palace.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The one thing Harold doesn't mention is the weather.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Because you know what it's like in Britain.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21It doesn't matter whether you are on foot or on a bike.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22It doesn't half change quickly.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28But not, it seems, in the magical world of Harold Briercliffe's Cycling Touring Guides.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30It's a land free of torrential downpours.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Not even mild drizzle gets a look in.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38Across hundreds, thousands of miles, Harold saw only sunshine.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43Some chance, but at least the view's a welcome distraction.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47This magnificent setting is Blenheim Park.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53Harold would have come here, but in 1949 this was as far as he was allowed to go.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56He would have had to admire it from this
0:16:56 > 0:17:01side of the bridge, but these days it's open to the public and I can go in.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06'The Palace, which can be seen from the park, was built to commemorate
0:17:06 > 0:17:10'the services to the nation of the Duke of Marlborough
0:17:10 > 0:17:12'and is in the Italian Renaissance style.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15'The grounds but not the palace
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'are open on certain days of the week.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:22This was simply a splendid private house for the Churchill family
0:17:22 > 0:17:25when Harold visited in the late 1940s.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28But not for much longer. In the '50s, Blenheim was forced
0:17:28 > 0:17:33to open its doors to a curious and paying public, as Attlee's post-war
0:17:33 > 0:17:40Labour government brought in changes which meant the financing of lavish estates like this became untenable.
0:17:40 > 0:17:46Blenheim saved itself by becoming a tourist destination.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49This is something that Harold wouldn't have been able to do.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52In 1949 he wouldn't have been able to come through the front door.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Not at all. Not for another year.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58When we first opened to tourism proper in 1951, the maintenance
0:17:58 > 0:18:02of the estates like this was really beyond the income of the families
0:18:02 > 0:18:04that had run them for centuries.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06They had three options.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08One was to walk out and let the place fall down
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and lots of houses are like that, in ruins.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13The classic option was to make it over to the National Trust.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16The third option, not so common because
0:18:16 > 0:18:22it depended where you were, but it was to open it as a tourist site.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24When tourists come in here,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28what do you find strikes them most about Blenheim Palace?
0:18:28 > 0:18:34Just the size, the sense of strength, the sense of importance.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38It was built to symbolise the huge victory of the
0:18:38 > 0:18:40first Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Winston was born here just about 30 yards from where we are.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49The grandson of a Duke. He was very much inspired by the original victory
0:18:49 > 0:18:53and by this building where he spent a lot of his early years.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56He felt he was born as part of an historical continuum
0:18:56 > 0:18:59going right back to the Battle of Blenheim,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01right through this house and right into the future.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10You were telling me, John, about you remembering massive cycling parties.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Yes, we used to call them road wheeler's in those days.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18You'd find... It would possibly be too dangerous on our roads now,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22but 50 or 100 or more going at a cracking pace would cycle
0:19:22 > 0:19:2680 miles, 100 miles there and back on the same day, on a Sunday usually.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28No helmets.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32The bikes must have weighed a ton. It was a huge sport.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36It was the beginning of leisure, I think, for the ordinary man.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40It's strange how things have altered because now when you get behind a
0:19:40 > 0:19:44couple of cyclists in your car struggling along you think, get out of the way.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48But with these hundreds you were quite happy to saunter along behind them.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53It was a happy and participating occasion, you know.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55With their cheese sandwiches!
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Social changes in post-war Britain
0:20:00 > 0:20:02not only opened the doors of Blenheim,
0:20:02 > 0:20:03they opened up the countryside
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to people keen to explore what they'd fought to defend.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Many did it on two wheels.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14During the late '40s a third of all the vehicle miles travelled
0:20:14 > 0:20:20in Britain were completed by bike and membership of cycling touring clubs was at an all-time high.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Amongst them was Harold Briercliffe's cycling club,
0:20:24 > 0:20:25the Hitchin Nomads.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Rene Stacey, now 92 years old, is the last surviving founder member.
0:20:30 > 0:20:37On a club run in those days you would ride in groups of 6 or 8.
0:20:37 > 0:20:44Two abreast and you'd have a car space of several yards.
0:20:44 > 0:20:50The Captain would always be at the back with a policeman's whistle in his pocket.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55When anybody had to get off to walk up hill,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59that was 2 blasts on the whistle and you stopped.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01You did as you were told.
0:21:01 > 0:21:07If it was something more desperate and everybody had to stop
0:21:07 > 0:21:10immediately, that was one blast, that was urgent.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13It all worked, it was wonderful.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Today there are almost 30 million cars on Britain's roads,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30but back in 1950, there were less than 2 million -
0:21:30 > 0:21:34many of them made by this man, another William Morris.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38His factory at Cowley near Oxford produced many of the great British
0:21:38 > 0:21:42marques of the day, including the Morris Minor and Morris Oxford.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46But he started out building a very different form of transport,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49one celebrated by the Veteran Cycling Club.
0:21:49 > 0:21:56I'm particularly interested in a cycle owned by club member Percy Balson.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00It's a 1909 William Morris who later became Lord Nuffield, of the cars.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04He was almost the Henry Ford of Britain.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06But bicycles were his first love?
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- He was a cycling champion.- Was he?
0:22:10 > 0:22:11- Yes.- Did you restore this bike?
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Yes, it was completely rusty when I had it. There was no back mudguard.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19This was worn away, the pedals had had it.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I found a period lamp to go on the front.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23I found a period bell.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It rides beautifully.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It's as light as anything.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30It's on a fixed wheel.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Theoretically I can pedal backwards.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I wouldn't recommend it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37How much would you say it's worth now?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41A very difficult question. There are only three in the world.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I don't know what to put on it.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46It's priceless. It's literally priceless.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47You would never get another one.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51The only way anyone is going to get this is if I'm 6 ft under!
0:22:57 > 0:22:58Very graceful.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13When Harold Briercliffe came to Oxford, the Nuffield Motor Works
0:23:13 > 0:23:17was a cornerstone of the British car manufacturing industry.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Harold's cycle route took him past the main gates.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24'To the south east is the location of the huge Cowley works
0:23:24 > 0:23:27'of the Nuffield Group' of vehicle makers.'
0:23:27 > 0:23:31But soon crisis and decline would overtake Morris cars,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34like so much of Britain's post-war industry.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Rebranded as British Leyland,
0:23:37 > 0:23:43the business died but was re-born under BMW ownership in 2001.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46The site now makes minis.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48And the last surviving part of Morris's factory
0:23:48 > 0:23:50can be found in a museum.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Still at work inside, veterans of the old assembly line,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58keeping alive the vehicles and memories of the man.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Good afternoon. Hello.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05This building you see was part of the old factory.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08I worked there for a good number of years.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13When they sold it off to BMW I asked if we could have a building.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17They thought I was a bit doolally asking for a building.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23But when they realised we were serious, we got this building.
0:24:27 > 0:24:33Lord Nuffield as you probably know started off the car industry in Oxford.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36As you see, he didn't only build motor cars.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38During the war he built aircraft.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Where others couldn't he did.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45He brought so much prosperity
0:24:45 > 0:24:47to Oxford and the surrounding district.
0:24:47 > 0:24:55He gave 25 million away which in today's money would be well....
0:24:55 > 0:24:57He had no family so he gave it all away.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02It's a shame in a way now that this is the greatest monument to him.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06This is all there is of him. The company is no more.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08No, it's all gone.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Except this here.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12We saved a little bit.
0:25:14 > 0:25:21From the bus museum it's just a few miles road to reach my final destination, Oxford.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22'The distant view of the city
0:25:22 > 0:25:26'from any of the surrounding hills is a most pleasing one,
0:25:26 > 0:25:31'largely because of the grouping of its towers and spires.'
0:25:31 > 0:25:35More people cycle here than in any other place in Britain.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40About 20,000 cycle commuters pedal into the city centre each day.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45You know what's incredible,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49this is Oxford and I've been coming here since I was 12.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51I grew up 45 mins away.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54But I've never seen it like this because I always came by car,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58but if you come on a bike, you can get everywhere.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01You don't have to worry about parking, you can stop when you like.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02it's just perfect.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08For any visitor Oxford's the distinction of Oxford is
0:26:08 > 0:26:12its colleges and Harold was no exception.
0:26:12 > 0:26:18Glimpsing their beauty through college gates from the road as he passed.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22'The residential colleges are world-famous for their rich halls
0:26:22 > 0:26:25'and chapels and for their green lawns.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29'The most outstanding of the colleges are New,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33'Merton, Christchurch, Magdalen and Oriel,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36'mostly grouped close to the curving High Street
0:26:36 > 0:26:39'which carries the main London Road from the River Cherwell
0:26:39 > 0:26:44'at Magdalen Bridge to Carfax, the ancient centre of the city.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:50Our national obsession for heritage tourism owes much to the work of both William Morrises,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54the first for preserving historic buildings like these and the second
0:26:54 > 0:26:58for enabling the family Sunday afternoon drive to enjoy them.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Yet the survival of Oxford's incredible architecture
0:27:02 > 0:27:05even from the of the Blitz has a much more unlikely hero.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Oxford didn't have to do a big clean up operation after the second world war. It wasn't bombed.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15It's said that's because Hitler wanted to make Oxford his seat
0:27:15 > 0:27:18of power after he'd conquered the country.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22And that what's been so apparent on this journey -
0:27:22 > 0:27:25that there are very different reasons why and how
0:27:25 > 0:27:28the fabric of our past has been preserved or forgotten.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33From tourist-dependent villages like Broadway where preservation clearly comes at a price,
0:27:33 > 0:27:39to the wonderful medieval church at Burford, which helped inspire the conservation movement.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42And in contrast the great palace at Blenheim,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46whose open doors now symbolize the revolutionary changes
0:27:46 > 0:27:48in society after the second world war.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50And finally Oxford.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Busy, but still beautifully preserved
0:27:52 > 0:27:55thanks to an unexpected saviour.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58We've covered a lot of ground in every sense.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03The other thing that's been strange about this journey is that
0:28:03 > 0:28:06one name, two different people, but one name has stood out,
0:28:06 > 0:28:07William Morris.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11The pre-Raphaelite William Morris who made sure that these buildings
0:28:11 > 0:28:15were preserved as they should be and the 20th Century William Morris
0:28:15 > 0:28:21who developed the bicycle and then the motorbike and then the car and allowed us the freedom to travel.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25And my final thought is I'm going to sleep very well tonight.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd