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In 1840, one man
transformed travel in Britain.

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His name was George Bradshaw
and his railway guides inspired the
Victorians to take to the tracks.

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Stop by stop,
he told them where to travel,
what to see, and where to stay.

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Now, 170 years later, I'm making a
series of journeys across the length

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and breadth of the country, to see
what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

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Over the last few days,
I've been travelling on
railway lines in Southeast England

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that got the Victorian
middle classes on the move
and opened up remote farmland.

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WHISTLE BLOWS

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With George Bradshaw's
19th-century guidebook whispering
travel tips in my ear,

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I am now completing my journey
that began on the south coast
of Britain, and has brought me

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to the northern shores of Norfolk,
and a vintage diesel, running on
a heritage line out of Dereham.

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And indeed, one of the reasons
I enjoy visiting Norfolk
is to be reminded of the skill

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and effort that's required
to put food on our plates.

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'Writing about this part of England,
my Bradshaw's Guide makes very clear
what Victorians liked to eat.

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'So along the way, I'll be finding
out why a rare breed of turkey
is making a modern comeback...'

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We start hatching here in April.
That's a long time to Christmas,

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and it takes a long time to
finish them, so you're getting more
of a moist meat. Roll on Christmas!

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'..sitting shakily
in the driving seat...'

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I think I do need further lessons,
I don't think that was a complete
success! But it was very exciting.

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'..and seeing the crowds still drawn
to a Victorian delicacy.'

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It saves the person doing the
eating a lot of work, doesn't it?

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Of course, yeah. Not everybody knows
how to dress a crab.

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And not everybody can
dress a crab like Tracy!

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I'm almost at the end of my journey
from Brighton through London

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and across the fens
of Cambridgeshire.

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Having left King's Lynn,
I'm now heading for East Dereham,

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before reaching
the North Norfolk coast.

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Today, after taking
the heritage line to Wymondham,

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I'll move on to Norwich and my final
stop, the seaside town of Cromer.

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The first stretch of the route
takes me away from the main line,
along a rural Norfolk branch line.

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In Bradshaw's time, it was used
to transport turkeys to market

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in London, earning its trains
the nickname "the Turkey Express".

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Now, it's a heritage route,
operating the last generation
of diesels.

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Every smell, every sound,
the roar of the diesel,

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the chug-chug across the railway
lines, it's all so evocative
of a form of rail travel now gone.

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I'm about to go and see the driver,

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Peter, and I've met him before.

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Peter Eyre has worked on this route
for over 12 years.

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Peter. Good morning.
How lovely to see you.

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It's been a while, hasn't it?

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It has, Michael, it has indeed.

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Can you remind me
where it was that we met?

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We met in Hornsey EMU depot,
when you presented me

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with the Minister's Cup
for punctuality on the
Great Northern out of King's Cross.

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And you absolutely deserved it,
well done.

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Well, those were electric trains
you were driving then. Yes, yes.

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Now we're on a diesel,
have you driven every sort of train?

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Virtually, yes.

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HORN BLARES

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So, Peter, this diesel multiple
unit, this was being introduced
when I was a kid, in the '50s.

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Yes. That's right. And it was
elbowing the steam engines aside.
That's right. Was that a sad time?

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It was. It was into the unknown.

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A lot of the older drivers
at that time, they really
couldn't get used to it.

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And we had two or three
incidents on the railway,

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where people actually committed
suicide because of the pressure,
they couldn't handle the change.

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That's very sad, isn't it? It is.

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They just couldn't get
their head round it.

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Right, now,
I'm going to put you in the seat.

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So you get an idea of a bit of basics
on what a driver's job was.

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Well, that's...

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OK, Peter, that's pretty daunting!

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Now, the first thing
you've got to remember,

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this is what they call
the dead man's handle. Yes.

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You've got to keep it down,
because if you release it,

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between five and seven seconds,
you'll get a brake application. Yeah.

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That is the most important thing.

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Knock that right round
to number one... One.

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..open up, and blow the horn.

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It seems like having to tickle
the top of your head and play
with your nose at the same time!

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And then kick this into one...?
Straight to the top.

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That's it.

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Wow. Now, open the controller.

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That's it, yes, that's fine.

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Now, open the controller a bit,
to give her some power.

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You see the board on the right
with the big red dot in it? Yeah.

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Well, that is a stop signal. Right.

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And that's where we shall stop.

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Now, gradually bring the brake
round towards you.

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A bit more, keep going.

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Bit more.

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That was a bit of
a sharp pull-up, wasn't it?
If we were doing this for real,

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the public would be
really having a go.
They'd say, "Who's driving that?

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"You've just spilt my tea."

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Yes. I think I do need
further lessons. I don't think
that was a complete success!

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But it was very exciting indeed.

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I'll tell them George Bradshaw
was driving!

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Yes, that's right.

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I've more or less safely
delivered myself to Thuxton,

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which though tiny, scores
a mention in Bradshaw's Guide.

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Bradshaw says of North
and Northeast Norfolk that,
with its sandy and gravelly soil,

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"it is peculiarly
salubrious and pleasant".

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And it isn't just human beings
that find it so.

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'Turkeys have also thrived here.
The mild Norfolk climate has

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'for centuries made it
an ideal place to breed them.

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'But the trade really
took off in the 1870s,
when the railways were completed.

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'I've come to explore the origins
of the turkey business

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'and first, I'm meeting Bob Curson,

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'who's spent over 60 years
in the industry.'

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That is a magnificent car.

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'Bob, who's now retired, has clearly
come to pick me up in style.'

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In your day, how did turkeys
get to the people who wanted
to eat them? All by rail.

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They were all sent to Liverpool
Street, all over the country, really.

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Were you putting your turkeys
onto passenger trains?

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Yes, oh yes.

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You couldn't have them hanging
about on a goods train, could you?

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No. Otherwise they'd be gone off
before they got there!

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Do you remember taking them
down to the station? Oh, yes, yes.

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I'm on the photograph, you see?
Can I see that?

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Yeah, of course you can.

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There's something written
on the back.

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1954. 1954 that is, yes.

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"Consignment of oven-ready turkeys,
packed in crates to go by train
from Thuxton station to London.

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"Bob Curson by the tractor."

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That's you! Yes. That's a fantastic
photo. Thank you for showing it to
me. That's all right. My pleasure.

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Are we travelling
to the farm in your car?

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If you'll take a chance on it!

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I'll take a chance on it!
Fabulous. Wow!

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This is quite an experience for me.

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Bob's taking me to the farm
where he used to work.

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I'll be meeting a local family
who've been breeding turkeys

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since the poultry trains
began running in the 19th century.

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Good morning, Pat! Good morning.

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How lovely to be here.
Nice to see you.

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What a lovely farm. Yes. And it's
your family farm? Yes, it is.

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My father always called it
"the home of the Norfolk Blacks".

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The Norfolk Black is the oldest
breed of turkey in the country.

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Pat and her son, James, run one of
the few farms still rearing them
in the traditional way.

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Right, well here we see James,
he's now going to feed...

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Hello, James. Hello, Michael.
Very nice to see you. And you.

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This is the Norfolk Black turkey?
This is the Norfolk Black
turkey, that's right.

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But it's not really from Norfolk?
No. Originally it came
from South America.

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And then arrived in the early 1500s,
it arrived in Europe and obviously

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King Henry VIII was first English
king to have turkey at his banquets.

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Along with peacocks and pheasants
and various other game,

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because it was a game bird,

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and it is still a game bird
that we have here today.

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By Victorian times,
turkey had become a popular choice
for Christmas dinner,

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thanks to the railways and because
it featured in Charles Dickens's
popular tale, A Christmas Carol.

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In the 20th century, farmers began
crossbreeding turkeys to make
bigger, faster-growing birds.

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The traditional Norfolk Black
was almost extinct when,

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in the 1930s,
James's grandfather built up
a new flock of pedigree birds.

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You should look at a pure Norfolk
Black turkey as a very angular

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type of bird.

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It shouldn't be very round
and roly-poly.

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The other varieties
grow a lot quicker,

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therefore they need less time
to rear and feed and labour
and everything else.

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These guys here,
we start hatching here in April.

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That's a long time to Christmas,
and it obviously takes
a long time to finish them.

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So therefore you get
more of a moist meat.

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James's birds roam outside
for most of the year,

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fed with grain grown on the farm.

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This year, he's rearing 2,500,
as the breed is popular

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with those seeking
a distinctive Christmas treat.

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I have to ask you, when you sit
down to your Christmas lunch,

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what do you eat? Turkey!

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Turkey? Unfortunately, yes!

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I don't know how you can
bear the sight of it by then!

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Well, it's a bit early to take
a Christmas turkey,
so I'm leaving empty-handed,

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as I continue my journey
back on the main line.

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This is Wymondham station.
On my travels, I've seen many

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good-looking stations,
but this one really is beautiful,

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and it looks almost as much
like a garden as a railway station.

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I have arrived ahead of time,
to explore the station cafe.

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It's been voted one of the top ten
station eateries in the UK.

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It's absolutely glorious.
The whole thing is not so much

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like a first-class lounge
as a first-class compartment.

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Complete with luggage racks.

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Can I help you, sir? Hello.

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It's absolutely beautiful in here.

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Are you responsible for this?

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For my sins, yes, I am.

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It's rather a dream
that's come true, actually.

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23 years ago,
I took on this building,
which was absolutely redundant

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and in a dreadful state of repair,
and put a lot of money into it

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and resurrected it
to what you see now.

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With the theme Brief Encounter.

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But it's still a railway station?
Oh, yes.

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A very important station now,
complete with ticket office,
screening,

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cameras and announcements, et cetera.

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So is the railway happy
that you've done this terrific job?

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I think they are.
They never interfere with anybody,
and I've had nothing but respect

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from all departments. I'm just going
to have a cup of tea, please.

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Jolly good. It's been a great
pleasure to talk to you, sir.
Great to see you. Bye-bye.

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After a refreshing cup of tea,
it's time to catch my next train.

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I'm heading ten miles
along the tracks to
this county's capital, Norwich.

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Whenever I go to Norwich,

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I'm struck by the quality
of its architecture.

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It's got lots of
really splendid old buildings.

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Obviously the cathedral and the
castle, but also many fine houses.

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And it's all testimony to the fact
that once, it was one of
Britain's most prosperous cities.

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In fact, Norwich is home to
what was, in Bradshaw's era, one of
Britain's premier banks - Gurney's.

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It's mentioned several times
in my guide.

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Hello, Anthony. Michael.
How do you do?

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Good to see you.

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'Historian Anthony Howe
is waiting for me

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'outside the bank's
old headquarters.'

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I wanted to meet you here because
I was intrigued by something
in my Bradshaw's Guide.

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It says on Bank Plain,
which is apparently where we are,
is Gurney's Bank,

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"established by an old Norfolk
family, equally known for their
good works and philanthropy."

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It's an impressive spot
for their bank, isn't it?

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Absolutely. This spot, I think,
reflects the stature of the family,

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both within the business community
and within the city and the region.

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They were not only
outstanding businessmen,

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but also of great importance
in terms of philanthropy
and other good works,

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00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,120
in terms of anti-slavery,
support for religion,

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00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,080
prison reform, and even
the setting up of Liberia.

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00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,520
Bradshaw's recommends Gurney's
as a place to take out cash

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along your travels.

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But immediately
after the guide was published,

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the Gurneys were involved in the
biggest financial crash in history.

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One branch of the family
diversified into funding credit
in the City of London.

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They set up this new bank,
Overend Gurney, and it was that bank
which was involved in a crisis.

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00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,040
This was a period of
a global financial boom,

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00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,720
and so they start putting money
into shipping, shipbuilding.

215
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,760
They do invest in extending some
of the suburban railways in London.

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00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,880
The bank began to buy
risky new investments,

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00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:25,240
including railway stock.

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00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:31,440
Railway shares boomed in the 1860s,
but were hugely overvalued.

219
00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:37,760
When the bubble burst in 1866,
panicking shareholders
prompted a run on the bank.

220
00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,160
So, the bank actually fails?

221
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,240
People are out there in the street,
demanding their money back?

222
00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,360
Absolutely. The day after, there's
pandemonium in the City of London.

223
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:51,760
Not just knocking on Gurney's doors,
but on the doors of all the banks,

224
00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:58,240
because the fear was that every bank
was going to come down. They became
too speculative and, in 1866,

225
00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:03,160
they found that they were no longer
able to fund all their projects.

226
00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:05,040
Effectively, they were bankrupt.

227
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:12,640
This offshoot of Gurney's bank
collapsed, owing the equivalent in
today's money of almost £1 billion.

228
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,120
It led to a new role
for the Bank of England,

229
00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:20,760
which, from then on,
agreed to rescue the banking system
if it failed.

230
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,200
This has a very modern feel about,
this story, doesn't it?

231
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,680
Absolutely, yes.

232
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,080
It was the product
of speculation and greed.

233
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:33,360
And so it was a moral lesson for
the City of London that was learnt.

234
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,840
Intrigued by stories
of economic calamity,

235
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,080
I've sought a place to stay,

236
00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,120
connected with
the Norfolk banking family.

237
00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,200
When the prudent Gurneys
were building up their banking
business in the 18th century,

238
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,880
they had an elegant Norwich
townhouse built for them.

239
00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,520
It's now a bed and breakfast,
and the place that I've decided
to spend the night.

240
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,240
Morning has broken in Norwich.

241
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,880
My Bradshaw's Guide refers to
mustard seed under Cambridgeshire.

242
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,560
But I remember, as a kid, it was
my job to mix up the mustard powder

243
00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,400
with a little water
for our roast beef on Sunday.

244
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:31,280
And I couldn't help noticing
that the product came from Norwich.

245
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:36,520
And so 50 years later,
I couldn't leave the city without
discovering the home of mustard.

246
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,760
While investment in the railways
almost brought down Gurney's Bank,

247
00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,840
the trains boosted the fortunes
of this industry.

248
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,960
I'm heading to the site of
Colman's Mustard factory.

249
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,840
Thanks to its proximity to
the railways in the 19th century,

250
00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:59,440
this company grew rapidly
from a small local business
to a national giant.

251
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,200
I'm now clearly at the business end
of the manufacturing process.

252
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,440
I've got an appointment with Mick,
the miller, and I'm going to
find him somewhere up there.

253
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,720
Hello, Mick,
fantastic view, isn't it?

254
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:16,560
Fantastic, Michael. Welcome.

255
00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,400
From the top of these towering
silos, I can survey a whole area

256
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:25,920
of the city bought
by Jeremiah Colman in the mid-1800s.

257
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:32,000
He needed to actually get a site
where you'd got more interest
in the transport side of things.

258
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,880
What were the transport links
at this site?

259
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:40,400
Well, the railway, for a start-off,
the main railway, which was really
expanding in those days.

260
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,760
And he then contacted
the Norfolk Railway Company

261
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,640
and bought this piece of land,
that we are actually on now, in 1850.

262
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,720
'This was the first large-scale
mustard producer in Britain

263
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,760
'and the business quickly
spread across the site.

264
00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:02,480
'By 1885, an internal network of
trains shuttled up to 250 tons

265
00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:09,320
'of finished product a week
away from the factory, and vast
volumes of mustard seed into it.'

266
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,720
It feels like we've come to
the very heart of things here.

267
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,120
Yes, you're now in the nerve centre
of the mustard mill.

268
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:22,880
This is where we produce the
mustard flour from the seed, through
what we call the roller mills, here.

269
00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,640
I can see the powder
pouring through. Yes.

270
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,480
In between each one of these rollers
is a gigantic sifting machine,

271
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,760
which separates
the different grades of flour.

272
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,440
I imagine that even if
the process has changed,

273
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,040
the product is similar to what
the Victorians would have known?
Oh, yes, most definitely, yes.

274
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,680
'What makes English mustard
distinctive is the mix of brown

275
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,440
'and white seed, unlike
French Dijon, which uses only brown,

276
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,560
'and its smooth texture.

277
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,280
'In 1720, a Mrs Clement from Durham

278
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:57,320
'discovered how to make the
characteristic English fine ground
powder that we know and love today.'

279
00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:03,800
When I was a kid, it was always
powdered mustard. I don't remember
the jars of ready-made mustard.

280
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,680
No, they came into
being in the 1960s.

281
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:12,560
They wanted a convenience mustard,
so in actual fact, they made what we
call a ready-mixed jar of mustard.

282
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:17,360
Once you open it,
you can put it back in the fridge
and it's all made for you.

283
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:22,120
So when I was mixing mustard
as a kid, it wasn't because
I was from a deprived family,

284
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,520
they hadn't invented
the ready-made mustard yet!
No, not until the '60s, Michael.

285
00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:29,880
Up until then, it was all powdered
mustard. That dates me, then! And me!

286
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,720
Now, though,
it's time to leave Norwich
for the final leg of my journey,

287
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,440
heading out towards the coast.

288
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,240
1:45, platform six.

289
00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,880
My final destination, Cromer.

290
00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:02,120
I'm now bound around 27 miles
along the line towards the seaside.

291
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:06,640
My journey started in Brighton,
a resort within
easy striking distance of London.

292
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:12,040
And now I'm headed for Cromer,
another much-loved
holiday destination.

293
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:13,960
But on the North Norfolk coast,

294
00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:18,040
you get an idea of the power
and the beauty of nature.

295
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:22,200
It's altogether more remote,
more wild.

296
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,880
When the railways arrived,
trainloads of Victorians
came to enjoy the beaches.

297
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,880
New hotels, guest houses
and businesses soon sprang up,

298
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:39,080
turning Cromer
into a bustling resort.

299
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:44,640
According to my Bradshaw's,
Cromer is "a pleasant bathing place
on the cliffs of the North Sea.

300
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:49,440
"Crabs and lobsters are got." Yummy!

301
00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:01,800
It seems that Cromer's famous
seafood is as popular
as it was in Bradshaw's day.

302
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,800
Delicious-looking crabs.

303
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,320
Yes. What's the Cromer crab? Why is
it different from other crabs?

304
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:12,680
Why is it different to other
people's? The water is shallow,
they live on a flinty, chalky bottom.

305
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,440
And there's not a heavy density of
water pressure on top of them,

306
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,560
so the meat is that much sweeter.

307
00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:20,480
Have you been in business long?

308
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,720
Yeah, a little while. A little while.
About eight generations.

309
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,400
You're not serious? Really?
Yes, I am serious! Yes.

310
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,200
What, selling crabs?
Yes, catching and selling crabs, yes.

311
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,360
Catching them too? Yes.
Do you do the catching? Yes. Yeah.

312
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,920
I'm not normally in the shop. My wife
Claire runs the shop.

313
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,600
Hello. But yes,
I'm mainly at sea, I catch the crabs.

314
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,280
Then what do you do? Because
you sell them dressed, don't you?

315
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,920
Well, we sell boiled, dressed,
boiled crabs, dressed crabs,
very few live crabs nowadays.

316
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,280
Of course, years ago,
all the live crabs,

317
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:54,360
straight on the trains
and off to Norwich, London,
all over the place. Really?

318
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:58,480
They went down live, did they?
Yeah, all live, yeah.
Alive-alive-oh! Yes!

319
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:06,000
'On a good day, up to 200 crabs
are prepared in this shop,

320
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,920
'and I can't wait
to taste their delicious meat.'

321
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:14,160
So these crabs have been boiled
first, have they? Yes, they were
caught and boiled this morning.

322
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:19,440
A dressed crab, the ideal thing
is to have the different meats,
the dark meat, the white meat?

323
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:26,040
Yeah, you've got the brown meat,
which is more a creamy, yellowy meat,
and then the white meat on the top.

324
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,160
Is that all from one crab,
or more than one together?

325
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,000
No. That's all from one crab.

326
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,200
It saves the person eating it
a lot of work, doesn't it?

327
00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:39,600
Yeah. Not everybody knows how to
dress a crab. And not everybody
can dress a crab like Tracy!

328
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,720
Tracy, you're doing
that with amazing skill.

329
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:46,920
I guess you've been doing that
a while. How long have you
been doing it? About 27 years.

330
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,080
Wow. Are you the most experienced
crab-dresser that you know?

331
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:52,680
No. No?! No.

332
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,600
I should imagine there's more
out there. Really? Yes..

333
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,200
She's definitely our most
experienced crab-dresser!

334
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,320
That looks absolutely fantastic.
Look at that.

335
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:06,960
'Since Victorian times, this is how
Cromer crabs have been dressed.'

336
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,800
Mmm. Completely fresh.

337
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,240
Absolutely beautiful. Mmm!

338
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:17,440
Worth the train ride, do you think?
Worth the train ride.

339
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,720
Tastes of the sea.

340
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:21,200
Isn't that wonderful?

341
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:29,720
Although the sea provides
Cromer's livelihood,
it's also a threat to the town.

342
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:36,400
The situation became desperate
in the 19th century and is even
documented in my Bradshaw's Guide.

343
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,840
I'm hoping coastal engineer
Peter Frew can tell me more.

344
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,040
Hello, Peter! Hi, Michael.

345
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,160
What a wonderful view
we have today, don't we?

346
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,400
We do.
Beautiful beach, beautiful weather.

347
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:53,480
Now, my Bradshaw's Guide says
that Cromer is suffering from "the
encroachments of the North Sea",

348
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:58,160
"by which the land is
fast swallowed up, and converted
into dangerous shoals".

349
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,600
I'm guessing we're standing on
a Victorian sea defence,
is that right? Yes, we are.

350
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,440
These defences were built in 1845,

351
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,400
in response to the erosion
they were experiencing.

352
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:16,840
The walls in Cromer were built...
The starting point was mid-1830s,

353
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:23,320
some more again in 1845,
and some more again right at the end
of the century, 1899, 1900.

354
00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,280
In the 19th century,
Cromer was so devastated by erosion

355
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,880
that cliffs, a jetty and even
a lighthouse, were washed away.

356
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,320
This blossoming seaside resort
faced disaster.

357
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:42,000
The Victorians' solution was
to build these massive sea walls.

358
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,560
And were they effective?
Did they keep the sea at bay?

359
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:47,880
Yes, they did.

360
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:53,280
The terraces we've got above us here
today would not be there,

361
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,440
had not the Victorians
built these defences.

362
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,880
They built in the Victorian way,
strong, and for the long term?

363
00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:00,960
Yes, they did.

364
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,760
These impressive, Grade II-listed
walls may have saved the town,

365
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:13,160
but further along the coast, I can
see just how destructive the sea is.

366
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:19,920
There have been cliff falls along
here, and we can see one of those on
the beach there, which has come down,

367
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:25,080
ended up on the beach, the sea
then has started to erode it away.

368
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,320
And over this stretch of coast here,

369
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:32,000
we've lost probably
four or five metres
in the last three or four years.

370
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,240
So is there a move now to build
more Victorian-style defences?

371
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,520
Where we've got towns,
we will be building defences.

372
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:45,800
Where we haven't got towns,
we're moving towards saying,
"Nature maybe had the right idea."

373
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,760
A good beach is a good defence.
The Victorians weren't wrong,

374
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,880
they did a good job
with what they did do.

375
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,600
But perhaps our understanding now,
the way the sea behaves,

376
00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:02,040
the way the coast then behaves with
the action of the sea, means that
maybe we're changing our views.

377
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,320
Having followed my
Bradshaw's Guide across the country,

378
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,280
I find evidence all around
of the enduring Victorian legacy.

379
00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,880
Modern customs
and modern architecture

380
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:19,600
have transformed our towns,
but at their core,
they are unmistakably Victorian.

381
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,200
My journey from Brighton
has taken me from coast to coast.

382
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,840
The railways joined up the
once-remote places in between,

383
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,840
with results both good and bad.

384
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,720
I've been struck by
how small our island is.

385
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,560
And it was a thought that
bedazzled the Victorians,

386
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:41,920
that little Britain could be
the most powerful nation on Earth.

387
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,680
For in those days,
Britannia ruled the waves.

388
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:46,320
But for many Victorians,

389
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:50,360
British coastal resorts
were the limits of their ambitions.

390
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,840
And on a day like today, you feel
they weren't missing very much.

391
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,800
'On my next journey, I'll be
following the route of the Irish
Mail, travelling north from Ledbury,

392
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:08,640
'through Wales to Holyhead,
on the Isle of Anglesey.

393
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,680
'Along the way, I'll be
scaling Wales's highest peak,
Mount Snowdon...'

394
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:19,240
It's magnificent!
It's really imposing.

395
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:23,480
'..uncovering a hidden
chemical weapons plant...'

396
00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:28,160
We're probably looking at
the Second World War's
most secret building in Britain.

397
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,440
In 1942-43, there was nowhere
more secret in the world than this.

398
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,480
'..and admiring
the world's first iron bridge.'

399
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,120
Where would I have to go to see it?
Just down the bottom.

400
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:40,560
It's amazing! You'll love it.

401
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,680
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

402
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,640
E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk