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For Victorian Britons, George
Bradshaw was a household name.

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At a time when railways were new,

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Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
to take to the tracks.

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I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide
to understand how trains transformed

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Britain - its landscape, its
industry, society and leisure time.

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As I crisscross
the country 150 years later,

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it helps me
to discover the Britain of today.

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On this final leg of my journey
from England's heartlands to

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moorlands, I'll be discovering
how the Victorian age marked

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a change in our attitude to nature,
reflected in many things,

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from ambitious engineering projects
to romantic poetry.

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My route, which began in Birmingham,
now arrives in south-west England,

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where I'll be visiting
ancient farmlands

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and battlegrounds, before ending
up on the wild

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uplands of one of Britain's most
glorious national parks.

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Today, I'm starting out in romantic
Bridgwater in Somerset, then on

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to historic Taunton, before arriving
at my final destination, Dartmoor.

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On this leg of the journey,

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I get to grips with
a miracle of Victorian engineering...

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I've never felt so much power.

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ANGRY SHOUTING

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..stand trial in Taunton and suffer
the full weight of the law...

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I plead guilty and throw myself upon
the mercy of this court.

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..and go looking for hidden
treasure on Dartmoor.

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I've found it! Hurray!

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SHE LAUGHS

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I'm now approaching the end of my
journey, and the town of Bridgwater.

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Bradshaw's tells me that
at Nether Stowey, Coleridge lived

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from 1796 to 1798 after marrying, and
here he wrote The Ancient Mariner.

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Wordsworth was his neighbour,
and composed his lyrical ballads,

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the subject of many
interminable discussions,

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as the friends walked over
the hills together.

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I'm headed
for Somerset's Little Poets Corner.

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Lying at the edge
of the Somerset Levels,

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the ancient inland port of Bridgwater
is seven miles from the sea,

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and has been an important trading
centre since Saxon times.

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The railway arrived here in 1841,
and the station,

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designed by Brunel, is the perfect
jumping-off point for my visit.

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In nearby Nether Stowey is
a small cottage once

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lived in by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,

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who wrote some of his most famous
work here, including Kubla Khan.

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I hope to discover more about the
poet's life in the village

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from Coleridge expert Tina Mitchell.

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Hello, Tina. Hello, Michael!

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Tina, what was it that brought the
Samuel Taylor Coleridge family

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to this cottage? They were looking to
escape their debts, and they met up

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with a friend, a local man of
substance, Tom Poole.

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This was the only cottage at the
time that he could find for them,

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and he described it as
"a bit of a hovel".

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I mean, nowadays, it looks very nice
indeed, a lovely village

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and a lovely cottage. You're telling
me it was something different then?

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When they moved in, you have to
imagine a much smaller cottage.

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It was thatched, there was an open
sewer running past the front door,

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so the stench in summer would've
been something unimaginable.

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Was it a coincidence that the
Wordsworths were neighbours

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staying close by? No, it wasn't.

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They'd met previously while walking

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and a friendship began which was to
last a very, very long time.

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So, the Wordsworths actively looked
to move here to be near to

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

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Coleridge and the Wordsworths
went on almost daily walks

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together in the nearby
Quantock Hills.

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But his long-suffering wife Sarah
stayed behind, to try to make

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the best of their new home.

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Tina, what were
conditions like for them?

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You have to imagine that the
cottage then,

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when they moved in, was very dark,
it was damp, it was very draughty.

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It was overrun with mice.

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How did Coleridge's wife Sarah
feel about that?

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Obviously, her priority was to
her child Hartley.

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She wanted to get the cottage
as cosy as possible as fast

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as possible
and as warm as she could.

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Was this a period of strain
for the marriage, do you think?

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Originally, no.

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They were very much in love
when they moved into the cottage.

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Unfortunately, when Samuel Taylor
Coleridge was in Germany

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for a long period, Berkeley, their
second child,

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became very ill while he was away
and died in the February.

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge didn't come
back until the July,

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so obviously, this put a great
strain on the marriage

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and was the beginning
of the end of the marriage.

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Nowadays, it's generally accepted
that Coleridge was probably

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suffering from manic depression,

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which over the years was
exacerbated by his opium addiction.

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But when he moved to Nether Stowey,
he was still a young idealist,

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seeking the simple life
for his family, surrounded by nature.

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Tina, the garden looks very
beautiful.

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Was it like this in Coleridge's day?

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When they moved in, it was twice
the size of what you see today.

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His idea was to live
a life of self-sufficiency.

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Unfortunately, he was slowly taken
away to other areas,

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such as writing his poetry
and talking long into the night,

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and the garden unfortunately
suffered

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and ended up as more of a wild
garden than a vegetable garden.

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So if the garden was abandoned,

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that, at least, implies that this was
a period when he was writing.

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It was while he was here that he
was most prolific.

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It was the birthplace
of the Romantic literary movement

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and while he was here,
in those short three years,

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he wrote Kubla Khan, The Rime Of
The Ancient Mariner

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and he wrote This Lime-Tree Bower
My Prison.

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'This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison,
was inspired not so much by nature,

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'but by his sorrow at missing
out on it.'

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Coleridge was about to set off on yet
another walk with his cronies,

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when his wife,
presumably now heartily fed up,

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spilt a pan of boiling milk
over his foot.

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He retired to the said lime-tree
bower in pain, to vent his angst.

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Let's have a read of that
famous sulk.

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"Well, they are gone,
and here must I remain,

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"This lime-tree bower my prison!
I have lost

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"Beauties and feelings,
such as would have been

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"Most sweet to my remembrance even
when age

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"Had dimm'd mine eyes to blindness!
They, meanwhile,

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"Friends,
whom I never more may meet again,

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"On Springy heath,
along the hill-top edge,

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"Wander in gladness..."

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You've got to feel sorry for him,
haven't you? Stuck here on his own.

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Bradshaw's comments that,
"Somerset possesses every gradation,

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"from the lofty mountain
and barren moor, to the rich

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"and cultivated vale

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"and then descends to the
unimprovable marsh and fens."

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But that was to underestimate
Victorian ingenuity.

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The low-lying land could be improved
and made suitable for agriculture.

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And these newly raised
banks of the River Parrett,

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are intended to protect these
fields from flooding.

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'Man has been battling nature
for control of the Somerset levels

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'since Roman times.

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'This 160,000 acres of coastal plain

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'drains naturally into two rivers,
the Tone and the Parrett.

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'But the majority of the land
lies below sea level,

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'so a combination of tidal surges
and heavy rains,

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'such as we've seen in recent years,
can have catastrophic consequences.

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'Until the Victorian age,
when floods came, residents

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'and farmers could only watch
and wait for the water to subside.

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'But in 1830,
an act of parliament ordered

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'the construction of a steam-powered
pumping station at Westonzoyland,

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'to eject water from flooded land
back into the river.'

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Hello!

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Are you going towards
the Victorian pumping station?

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Yes, please jump on. Thank you.

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'I'm hitching a ride on one
of the original log-carrying

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'locomotives that would have kept
the boiler supplied with fuel.'

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Thank you. Thank you.

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'In Victorian times,
the station attendant,

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'who operated the pump,
would live here.'

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Hello, Michael, welcome to
Westonzoyland Pumping Station.

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I'm looking forward to this.

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'Nowadays, this remarkable
machine is kept in working

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'order by enthusiasts, including
Alan Davies and John Trenchard.'

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This is a Victorian engine?
It is indeed, Michael.

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It was built in 1861,
developed by John George Appold.

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And he demonstrated it in 1851,
at the Great Exhibition.

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Was this Victorian engine pretty
effective as a pump?

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It was very effective.

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In fact, at the International
Exhibition, of 1862,

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one of these was set up with
a tank of water.

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It could pump 100 tonnes
of water a minute.

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That is about an inch of water
off an acre of land every minute,

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which is quite phenomenal.
Absolutely phenomenal.

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By the end of the Victorian era,

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there were eight pumping stations
on the Somerset Levels.

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This is the only one still
operational,

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although it's not part of the
drainage system any more.

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I've never felt so much power.

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In 2014, after some of the worst
January rains on record,

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25 square miles of the Somerset
Levels were left underwater.

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There followed the largest mobile
pumping operation ever

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undertaken in Europe.

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With 120 pumps working around the
clock, capable of moving 8.5 million

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tonnes of water a day, enough to fill
Wembley Stadium seven times over.

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Carymoor station was
one of those on the front-line

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and I'm heading there now to
meet Tim Musgrove,

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of the Environment Agency,
to hear how they coped.

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Tim.
Hello, Michael.

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I've just come from seeing
a Victorian steam engine... Yes.

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..which, though working,
is not moving water around any more,

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but these are.

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Yes, these two do and do most
winters. What is their job?

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Their job is to get
the water from the moor

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and push it out into the river.

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These engines themselves
look quite elderly.

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Yes, they're 1954, they went in
and they're just clocking up

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with 750,000 hours without any
breakdowns.

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What is the capacity?
How much water can they pump?

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They're pumping just
over 2,200 litres a second, each.

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You had, in Somerset,
devastating floods in 2014.

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What was that like for you?

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It was a busy time, I can't deny.

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In here it was all
flooded for two months.

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Were the engines damaged?

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No, no, the engines don't get
any water on them,

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they are built too high
out of the water.

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00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,280
Could I actually see
the engine running?

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00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,320
Yes, we're just doing
a maintenance run,

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00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,400
so we can start them up,
run and pump some water.

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Success!

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00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,160
Can we see what it's doing?

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Did I really do that?

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00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,600
So that's, what, about two
tonnes of water a second? Yes.

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And this is, which river now?

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This is the River Tone
and it flows down

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and out to the River Parrett
and then into the Bristol Channel.

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And then safely into the sea. Yes.

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'I'm returning to Bridgwater Station,

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00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,840
'to catch the Great Western service,
heading south.'

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00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:10,440
I shall spend the last night
of this journey in Taunton.

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00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,480
Bradshaw says,
"The town, as seen from the station,

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"has a most pleasing appearance.

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00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:22,080
"It's situated in the central part of
the luxuriant Vale of Taunton Deane."

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And it mentions the Castle Hotel,
but, for once,

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I've no need for my Bradshaw's.

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00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,800
It's a place I know well.

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'My guidebook gives fulsome praise to
this ancient borough town,

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'but before I explore parts unknown,
I'm going to relax

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00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,240
'and enjoy
myself in familiar surroundings.'

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00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,920
Thank you, that looks lovely.
Thank you. Thank you.

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00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,200
I know this hotel well,

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00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,280
cos I've often spent weekends here
listening to classical music.

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But, tomorrow,
I must look into Taunton's history

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and something altogether more
discordant.

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'The next day, I'm up early and out
to soak up the atmosphere of this

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'historic town.'

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The name Taunton means,
"Town on the River Tone"

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and there's been a settlement here
since the Bronze Age.

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It grew to be prosperous
in the Middle Ages,

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00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,440
thanks to the wool trade.

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00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,760
But my focus is on the end of the
17th century.

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00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,960
The English Civil War was over,
but, once again,

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the monarchy was under threat.

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Bradshaw's tells me that,
here in Taunton,

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"The ill-fated Duke of Monmouth
proclaimed himself King, in 1685."

232
00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,080
He'd risen in rebellion, against the
new monarch, James II, who,

233
00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,200
unlike his predecessor,
was a Catholic.

234
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,520
There followed a mighty clash of arms

235
00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,560
and the last battle to be
fought on English soil.

236
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,040
The Duke of Monmouth was
an illegitimate

237
00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:27,800
son of King Charles II, living
in self-imposed exile in Holland.

238
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:33,520
In February 1685, he landed in Dorset
with 82 men and rode to Taunton,

239
00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:38,000
where the Protestant-leaning
citizens welcomed him.

240
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,240
Something they would come to regret.

241
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,600
I'm heading to St Mary's
Church in Chedzoy,

242
00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,280
ten miles north of Taunton,
to hear about the decisive

243
00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:52,320
Battle of Sedgemoor, from the head
of Somerset Museum, Steve Minute.

244
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,120
Hello, Steve. Beautiful church.

245
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,400
It is, one of the many fantastic
ones in Somerset.

246
00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:04,400
'Chedzoy Church has 13th century
origins and a tower 70ft high,

247
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,440
'which gives a commanding
view of the surrounding countryside.'

248
00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,840
Why have we come to the roof of the
tower of beautiful Chedzy Church?

249
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:15,640
Well, there was one small incident

250
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,600
that occurred immediately before the

251
00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,920
Battle of Sedgemoor,
which had a huge impact

252
00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:22,960
on the events at that time.

253
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:28,960
On the morning of 5th July 1685,
a local man, by the name

254
00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:34,480
of William Spark, he was a farmer,
came up here with his spyglass.

255
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:38,640
He looked out from where we are now,
across to Westonzoyland,

256
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,720
where the Royal army was camped

257
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,840
and saw that they weren't
particularly well-protected.

258
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,640
And, as a consequence of that,
Monmouth changed his plans.

259
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,600
And on the night of 5th July,
he set out,

260
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,360
in view of a surprise
attack on the Royal army.

261
00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,400
What was the result of the attack?

262
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,800
It was an utter disaster,
sadly, for the Duke of Monmouth

263
00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,360
and his followers.

264
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,240
The night was very misty,
they couldn't find

265
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,480
crossings of some of the ditches
and then a pistol was fired.

266
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,680
Almost certainly
one of the Royal Cavalry

267
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:09,520
had spotted something happening.

268
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,760
The rebels panicked
and hundreds of people were killed.

269
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,720
There followed an infamous period in
British history.

270
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,080
The fleeing rebels,

271
00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,440
and anyone thought to
have sympathised with them,

272
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,920
were rounded up and put on trial at
what became known as

273
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,160
the Bloody Assizes.

274
00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:33,240
"After the defeat at
Sedgemoor, King James' chief justice,

275
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,320
"Jeffreys,
the worthy tool of such a monster,

276
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:42,200
"held his Bloody Assizes,
at Taunton." Just here.

277
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,800
"Hundreds of poor wretches were
condemned to death,

278
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,120
"after being persuaded to throw
themselves on the King's mercy.

279
00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:54,320
"The executioner hanged one
man three times."

280
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,560
I just can't imagine what it would've
been like to be one of the accused.

281
00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,280
Bring on John Hucker.

282
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:09,960
Traitor! Traitor! Hang him! Traitor!

283
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,480
Silence!

284
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,320
John Hucker,
you stand accused of high treason,

285
00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,520
by lately being in armed
rebellion against your lawful King.

286
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,760
I am obliged by law to give you the
right to plead guilty or not guilty.

287
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,920
However, I will extend leniency,
where possible,

288
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,640
to those who plead guilty.

289
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,160
I have a muster roll here,
from the Duke of Monmouth's army,

290
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,200
with your name on it,
as a Captain of Horse.

291
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,080
I also have diverse, loyal witnesses
who will swear they saw you with

292
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:46,800
the Duke and indeed followed him all
the way to the battle at Sedgemoor.

293
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,160
That being so, how do you plead?

294
00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,960
In view of your words, my Lord,
I plead guilty

295
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,560
and throw myself upon
the mercy of this court.

296
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,880
"Guilty", eh?

297
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:10,200
Regrettably, the depth of your crime
is such that mercy has flown.

298
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,240
So, John Hucker, I find you
guilty of high treason

299
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,440
against your lawful King.

300
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,160
Do you have anything to
say before I pass sentence?

301
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:24,680
He's a traitor! Traitor! Liar!
String him up! Traitor!

302
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,680
Silence!

303
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,360
I stand before my God,
as a man of conscience.

304
00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:35,760
I could not remain idle
and see England led back to popery.

305
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,480
And, for that, I shall die.

306
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,440
Indeed you will.

307
00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,720
John Hucker, one time
captain of rebel horse, your lands,

308
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,840
properties and monies will be
forfeit to the Crown.

309
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,800
I sentence you to a traitor's death,
you will be hanged by the neck,

310
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,040
cut down whilst still alive and then
drawn and quartered.

311
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:59,600
May God have mercy on your soul.

312
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,480
Captain, take him away.

313
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:15,880
In all, 144 men and women were
condemned to death at the Assizes.

314
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:17,920
I'll have a black tea, please.

315
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,720
'Luckily, for us actors, it's a
refreshing cup of tea,

316
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,880
'not the gallows that beckons.'

317
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:31,000
I must say, you were a very fearsome
crowd, you really were. You!

318
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,960
You, screaming at me.

319
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,280
Thank you all very much indeed.

320
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,320
I've got a train to catch,

321
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,360
so...I can't hang around.

322
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:49,200
'Divesting myself of 17th century
garb, I return to Taunton Station

323
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,920
'for the final leg of this 200 mile
railway adventure.'

324
00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,920
The last station on my journey
will be Exeter St David's.

325
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:11,240
Bradshaw says that, "Dartmoor and the
waste called Dartmoor Forest occupy

326
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:15,040
"the greater portion of the western
district of Devonshire, which

327
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:19,800
"extends from the Vale of Exeter
to the banks of the River Tamar."

328
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:25,640
What a lovely, vast area, in which to
play a massive game of hide and seek.

329
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:34,960
Dartmoor and Dartmoor Forest
cover about 365 square

330
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,720
miles of rugged upland
and wooded valleys.

331
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:43,280
Interspersed with craggy,
granite outcrops, known as tors.

332
00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:48,080
It was officially designated
a national park in 1951,

333
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:53,120
but the Dartmoor Preservation Society
was established back in 1883.

334
00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:57,400
And it was popular with Victorian
walkers and nature lovers.

335
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,200
News has reached my ears
of a Dartmoor tradition,

336
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,160
called letterboxing,
which has enthusiasts

337
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,600
descending from all over the country
to scour the landscape.

338
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,360
To find out how it all started
and what they're looking for,

339
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:19,680
I'm heading up onto the moor to meet
keen letterboxer, Pat Reed.

340
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,680
Hello, Pat. Hello, Michael,
welcome to Shilstone Tor.

341
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,600
Thank you very much.
Well, it's a remote spot,

342
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,480
but I've been sent here to find
out about letterboxing.

343
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,840
What is it, when did it begin?

344
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:39,360
It began in 1854, it was started
by a man called James Perrot,

345
00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:42,320
who put the first letterbox
in a place called Cranmere Pool,

346
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,000
in a rather remote part of Dartmoor.

347
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,760
He left it there,
he had his visiting card,

348
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,080
he left that behind in it as well.

349
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:52,840
And then people used to go

350
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:57,440
and put their own visiting cards
in, to show that they'd actually

351
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,320
transversed that really difficult
part of the moor.

352
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:01,760
It was a challenge,

353
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,880
but even the ladies,
in their long dresses, managed it.

354
00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,480
And that must've been quite
something, I think.

355
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,240
How do you get your clues?

356
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,160
Well, in October and March, on the
days when the clock goes forward and

357
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:17,200
the clock goes back, we have what is
called, a "letterboxer's meet".

358
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,680
At that meet you can buy
a catalogue.

359
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,960
Which is what I'm
holding in my hand now

360
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,480
and this tells you
where all the boxes are.

361
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,920
"Black Spots, no.66, Shilstone Tor.

362
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:34,840
"White chimney 086 degrees,
a backward L-shaped,

363
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,400
"small holly in boulder very close."

364
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,120
This is written in gobbledegook.

365
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:43,560
Well, I will help you. Tell me
what the bearing is on the tor.

366
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:45,480
172 degrees.

367
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,240
So there is the compass,

368
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:51,520
so you need to move this dial around
until 172 is there.

369
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:53,800
Keep it in your hand.

370
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,240
You have to go where the arrow is
telling you to go.

371
00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,640
Pat, you've given me
a little clue, I think

372
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,840
I'm meant to go in that direction.
I think you'd better!

373
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,920
'Having been nudged
gently in the right direction,

374
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,480
'I now must keep my eyes
open for landmarks.'

375
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,200
When we set out,
I couldn't see any white chimney,

376
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,040
but, I must say, that white chimney,
actually, is very obvious.

377
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:21,640
It is very obvious.

378
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:27,800
Pat, I can see the tree,
so I'm putting that now to 335.

379
00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,760
Do you know, I'm getting quite...
You're getting very good at it.

380
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,280
Well, I don't know about that,
but I'm getting in to it.

381
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:36,560
Getting the hang of it.
And enjoying it.

382
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,200
Could you remind me,
what are we looking for?

383
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,840
Yes, we're looking for an L-shaped
rock, with a small holly growing in
it.

384
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,560
Right. So we have to climb, I think.
A little bit.

385
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,040
Let's climb, here we go.

386
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:54,080
'20 minutes later, after a lot
of bracken bashing, we strike lucky.'

387
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,960
I've found it! Hooray!

388
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,200
A backward, L-shaped rock.

389
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,640
But finding the rock was not
the point, was it, Pat?

390
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,640
It was to find the box.

391
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,720
Exactly, but the clue tells you
that it's under the rock,

392
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,440
so you've got to look and see.

393
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,800
There we have it. Ah-ha!

394
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:17,600
(The moment I've been waiting for.)

395
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,640
Is it money?

396
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,200
No.

397
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,440
MICHAEL LAUGHS
No such luck.

398
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,520
Oh. That's the visitors' book.

399
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:27,800
And a stamp...

400
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,880
..of a dog, by the look of it.
What happens next?

401
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,080
Every letterboxer carries an ink pad
and a book and a stamp.

402
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:41,600
Here is your special Great British
Railway letterboxing stamp.

403
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:42,800
Ah, thank you.

404
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:45,680
'Until the 1970s,

405
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,440
'there were no more than a dozen
letterboxes around Dartmoor.

406
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:53,160
'But in the last 40 years, it's
become so popular that there are said

407
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,600
'to be over 5,000
and definitely room for one more.'

408
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,000
Pat, do you think
I might create my own letterbox?

409
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,480
I think that would be a wonderful
idea and I know just the spot

410
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,080
where you could do just that thing.

411
00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:17,600
Pat, what a wizard spot.
That is wonderful.

412
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,520
Absolutely perfect,
it'll take your box.

413
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,680
Put my stamp inside, seal the box.

414
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:31,680
Into the hole. Yes.

415
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,400
How will people find the
Great British Railway Journey's box?

416
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,080
The clue for this box will
appear in the next

417
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,640
edition of the Catalogue
of Dartmoor Letterboxers.

418
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:44,520
They'll have to buy the book.
They will indeed.

419
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:51,240
The Victorians were remarkably
inventive in every sphere.

420
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:58,360
From industry, to the arts,
to how they spent their leisure time.

421
00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:02,880
It was an age of change and progress,
powered by the railways.

422
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:06,360
My rail journey that
began in urban Birmingham has

423
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:10,840
ended on desolate Dartmoor,
passing Jerusalem on the way.

424
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:16,400
It started with a whistle and,
I feared, would end with a hanging.

425
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,280
Once again, my Bradshaw's has brought
our island history dramatically

426
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,320
to life.

427
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:26,040
With all its triumphs,
tragedies and treacheries.

428
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,800
Every time I step on a train,
a new treasure hunt begins.

429
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,480
Next time...

430
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,080
Urgh!

431
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,840
That is a Princess Alexandra
style false fringe.

432
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,400
Real human hair from the 1880s.

433
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,360
Sounding better. That's pretty
impressive for a first attempt.

434
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:05,280
Got it in one!

435
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,600
1,500 townspeople threatened that,

436
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,880
if Mortimer was brought out to them,
they would hang him.

437
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,120
I imagine you Sackvilles have been
fairly cautious

438
00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:17,880
about public opinion ever since.

439
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:19,880
Extremely!