0:00:04 > 0:00:06I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:06 > 0:00:09that will take me across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:20 > 0:00:22for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'It told travellers where to go, what to see,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'crisscrossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'Now, a century later, I'm using my copy
0:00:33 > 0:00:37'to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39'where technology, industry,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41'science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'I want to rediscover that lost Europe,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49'that in 1913 couldn't know that its way of life'
0:00:49 > 0:00:52would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Following my 1913 Bradshaw's, today I'm exploring
0:01:11 > 0:01:13north-western Spain and Portugal.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Relatively little-known to visitors from Britain today,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23in the early 20th-century, British tourism briefly flowered here.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Westward-facing and very different from the Spain I know best,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30this part of the Iberian peninsula
0:01:30 > 0:01:32is bursting with British connections,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35which my guidebook will help me to enjoy.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40I'm back in my beloved Spain, land of my father.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42But, as Bradshaw says,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44"Owing to the configuration of the country,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46"there are as many variations in climate
0:01:46 > 0:01:50"as there are contrasts in the character of the population."
0:01:50 > 0:01:56This is Galicia, cradle of the Celts, with its own language,
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and this green and rainy landscape
0:01:58 > 0:02:03would be more home to a Briton than to many a Spaniard.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Travelling south into Portugal, as I will do,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08the early 20th-century traveller
0:02:08 > 0:02:12entered the warm embrace of England's oldest ally.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'From the Celtic ties that bind Galicia to the British Isles...'
0:02:20 > 0:02:22- Muy bien. Gracias. - Gracias. Gracias.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28'..to the Atlantic fishing industry
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'that courted early 20th-century tourists...'
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Isn't that a beautiful beast? Isn't that fantastic?
0:02:34 > 0:02:37'..and the trade in a favourite British tipple...'
0:02:37 > 0:02:39It's a Martinez 1953, a very rare wine.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43It's glorious.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46'..I'll explore this Edwardian home from home
0:02:46 > 0:02:50'on the region's remarkable railways...'
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Oh, yes. This is a fantastic view.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'..uncovering the close political links
0:02:57 > 0:03:00'between Portugal and the United Kingdom.'
0:03:00 > 0:03:04It's the world's oldest diplomatic alliance still in force.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07'And the turbulent 20th-century events
0:03:07 > 0:03:09'that shocked Edwardian Britain.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:11They're a group of armed republicans.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16In five minutes, they almost wiped out the entire royal family.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20So, this square was the scene of appalling horror.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Beginning in the seaside city of La Coruna,
0:03:24 > 0:03:25my route will take me inland
0:03:25 > 0:03:28to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela,
0:03:28 > 0:03:33then follow the Atlantic coast as I travel via Pontevedra into Portugal.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39From Porto, I'll take the famous, scenic Douro valley line east
0:03:39 > 0:03:41before heading south once more,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44to the ancient university city of Coimbra
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and on to my final stop in Lisbon.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57My guidebook says of my first destination,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00"La Coruna is a prosperous trading town
0:04:00 > 0:04:02"and principal military station in North Spain."
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Today, the city known to Galicians as 'A Coruna'
0:04:09 > 0:04:11is still the region's economic powerhouse,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14with a thriving industry and a busy harbour.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20In 1900, barely a single British tourist had ventured here,
0:04:20 > 0:04:21but by the time of my guidebook,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Galicia was a fashionable destination
0:04:24 > 0:04:26welcoming hundreds of Britons every year.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And it's easy to see why this elegant city had such appeal.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36I love these glassed-in balconies which are so typical of La Coruna.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39They're practical. In winter, you shut the glass
0:04:39 > 0:04:41and you keep out the Atlantic gale,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and then, in the summer, you open them up and the sun streams in.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53I'm taking a tour with historian Kirsty Hooper
0:04:53 > 0:04:56who has researched Galicia's early 20th-century tourism boom.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00At the beginning of the 20th century,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03what would have brought British travellers to La Coruna?
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Well, first of all it was the first stop on the big transatlantic routes
0:05:07 > 0:05:09from Southampton to South America,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11so lots of British tourists would have taken the opportunity
0:05:11 > 0:05:13to hop off after two days to see the city
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and to see something more of Galicia themselves.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Galicia held lots of attractions for the British
0:05:17 > 0:05:19at the beginning of the 20th-century.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22There was a large British business community
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and also British industry was quite well established here.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27We're talking about railways, the mines,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30also the sea port and the shipyards.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35These expatriate industrialists
0:05:35 > 0:05:39clubbed together with steam liner companies and local businessmen
0:05:39 > 0:05:41to woo visitors.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But La Coruna boasted an attraction that needed no marketing.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48My Bradshaw's directs Edwardian tourists
0:05:48 > 0:05:51to the Jardin de San Carlos, to the east of the harbour,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53the burial place of Sir John Moore,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57whose death in 1809 had made him a war hero.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00At the time of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03would Sir John Moore still have been well remembered?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Absolutely, because your Bradshaw was published
0:06:05 > 0:06:07very shortly after the centenary of his death
0:06:07 > 0:06:10which had brought him back into the British imagination,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and the tomb formed a very popular stop
0:06:12 > 0:06:14on the battlefield tourism circuit
0:06:14 > 0:06:17which had begun in 1815, straight after the Battle of Waterloo.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22The Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo
0:06:22 > 0:06:25marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars which had raged
0:06:25 > 0:06:28as French forces occupied vast swathes of Europe.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Sir John Moore's final battle
0:06:32 > 0:06:36had been part of a British attempt to oust them from Spain.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38He was leading the British Army in a strategic retreat
0:06:38 > 0:06:41from Salamanca further south, and when they arrived, they established
0:06:41 > 0:06:44a strategic position up on a hill and they managed to hold off
0:06:44 > 0:06:48the French until most of the army was able to embark
0:06:48 > 0:06:50upon the waiting warships to leave.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Unfortunately, Sir John Moore didn't go with them
0:06:52 > 0:06:55because at the front of his army, he was hit in the shoulder and died.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59It's a sort of early version of Dunkirk, this, isn't it?
0:06:59 > 0:07:02I mean, a retreat which is somehow converted into a victory.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Absolutely, that's a great comparison.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07People at home, initially, were very unhappy.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09They felt that Sir John Moore had let everybody down,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12but when it became clear that this defensive manoeuvre
0:07:12 > 0:07:15had in fact contributed to Wellington's victory overall,
0:07:15 > 0:07:16he was converted into a hero,
0:07:16 > 0:07:21and is remembered both here in Galicia and in Britain.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Sir John Moore had said that he wished to be buried where he fell,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27and so a hasty grave was dug
0:07:27 > 0:07:31before the rest of the troops made their escape to fight another day.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Today, his tomb,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37and a nearby pavilion decorated with poetry written in his honour
0:07:37 > 0:07:39still attract British tourists.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Hello. Hello. Have you come to see Sir John Moore?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45ALL: Yes.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47And what has brought you to see Sir John Moore?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Saga!
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- Is Sir John Moore a little bit of a hero for you?- I think so.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57To tell you the truth, I hadn't heard about him before I came on this trip.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02And he seems an extraordinary person. The things he achieved in his life.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03How do you feel about the fact that
0:08:03 > 0:08:06the British were retreating when he died?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Probably quite sensible!
0:08:08 > 0:08:10THEY LAUGH
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Who else wants to talk about Sir John Moore?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Sorry, do you want... No?
0:08:15 > 0:08:16You're all running away now.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22It seems the British still have a talent for the tactical retreat.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Edwardian travellers arriving in Galicia
0:08:28 > 0:08:32were fascinated by local people's traditional costumes and customs.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Like the Irish, the Cornish and the Welsh, the people of Galicia
0:08:37 > 0:08:40trace their roots back to pre-Roman Celtic tribes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44THEY GREET EACH OTHER IN SPANISH
0:08:44 > 0:08:50And a vital symbol of their Celtic identity is the Gaita, or bagpipes.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Alvaro Seivane's family have been making them for 75 years.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59How popular is the bagpipe now in Galicia compared with a century ago?
0:08:59 > 0:09:01HE ANSWERS IN SPANISH
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Even though a century ago it was popular, there's no comparison.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Now, there are thousands and thousands of people
0:09:10 > 0:09:12playing the bagpipes.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Alvaro's family has played a leading role
0:09:14 > 0:09:17in this extraordinary revival.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20His daughter is a famous piper who plays at music festivals
0:09:20 > 0:09:21all over the world.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24BAGPIPES PLAY
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And the family tradition looks set to continue.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Muy bien, muy bien, muy bien.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Who is this?
0:09:51 > 0:09:54HE ANSWERS IN SPANISH
0:09:54 > 0:09:56This is your grandson, Brice.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58This is the youngest bagpipe player in the family?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01HE ANSWERS IN SPANISH
0:10:02 > 0:10:06He's just turned six but he's already spent two years
0:10:06 > 0:10:07playing the bagpipe.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09HE THANKS HIM IN SPANISH
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Making bagpipes takes patience.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17The wood for the pipes is seasoned for ten years
0:10:17 > 0:10:19before it's ready to be worked,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23and it takes another five years to complete the instrument.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25BAGPIPES DRONE TUNELESSLY
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Despite Brice's performance,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31extracting music from the gaita isn't child's play.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40It's a modern composition!
0:10:40 > 0:10:42HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I have a big future as a bagpipe player, he says.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47I don't think so but gracias.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53In the middle years of the 20th century,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55during General Franco's dictatorship,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00Galicians were prevented from expressing their distinct identity.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02But since the 1980s,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05there's been a resurgence of interest in the local culture,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09flamboyantly expressed in La Coruna through the traditional dances
0:11:09 > 0:11:11that take place in the city square.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15PIPES AND DRUMS PLAY
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Edwardian tourists would have loved this spectacle.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Back home there was a Celtic revival in full swing
0:11:30 > 0:11:34with renewed interest in folk dance and music.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38To Galicians, keeping traditions like this alive helps set them apart
0:11:38 > 0:11:40from their Latin Spanish neighbours.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54- Muy bien. Gracias.- Gracias, gracias.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Is this very important for you, as a Galician person, this dancing?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Yes, for sure it is.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Now, you're Celtic. Do you feel any connection with maybe Scotland,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12with Ireland, with Cornwall, any of those places?
0:12:12 > 0:12:16I definitely do. I do feel that we have similar characteristics
0:12:16 > 0:12:19in traditional dancing and music and so on.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23So, you feel Celtic, you feel Galician,
0:12:23 > 0:12:24do you feel Spanish as well?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Yeah, I also do.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- And European?- Yes, why not?
0:12:28 > 0:12:32But first more Galician than Spanish and European.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35First, I want to be Galician, then the rest.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Already, Galicia has been full of surprises.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46But before I leave La Coruna, I'm keen to uncover one more.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48- Ruben?- Hola, Michael.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54Ruben Ventureira is showing me round a small museum,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57hidden away in this unassuming house.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Because this apartment is where Pablo Picasso came of age.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04By the time of my guidebook,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Picasso was well on the way to becoming a 20th-century master,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09though his more avant-garde works
0:13:09 > 0:13:12were too radical for most Edwardian tastes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17But 20 years earlier, having moved to La Coruna with his family,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21the adolescent Pablo was still learning formal painting
0:13:21 > 0:13:25from his father, a tutor at the local Academy of Fine Art.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So, this is by Pablo Picasso's father,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34it's the painting that has the most doves or pigeons in it.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36It was his favourite subject.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It also then became the favourite subject of Pablo Picasso.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44The anecdote that is told is that the feet of the birds
0:13:44 > 0:13:48were actually done by Pablo Picasso, by the boy, by the son.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50How would you describe the relationship
0:13:50 > 0:13:52between Picasso and his father?
0:13:52 > 0:13:54HE ANSWERS IN SPANISH
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Here in La Coruna, the father and the son establish
0:14:03 > 0:14:07a teacher-pupil relationship, in which,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10curiously, the pupil ends up surpassing the teacher.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17It was in La Coruna that Picasso held his first exhibition in 1895,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20at the tender age of 13.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21In the same year,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25the family was touched by tragedy, when Pablo's seven-year-old sister
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Conchita died of diphtheria in this very room.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32THEY TALK IN SPANISH
0:14:43 > 0:14:48Picasso, when his sister was so ill, swore an oath to God
0:14:48 > 0:14:52that if God saved the girl he would never paint again.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54God did not save the girl
0:14:54 > 0:14:59and the world was given, instead of Conchita, the great artist Picasso.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Later that year, Pablo Picasso's family moved to Barcelona,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15and it's time for me to wave goodbye to La Coruna too,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19and to continue my journey following my 1913 Bradshaw's guide.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31As evening sets in, I've bought myself a little snack.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I'm on my way to Santiago de Compostela which is perhaps
0:15:35 > 0:15:37the most famous of all the destinations for pilgrims
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and. over the centuries, they used to sustain themselves
0:15:40 > 0:15:42with this sort of Spanish pasty.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46It's called an empanada and this one is filled with scallops.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52The fresh taste of the sea on a train.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09A new day, and I'm approaching my next destination not by rail,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12but on foot, following the Camino de Santiago,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15or the pathway of St James.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Pilgrims must come prepared to walk in all weathers,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23for green and pleasant Galicia shares much by way of climate,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27as well as culture, with the British Isles.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Some years ago, I walked for seven days
0:16:29 > 0:16:34the last stretch of the pilgrims' trail into Santiago de Compostela
0:16:34 > 0:16:38with my rucksack and my walking stick.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40It was an unforgettable experience.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43All the time, you are meeting other pilgrims
0:16:43 > 0:16:46and there is a sort of etiquette that you catch up with them
0:16:46 > 0:16:47for a short while and you have a chat.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49You only ever give your first name,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51you don't normally give much background
0:16:51 > 0:16:53about your reasons for walking the way.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55And all the time that I was walking,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I could see a line of pilgrims behind me
0:16:58 > 0:16:59and a line of pilgrims ahead
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and quite a thought that the line ahead really stretched out
0:17:03 > 0:17:07for centuries since people first began to visit
0:17:07 > 0:17:08the tomb of St James.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15When I walked my little pilgrimage, I covered 130km,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18just more than the shortest distance that you can do
0:17:18 > 0:17:20to qualify officially as a pilgrim.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25But walkers set out for Santiago from destinations across Europe.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Good day. Congratulations, you're very close to Santiago.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32How far have you come?
0:17:32 > 0:17:37Me, I come from St Jean Pied De Port, that's about 780km.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41- That's a long, long walk. You've become friends on the Camino?- Yes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42What made you think of doing the Camino?
0:17:42 > 0:17:45For me, it's the fourth Camino.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47It's like a drug, being on the Camino.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49It's the first time for me, yes.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53I have thought about doing the Camino for the last ten years,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56but I was always afraid of doing it alone because I thought
0:17:56 > 0:18:00I would be alone which turned out to be quite wrong, actually.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03So, now you've only got a few kilometres to go.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07You must be feeling what? Elated, excited, how do you feel?
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Elated, but also I think I'm a bit sad that it's coming to an end.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14I've done this for 30 straight days.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Thank you so much for stopping and Godspeed, pilgrims.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33The popularity of the Camino peaked in the Middle Ages,
0:18:33 > 0:18:38but the Reformation stopped pilgrims from Britain in their tracks.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41In Edwardian times, a party of British Catholics who visited
0:18:41 > 0:18:47the city were feted as the first English pilgrims for four centuries.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51These days, around 100,000 people complete the challenge every year
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and as they take the last weary steps on their journey,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59the promise of reaching Santiago's magnificent cathedral
0:18:59 > 0:19:00inspires them onward.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Bradshaw's is full of superlatives about this building.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13The cathedral is considered one the most impressive examples
0:19:13 > 0:19:19of early Romanesque architecture in Spain, dating from 1078 to 1211
0:19:19 > 0:19:24and then the gothic cloisters are amongst the best in Spain.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Altogether it's one of the greatest glories of Christian art.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30This was the building that Christians felt
0:19:30 > 0:19:35they had to construct to house the tomb of St James the Apostle.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37And this is the destination
0:19:37 > 0:19:40of pilgrims who have walked for hundreds of miles
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and behind me, the Capilla Mayor,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47housing the tomb of the saint himself.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54The story goes that St James's body was brought to Spain
0:19:54 > 0:19:57after he was martyred in Jerusalem in 44AD.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It was then rediscovered 800 years later,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06and before long, people began to journey to venerate his tomb.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17Medieval pilgrims didn't have the benefit of Bradshaw's.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- INTO INTERCOM: - Buenos dias, Michael Portillo.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22But the cathedral houses an ancient
0:20:22 > 0:20:26illuminated manuscript that helped them on their way.
0:20:27 > 0:20:33Jose Manuel Sanchez is the guardian of this prized Latin text.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Jose Manuel, I'm Michael.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Hi, nice to meet you.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- Well...- So, what is this book?
0:20:39 > 0:20:41This is the Codex Calixtinus.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44It's one compilation of all the traditions
0:20:44 > 0:20:46related with the apostle Santiago in the Middle Ages.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48When was it written, do we think?
0:20:48 > 0:20:52It was written in the middle of the 12th century.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55The book is an important source of information
0:20:55 > 0:20:56on the history of St James,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00but it also lays claim to being one of the world's first guidebooks,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02packed with handy hints for pilgrims.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Give me some practical tips for going on the Camino.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Yes, for example, we have, er...
0:21:08 > 0:21:13HE READS IN LATIN
0:21:14 > 0:21:18So, horses must not drink there because they could die.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Because the river is...
0:21:20 > 0:21:21The river is dangerous.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24READING LATIN
0:21:27 > 0:21:32Very good water to drink or to refresh.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Limpha, dulcis and sana.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38So, clean, sweet and healthy.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Yeah, great! You did great!
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Next time I come on the walk, this will be the book I'll take.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54The Codex is a remarkable relic, but to continue my railway journey,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56I think I'll stick with Bradshaw's.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02My 1913 guide is not complimentary about Spanish trains,
0:22:02 > 0:22:07remarking on their slow speeds and uncomfortable facilities.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09But Edwardian tourists taking the West Galician Railway
0:22:09 > 0:22:12from Santiago might have been reassured to know
0:22:12 > 0:22:15that the company manager was British born and bred.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I'm hearing the story from Javier Losada Boedo.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22- Hello, Xavier.- Hi, Michael.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Very good to see you.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28I'm interested in a great British railway man, John Trulock,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and I believe that he is your ancestor. What's the connection?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34He was the father of my grandmother.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38He was the eldest of six brothers
0:22:38 > 0:22:42but his father died really young, when he was 15.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So, he had to earn his living.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Trulock decided to seek his fortune in Galicia.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51And by the 1880s,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55he was running the West Galician Railway company.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58So what sort of a railway was this?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00It was the first railway in Galicia.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It was from Carril in the coast to Compostela,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Santiago de Compostela in the Galician centre.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12Begun in 1862, construction was overseen by a British engineer,
0:23:12 > 0:23:13and by Trulock's time,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17the railway had been bought by a British company.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Trulock ruled the line for over 40 years,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23setting up home in Galicia where he continued to live
0:23:23 > 0:23:26in Edwardian English style.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28What sort of man was John Trulock?
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I would say he was of course a gentleman. He was a character.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36He was especially strict in terms of punctuality.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41He was said to be quite focused on people being punctual
0:23:41 > 0:23:45and he hated Galician people because of that.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47But no-one was on time.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53He liked to write that punctuality was a virtue for human beings.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56We need him on the British railways today, I think.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Yeah.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03By the turn of the 20th century,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07James Trulock was helping to lure British tourists to Galicia.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11In 1910, he laid on a special train
0:24:11 > 0:24:14to carry journalists on a press tour.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16I'm getting off in Pontevedra
0:24:16 > 0:24:19to hunt down one of the more unusual sights that they saw.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I do love to be beside the seaside,
0:24:25 > 0:24:30but here in the little village of Bueu, the sea is a place of work,
0:24:30 > 0:24:35and what comes out of the sea gives rise to light industry close by
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and that's the sort of light industry
0:24:37 > 0:24:41that was a magnetic attraction for the discerning traveller
0:24:41 > 0:24:43in the early 20th century.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Surprisingly, an Edwardian tourist's trip to Galicia wasn't complete
0:24:49 > 0:24:52without a visit to a sardine cannery,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54thanks to a local sardine entrepreneur
0:24:54 > 0:24:58who was one of the main promoters of British tourism here.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04I'm taking my own tour of this 21st-century fish canning factory,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07guided by export manager Jose Emilio Dopazo.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Jose Emilio, it's an impressive and very noisy canning factory.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17When did this business begin?
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Well, this business has been here for 141 years now.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26We founded the company, the family Alonso, in 1873,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30and it has been kept in the same family for five generations.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Like so much in Galicia,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36there's a British connection to the region's canning industry.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40The idea of canning food came from a British merchant.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42In the beginning of the 19th-century,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46he had the idea of preserving food in cans.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49The initial idea was a Frenchman,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52but the Frenchman was only doing it in glass,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and the English man said, "No, we can put this also in tins,"
0:25:56 > 0:26:00The idea rapidly expanded to the continent and came here.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03By Edwardian times,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07canned fish had helped to transform British people's diets,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11bringing delicacies like sardines within everyone's reach.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14At the moment, it's not the sardine season,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17but this factory packs plenty of other types of seafood
0:26:17 > 0:26:21including a million tins of octopus every year.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24- Hola.- Hola, buenos tardes.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:26:33 > 0:26:35They are washing the octopus.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Just like washing the laundry, isn't it?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Give that a good scrub
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Let's get those tentacles in there.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:26:50 > 0:26:54I asked her whether she could actually still eat octopus,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and she says she absolutely loves it.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08The thriving canning trade on this stretch of coast is
0:27:08 > 0:27:11thanks to the extraordinary bounty of the Atlantic
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and the unique geography of the so- called 'rias' of Galicia.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19So, the rias are part of an estuary,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and are they like long fingers, something like that?
0:27:22 > 0:27:23They are long fingers.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27The legend says that God, when constructing the world
0:27:27 > 0:27:31put five fingers on the land, and these are the five Galician rias.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36In these estuaries, fresh water from the rivers
0:27:36 > 0:27:40mixes with the salty sea, creating ideal conditions for plankton,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43which in turn feeds the fish and other sea creatures.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48So, today we are fishing for octopus, are we?
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Yes, we have here a big devotion for the octopus.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Devotion for the animal itself, for the taste,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58for the role in the factory, for everything.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01The fishermen have previously lowered traps,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and now it's time to see what they've caught.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14- Oh, that is a weird feeling. - Very big one!
0:28:14 > 0:28:17It's a lovely big octopus, isn't it? Yeah, it is indeed,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I can feel it pulsing and wriggling in my hand.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Look at its tentacles now, whoo!
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- Fantastic.- Wow.- Lovely one.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Well, you are a Spanish fisherman now!
0:28:28 > 0:28:33- Wonderful.- Isn't that a beautiful beast? Isn't that fantastic?
0:28:33 > 0:28:34It's a fantastic one.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37One of the things that's special about Galicia, eh?
0:28:41 > 0:28:45I'm not sure that Edwardian tourists were quite so hands-on,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48but if not, they missed out.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51And there's one last treat in store for me in Bueu.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57This is a wonderful way to end the day.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00A beautiful presentation of octopus.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03This is the very special recipe in Galicia.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07It's boiled, olive oil, and paprika.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12- How is it?- It's magnificent.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13I'm glad you like it.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19My Galician fishing trip has been the perfect way to draw
0:29:19 > 0:29:22the Spanish leg of my journey to a close.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Two days in Galicia have opened my eyes to a side of Spain
0:29:34 > 0:29:36that I've rarely seen before.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41Now my 1913 guide is leading me over the border to a new land.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47I'm bound for the gateway to the port wine region
0:29:47 > 0:29:50where I'll board Portugal's most scenic railway.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54I'll trace the impact of trains on Coimbra's ancient university,
0:29:54 > 0:29:58before reliving dramatic early 20th-century history in Lisbon.
0:30:00 > 0:30:01Obrigado.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Is this Portugal already?
0:30:05 > 0:30:08HE ANSWERS IN PORTUGUESE
0:30:11 > 0:30:16Ah, I've got to change my watch. One hour less.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17- Yes, yes. OK.- Obrigado.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Unlike Spain, Portugal is on the same time as Britain,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25and that's not the only connection.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30I'm now in Portugal, about which Bradshaw's is enthusiastic.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33"The most favourable time of the year for a visit to Portugal
0:30:33 > 0:30:35"is November until May.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37"A charming variety of natural beauty,
0:30:37 > 0:30:39"inland, mountain and valley,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42"along the rugged coast, bold headlands
0:30:42 > 0:30:44"and stretches of sand downs."
0:30:44 > 0:30:46And then this intriguing reference.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49"The British sovereign is legal currency in Portugal."
0:30:49 > 0:30:53Now that is testimony to a long relationship,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56stretching back over seven centuries,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59cemented by alliances, and marriages,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03so that for all the time that we were fighting off Spanish armadas
0:31:03 > 0:31:06and defeating the Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10Portugal was our friend.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19'I'm travelling towards Porto on the Minho line, opened in the 1880s.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21'Compared to Britain,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25'19th-century Portugal was slow to adopt the railway.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28'The first line was built with British help in the 1850s,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31'amidst hopes that trains would bring to Portugal
0:31:31 > 0:31:34'the kind of economic growth Britain had enjoyed.'
0:31:41 > 0:31:43'I've come to Sao Bento station,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'a building whose ornate decorations are testament
0:31:46 > 0:31:50'to the excitement that surrounded the coming of the railways.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56'Carol Rankin's family has lived and worked in Portugal for generations.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01'Born and brought up here, she knows the station well.'
0:32:01 > 0:32:04The railway station is magnificent, when does it date from?
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Well, the foundation stone was laid by King Carlos I of Portugal
0:32:08 > 0:32:12in 1900, and then it obviously took a while to build, so, it opened...
0:32:12 > 0:32:17Actually, the whole thing completed, a few years after that.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20I think by the time the tiles were put in place, it was probably 1915.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24- All around the time of my Bradshaw's guide.- Indeed.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28The station walls are covered in spectacular painted tiles,
0:32:28 > 0:32:32a local tradition that evolved out of Moorish mosaics,
0:32:32 > 0:32:36introduced to Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages.
0:32:36 > 0:32:37By the time of my guidebook,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41they were being used to celebrate the advent of the age of steam.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44But the tiles also tell the story
0:32:44 > 0:32:48of the birth of Portugal's special relationship with Britain.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54This shows us Juan I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster
0:32:54 > 0:32:59coming in through the streets of Oporto, strewn with rose petals
0:32:59 > 0:33:03as you can see, to celebrate their marriage in the city's cathedral.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06- Who was she?- She was the daughter of John of Gaunt,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10and he was uncle to Richard II
0:33:10 > 0:33:13who was on the throne of England at the time.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15So, this was quite an important marriage alliance
0:33:15 > 0:33:17between England and Portugal?
0:33:17 > 0:33:20It is indeed, because it cemented the treaty of Windsor
0:33:20 > 0:33:22which was signed in 1386.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27The terms of alliance and perpetual friendship that the treaty contained
0:33:27 > 0:33:32have never been broken, and it's the world's oldest diplomatic alliance
0:33:32 > 0:33:33still in force.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39The alliance helped to usher in a golden age in Portuguese history,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42with John and Philippa's son Henry the Navigator
0:33:42 > 0:33:45initiating a period of exploration
0:33:45 > 0:33:48which ultimately gave Portugal an extensive empire.
0:33:50 > 0:33:51500 years later,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Edwardian tourists arriving here could marvel at the legacy
0:33:55 > 0:33:58of Porto's 19th-century industrialisation,
0:33:58 > 0:34:03which included the magnificent 395-metre-long Dom Luis Bridge,
0:34:03 > 0:34:05opened in 1886.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10Today, it's one of six bridges that connect picturesque Porto
0:34:10 > 0:34:13with Vila Nova de Gaia south of the river.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16"Porto," my guidebook tells me, "on the River Douro,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19"is very pleasantly placed in a hemmed-in situation
0:34:19 > 0:34:22"on slopes descending to the river.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25"And the river broadens out to a spacious harbour."
0:34:25 > 0:34:27And then, as these barrel-laden boats suggest
0:34:27 > 0:34:29and Bradshaw's confirms,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33the principal trade is connected with port wine,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35so my next move is evident.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38I must steer to port.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Any smart Edwardian dinner party
0:34:41 > 0:34:43would culminate with a glass of port.
0:34:43 > 0:34:49But the history of this fortified wine in Porto predates my guidebook.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51I'm meeting producer Jose Alvaro Ribiero
0:34:51 > 0:34:55at a 200-year-old wine lodge to hear the tale.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Well, that is on a grand scale.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03How much wine do you have here?
0:35:03 > 0:35:08Well, we have around 22 million litres of port.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Wine produced in the Douro valley has been exported to Britain
0:35:12 > 0:35:16since the 17th century, and, in fact, port as we know it
0:35:16 > 0:35:20owes its origins to the requirements of the British market.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26At the beginning, the wine that was exported was normal still wine,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30not port, but as there were years where the quality of the wine
0:35:30 > 0:35:33was not as good as other years,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36they started adding brandy to it to stabilise the wine so that it
0:35:36 > 0:35:43would reach the UK in great shape, so it really started as an accident.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48- So, it's an accident with a British accent?- Definitely.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51As well as being enthusiastic consumers of port,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Britons have for centuries been involved in the trade.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00Porto's Factory House is the historic centre of their operations.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Today, as in Edwardian times, there's a strict dress code.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08What a gorgeous ballroom.
0:36:08 > 0:36:09What is this institution,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12this Factory House, that you have such wonderful premises?
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Well, this Factory House here in Porto is a place
0:36:15 > 0:36:18where all the British that had businesses here
0:36:18 > 0:36:22in the north of Portugal would do business with locals.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24So, it was like a place they felt protected,
0:36:24 > 0:36:29and they also used it for social gatherings.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32'Factor' is an old term for businessman,
0:36:32 > 0:36:36and the Porto Factory House was paid for by British port shippers.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40A century ago, when my guidebook was written,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42they came here to network, and of course,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44to enjoy the wine that kept them in business.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54Michael, I have some special vintage port for us to taste now.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Looks wonderful, what age is this?
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Well, it's a very special age.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02- It's your birth year.- 1953.
0:37:02 > 0:37:061953. It's a Martinez 1953. A very rare wine.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08We only have six in our cellar.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10My goodness, what a privilege.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12This has to be done quite carefully
0:37:12 > 0:37:16because the cork, clearly, is an old one.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Oh, yes. Anything from 1953 is very decrepit, I assure you.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24- There we are.- Well done.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Thanks to the added brandy,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28port can be aged much longer than most wines.
0:37:28 > 0:37:34One of the oldest vintages to be sold was over 150 years old.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37The colour is just wonderful.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39I get some scents of tobacco.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41- Definitely.- And also nuts.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43It's quite amazing, because it's still got quite a lot of fruit
0:37:43 > 0:37:49for a wine of this age, it's amazing. And look at the colour, fantastic.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50I think, let's take a sip.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57- It's glorious.- Velvety.
0:37:59 > 0:38:001953 was a great year.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10With the taste of port still on my lips,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13I'm continuing my journey into its history,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16eastwards down the Douro valley on the Linha do Douro.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25It's been described as Portugal's best train ride.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28And I'm getting a front row seat.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Bom dia.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Oh, yes, this is a fantastic view,
0:38:42 > 0:38:47As the railway line snakes along the banks of the river,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50it's really a very, very impressive valley.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55The steep sides, of course, covered in vines producing the port,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and the other great wines of the Douro.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17The arrival of the railway transformed the port trade.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Paul Symington's ancestors witnessed its impact.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25So, your family has been in the wine business quite a long time?
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Yeah, my great-grandfather came here in 1882 as a very young lad.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31He was only 18. He came from Scotland
0:39:31 > 0:39:34and he had the very good fortune to marry a woman
0:39:34 > 0:39:36who was half Portuguese, half English,
0:39:36 > 0:39:41and her family had been in port since the 1700s, so we go back a long way.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45It strikes me that this is one of the great railway rides in Europe.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47When was this railway built?
0:39:47 > 0:39:501875, they started from Oporto
0:39:50 > 0:39:54and got up to the frontier in the early 1880s
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and that transformed the region.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Before that, presumably, the wines had been moving along the river.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Yes, right here, down this river.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05But the river wasn't dammed then, so there were rapids
0:40:05 > 0:40:09in many, many places, so there were huge disasters from time to time
0:40:09 > 0:40:12because if these big boats with 40 barrels on board
0:40:12 > 0:40:16got sideways in the tricky bit, that was, you know, chips. Game over.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21For port-producing families,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24the new line cut the travel time from Porto
0:40:24 > 0:40:27over the treacherous mountains from three or four days
0:40:27 > 0:40:29to around four hours.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34But within a few years of my guidebook's publication,
0:40:34 > 0:40:36this lifeline to the outside world
0:40:36 > 0:40:40took on a bittersweet significance for Paul's family.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44My grandfather, who was born in Oporto in 1895,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46was in the British Army in the first war.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49In 1916 he was in the trenches,
0:40:49 > 0:40:52and he was told that his mother was dying.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54And they gave him permission to come home,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57so he went to London, Liverpool, Lisbon and then up by train
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and he was only allowed four days in Oporto to see his mother
0:41:00 > 0:41:05and I've got his diary and he writes in it that he got on this train
0:41:05 > 0:41:08at six o'clock in the morning, from Sao Bento, where you got on today,
0:41:08 > 0:41:09and he writes in it,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12"May God damn in hell the people responsible for this war.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14"I will never see my mother again."
0:41:14 > 0:41:16And he never did. She died about ten days later.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34I could stay watching the stunning Douro countryside unroll,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37but I'm leaving the train to explore the Symington estate.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43And here we are at Vesuvio, a quinta,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46which is the Portuguese for a wine estate.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49That is absolutely beautiful.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00In vineyards like this, the story of port begins,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and it's an awe-inspiring sight.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Protected by mountains, the region has its own microclimate,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09warmer and drier than the surrounding area
0:42:09 > 0:42:13which contributes to the fruity richness of the wine.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15This is a really important time of year for us
0:42:15 > 0:42:18because the flowering will take place sometime in the next week
0:42:18 > 0:42:24to ten days and the fruit doesn't set if the flowering is done
0:42:24 > 0:42:28under damp conditions, and we can lose 20, 30% of the crop,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32so what we really want is nice, warm, dry weather
0:42:32 > 0:42:35to bring the flowering on. We've already got the little buds here,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and that will be a lovely bunch of grapes one day.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45As evening draws in, I'll be keeping my fingers firmly crossed.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59After a peaceful night in the Douro Valley,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01I'm now swapping the countryside
0:43:01 > 0:43:04for one of Portugal's most ancient cities.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14My next stop will be Coimbra,
0:43:14 > 0:43:19which Bradshaw's tells me stands on a hill by the River Mondego.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22"The situation and climate have always been extolled.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24"The university library contains
0:43:24 > 0:43:28"100,000 volumes and many manuscripts."
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Which makes a good case for a hide-bound old book lover like me
0:43:32 > 0:43:33to visit.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The beautiful city of Coimbra was once Portugal's capital
0:43:44 > 0:43:48and its ancient buildings reveal its long and illustrious history.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54The university, founded in 1290 in Lisbon,
0:43:54 > 0:43:56moved here in the 16th century,
0:43:56 > 0:43:58and, by the time of the railways,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01witnessed an Anglo-Portuguese exchange of ideas
0:44:01 > 0:44:04every bit as vigorous as the trade in wine.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13Carlos Fiolhais is showing me round the world-famous library.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Carlos, this is the most fantastic building
0:44:17 > 0:44:21- but it reminds me more of a church than a library.- Yes.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24But it's not a church, we may call it a temple,
0:44:24 > 0:44:25but it's a temple of books.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28It was built at the beginning of the 18th century,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31at the time of the Enlightenment.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35The library's grandeur reflects the wealth then pouring into Portugal
0:44:35 > 0:44:40from its colony Brazil, rich in gold and diamonds.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42At the time, Portuguese thinkers were being influenced
0:44:42 > 0:44:47by British Enlightenment figures such as Isaac Newton.
0:44:47 > 0:44:52But later, technology injected new life into academia in Coimbra.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Do the railways have an impact on the transfer of ideas?
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Oh, tremendous impact.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00It was in the middle of the 19th century,
0:45:00 > 0:45:06so later on, and the train arrived to Coimbra in 1864.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08And there was a connection to France
0:45:08 > 0:45:10and to central Europe and to England.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13It was not only a symbol of progress, the train,
0:45:13 > 0:45:14it was really progress.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19The railway carried radical new ideas to the university,
0:45:19 > 0:45:21including Darwin's theory of evolution.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25An important Portuguese writer, he wrote that,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29every day a torrent of new ideas was coming here as the new sun,
0:45:29 > 0:45:34and this is indeed a nice expression of what was happening at that time.
0:45:34 > 0:45:39That's a lovely idea, that the train was bringing a torrent of ideas,
0:45:39 > 0:45:43every day a new dawn, every day a new sun. Precisely.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Coimbra is still one of Portugal's most prestigious universities,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55and when its students aren't studying hard, they're making music.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58The university is famous for its version of Fado,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01a Portuguese form of music full of mournful longing.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07THEY SING IN PORTUGUESE
0:47:13 > 0:47:15That was so beautiful.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19So beautifully sung and so beautifully played. So sad.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22You've stolen my heart and left it in Coimbra. Thank you, Maestro.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23Thank you very much.
0:47:32 > 0:47:38My 1913 guide is now steering me towards my last Portuguese stop
0:47:38 > 0:47:42as I race towards Lisbon on one of Portugal's modern high-speed trains.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47By the turn of the 20th century,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50Portugal had invested heavily in its railways.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55But sadly, this had failed to bring the hoped-for prosperity.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59Instead, overspending on public works including railways
0:47:59 > 0:48:03had brought the state close to financial ruin.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06There were tumultuous times ahead in Portuguese politics.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I'm alighting in the capital to trace the story.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14This is Rossio station.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Bradshaw's tells me that it's at the heart of Lisbon
0:48:17 > 0:48:22and that express trains used to arrive here from Spain and France.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25A century ago, the gateway to Portugal was changing
0:48:25 > 0:48:28from the seaport to this beautiful terminus.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41British tourists were following in the footsteps
0:48:41 > 0:48:47of King Edward VII, who had come to Lisbon on a state visit in 1903.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Warmly received by his relation King Carlos,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53after the trip, this park was renamed in Edward's honour.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59It was a measure of the longevity of the special relationship
0:48:59 > 0:49:01between Britain and Portugal.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05But by the 1900s, the balance of power had shifted.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Britain now ruled the waves,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and the Portuguese Empire was much diminished.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15For a bird's eye view of the city
0:49:15 > 0:49:19whose ships had colonised Brazil, India and beyond,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Edwardian tourists could travel in this remarkable lift,
0:49:22 > 0:49:23opened in 1902.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31"Lisbon," says Bradshaw's, "is pre-eminent
0:49:31 > 0:49:33"for the natural beauty of its situation,
0:49:33 > 0:49:38"lying in and upon an amphitheatre of hills.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40"Regarded from the sea,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43"the city seems to rise in picturesque terraces.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46"Lisbon is poised on the edge of ocean,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48"peering towards the Americas."
0:49:56 > 0:49:59During Portugal's 15th and 16th-century golden age,
0:49:59 > 0:50:04the launch pad for its seafaring explorers was the harbour at Belem,
0:50:04 > 0:50:08protected by this extraordinary fortress, completed in 1521.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17I'm seeking out another attraction of the Belem quarter,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20on a form of transport familiar to the Edwardian traveller.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Bradshaw's tells me that inclined railways
0:50:28 > 0:50:31connect the upper and lower parts of the city.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34In this, as in so many other things,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36my ancient guidebook remains reliable.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Belem is the birthplace of Pasteis de nata,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55the custard tarts which have become Portugal's national sweetmeat.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59- Dulce.- Hello, Michael. How are you?
0:50:59 > 0:51:03'I'm hearing their story from pastry chef Dulce Roque,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06'who's worked at this pasteleria for 37 years.'
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Apparently, the cakes were invented by local monks and nuns.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15What are the main ingredients?
0:51:15 > 0:51:18The main ingredients, I don't know, because it is a secret.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23A secret recipe, but I can tell you about milk and flour
0:51:23 > 0:51:29and sugar and butter and eggs, that are very important because
0:51:29 > 0:51:33the nuns, of the monasteries, used to use the egg whites
0:51:33 > 0:51:34as starch for their robes.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37The egg yolks they use for making sweets.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42In the 1830s, Portugal abolished its monasteries,
0:51:42 > 0:51:46and monks from the nearby Jeronimo monastery, seeking a living,
0:51:46 > 0:51:48began to sell tarts in this shop.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Soon after, the shop started manufacturing them
0:51:52 > 0:51:54to the monks' original recipe.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57This is the puff pastry.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01She is cutting the puff pastry into little pieces.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03Now, you are going to cut a little piece, aren't you?
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Yes, please. I'd love to have a go at that.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Yes, and you stretch and you pull, and stretch...
0:52:10 > 0:52:12SHE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:52:12 > 0:52:15- Round it. Make it round. Yeah. - Make it round.
0:52:16 > 0:52:21The buttery puff pastry case is what makes a pastel de nata
0:52:21 > 0:52:23different from an English custard tart.
0:52:27 > 0:52:28I'm cutting them a bit too big.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31She says it ought to be like the top of my thumb
0:52:31 > 0:52:34but I'm quite worried about leaving the top of my thumb in the mix.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36- Nice, nice, nice.- Thank you.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42The pastry case has to be thin enough that it cooks through
0:52:42 > 0:52:45before the delicate custard curdles.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49- What do you think?- Good. Very good. - Is that one all right?
0:52:49 > 0:52:52- Yes.- You're just going to perfect it, I know.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00The recipe for the custard itself is so closely guarded
0:53:00 > 0:53:05that even the pastry cooks aren't allowed to see it being made.
0:53:05 > 0:53:06Once it's piped into the cases,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09the tarts go into a fiercely hot oven
0:53:09 > 0:53:11before being carried straight to the shop,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14where as many as 18,000 go on sale every day.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24Will you have one?
0:53:24 > 0:53:27I will, but we have to sprinkle first with cinnamon.
0:53:29 > 0:53:34And, as the cinnamon is a sour spice,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38then we sprinkle, to cut the sourness, with icing sugar.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Mmm, magnificent custard.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Lovely pastry, and the taste of cinnamon on the top,
0:53:48 > 0:53:49that's wonderful.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53Perhaps this one, you made. Who knows?
0:53:56 > 0:53:57That's so good.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Having sampled Lisbon's cafe culture,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Edwardian tourists were refuelled
0:54:08 > 0:54:10and ready to press on with their sightseeing.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15A must-see was the Praca do Comercio,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18described in Bradshaw's as the centre of Lisbon life.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24But while they admired the handsome architecture, readers were reminded
0:54:24 > 0:54:26that just five years before their guide was published,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29on the 1st of February, 1908,
0:54:29 > 0:54:33events unfolded here that devastated the Portuguese monarchy.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37I'm hearing the story from Rui Ramos of the University of Lisbon.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42So, the royal family is returning to Lisbon
0:54:42 > 0:54:44after a fortnight in the country.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47They arrived at a station on the other side of the river
0:54:47 > 0:54:50and then they take a boat into Lisbon.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52They disembark near this square,
0:54:52 > 0:54:54where they get into an open carriage.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59They progress into the square with no guards.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02And in the square, there are a group of armed republicans
0:55:02 > 0:55:04that were looking for the Prime Minister.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06They didn't find the Prime Minister,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10but they suddenly see the royal family in front of them
0:55:10 > 0:55:11and they take advantage of it.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13They kill the king.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16They wounded the crown prince that later dies.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19The youngest son, future King Manuel II,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22escapes with a wound to the arm,
0:55:22 > 0:55:27so in five minutes they almost wiped out the entire royal family.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30So, this square was the scene of appalling horror.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36King Carlos's death was the culmination
0:55:36 > 0:55:38of a century of political upheaval.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Since the early 1800s,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43liberals had sought to limit the monarchy's powers,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45while by the early 20th century,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48shaky finances and the decline of Portugal's Empire
0:55:48 > 0:55:51had brought public discontent to fever pitch.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55The killings sparked outrage in Britain,
0:55:55 > 0:55:58especially from King Carlos's relative, King Edward VII.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03Meanwhile, 18-year-old Manuel ascended the throne,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06but his lack of experience soon brought the monarchy
0:56:06 > 0:56:08to crisis point.
0:56:08 > 0:56:13From 1908 to 1910, there is this succession of very weak governments.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17Parties splitting, ministers falling one after the other,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21until the king has this bright idea of appealing to the left.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25Now, with that appeal to the left, he didn't convince the left,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29but he managed to have the conservatives
0:56:29 > 0:56:30against the monarchy too.
0:56:30 > 0:56:35So, when the republicans make their move against the monarchy,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37there was no-one to defend the monarchy,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40and on the 5th of October, 1910, on that morning,
0:56:40 > 0:56:42the Portuguese republic is proclaimed
0:56:42 > 0:56:46from this balcony to a half full square.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Viva a republica.
0:56:53 > 0:56:59In a further twist, Manuel fled the country, seeking asylum in Britain.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02He lived the rest of his days in Richmond and Twickenham,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05where he adopted the lifestyle of an English aristocrat.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10It was the final chapter in the relationship
0:57:10 > 0:57:12of the Portuguese and British royalty,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15united since the days of Richard II.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21A century ago, the traveller knew that, long before the railways,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24the Atlantic Ocean bound together
0:57:24 > 0:57:28the bagpipe playing Celts of the British Isles and Galicia.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31The Atlantic was no limit for Portugal.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36England's oldest ally discovered and colonised land on three continents,
0:57:36 > 0:57:40and built this Belem Tower to defend its harbour.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44The British, Spanish and Portuguese empires are no more,
0:57:44 > 0:57:49and the kings and queens who made alliances have passed into history.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54But on this journey, I've sensed a welcome rooted in long friendship.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01'Next time, I'll visit the holy sites in Jerusalem...
0:58:04 > 0:58:08'..discover how the Holy Land left a mark on British royals...'
0:58:08 > 0:58:13- You're telling me that British kings were tattooed?- Yes.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17'..and follow in the footsteps of a celebrated British hero.'
0:58:17 > 0:58:18And up we go.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23Wow. What sort of targets does T E Lawrence select?
0:58:23 > 0:58:27He blows up substantial sections of the Hejaz Railway.