0:00:04 > 0:00:07'I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'take me across the heart of Europe.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:12I'll be using this,
0:00:12 > 0:00:17my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, dated 1913,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:20 > 0:00:22for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25'It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to
0:00:25 > 0:00:31'navigate the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'Now a century later, I'm using my copy to reveal
0:00:33 > 0:00:36'an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.'
0:00:42 > 0:00:48I want to rediscover that lost Europe, that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:48 > 0:00:52that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14On this journey, I'll keep track of King Edward VII,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18who, at a time of European decadence and danger, progressed to
0:01:18 > 0:01:23southwest France in search of both amusement and alliances.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28I'll pursue royalty and vin rouge in a region that combined blue blood
0:01:28 > 0:01:30with red wine.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32After Bordeaux it'll be Biarritz,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and then the Basque country, including Bilbao.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42'On this leg of my 1913 journey,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45'I'll eat fashionable cake in Bordeaux...'
0:01:45 > 0:01:49It's named after the shape of the mould, and it's a groovy shape.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It is a groovy shape!
0:01:51 > 0:01:55'..test the waters in Edwardian style...'
0:01:55 > 0:01:57What do you think of my outfit?
0:01:57 > 0:02:00- I thought you were from prison at first.- Prison?!
0:02:00 > 0:02:03'..play regal greens in Biarritz...'
0:02:03 > 0:02:10Edward VII used to come here and play between 1906 until 1910.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12You really have had some big shots here.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17'..ride a scenic railway in San Sebastian...'
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Oh, dear, we're going up again!
0:02:21 > 0:02:22THEY LAUGH
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'..and cross a Basque river on a gondola suspended from a monorail.'
0:02:28 > 0:02:32- How does Bilbao feel about its bridge?- It's iconic.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36It's central to their identity. It symbolises their mastery of iron
0:02:36 > 0:02:38and steel at the height of the first Industrial Revolution.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48'My Edwardian adventure surfaces in the wineries of Bordeaux,
0:02:48 > 0:02:54'takes a dip in Arcachon, soars to the high life in Biarritz,
0:02:54 > 0:03:00'crosses into Spain, ascending to regal San Sebastian, and risks
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'vertigo in industrial Bilbao,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'in the culturally distinct Basque country.'
0:03:10 > 0:03:13My journey begins at Bordeaux,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17seat of the French government in 1870, when the Prussians besieged Paris,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21and French capital in 1914
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and 1940, when the Germans invaded again.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31In 1913, few of the bons viveurs of fashionable France living
0:03:31 > 0:03:35through La Belle Epoque foresaw the imminent catastrophe of war.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41'King Edward VII was a frequent visitor in those heady days.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45'Were they merely the jaunts of an ageing playboy, or was this
0:03:45 > 0:03:48'elder statesman in pursuit of alliance as much as dalliance?'
0:03:50 > 0:03:52'Starting in Bordeaux,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55'the finest wine producing region in the world,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'I'm seeking to extract the British connection with the French
0:03:58 > 0:04:03'wine industry and to see how the railways have assisted its success.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:08With vineyards stretching to every horizon, Bradshaw's tells me
0:04:08 > 0:04:13the principal trade with a port is engaged with Bordeaux wines.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15I shall be interested to see what mark has been
0:04:15 > 0:04:19left on the city by wine or by the wealth created from it.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24'Situated on the River Garonne,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27'which empties into the Atlantic Ocean,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29'Bordeaux has been a port for centuries.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:36'In the 17th, ranking second only to London, it supplied the majority
0:04:36 > 0:04:41'of Europe with coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton, wine and slaves,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45'trades that by the 19th century afforded the town
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'the best of everything.'
0:04:48 > 0:04:51I'm standing at the window to get a good view of this spectacular
0:04:51 > 0:04:54old railway bridge that was finished in 1860,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and the site manager was a 25-year-old engineer
0:04:57 > 0:05:01called Gustave Eiffel. 27 years later,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05he'd go on to build what we know as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13'The 19th century brought the railway
0:05:13 > 0:05:17'and its architecture to this prosperous commercial hub.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'The Saint-Jean railway station first opened in 1855.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'Too small to cope with the passenger numbers,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30'the original was rebuilt with a vast 183-foot-wide canopy
0:05:30 > 0:05:35'just in time for the World Exposition in 1900.'
0:05:35 > 0:05:39I'm so impressed by this vast station at Bordeaux, a traveller
0:05:39 > 0:05:42with my Bradshaw's guide would have been as well, because then it was
0:05:42 > 0:05:46quite new, completed in 1898, so that's about ten years
0:05:46 > 0:05:50after the Eiffel Tower, and by then, engineers really understood
0:05:50 > 0:05:53how to make these enormous structures.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01The wealth generated by Bordeaux as an entrepot, or trading hub,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03back in the 18th century,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07helped to construct many of the city's principal buildings.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11And in the 21st century, that continued affluence,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13built now on wine, enables the city
0:06:13 > 0:06:17to protect its historic architectural heritage.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22This beautiful building would grace any European capital.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24It is actually the grand theatre, according to Bradshaw's,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and its portico has 12 Corinthian columns.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31What's so interesting is, they allow the trams to run
0:06:31 > 0:06:33in front of it, but instead of having overhead wires
0:06:33 > 0:06:36that would spoil the view of this delicious building,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40the trams are powered by a current passing through the pavements
0:06:40 > 0:06:42which somehow powers the tram
0:06:42 > 0:06:45without electrocuting the pedestrians!
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The railways brought industrial quantities of Bordeaux wine
0:06:58 > 0:07:00to its docks for export.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04It was a boom time for the town's negociants, the middlemen
0:07:04 > 0:07:09who have brokered wine from across the region for centuries.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12At the time of my guidebook, many were British,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15like the ancestors of negociant Charlie Sichels.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20What is it you do in the wine trade?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22We are what one would call a negociant.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28The negociant is responsible for buying and selling
0:07:28 > 0:07:30other people's wines.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35You know, Bordeaux is a massive wine producing area, the biggest probably
0:07:35 > 0:07:40in the world, producing 800 million bottles of wine every year.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41Stunning.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46And we are one of 400 negociants in Bordeaux,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and we sell wine all over the world.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53How long has your family been in the business?
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Here in Bordeaux since 1883.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00But before that, involved in the wine business since 1755.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Extraordinary.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Now, my Bradshaw's tells me about the splendid quays here in Bordeaux.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Not very busy at the moment. What was this like in its heyday?
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Massively busy, massively busy. Boats everywhere,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Barrels all over the quayside. People tasting the barrels.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21In fact, in the buildings behind me,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24every other door was a wine merchant.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28They would roll the barrels out of the cellars
0:08:28 > 0:08:31straight onto the boats and then they'd sail off
0:08:31 > 0:08:34heading north for England, amongst other places.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41As Charlie's family has been doing business here
0:08:41 > 0:08:44since before my guidebook was written, I wonder whether
0:08:44 > 0:08:47his impressive cellar includes wines from that period.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54In 1913, someone carrying my Bradshaw's guide
0:08:54 > 0:08:55would've been drinking what?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Probably something like
0:08:58 > 0:09:02a 1908 Chateau Palmer,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05one of three bottles left.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Magnificent! Now, was that a good year?
0:09:08 > 0:09:10I think, Michael, it was an OK year.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Now, I imagine that the great vintages or very historic bottles
0:09:15 > 0:09:18do sell for extraordinary sums.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19What would be the figures they'd go for?
0:09:19 > 0:09:24Something like a Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945,
0:09:24 > 0:09:2685,000 euros.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- A bottle?!- A bottle.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Thankfully, in Bordeaux, some pleasures are free.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Led by my guidebook, I'm taking the tram to a landmark
0:09:47 > 0:09:51that in 1913 was magnetic to visitors, as it is today.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Bradshaw's has brought me here to the Place des Quinconces,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03which, it tells me, is the largest open square in the city.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Actually, it claims to be the largest square in Europe
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and for a big city like this to have such an enormous space
0:10:10 > 0:10:14at its heart is delightful, special.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23Completed in 1828 and now a venue for concerts and public events,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27the 12-hectare square, built on the site of a demolished castle,
0:10:27 > 0:10:32hosts the Monument aux Girondins, over 140 feet high,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35commemorating the fallen of the French Revolution.
0:10:42 > 0:10:49And nearby there's an impressive imperial relic of Bonapartist grandeur.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52This is Bordeaux's Pont de Pierre, Bridge of Stone.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55It was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte for his troops
0:10:55 > 0:10:59to march across, although he was defeated before it was completed.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Bradshaw's tells me it's justly considered
0:11:02 > 0:11:07one of the finest bridges in Europe, and you can see his PONT. Point!
0:11:15 > 0:11:16I'm feeling rather peckish
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and I've heard that patisseries stock Canele de Bordeaux,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22the official cake of the city.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23Hello!
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Hi.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27I'm intrigued to hear about its history
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and to find out how it tastes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It's named after the shape of the mould
0:11:33 > 0:11:37so the moulds are like that and it's a groovy shape.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39It IS a groovy shape!
0:11:39 > 0:11:43And so that's how we named it canele, because of the shape of the mould.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44What's the origin of it?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47The origins of the Canele would be religious.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It was nuns in the 16th century
0:11:50 > 0:11:53that collected the basic products
0:11:53 > 0:11:55to make little cakes for the poor.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Flour and vanilla from the ships,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02and also the egg yolks from the winemakers
0:12:02 > 0:12:07because they used only the whites to clarify the wine.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12- So even this cake is a kind of by-product of Bordeaux's wine industry?- Yes, exactly.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- Could I possibly taste one, please? - Yes, you can.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18It's very crispy on the outside and always soft on the inside.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19- Do I bite the top off?- Yes!
0:12:21 > 0:12:22SHE GIGGLES
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Mmm!
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Wow! It is really crispy
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and then I'm getting all that egg and sugar inside.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34That's what makes it very special, actually, the texture.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It's fantastic. I shall remember Bordeaux by this
0:12:36 > 0:12:38and possibly leave my fillings here too, thank you!
0:12:38 > 0:12:39You're welcome, bye!
0:12:45 > 0:12:48I'm leaving Bordeaux for my last stop of the day.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Another town defined by wine, 25 miles east of the region's capital.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Saint-Emilion is a beautiful medieval hilltop retreat
0:13:00 > 0:13:03with a church hewn from limestone.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07The rock is a factor in making these lands so suitable for vines.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17In the mid-19th century, the arrival of the railways
0:13:17 > 0:13:20revolutionised the region's wine industry.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23For the first time, vineyards far from Bordeaux
0:13:23 > 0:13:26could send wine in large quantities to the port and, from there,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28to international customers.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Even when you know you're coming to a wine-producing area,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39nothing quite prepares you for the intensity
0:13:39 > 0:13:42of the wine production in this landscape.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It's just kind of vines covering every square centimetre.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Except, of course, for a few beautifully positioned trees
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and the lovely stone of the chateaux and the farm buildings.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59I've come here to meet another Briton in the wine trade,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Jonathan Maltus, who left home in 1994
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and bought the Chateau Teyssier winery,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07which has been producing since the 18th century.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12What are the grape types?
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Well, Bordeaux has three grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon,
0:14:16 > 0:14:21Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and on this side of the river it's Merlot.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Well, I feel a bit distant from the wine. Can we get a bit closer to the actual liquid?
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Absolutely. Let's do it.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Known as a garagiste proprietor,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33happy to depart from traditional winemaking techniques,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Jonathan's Chateau Teyssier label
0:14:35 > 0:14:39produces 300,000 bottles of wine per year.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43This is interesting. We seem to be in an entirely modern room
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- but with, what, rather traditional oak vats?- Yes, that's right.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51In 1913, this would have been really the kind of vats
0:14:51 > 0:14:53that would exist at that time.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56We've gone back to the future with our more expensive wines
0:14:56 > 0:14:58so hence you have these sort of vats.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Edward VII was immensely fond of fine wine.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05He famously observed that
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12"tastes it, sips it, and one talks about it."
0:15:13 > 0:15:18I wonder how much Chateau Teyssier made its way to Britain in 1913?
0:15:20 > 0:15:22At the time of my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25the British were pretty big drinkers of Bordeaux?
0:15:25 > 0:15:29I think they represented probably the biggest export market
0:15:29 > 0:15:31from this part of the world.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37In the late 1970s, the American wine writer Robert M Parker Junior
0:15:37 > 0:15:40began publishing his guide to wine buying,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45scoring wines around the world out of 100 points.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48His opinion can make or break a vintage.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51So your mission, Michael, should you wish to accept it,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54there are three bottles on the table.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57One of them is 100 points from Robert Parker.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Which one is it?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01And what would the 100-pointer be worth?
0:16:01 > 0:16:03- About £250 a bottle.- Oof!
0:16:04 > 0:16:05I don't reckon much on my palate.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08It's taken a bit of a bashing over the years.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09HE SNIFFS
0:16:15 > 0:16:19It's a very, very good wine. Mm. Try and remember that.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Mm, that's also delightful.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I'm not sure I'm going to get this.
0:16:35 > 0:16:42Well...my vote is for this one.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Well, you're not there, unfortunately, because in fact
0:16:45 > 0:16:50- the one on the right is Le Dome. - Ah!- And that gets 100 points.
0:16:50 > 0:16:56This one is called Les Asterie. It's 96 points, £95 a bottle.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01And the one on the left is home brew, 92 points, £18 a bottle.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08The unpalatable truth is that I'll never be a sommelier.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'After a long, if thoroughly pleasant day,
0:17:10 > 0:17:16'I'll take my rest before renewing my belle epoque adventure tomorrow.'
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Ready for the day ahead,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27I'm back at Bordeaux's mainline station
0:17:27 > 0:17:31from where I shall be heading southwest to find out more
0:17:31 > 0:17:37about Europe before the cataclysm of 1914 changed it forever.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40A tip for the unwary train traveller in France -
0:17:40 > 0:17:42even though you have a ticket, before you board a train,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45you must validate it at this little machine,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46otherwise you could get a fine.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Picking up the tracks of King Edward VII through Southwest France,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02this train will take me to a coastal town
0:18:02 > 0:18:05popular with late 19th century British royalty
0:18:05 > 0:18:07who were in search of curative sea air.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12My first stop on this new day will be Arcachon, which, Bradshaw's
0:18:12 > 0:18:16tells me, is a favourite sea bathing and winter resort.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18The town along the shore
0:18:18 > 0:18:22and the winter town in the pine forest to the south.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24A winter and summer resort in one place -
0:18:24 > 0:18:28it sounds as though the town had a pretty good marketing department.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Anyway, nothing fortifies the over-40s better
0:18:30 > 0:18:32than a stiff sea breeze
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and let's face it, I qualify - and my Bradshaw's Guide, even more so.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42'In 1891, the French railway brought new pleasures to the working class
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'by inventing the cheap family day return.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49'I'm wondering whether the quick excursion is as popular today.'
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- Bonjour. Excusez-moi.- Oui? - Vous parlez anglais?- Non.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- Non, pas de tout?- Et vous parlez francais?- Un peu, un petit peu.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Je vois votre pannier. Est-ce que vous allez a la plage?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- Oui.- Ah, they are going to the beach.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- Et qu'est-ce que vous faites? - Faire bronzette.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Ah, she's going to do sunbathing.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13- Madame, vous etes bien bronzee. You've got a lovely tan.- Merci!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- HE CHUCKLES - Merci, madame.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Sheltered from the Atlantic by the Cap Ferret peninsular
0:19:20 > 0:19:23on the Cote d'Argent, or Silver Coast,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26the resort of Arcachon dates back to 1823
0:19:26 > 0:19:29when the first hotel with spa was built
0:19:29 > 0:19:31betwixt pine forest, beach and sea.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Arcachon's reviving qualities attracted so many Britons
0:19:39 > 0:19:42that by the late 19th century, there were enough here
0:19:42 > 0:19:44to require an Anglican church.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50'I've heard that Queen Victoria's children came here, too
0:19:50 > 0:19:56'and I'm confident that local guide Valerie Soutra will know more.'
0:19:56 > 0:20:00When that first hotel was built, was the idea anything to do with health
0:20:00 > 0:20:03or was it for people to come and swim in the sea, what was the idea?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05It was more for health.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Because on this time, doctors thought it was beneficial
0:20:10 > 0:20:13to swim on the water of this bay
0:20:13 > 0:20:19for diseases like hysteria or melancholy.
0:20:19 > 0:20:27Because the water is more quiet and more warm than the Atlantic Ocean.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- And so that would have a calming effect?- Exactly.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33So how did the town grow after that?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Archachon developed thanks to two brothers
0:20:36 > 0:20:40named Emile and Isaac Pereire, who carried the railway
0:20:40 > 0:20:47to Archachon in July 1857.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52My guidebook tells me that the "exhalations of the pine trees
0:20:52 > 0:20:56"with the sea air render the Ville d'Hiver a very healthy quarter."
0:20:56 > 0:21:00- The Ville d'Hiver - now, that would be the Winter Town?- Yes.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- Where would that be? - Just behind the seaside resort.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Arcachon has districts named after each of the four seasons.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16At the Winter Town, also known as the Open Air Sanatorium,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19the sick, particularly tuberculosis sufferers,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24were said to benefit from breathing the "balsamic and iodised air".
0:21:26 > 0:21:31This Winter Town was created by the two Pereire brothers
0:21:31 > 0:21:36in 40 hectares to attract all the high society from Europe
0:21:36 > 0:21:38with tuberculosis.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41And was this breathing of the pine air,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44was this supposedly effective for their maladies?
0:21:44 > 0:21:49Yes, by good food and by cure with good pine forest air.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Valerie has brought me to a particular house
0:21:55 > 0:21:58to demonstrate that the future king was convinced
0:21:58 > 0:22:00of the town's healing qualities.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I want to tell you about this house,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11where came in 1886 the Princess Louise,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15- one of the daughter of the Queen Victoria.- Ah.
0:22:15 > 0:22:22She came here because she had had a serious accident in Canada.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27Her brother, the Prince of Wales, said to her,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I think it was good for her to came here.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Her recuperation in Arcachon must have rejuvenated her.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Louise would prove to be Queen Victoria's longest-lived daughter,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46dying at the ripe old age of 91.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51I've absorbed the air from the pines and the air from the sea
0:22:51 > 0:22:54and it's great news that in the time of my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58something else was prescribed for good health - oysters.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03The oysters are recommended for their iodine,
0:23:03 > 0:23:08and were first cultivated in the Arcachon basin in the 1850s,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11in oyster beds developed by the personal physician
0:23:11 > 0:23:13to the French empress, Eugenie.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22I like to think that the tasty little creatures
0:23:22 > 0:23:24aided Princess Louise's recovery.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- Excellent, merci.- Bon appetit. - Merci.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Ooh, these look absolutely delicious.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38I like to have them just with lemon juice.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Clean the palate with a little white wine...
0:23:43 > 0:23:48then scoop the little creature out of its hiding place...
0:23:50 > 0:23:55Mm! Give it a good chew,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59allow the flavour of the sea to explode in your mouth...
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and clean the palate again with a glass of wine.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18In the 21st century, people come to the beach and show a lot of flesh.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Men in figure-hugging trunks and women in skimpy bikinis, or topless.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27But in Edwardian times, people showed more decorum.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYS
0:24:37 > 0:24:39And to complete the sex appeal...
0:24:41 > 0:24:43'France was the favoured seaside destination
0:24:43 > 0:24:46'for European tourists in the carefree years
0:24:46 > 0:24:48'before the First World War,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52'when the social elite came here in pursuit of beauty,
0:24:52 > 0:24:53'in art and people.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57'Like those discerning travellers, I know that nothing titillates
0:24:57 > 0:25:00'as much as that which is discreetly covered.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02'I wonder whether my Edwardian costume
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'will set modern sun-seekers quivering.'
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Bonjour, messieurs. Do you speak English? Vous parlez anglais?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- Non.- Ah!
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Et qu'est-ce vous opinez de ca?
0:25:14 > 0:25:19- Tres beau.- "Tres beau!" I look very beautiful in it.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23- What do you think of my...- I thought you were from prison at first.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29- Did you, prison?- We're... Yeah. - This is my Edwardian bathing suit.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30There you go.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32- That was the second guess! - HE LAUGHS
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I can hardly leave Archachon without sampling
0:25:40 > 0:25:43the healing qualities of the water.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Continuing my journey through pre-First World War Europe,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10I'll move south from Arcachon to Biarritz,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14cross the Spanish border at Irun and then, like Edward VII,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16sojourn in royal San Sebastian
0:26:16 > 0:26:20before ending at the Basque port of Bilbao which,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24in 1913, reeked of smoke and Basque nationalism.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I shall leave this train at Biarritz which, Bradshaw's tells me,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42is favourably situated facing the Bay of Biscay on a line
0:26:42 > 0:26:45of cliffs sloping to a magnificent beach.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49It's one of the most frequented bathing resorts in France,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53especially by the better classes of society, and so with my nose
0:26:53 > 0:26:55stuck firmly in the air,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59I shall head for this remarkably refined resort.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15Biarritz, on the Atlantic coast in the French Basque country.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20Emperor Napoleon III built the Villa Eugenie here in 1855,
0:27:20 > 0:27:21for his wife, the Empress.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27As crowned heads of Europe followed, the resort soon became known
0:27:27 > 0:27:31as "the queen of beaches and the beach of kings."
0:27:41 > 0:27:45'I've heard that not only did Edward VII come here,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48'but that in Biarritz at the turn of the 20th century,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50'British influence was par for the course.'
0:27:54 > 0:27:57This beautiful golf course is in my Bradshaw's Guide.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00It tells me there's an 18-hole course
0:28:00 > 0:28:03a mile from the centre of town, a clubhouse, a ladies' green,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06nine-hole. This must've been very early for golf courses.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Indeed, the sign on the gate tells me
0:28:09 > 0:28:11that it was founded in the swinging 1880s.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Back in 1813, 100 years before my guidebook,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21the Duke of Wellington's army invaded this region
0:28:21 > 0:28:26and here at Le Phare, I'm intrigued to discover what they left behind.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32- Hello, Claude.- Hello, Michael. - Very good to see you.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36'Claude Rousseau is Director General of The Biarritz Golf Society.'
0:28:36 > 0:28:42- British people came with bank, shops...- Yes.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48..sports, tennis, cricket, everything. And especially golf
0:28:48 > 0:28:55so in 1887, they decided to buy land here and in April '88,
0:28:55 > 0:29:00- they decided to open it. - You're saying that the British were really absolutely,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02- fundamentally important to that? - Yes, definitely.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05The British people were very important
0:29:05 > 0:29:07for the economy of the city.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12So, Claude, how do the French develop their love of golf?
0:29:12 > 0:29:18Well, it starts when the British players came here,
0:29:18 > 0:29:23they asked for caddies and it means that by the evening,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27when the players come back to the clubhouse to have a cup of beer
0:29:27 > 0:29:29or a couple of whisky,
0:29:29 > 0:29:34they pick up the clubs of their guest and they start to play.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40So now, you're going to try to play golf.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Er, this will be humiliating! Let's give it a go.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Put the club in front of the ball.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Take care to your stance.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54And then you have to look at the ball.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56- Look at the ball?- Yeah.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02Perfect. It's a good shot.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Well, I'll be jiggered.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Aha.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11Ahh, bit long.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Have you had any famous British players here?
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Yes, we had very famous... a famous player coming here,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21because we had Edward VII,
0:30:21 > 0:30:28who used to come here and play between 1906 until 1910.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30You really have had some big shots here.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Congratulations.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42Edward championed golf, laying out courses at his royal residences
0:30:42 > 0:30:48in Britain not just for family and guests but also for his servants.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50But the whisper at the 19th hole
0:30:50 > 0:30:53was that he was not a very active player.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55I wonder what else he did whilst in Biarritz.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58His most recent biographer, Jane Ridley,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01has travelled here to enlighten me.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03Jane.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05- Hello.- Hello.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07I've discovered at the golf course
0:31:07 > 0:31:10that Edward VII used to come to Biarritz
0:31:10 > 0:31:11but what brought him here?
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Well, he came here for his health.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17His doctors told him that he had to leave England in the spring
0:31:17 > 0:31:19because he got terrible bronchitis,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22so he came here for the bracing sea breezes and the good climate.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25What company did the King have in Biarritz?
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Well, when he came to Biarritz,
0:31:27 > 0:31:29the Queen, Alexandra, she never came,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32but Mrs Keppel, who was the mistress throughout his reign,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36she was always here and also his retinue would come as well,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38I mean, about sort of 12 or 18 people.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39How did he make his way here?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42I mean, he was, you know, a railway King.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44He would come by train in great splendour
0:31:44 > 0:31:47and he would be preceded by a sort of charabanc of motorcars,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49laden with all the King's luggage.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Whenever he went anywhere, he would take sort of 80 pieces of luggage.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54So it was a big operation.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58He's constantly, you know, moving in Europe, moving all around Britain,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01so, I mean, he loved railways - they were very much part of his life.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04He had a huge amount of contacts in Europe
0:32:04 > 0:32:08because he was uncle to the Czar of Russia, the King of Germany
0:32:08 > 0:32:10and he had an enormous amount of friends
0:32:10 > 0:32:13on the European diplomatic scene.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15I mean, a lot of the things he did were very important.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19He went to Paris in 1903 and that visit was really important
0:32:19 > 0:32:22because it set up the alliance with France,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24the entente cordiale of 1904,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26so, I mean, that was a key bit of diplomacy.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33If the King was distracted by diplomacy,
0:32:33 > 0:32:37his portly disposition suggests that he may have sought solace
0:32:37 > 0:32:39in his penchant for patisserie.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47At the time of my guidebook,
0:32:47 > 0:32:51the Cafe Miremont was the most fashionable place in Biarritz
0:32:51 > 0:32:54to indulge in that particular French fancy.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02If we'd come here at the time of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05what sort of crowd would we have encountered in this cafe?
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Oh, well, I think we'd have found a very grand crowd indeed -
0:33:08 > 0:33:10somebody once joked, actually,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13that in this cafe there were more queens than pastries
0:33:13 > 0:33:17and there were fewer rum babas than there were grand dukes.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19THEY CHUCKLE
0:33:19 > 0:33:21So you've got a dessert fit for a King.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23Edward VII really liked his food.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Edward VII was well known for liking his food.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30I mean, he was known as Tum Tum. SHE LAUGHS
0:33:30 > 0:33:32And with good reason.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35He would eat a huge lunch and then, before dinner,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38there would be an enormous tea and then dinner was always 12 courses.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40And Edward VII wolfed the lot.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45Away from his food, what were the King's delights here in Biarritz?
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Well, what he really loved was bridge.
0:33:47 > 0:33:48The King actually wasn't terribly good
0:33:48 > 0:33:50and he had a very explosive temper,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53so, if it went wrong, he would get frightfully cross and, you know,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57people were reduced to nervous wrecks playing with the King.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59So I'm going to try this traditional millefeuille
0:33:59 > 0:34:02and good luck with your wild strawberry tart.
0:34:02 > 0:34:03It looks delicious.
0:34:06 > 0:34:07- Mmm!- Mm-hm.- Really good.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15The King spent his last five springs living here,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17at the luxurious Hotel du Palais.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22This was the same Villa Eugenie built by Napoleon III,
0:34:22 > 0:34:26but then it became a casino and later a hotel.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29It was lavishly refurbished after a fire in 1903.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38At a time when a reforming Liberal Government
0:34:38 > 0:34:42was attempting to change Britain's constitution and society,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45I wonder how involved Edward could have been
0:34:45 > 0:34:46whilst in distant Biarritz.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Ah. It's magnificently opulent, isn't it?
0:34:53 > 0:34:54So grand.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56I'm just thinking, when the King was travelling abroad,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59obviously the business of government had to continue.
0:34:59 > 0:35:00How was that organised?
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Oh, that was organised very carefully.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05The King's boxes, carrying his official documents,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07the papers he had to sign and read,
0:35:07 > 0:35:11came out daily and he would sit under a big, stripy awning,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15going through his papers very conscientiously.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18If you look up here, there is this rather wonderful plaque,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21which commemorates an incredibly important visit,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23which took place in 1908.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26"Mr Henry Herbert Asquith
0:35:26 > 0:35:29"was named as Prime Minister of the British Empire
0:35:29 > 0:35:33"in this palace on 7th April, 1908, by His Majesty Edward VII."
0:35:33 > 0:35:36There was a lot of criticism from the press in Britain,
0:35:36 > 0:35:40who said it was appallingly high-handed of the King
0:35:40 > 0:35:42to drag the new Prime Minister to France
0:35:42 > 0:35:44to make him Prime Minister.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48Asquith, of course, had a pretty stormy premiership.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50In 1909, they had this budget
0:35:50 > 0:35:53that raised taxes on higher incomes very substantially
0:35:53 > 0:35:55and then there was this constitutional crisis
0:35:55 > 0:35:57where they set about reforming the House of Lords,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01so how did the King get involved in all of that from Biarritz?
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Well, the King was very much involved with all of that
0:36:03 > 0:36:06because in 1910, when he came to Biarritz,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10that crisis was at its height and the King was also very ill,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12so it was a very sort of stressful time
0:36:12 > 0:36:15because he was essentially trying to mediate between the two sides
0:36:15 > 0:36:17and to broker some kind of deal
0:36:17 > 0:36:19between the opposition and the Liberal Government.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22So, actually, I'm getting quite a rounded view of this man now.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25I mean, he may have been a bit of a philanderer,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28he may have loved his travels and his comforts
0:36:28 > 0:36:31but he was quite serious about his constitutional duties.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Oh, very much so. I think he was a very good King
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and, I think, um... hugely underestimated.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44On April 26th, 1910, the King, seemingly recovered,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46left Biarritz for Buckingham Palace.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49But, on the 6th of May, he died.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Tonight, I shall sleep in a suite that the King himself occupied.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02And so this is your room.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And please take a closer look at the bed,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08because the bed is actually where Edward VII stayed
0:37:08 > 0:37:10and it is said that, on his last day,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14he just stayed by the window and whispered, "Goodbye, Biarritz."
0:37:14 > 0:37:15Ah, that's a very sad story.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20I'm delighted that, in beautiful Biarritz,
0:37:20 > 0:37:25I've learned that Edward VII was a conscientious and capable King.
0:37:25 > 0:37:31But his formidable mother, Victoria, found his philandering unamusing.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44Being so close to the Atlantic Ocean,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46I thought I'd begin my day with a little fish.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49I'm looking out today on a cloudy bay
0:37:49 > 0:37:52but no intrepid traveller with his Bradshaw's Guide
0:37:52 > 0:37:54can be put off by a little bad weather.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02This morning, I'm leaving Biarritz to continue my journey south,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and, to make the most of the day, I'm taking an early train.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12I've boarded the overnight train that's come down from Paris
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and this car is full of people sleeping
0:38:15 > 0:38:17and, ahead of me, there are lots of sleeper cars
0:38:17 > 0:38:21and even these cars are specially designed to recline.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35We shall soon be crossing the border from France into Spain.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I have both a British and a Spanish passport.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40That's because my father was Spanish
0:38:40 > 0:38:44and he registered me as a Spanish citizen when I was four years old.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Interestingly, I have a different name in each passport.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50In this one, I'm Miguel - that's how you translate Michael.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52But also the Spanish have the habit
0:38:52 > 0:38:55of using both their father's and their mother's surname,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58one after the other, so I'm Miguel Portillo Blythe.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01You wouldn't know it was me, would you?
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Bradshaw's tells me that the railway line
0:39:16 > 0:39:20reaches Spanish territory at Irun, where I am now,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24"where carriages are changed as the gauge of the Spanish railways
0:39:24 > 0:39:28"is about one-third broader than that of the French railways."
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Rail historians believe the Spanish made a strategic decision
0:39:33 > 0:39:37not to adopt the standard gauge of four foot, eight-and-a-half inches
0:39:37 > 0:39:40in order to hamper any possible invasion by rail.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Spanish railways have only quite recently
0:39:45 > 0:39:49adopted standard gauge for their new, high-speed lines.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Sergio Lopez is a professor of engineering.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Someone going from France to Spain 100 years ago,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57at the time of this guidebook,
0:39:57 > 0:39:59at Irun, what would they have had to do?
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Yeah, pretty inconvenient. But, I suppose, even worse for freight.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Yeah, so it's had quite serious economic consequences.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Yes, yes, yes.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Trains crossing the border were once manually lifted onto new wheelsets.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36But now the train axles adjust so that, both at the French border
0:40:36 > 0:40:39and where trains on domestic routes
0:40:39 > 0:40:43move from old, wide tracks on to the new, high-speed network,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46the distance between the wheels is narrowed, or vice-versa.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51So now I find myself in a different country
0:40:51 > 0:40:56with a different railway company and even a different gauge of track.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05My next stop will be San Sebastian.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Bradshaw's tells me, "It's the most fashionable seaside resort in Spain,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12"beautifully situated on an inlet.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16"Spanish royalty usually in residence during the summer."
0:41:16 > 0:41:19I'm getting the impression that, at the beginning of the 20th Century,
0:41:19 > 0:41:23around the Bay Of Biscay, there was a kind of royal crescent
0:41:23 > 0:41:27where kings and queens would take their holiday and meet each other
0:41:27 > 0:41:29and, since they were nearly all related,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31presumably exchange family gossip.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40The 19th and early 20th century tourists
0:41:40 > 0:41:42who followed Spanish royalty here
0:41:42 > 0:41:45helped to create the wealth that gave San Sebastian
0:41:45 > 0:41:48one of the most recognisable seafronts in Europe.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Bradshaw's tells me to look out for Monte Urgull - that hill -
0:42:00 > 0:42:04380 feet at the sea end of the old town.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07And then the wonder of this place is the beach.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Bradshaw's tells me it's called La Concha.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Concha is the Spanish for seashell
0:42:12 > 0:42:15and, with its terrific natural beauty,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17you could say that this seashell
0:42:17 > 0:42:20has produced, on the northern coast of Spain, a pearl.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28In 1906, the British King, Edward VII, visited here
0:42:28 > 0:42:30whilst brokering the marriage of his niece, Ena,
0:42:30 > 0:42:34to Spain's King Alfonso XIII.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37And, six years later, Spain's Queen Mother, Maria Cristina,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41inaugurated the funicular railway at Monte Igueldo,
0:42:41 > 0:42:46which transported gamblers to San Sebastian's new clifftop casino.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48The line's carriages are original
0:42:48 > 0:42:52and have now entered their second century of service.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Sergio Fernandez knows more.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- Hello, Sergio. - Hi, Michael. Nice to meet you.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03What a beautiful funicular railway. How long is the line?
0:43:03 > 0:43:09It's 312 metres long and 160 metres above the sea.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11And what sort of gradient does it go up?
0:43:11 > 0:43:16It's very, very inclined, between 32% and 58%.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Which is what we would call one in three and more than one in two.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22That is extraordinarily steep.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26How unusual is it to have original wagons on a Spanish funicular?
0:43:26 > 0:43:31I think there is no any other original in Spain.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33- May we take a ride?- Let's go.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41I love all these old wooden benches. It's really beautiful.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51My guidebook is from 1913.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54This would have been brand-new in those days
0:43:54 > 0:43:57and they would be coming, of course, very, very elegantly dressed.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00- Maybe to visit the casino, maybe just to see the view.- Yes.
0:44:05 > 0:44:11So 160 metres above the sea. That's, I think, more than 500 feet
0:44:11 > 0:44:15and we've done it in... How long did that take us?
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Er, three minutes and 20 seconds.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19Very good.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24- Gracias.- De nada.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31When anti-gambling laws shut down Monte Igueldo's casino in 1925,
0:44:31 > 0:44:35it was replaced by a clifftop funfair,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37whose 1,100-foot-long scenic railway,
0:44:37 > 0:44:40the Montana Suiza, still runs.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44I see why it's called the scenic railway -
0:44:44 > 0:44:47a wonderful view of San Sebastian from here.
0:44:47 > 0:44:48Yeah, fantastic view.
0:44:48 > 0:44:49Let's go? Yes, please.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53Starts nice and gently...
0:44:56 > 0:44:57Whoa.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06'Only a handful of so-called side-friction-style scenic railways
0:45:06 > 0:45:07'like this one still operate.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12'Because the cars rely on little more than gravity
0:45:12 > 0:45:16'to hold on to the rails, a brakeman must ensure that the train's speed
0:45:16 > 0:45:20'on each corner and fall is not only thrilling but safe.'
0:45:22 > 0:45:26Ah! Fantastic view now of the bay. Oh, that's lovely.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Yeah, amazing view.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30Oh, dear, we're going up again.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Yes. The last drop, the big one!
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- "The LAST drop"? - MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:45:40 > 0:45:41Oh, my goodness!
0:45:45 > 0:45:47Here we go!
0:45:47 > 0:45:49SERGIO LAUGHS
0:45:55 > 0:45:57That was very good! That was very, very good.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03The only thing is I very nearly dropped my Bradshaw's!
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Having experienced its ups and downs, I'm leaving San Sebastian.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Tomorrow, I'll explore the final destination
0:46:16 > 0:46:17of this European adventure.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25This is the third gauge of railway I've been on today.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29There was French standard gauge, then there was Spanish broad gauge
0:46:29 > 0:46:31and now this is Spanish narrow gauge,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34very well-suited to building in the mountains.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37And this line forms a kind of Metro,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40running from the French border all the way to Bilbao.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58The Basques are the oldest surviving ethnic group in Europe.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02They've lived in the foothills of the Western Pyrenees for millennia
0:47:02 > 0:47:07and, for seven centuries, the resolutely Basque port of Bilbao
0:47:07 > 0:47:10has sat proudly upon the Nervion River estuary.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15Bradshaw's describes Bilbao as, "an important commercial town,
0:47:15 > 0:47:19"concerned in iron manufacture, with many British residents."
0:47:19 > 0:47:22A historical relationship that continues today.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27The designs by the British architect, Norman Foster,
0:47:27 > 0:47:30for the stations on Bilbao's underground railway
0:47:30 > 0:47:34have given the city these distinctive glass armadillos,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38which are known locally and affectionately as Fosteritos.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47In Bilbao, I'm leaving King Edward behind.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Here, I hope to discover the industrial ties
0:47:50 > 0:47:53between Britain and Spain at the time of my 1913 guidebook.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58I've come to Abando Station to meet John Walton,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01professor of social history at Ikerbasque,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03The Basque Foundation of Science.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09Bradshaw's talks about a lot of British residents here 100 years ago.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11What were they connected with?
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Above all, they were involved with the mining
0:48:14 > 0:48:17and the ship building and the iron and steel manufacture.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19But, right from the beginning, of course,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21they were identified with the railways as well
0:48:21 > 0:48:24and the first railway line from Bilbao to Tudela,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28which came in to this very station in the late 1850s,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31was engineered by a British firm.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34This stained glass, I think, tells us a little bit
0:48:34 > 0:48:36about the history of the place, doesn't it?
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Oh, it certainly does. You have iron ore mines, you have the iron works,
0:48:40 > 0:48:45you have farmers - the Basques were very big on their rural identity -
0:48:45 > 0:48:47you have characteristic Basque buildings
0:48:47 > 0:48:51and, of course, you have a representation of the port.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54So this window really provides a terrific gateway to Bilbao.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Shall we go through and see more?
0:48:58 > 0:49:02Like many post-industrial European ports,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Bilbao's docks have shrunk dramatically.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08A regeneration programme has turned a large chunk
0:49:08 > 0:49:12into a smart residential, commercial and cultural hub
0:49:12 > 0:49:14but, at the time of my guidebook,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17the riverside must have looked very different.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22It was an absolute hive of activity. The port exported iron ore
0:49:22 > 0:49:26to particularly South Wales and Lancashire.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29But it also imported coal, particularly from Wales.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31So there was a pretty balanced trade between Britain,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33particularly Wales, and Bilbao?
0:49:33 > 0:49:36It was a symbiotic relationship. They helped each other's economies.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38And now we've come to, what...
0:49:38 > 0:49:41really one of the most iconic structures of Bilbao.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45Yes, this is the first transporter bridge in the world.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47Opened in 1893.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Designed by a local engineer, Alberto De Palacio,
0:49:51 > 0:49:53who's supposed to have been a disciple
0:49:53 > 0:49:56of Gustave Eiffel, of the tower.
0:49:57 > 0:50:02Alberto De Palacio's Puente Vizcaya is over 500 feet long
0:50:02 > 0:50:06and has been copied in countries worldwide, including Britain.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09With no need for long approach roads,
0:50:09 > 0:50:14four towers, over 150 feet high, support a monorail,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17from which a gondola is suspended, carrying goods and people
0:50:17 > 0:50:20across the river, high above the shipping lanes...
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Ooh, a superb view.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30And now you get the feeling that the whole city
0:50:30 > 0:50:34is kind of cradled by mountains on all sides.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36What's happening up at this level?
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Well, we're going along the maintenance walkway, originally.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46But we're looking down on the gondola going to and fro.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49How does Bilbao feel about its bridge?
0:50:49 > 0:50:51It's iconic. It's central to their identity.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54It symbolises their mastery of iron and steel
0:50:54 > 0:50:57at the height of the first Industrial Revolution.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12A British engineer designed an early railway line into Bilbao
0:51:12 > 0:51:16but those transporter bridges that we have in Britain
0:51:16 > 0:51:18were inspired by the Basque engineer
0:51:18 > 0:51:21who designed this magnificent structure in Bilbao.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33Bilbao has another iconic structure much admired by the outside world.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37I can reach it on the city's modern and spacious Metro.
0:51:46 > 0:51:52Canadian-American Architect Frank Gehry's 1997 Guggenheim Museum
0:51:52 > 0:51:56transformed the image of this once grimy city.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02They say that Frank Gehry's design for the Guggenheim Museum
0:52:02 > 0:52:05is reminiscent of the bows of ships
0:52:05 > 0:52:08and, indeed, it's built on the site of an old dock
0:52:08 > 0:52:10and it's hard to believe that this used to be
0:52:10 > 0:52:12a railway marshalling yard.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14But one of the things I like about it
0:52:14 > 0:52:16is that I find it impossible to describe the shape -
0:52:16 > 0:52:19it is absolutely unique.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25Do you like the building?
0:52:25 > 0:52:27- Mesmerising, yes.- Yeah?
0:52:27 > 0:52:32I like old, classical buildings, but it... Credit where credit's due.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36- For me it's very, very, very surprising.- Yes?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Would it surprise you to know that this used to be a dock?
0:52:39 > 0:52:42- That this used to be railways?- Yeah.
0:52:42 > 0:52:49I came here about 30 or 40 years ago, so it was all rusty.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52- Very different today. - Oh, very different.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Before completing my journey,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57I'd like to hear about the Basque Country,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00its people and what sets their culture apart
0:53:00 > 0:53:02from the Spain with which I'm so familiar.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Born in Britain to Basque parents,
0:53:06 > 0:53:08local guide David Elexgaray can enlighten me.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14David, my Bradshaw's Guide, written 100 years ago,
0:53:14 > 0:53:16talks about the Basque country,
0:53:16 > 0:53:20"whose people are regarded as being upon a higher level of civilisation
0:53:20 > 0:53:23"than the peasantry in other parts of Spain."
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Now, you're a Basque - how do you feel about that?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27We are a bit different to the rest.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29I mean, we have our own language, Euskara,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31which is probably one of the oldest - if not THE oldest -
0:53:31 > 0:53:33living languages in Europe...
0:53:33 > 0:53:38This book, 100 years ago, is hinting at a sort of Basque nationalism.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40Was that starting in those days?
0:53:40 > 0:53:45More or less 100 years ago. It would be at the end of the 19th century,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48which is part of the movement that was already taking place in Europe.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54The Basques briefly secured autonomy in 1936
0:53:54 > 0:53:57at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
0:53:57 > 0:54:00but, the following year, German and Italian planes
0:54:00 > 0:54:04aided General Franco by bombing the Basque town of Guernica,
0:54:04 > 0:54:09massacring civilians and causing widespread destruction.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Franco went on to ban the Basque language
0:54:12 > 0:54:15and to suppress the people's identity.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18In 1959, a revolutionary group known as ETA
0:54:18 > 0:54:23began a violent separatist campaign for Basque independence.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27Recent devolution has coincided with a permanent cease-fire.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30And there's been a resurgence of spoken Basque.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35Nowadays, we can see young people, even with piercings, tattoos,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38but, on weekends, they dress up in traditional costumes,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41do the traditional dances and play the traditional music.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Now, what other customs should I know about while I'm here?
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Well, basically, do you enjoy your food?
0:54:46 > 0:54:48I enjoy my food.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51You've come to the right place. This is the mecca for food.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57David has brought me to Zortziko, a restaurant serving Basque cuisine
0:54:57 > 0:55:01under the watchful eye of Michelin-starred chef Daniel Garcia.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03- Daniel.- Daniel.- Muchisimo gusto.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05MICHAEL SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Daniel's going to show me how to prepare traditional Basque squid,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11cooked in its own ink.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14DANIEL SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:55:14 > 0:55:17He's saying that this is a very traditional dish
0:55:17 > 0:55:20and that we have to show a lot of respect to it
0:55:20 > 0:55:22because, as he cooks this dish,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26he's thinking about all the ancestors who've cooked it before.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29That is such a lovely thought. That's beautiful.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33'Although not born a Basque, Daniel settled here as a young man
0:55:33 > 0:55:35'and is now a celebrated Bilbaino.'
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Now this is the interesting bit -
0:55:37 > 0:55:40we're going to use the actual ink from the squid,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43the ink that it has inside itself.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Que color mas intenso tiene.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48It's an absolutely intense black.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Most extraordinary, gloopy stuff.
0:55:57 > 0:55:58Fantastico!
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Mm. One word of warning -
0:56:00 > 0:56:03this is not a dish to be eaten on a first date,
0:56:03 > 0:56:04cos you end up with a...
0:56:05 > 0:56:06..black tongue.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17- Ooh!- Ai, ai!- Ooh, that looks nice.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20The final meal of my Basque adventure.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Inspired by thousands of years of history and passion
0:56:24 > 0:56:26within a distinctive culture...
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Not a 12-course Edwardian banquet, but certainly a dish fit for a king.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Hora la vamos a probar.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37This is the moment of truth.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Mmm! Bueno! MICHAEL CHUCKLES
0:56:44 > 0:56:48- It's so lovely and juicy, isn't it? - Mm-hm.- Wonderful.
0:56:48 > 0:56:49HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Here in the Basque Country, it's really typical,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55once you'd have had a good meal and had a few wines, to start singing.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58DAVID AND DANIEL SING
0:57:11 > 0:57:12MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:57:15 > 0:57:18"An Englishman came to Bilbao to see the river and the sea,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21"but, when he saw the beautiful girls of Bilbao,
0:57:21 > 0:57:22"he didn't want to leave."
0:57:22 > 0:57:26And, now I've had such a lovely meal, I don't want to leave either.
0:57:26 > 0:57:27Gracias.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45This has been a right royal journey.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47King Edward VII, who stayed at Biarritz
0:57:47 > 0:57:50and gave his name to the Edwardian era,
0:57:50 > 0:57:53was known as the Uncle of Europe.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56Within a few years of my Bradshaw's Guide,
0:57:56 > 0:57:59one of his nephews, the Kaiser of Germany,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03had fought a war against us and had abdicated.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05Another of his nephews, the Russian Czar,
0:58:05 > 0:58:08had been murdered by Russian revolutionaries.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11One of Edward's nieces, Victoria Eugenie,
0:58:11 > 0:58:16also known as Ena, married the Spanish King Alfonso XIII.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19But he also, in due course, had to flee Spain
0:58:19 > 0:58:24but, today, Ena's grandson, King Juan Carlos,
0:58:24 > 0:58:26reigns here in Spain.
0:58:51 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd