1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,440 For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name. 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:10,840 At a time when railways were new, 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,600 Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks. 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,800 I'm using a Bradshaw's guide 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,520 to understand how trains transformed Britain - 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:26,360 its landscape, its industries, society and leisure time. 7 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,920 As I crisscross the country, 150 years later, 8 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,640 it helps me to discover the Britain of today. 9 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,560 I've arrived in Scotland 10 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,560 to conclude my journey along the old route of the Flying Scotsman. 11 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,280 Today, I'll seek self-improvement 12 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,280 and women with muscles before pursuing 13 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,200 serial killers in Edinburgh. 14 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,640 I'll navigate new tracks across the city and scale the heights in memory 15 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,080 of a romantic novelist. 16 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,360 My journey has brought me up the East Coast Main Line from 17 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:30,560 London's King's Cross, 18 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,760 through the counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, 19 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,400 via Peterborough to Newark in Nottinghamshire. 20 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,840 I visited the former port of Stockton-on-Tees and the seaside 21 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,320 towns of Alnmouth and Dunbar. I will finish in Edinburgh. 22 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,600 The last leg of my trip takes me to the coastal village of Longniddry in 23 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,480 East Lothian and seven miles west to the old fishing town of Musselburgh, 24 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,400 before I arrive at my final destination, the Scottish capital. 25 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,360 On this journey, I'll need plenty of brawn... 26 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,720 HE GROANS 27 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:10,680 It's quite heavy, isn't it? It's very heavy. 28 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:12,440 ..a strong stomach... 29 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:16,200 Here we have a book made from the skin of a murderer. 30 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:17,440 My goodness. 31 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:18,960 ..and a musical ear. 32 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:20,720 Here goes, everybody. 33 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,000 THEY WHOOP 34 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:36,120 I'm alighting at the seaside village of Longniddry and travelling inland, 35 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:40,400 but I can't proceed by train as the line closed almost 50 years ago. 36 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,960 Bradshaw's has brought me to the charming town of Haddington, 37 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,800 which, it tells me, has two churches, five chapels, 38 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,240 a school of art, a museum, 39 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,800 Gray's Public Library and a grammar school. 40 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,120 Notice the emphasis on religion and on knowledge. 41 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,800 In the Victorian world, the two ingredients for self-improvement. 42 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,440 That philosophy was developed by one of Haddington's most notable sons, 43 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,320 Samuel Smiles, who would write a bestseller. 44 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,400 I'm meeting the local council's archive manager - Alex Fitzgerald. 45 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,240 Samuel Smiles has gone down in history as the great advocate of self-help. 46 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,800 Who was he? He was born in Haddington in 1812, 47 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,160 the son of a local merchant. 48 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,000 His father died in 1832 in a cholera outbreak, which helped Smiles see he 49 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,480 had to help himself because help was removed from him at an early age. 50 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,840 You have got Self Help there, the book. 51 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,120 What is the essence of the message? 52 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,320 I think we can let him speak with his own words, to start off with. 53 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,800 " 'Heaven helps those who help themselves' - is a well-tried maxim embodying in 54 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,760 "a small compass the result of vast human experience. 55 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,800 "The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual." 56 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:59,000 As a journalist, Smiles campaigned for Parliamentary reform, 57 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,840 before deciding that the individual's self-improvement was 58 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,000 the key to social progress. When Self Help was published in 1859, 59 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,600 he became a respected thinker and, as time went by, a celebrity. 60 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,480 20,000 copies were sold in the first year and, by the time of Smiles's 61 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:21,200 death in 1904, sales had reached a quarter of a million. 62 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,720 This message about getting ahead in life, was it materialist or moral? 63 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:27,280 I would say it was very moral. 64 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:29,920 Religion was the centrepiece to Smiles's life. 65 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:34,760 He referred to how God was pivotal in methods for self-improvement. 66 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,760 That is part of the Victorian experience, 67 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,400 religion being one of the cornerstones 68 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,920 upon which they built their society. 69 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,880 To illustrate his thesis, 70 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,920 Smiles wrote inspirational life stories 71 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,280 of famous industrial figures. 72 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:54,280 George Stephenson, I think, would be one of his prime examples of how an 73 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,600 individual had bettered themselves. 74 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,600 Stevenson was illiterate until the age of 18 and actually taught 75 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,160 himself the arithmetic and calculations required to go on to 76 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,960 become the engineer which made him the father of the railways. 77 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,040 In helping us to understand the Victorian, how important is Samuel Smiles? 78 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,560 He's very significant. 79 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,080 He provides a template from which you can look at how society was 80 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,040 changing. For him, only by people improving themselves 81 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:20,440 would society improve. 82 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,920 Today's global self-help movement is a multi-million-pound industry, 83 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,400 which probably doesn't recognise its debt to Samuel Smiles. 84 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,960 UKULELE MUSIC 85 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:32,800 He might be pleased 86 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,160 that the citizens of Haddington are still striving to improve themselves 87 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,360 with new skills. 88 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:41,440 THEY SING 89 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,160 In this former railway storehouse, today's class, 90 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,600 open to anyone, has learned to play the ukulele. 91 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,240 THEY SING 92 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,480 THEY WHOOP 93 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,120 Bravo! 94 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:03,480 What a charming class. 95 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,280 Hello, everybody. Hi. 96 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:07,440 How long have you been playing the ukulele? 97 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,040 Oh, for about three years now. 98 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:10,600 And you? About two and a half. 99 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,120 What made you take it up? Well, 100 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,360 I've always loved music but I didn't learn to play an instrument when I 101 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,440 was younger. So when I happened upon Lamp House Music, 102 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:20,960 it was just too good an opportunity to miss. 103 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,680 So it's been great fun. 104 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,280 That's lovely. What about you? 105 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:28,200 I love the idea of being in a group and not just playing, but singing. 106 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,040 And a lot of the activities I used to do were solitary, 107 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,760 so this is a complete culture change for me. 108 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:38,000 Samuel Smiles was born in Haddington and he believed in self-improvement 109 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,240 and self-help. Is he an inspiration? 110 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,880 Do you know? He wasn't until I looked him up online 111 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,000 and then I found out more about him. 112 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,160 I can't believe that a man of that time was such a thinker, 113 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:53,840 such a deep thinker, 114 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,240 and he actually altered the course of people's lives. 115 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,360 When you try different things, it improves your whole self-esteem. 116 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,000 When you gain mastery over something as simple as the ukulele, 117 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,800 it's fantastic for you. 118 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,880 I tell everybody that they should get into music 119 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:14,080 and they should come to a place like this, where you are accepted as a 120 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,840 right duffer, because I'm a right duffer... 121 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,240 You are allowed to develop. 122 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:23,440 As far as I know, I have no musical gift, but I want to improve myself. 123 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,160 That last chord you played, can you show me how you did that? 124 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,200 That's a C. That's a C, that's right. 125 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,600 Now what do I do? Third finger on the third fret. 126 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:34,840 Yeah. Press hard. Pressing on the fret. No, not... 127 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,920 No, in-between. And then go bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. 128 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,880 Here goes, everybody. Ready, steady, go. 129 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:43,920 THEY WHOOP 130 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,000 Definitely more self-improvement needed! 131 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,240 My next stop will be Musselburgh. 132 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,480 Bradshaw's points me to Fishwives' Causeway. 133 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,680 They were also known as fish lassies or fish fags 134 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:23,120 and were allegedly notorious for foul-mouthed gossip. 135 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:25,120 It should be an interesting visit. 136 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,200 Just six miles east of Edinburgh, Musselburgh, 137 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,440 named after the extensive mussel beds that lie along its shores, 138 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,720 enjoys fantastic views across the Firth of Forth. 139 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,840 In the 19th century, men here relied on fishing for a living. 140 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,680 But I'm here to learn about the community of women. 141 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:03,680 Simon Fairnie is a historian. 142 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,120 Simon, what part did the fishwives play in the fishing industry here? 143 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:13,680 They were the partners, the working partners, for their husbands. 144 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,200 They would go to the mussel beds and they would gather mussels, 145 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,840 bring them home, shell the mussels, put the bait onto the hooks. 146 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,240 A man would have up to 1,000 hooks per line 147 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,560 and this would be a daily occurrence. 148 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:29,560 As well as preparing the lines, 149 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:33,120 the fisherwomen were responsible for selling the catch. 150 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,160 They would travel by train or tram to Edinburgh, and other local towns, 151 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:42,440 carrying the fish on their backs in baskets known as creels and skulls. 152 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,920 They must have been popular getting onto the train, the tram, 153 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:46,480 the bus with their fish? 154 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,680 Well, they were able to put their creels into the front of the trams 155 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:53,520 with the driver and also onto the special mixer onto the train. 156 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,680 But the women were well-known and they were well-liked, 157 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:59,480 and therefore they knew that they were industrious women 158 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:00,760 carrying out their jobs, 159 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,240 so they were accepted as part of the scene, in the city particularly. 160 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,320 Now, this was going on in your family, too, Simon? 161 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:11,240 Yes, my two aunts, my grandmother, 162 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,840 my great-grandmother, were all fishwives. 163 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,400 Now, fishwives have this reputation for being foul-mouthed and gossips, 164 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:18,720 is that fair? 165 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:20,800 I don't think that's fair. 166 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:25,000 They were shrewd women who may well have spoken their mind. 167 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,240 Remember, Michael, they used to sell the fish in big houses to many of 168 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,400 the gentry of the town and they were well-known, well-respected. 169 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,360 What role did these women play in their society? 170 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:37,960 An extremely important role - 171 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,640 simply because they were the breadwinners of the family. 172 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,480 The husbands would go away, 173 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:47,040 sometimes come back with no earnings at all after some long time, 174 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,040 so it would be them who would have to make the money for the family. 175 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:56,120 They were, I would say, emancipated before emancipation. 176 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:01,120 Sadly, there are no surviving Musselburgh fishwives or fish lassies today, 177 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,240 but their descendants ensure that their story lives on. 178 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:06,680 Hello, ladies. Hello. 179 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:09,080 I'm Michael. I'm Christine. Christine. 180 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,960 Margaret. Margaret. You are beautifully attired. 181 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,240 What are you wearing? 182 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,640 These are our gala costumes. 183 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:21,440 We had a Fisherman's Walk on the first Friday of September every year, 184 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,800 that was the end of the fishermen's summer fishing, 185 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:26,280 and we had just a gala. 186 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,840 Pipe bands and dancing. 187 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,080 You are wearing your costumes slightly differently, why is that? 188 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,720 This is a kilted coat. This is a kilted coat. 189 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,640 There is one underneath and one that's kilted up, 190 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,520 and that makes it fancy, just a wee bit different. 191 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:48,160 Mine is plainer and I've got what we call a pooch underneath. 192 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,760 What are you showing me now? My pooch. 193 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,920 Your pooch? Where we kept our money and, in later days... 194 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:56,720 our lipsticks. 195 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,240 I've worn my grandmother's working pooch. 196 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,640 When she died, we found it under the mattress. 197 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:07,400 Obviously where she kept her money because they didn't use bags. 198 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:12,960 Generations of women in Christine's and Margaret's families were fishwives. 199 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,800 That's my grandmother selling her fish, 200 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:22,280 and this is her creel and skull and the fish is all inside the skull. 201 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:23,600 Very, very good. 202 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,520 This is my mother here. 203 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,600 She left school at 13 and became a fishwife. 204 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,600 She just loved the job, loved it. 205 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,400 She went to Fife with her fish, across the Forth Bridge in the train. 206 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,040 And this is my great-grandmother. 207 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,040 She looks weighed under, doesn't she? 208 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,440 It was a huge weight they carried on their head and the band went right 209 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,840 across their brow. And this one is interesting to me 210 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:52,480 because here we see the ladies, I think, getting off the tram. 211 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,840 Yes. The conductor helping her on with her creel and skull. 212 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,600 Yes, tram drivers were wonderful. 213 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:03,920 Of course, they'd always get maybe a pair of kippers or a piece of fish 214 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,640 at the end of the day. I see that you have a creel and skull here. 215 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,160 Yes. Do you want to try it on? 216 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,280 Well, OK. Are you going to help me, then? 217 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,280 Yes, we'll help you. 218 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,280 'Whilst it's not full of fish, 219 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,880 'Christine and Margaret have helpfully added some weight to it, 220 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,720 'to give me some idea of what it would have been like.' 221 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,680 Oh! There you go. 222 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,080 Oh. I've got it. 223 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:29,320 Yes. Now. 224 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:30,800 HE GROANS 225 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:32,680 It's quite heavy, isn't it? 226 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,760 It's very heavy. Let's have a little go with this, then. 227 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:37,960 HE GRUNTS 228 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:46,520 Oh! I'm carrying probably a fraction of the weight that a fishwife would 229 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,920 have carried and I am bent double, 230 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,520 and it seems incredibly heavy. 231 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:58,080 One career I'm not going to take up is being a fishwife. 232 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,720 It's a diabolical contraption, this thing. 233 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,320 Isn't it awful? What kind of weight did they carry? 234 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,720 About 112lb. 235 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,840 And the women often had a bald patch on their head...with the band. 236 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,680 A bald patch?! Yes. 237 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:14,520 I must get it off at once! 238 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:15,880 There we are. 239 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:22,280 Those fishwives were clearly made of far tougher stuff than I am. 240 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:30,960 This train will take me to my final destination on this 241 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,240 East Coast Main Line - made famous by the Flying Scotsman. 242 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,960 I'll soon be arriving in Edinburgh, 243 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,760 mentioned in Bradshaw's as the "Modern Athens". 244 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,760 "Its schools for the acquirements of useful knowledge have long held a 245 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,000 "high rank amongst the universities of Europe 246 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,800 "and have supplied some of the most distinguished statesman, warriors, 247 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,480 "poets and divines who have graced our annals." 248 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,320 With some Scottish blood coursing through my veins, 249 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,360 I'll certainly second that. 250 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,360 Edinburgh Waverley. 251 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,000 I used to arrive here as a child with my family, 252 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,520 headed for my grandparents' in Kirkcaldy. 253 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,840 We were not on the Flying Scotsman, we came on the night train, 254 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,880 but still this station evokes for me the smell of locomotive, 255 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,360 smoke and steam and smuts. 256 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,200 I always enjoy exploring this elegant capital, 257 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,960 with its impressive architecture, on foot. 258 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:01,760 But as the day's almost over, 259 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,320 my Bradshaw's recommends a visit to the oldest pub on the city's 260 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:06,960 Royal Mile. 261 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:18,520 In 1773, that great English intellectual Samuel Johnson 262 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,240 stopped here at The White Horse in Edinburgh. 263 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:26,000 Now, he once wrote that, "Scotland is a vile country, though God made it, 264 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,240 "but God also made hell." 265 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,280 It's a wonder that he made it out of the Royal Mile alive. 266 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,520 And in his famous dictionary he wrote, "Oats, 267 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,120 "the grain which in England is given to a horse but in Scotland 268 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:39,920 "it supports the people." 269 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,320 Now, that I think is particularly unfair. 270 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,120 I believe that porridge is one of Scotland's great gifts to the world, 271 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,680 along with whisky, of course. 272 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,160 Cheers. 273 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,720 Edinburgh is waking up. 274 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,160 The population of half a million people has more than doubled since 275 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,240 the time of my Bradshaw's. 276 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,800 And, as in most cities, rush-hour traffic is a problem. 277 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,600 To ease the congestion, 278 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,160 the council turned to a popular Victorian mode of transport. 279 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:28,240 Having arrived here in the 1870s and disappeared by the mid-1950s, 280 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,160 now the tram is back. 281 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:37,160 Excuse me a moment. Yes. 282 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:38,760 Are you regulars on the tram? 283 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,720 Very much so, yes. What do you use it for? 284 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,040 Just going to work and back. 285 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:47,680 And do some shopping. It's very clean and smooth and...very warm. 286 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,440 Very warm, that's important in Edinburgh, isn't it? 287 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,400 Once, Britain's major cities had trams, 288 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,840 but only one of the original systems still survives - in Blackpool. 289 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:04,400 Edinburgh's service is one of just a handful that's running today. 290 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,520 Do you find it odd that in British cities for many years 291 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,600 we didn't have trams and now we seem to have them again? 292 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,880 Yeah, but I think it's good to bring that back 293 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,960 and a lot of people do use it. 294 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,800 During rush-hour, it's a lot faster because obviously the traffic... 295 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:27,200 The creation of this new tram service has been anything but smooth, 296 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,440 with huge delays and budget overshoots, 297 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,520 but Edinburgh's commuters seem to be on board with the idea. 298 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,800 I've come out to the services depot, where manager Dean Anderson 299 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:43,760 will allow me to take one of these vehicles for a drive. 300 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,720 MICHAEL LAUGHS 301 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,360 Suits you. 302 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,240 Oh, Dean, thank you very much. 303 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:51,480 This feels wonderful. 304 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,880 Although pretty much a novice, I've had a quick lesson. 305 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,640 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. 306 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:04,120 Welcome to this special Bradshaw's nostalgia tram ride around the 307 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:06,160 stabling yard of Edinburgh. 308 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,080 Stand clear of the doors, please. 309 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,320 So, let's select slow speed. 310 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,160 And...let's give it a go. 311 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:21,720 BELL RINGS 312 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:25,560 BELL RINGS 313 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,960 Horses hauled the city's earliest trams along the tracks, 314 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,200 until cable-hauled carriages replaced them. 315 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,320 In 1905, electric trams appeared in the busy city centre streets, 316 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,240 including striking double-deckers. 317 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,400 Today's sleek models are 140-foot long. 318 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:56,440 They're made up of seven articulated sections with room for 250 passengers. 319 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,200 So, the trams are now here in Edinburgh, 320 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,480 do you think people are enjoying them? 321 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:04,200 Absolutely. We've been in service for over two years now 322 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,640 and last year we recorded almost 5.4 million journeys. 323 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,680 Are there plans to extend it at all? 324 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,720 Next year, there is a proposal to extend the tram line down to Leith 325 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,720 and across to the waterfront... 326 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,560 so we're very much hoping that that will be approved. 327 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,120 With 27 trams, 328 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,560 they run a service along a nine-mile route from the airport 329 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,400 into the city centre. 330 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,280 And a smooth stop. Well done. 331 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:29,520 Smooth-ish. 332 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,400 Edinburgh is famous for its 12th-century castle 333 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,480 and for its festivals. 334 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,680 And it's also distinguished by its academic tradition. 335 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,800 "The University of Edinburgh," says Bradshaw's, 336 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,760 "was founded in 1582 by a charter from King James VI. 337 00:20:54,760 --> 00:21:00,440 "It's divided into four faculties - law, theology, arts and medicine." 338 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,960 And the guidebook recommends the Royal College of Surgeons Museum - 339 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,400 admittance by member's order. 340 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,680 I'd like to understand how the medical faculty developed an 341 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,000 important body of work by working on bodies. 342 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:18,560 The Royal College of Surgeons, 343 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,160 established at the start of the 16th century, 344 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:25,440 now boasts 20,000 members from across the world. 345 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:30,280 Its museum, opened to the public in 1832, houses one of the oldest and 346 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:33,680 largest collections of medical specimens. 347 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,840 The college's director of heritage, Chris Henry, 348 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:38,640 has agreed to give me a tour. 349 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,600 Why do you think people in the 19th century were coming to the museum? 350 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,560 What you have to remember is that Edinburgh was really the 351 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,200 pre-eminent centre of medical teaching in the world 352 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:50,960 and, in order to teach, 353 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:55,520 you had to have a collection to show the conditions that were prevalent 354 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,600 at the time. You can only really do that by preserving them in a jar. 355 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,320 Who were some of the great figures 356 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,880 who helped to establish Edinburgh's reputation? 357 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,560 The first person that springs to mind is James Syme, 358 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,080 who was a towering surgeon. 359 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,600 He did most of his work before the introduction of anaesthetics. 360 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,920 And then we have James Young Simpson, 361 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:18,040 who was the person that really discovered the anaesthetic 362 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,360 properties of chloroform. And then, finally, 363 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:26,120 Joseph Lister, who discovered the antiseptic properties of various 364 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:30,040 chemicals that could reduce infection post-surgery, 365 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,720 so he managed to effectively reduce the percentage of deaths 366 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,760 after surgery from 50% to 15%. 367 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:39,560 So, from all this amazing array, 368 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,920 give me an example of the sort of thing that was used to teach. 369 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,440 Well, we've got a perfect example here of a gangrenous foot from the 370 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,680 19th century. What's happened is 371 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,840 the whole of the foot's been amputated in order to preserve the 372 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,920 rest of the limb and what you can see is these blackened areas of 373 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,560 tissue that have died off. 374 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,400 And this would have been used as a teaching aid for people to come in 375 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:05,960 to lectures and understand what the physical effects were. 376 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,760 Didn't the flesh give off the most appalling stink? 377 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,080 Yeah, it did, and a lot of doctors and surgeons really wore that, 378 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,640 and the mess and the smell, as a badge of honour, 379 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,080 certainly in the pre-antiseptic era. 380 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:21,360 And the collection includes even more shocking exhibits. 381 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:25,600 Here we have a book made from the skin of a murderer. 382 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,480 My goodness! Human skin? 383 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,160 Yes. Who is it? 384 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,760 That's the skin of William Burke, one of a pair of murderers. 385 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,920 William Burke and William Hare, who carried out 16 murders 386 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,840 to supply bodies to the anatomy trade, as it were, 387 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,160 in the 19th century. 388 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,280 With tight legal restrictions on the supply of bodies for dissection, 389 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,280 grave-robbers, known as body snatchers, 390 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,800 dug up paupers' corpses for sale. 391 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,120 Now Burke and Hare began to kill to satisfy demand. 392 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,760 To go around snatching bodies out of graves is one thing, 393 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,520 but to kill them in the first place is really going that extra mile, 394 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,640 isn't it? And, from the label, I take it this is Burke? 395 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,240 That is Burke. Hare turned king's evidence against Burke and he was 396 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,240 executed in 1829. 397 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,200 And, as you can see from this, 398 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,720 there is a mark around his neck where the hangman's noose 399 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,520 finished him off. 400 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,960 The Anatomy Act of 1832 put an end to this darkest of black markets by 401 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,520 regulating but increasing the supply of bodies for teaching. 402 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:34,560 Edinburgh University's Medical School, founded in 1726, 403 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,440 was one of the most prestigious in the world. 404 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,280 I'm meeting James Garden, 405 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,560 professor of clinical surgery and surgeon to the Queen in Scotland, 406 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,080 at the spot where dissections once took place. 407 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:50,720 So here we are, the anatomy lecture theatre. 408 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,360 It is magnificent and huge. 409 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:57,000 The design of this lecture theatre was so that the teacher or the 410 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,560 professor could perform to the students, 411 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,160 looking directly to the centre stage 412 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,800 as the body lay there to be dissected. 413 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,200 Who was the audience, who were the theatregoers? 414 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,800 We would have had 250 or so medical students, all paying customers. 415 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,080 They wanted to see the body, 416 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:20,040 they wanted to see the detail, so there may have been a scramble to 417 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,440 sit here in the front rows so that 418 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,120 they could appreciate what was being taught to them. 419 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:28,200 But, of course, in those days, 420 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,040 the bodies were never quite preserved as well as they are 421 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,720 nowadays and so you were also, I think, 422 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:40,080 at risk, sitting in these front rows, from the smell and perhaps the 423 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,280 occasional bit of tissue flying into the air. 424 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:48,320 I hate to say it, but it looks as though someone's left a body here today. 425 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,840 Yes, we have prepared something for you. 426 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,840 SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC 427 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:54,240 MICHAEL LAUGHS 428 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,040 Hello, old chap. 429 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,160 So I think we've got something a bit more exciting underneath. 430 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,400 Whoa! 431 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,240 Huh! So what on earth is this? 432 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,600 So, this is modern anatomy teaching. 433 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,880 So here we have the body for dissection. 434 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,160 Well, I'll be darned. 435 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,400 What sort of things can you do with that? 436 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,720 We can explore the inside of the body, 437 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:22,880 so we can then cut. 438 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:28,160 Oh, my goodness. And then I can take you here, into my area of interest, 439 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,400 into the abdomen. 440 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,760 Here we can see the liver on the right-hand side 441 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,800 and this allows us to explore 442 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,800 the anatomical relationships of the organ. 443 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,280 We can get a better understanding of the inside of the liver and the 444 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,200 anatomy of the blood vessels and bile ducts. 445 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,960 So this tool is fundamentally useful? 446 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:52,800 It is. It's at the heart of the modern teaching of anatomy. 447 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,640 Besides its huge contribution to medicine, 448 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,440 this historic city has a proud literary tradition. 449 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,000 It was the birthplace of Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 450 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,760 and another of its great authors is remembered here. 451 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,440 This is the world's largest monument to a writer. 452 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,360 It celebrates Sir Walter Scott 453 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,200 and the railway station here is named after 454 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,160 his historical novel, Waverley. 455 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:27,520 For decades, beneath its glass roof, 456 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:32,280 clouds of smoke celebrated the arrival of the Flying Scotsman from 457 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,200 the British capital. 458 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,560 Bradshaw's compared the might of London to classical Rome 459 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:43,240 and the finesse of Edinburgh's architecture to ancient Athens. 460 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:47,680 The Victorians could be arrogant, but as they spread literature, 461 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:52,920 technology, science and ideas across a vast empire, 462 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,200 they could perhaps be forgiven. 463 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,280 Next time... 464 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:01,520 HE SHRIEKS 465 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:03,160 ..there's terror on the tracks. 466 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:05,480 Only a skeleton staff today. 467 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,400 I play a small part in a monumental engineering project. 468 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,720 Looks like you're a natural at this, Michael. 469 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,720 Do you think it's weld-done? 470 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,680 And pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 471 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,200 It is perhaps understandable, when the call came in 1914, 472 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:27,840 that railwaymen were so prominent and so numerous in stepping forward.