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For Edwardian Britons, a Bradshaw's
was an indispensable guide

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to a railway network at its peak.

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I'm using an early
20th century edition

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to navigate a vibrant
and optimistic Britain

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at the height of its power
and influence in the world.

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But a nation wrestling with
political, social and industrial

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unrest at home.

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The part of my journey
across northern England

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concludes in Liverpool, where
I'll admire the architecture.

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The Victorians had drawn inspiration
for their buildings

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from the Middle-Ages,

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reviving a Gothic style in
impressive structures

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such as St Pancras Station
in London.

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Would the Edwardians
follow in their paths?

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I'll then move on to Wales,

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and ask how the principality
felt about its identity,

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absorbed in a United Kingdom
at the time when Ireland

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was moving, it seemed,
towards home rule.

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My journey started
in East Yorkshire,

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and carried on
to the historic city of York.

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From there, I went inland across the
industrial heartlands of West

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and South Yorkshire.

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I'm now on my way to Liverpool,
from where I'll head to Wales,

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tucking its northern coast
to finish in Caernarfon.

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I start this leg of my journey
in the city of Liverpool.

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I'll then visit the suburban town
of Maghull,

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before crossing the Welsh
border to reach Abergele,

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and I'll finish in the
Welsh mountains in Dolgarrog.

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Today, I take a rail trip
down my own memory lane.

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I had this of very one
when I was a child.

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This was my starter set.

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Hear of an Edwardian aristocrat

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whose roses by any other name
would smell as sweet.

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They turned out to be named after
people that the Countess knew.

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And I learn to catch
the next wave in Snowdonia.

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Another wave coming!

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My Bradshaw's reveals that, at the
beginning of the 20th century,

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you could sail from Liverpool
to New York and Canada,

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South Africa, Australia,
New Zealand,

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China and Japan.

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The city had been getting richer
from shipping for many decades.

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In the Georgian period,

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its picturesque hills rising above
the Mersey estuary

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had sprouted long, elegant
terraces of merchant houses.

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In the Edwardian era
it was still constructing,

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adding to its stock of striking
commercial and public buildings.

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Liverpool's port was founded
by King John in 1207.

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By the time that it celebrated
its 700th anniversary,

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the Edwardian city was at the centre
of seven miles of docks

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extending along the River Mersey.

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Over the last 100 years,

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the city has been renowned
for its vibrancy.

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During a couple of phases
of my life,

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I felt the magnetism of Liverpool.

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My first employer
was a shipping company,

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located in one of these

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magnificent early 20th century
office buildings.

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And then, much later, when I had
ministerial responsibility

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for urban regeneration,

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I met the wonderful Dean
of the Anglican Cathedral,

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who used the prestige of the Church
to build housing and a hospital

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to help to revitalise the city.

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And, whenever I return here,

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I'm reminded of moments in my life
that are important to me.

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It's a real pleasure to return
to Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

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It's the largest cathedral
in the United Kingdom,

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but it was still a building site
at the time of my Bradshaw's.

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Canon Val Jackson is archivist here.

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Val, am I right in saying that,
at the end of the 19th century,

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Liverpool has an Anglican bishop,
but not a Cathedral worth the name?

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Not a cathedral worth the name, no.

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There was St Peter's Pro-Cathedral,
which was very small and very dark.

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There wasn't enough space
to hold a big civic service.

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So, Bishop Chavasse
and his committee

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wanted somewhere that was worthy
of the second city of the Empire.

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In charge of the diocese
at the time,

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Bishop Chavasse made plans for a new
place of worship at the top

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of St James's mount,
visible from everywhere,

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and launched an open competition,

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calling for a 20th century design
of cathedral.

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The competition
was won by a 22-year-old,

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who had never designed a
church or a cathedral,

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called Giles Gilbert Scott.

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Was Giles Gilbert Scott
a devout Anglican?

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No, he was from a family
of Roman Catholics,

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which was a very brave decision
to appoint him,

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because Liverpool at the time was at
the height of sectarian
difficulties.

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People weren't allowed
to marry in mixed marriages,

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schools didn't have
mixed relationships,

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Bishop Chavasse had the vision
to try and join the two groups

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of Christians together in the city.

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Giles Gilbert Scott came
from a family of architects.

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His grandfather,
George Gilbert Scott,

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designed St Pancras Railway Station
in London.

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But, because of the young man's
lack of experience,

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a mentor was appointed,

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a seasoned church architect,
George Frederick Bodley.

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The partnership was unhappy.

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Gilbert Scott
was considering resignation

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when Bodley died in 1907,

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giving him a free rein.

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He started to apply his vision
to the Lady Chapel,

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which was then under construction.

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Welcome to the Lady Chapel
of the cathedral,

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which is quite different
from the main space.

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Here we have one of the original
drawings signed by Scott and Bodley,

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and this, of course,

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was designed when he was still
under Bodley's mentorship.

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And this is what should have
been the original design

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with four lights in the windows,

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but as you can see now, there are
just two lights in each window.

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So he's made them longer
and more elegant.

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And put in more plain glass
to let more light through.

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Liverpool was a very industrial
city at the time,

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so there was a lot of
smoke and pollution.

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Did he make many other changes?

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Yes, having won the competition
with this design,

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for two towers for the cathedral,

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when he had a free rein, he realised
he was better having a central tower

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and making the whole cathedral
a great space.

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Maybe it's just that I'm used to
it, but actually what we have today,

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it seems to me,
is vastly superior to that.

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Absolutely.
This was his finest achievement.

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After changing
the face of Liverpool,

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Gilbert Scott went on to design
the red telephone box,

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which remains iconic today.

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Liverpool's Catholic community
built its own cathedral.

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Despite its futuristic look,

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it was completed 11 years
before its Anglican equivalent.

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I'm now travelling on Merseyrail's
Ormskirk line out to Maghull,

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to the suburbs of Liverpool,

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to see how Edwardians
spent their time at home

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when they had a moment
for pleasure and play.

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Maghull has
a particular significance

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in the history of model railways,
and in my life.

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Les! Good morning, Michael,
welcome to Maghull!

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Thank you.

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I've arranged to meet modern railway
enthusiast Les French

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to track this story.

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It starts with a man whose name
I knew from a very early age.

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Les, the blue plaque says it,

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Frank Hornby, Toy Manufacturer.

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But what was the background
of this man?

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Frank came from quite
humble beginnings,

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and he was a clerk in his father's
business, but he had an idea,

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in his own words,
on a train journey.

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On Christmas Eve he saw a train,

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and realised that, with very simple
parts, he could reproduce that train

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as a toy for his children.

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He said that was when the idea
of Meccano was born.

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Meccano, I'd always thought
this was an Italian name,

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How did it become Meccano?

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It was initially known as
"mechanics made easy",

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which in itself
was quite a mouthful,

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but he had an idea that
if you came up with a name

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that was pronounceable
in any language,

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it would help export sales.

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So, he took "make" and "know".

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Make something,
know how it was made,

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and "make" and "know"
became Meccano.

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The tools were extraordinarily
simple, weren't they?

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Very. Pre-drilled strips,
axles, pulleys,

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maybe a wee bit of string
to make a crane.

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But it was not a cheap toy.

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In 1901, it cost seven shillings
and sixpence,

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which was half a week's wages
for your average man.

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And the business was quite
successful? Quite exceptionally so.

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The largest toy company
the world has ever known.

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At some point, the brand name Hornby
gets attached to model railways.

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When did that happen?

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Around about 1920, when he
developed the 0-gauge railways,

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which were originally
clockwork, made of tin plate.

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After that, they made them electric

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and the rest, as they say,
is history.

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Within a decade, Hornby's
model trains outsold Meccano.

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Today, vintage Meccano and Hornby
toys are highly prized.

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The Frank Hornby Heritage Centre
in Maghull holds a fine collection.

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Les, this is amazing.

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What an extraordinary display
of vintage toys, Meccano.

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It's our way of commemorating
our most famous resident.

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The prime part of our collection
is actually this,

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which is the very first set
that Frank Hornby made.

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And, in fact, it's "Mechanics Made
Easy", before it became Meccano,

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around about 1901, 1902.

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And this is kind of, I think,

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the very heights that the
model train reached, I mean,

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this is just a superb piece
of engineering.

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And, at the other end of the scale,

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this was a cheapie, because I had
this very one when I was a child.

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This was my starter set.

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So, you know, a few straights,
a few curves,

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a very basic little locomotive
and its tender, and...

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00:11:50,540 --> 00:11:53,660
..later I got this one,
slightly more sophisticated,

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a tank engine with three wagons
in the dark red.

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You know, I could not have described
them to you, but seeing them,

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I know exactly that those were the
ones that I had when I was a kid.

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Of course you kept them boxed, in
immaculate condition, didn't you?

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I wish I had!

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00:12:15,100 --> 00:12:18,820
Les, this is really superb,
I mean, this is a dream.

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Look at the quality
of this rolling stock,

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look at how beautiful it all is.

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I could spend all day here.

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00:12:26,340 --> 00:12:30,620
I mean, Frank Hornby gave so much
to generations of children.

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Back in Liverpool,

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I seek an evening drink at the
Philharmonic Dining Rooms.

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00:13:02,780 --> 00:13:04,020
Hello, good evening.

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00:13:04,020 --> 00:13:06,660
Hello, there. Can I have a half,
please? Yeah, course.

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You've got a lovely looking
pub here.

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Why, thank you.
It dates back to when?

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1898, it was built.

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00:13:12,980 --> 00:13:15,620
Most of it is Grade II
and Grade I listed.

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The gents' toilets, in particular,
are the only functioning

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00:13:18,460 --> 00:13:21,100
Grade I listed toilets in the
country that we know of.

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00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:24,300
Wonderful! Well, what a great place
to end the day, thank you so much.

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00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:25,900
No worries, thank you. Good health.

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00:13:28,380 --> 00:13:31,900
Completed shortly before
Edward VII became king,

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the pub took its design cues

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from the saloons of the grand ocean
liners that sailed from Liverpool.

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The gents' really are magnificent.

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There are antique tiles, and
on the floors and on the walls,

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there are mosaics.

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Here are windows devoted
to Baden Powell,

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and to Field Marshal Lord Roberts,

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both Edwardian heroes,
and veterans of the Boer War.

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And here are rooms devoted
to Brahms and Liszt,

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who were not Edwardians,
but in Cockney slang,

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their names imply inebriation.

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It's a new morning on the tracks.

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This time, I'm crossing the Mersey
on my way to Chester.

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I have a connection at this
Grade II listed station

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to reach my next destination,

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00:14:43,140 --> 00:14:46,180
Abergele & Pensarn in Wales.

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Queen Victoria's oldest son, Bertie,

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was Prince of Wales
for very nearly 60 years,

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until her death, and his accession
to the throne as Edward VII

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00:15:02,380 --> 00:15:04,380
in 1901.

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Wales has lost much of the
railway network that it had

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at the time of my Bradshaw's.

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Lines that served coal-rich valleys
in the south

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had been torn up.

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00:15:14,020 --> 00:15:17,660
And here, in the north on this line,
we've lost Sandycroft,

242
00:15:17,660 --> 00:15:20,300
Queen's Ferry, Connah's Quay,

243
00:15:20,300 --> 00:15:22,940
Bagillt, Holywell, Mostyn,

244
00:15:22,940 --> 00:15:24,780
Talacre and Foryd.

245
00:15:24,780 --> 00:15:27,020
But, even 100 years ago,

246
00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:30,020
they were passed unnoticed
by the Irish Mail

247
00:15:30,020 --> 00:15:32,140
and the Irish Night Express

248
00:15:32,140 --> 00:15:33,900
as they swept by.

249
00:15:39,820 --> 00:15:43,460
Abergele & Pensarn is on
the North Wales coastline...

250
00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:45,740
Thank you, bye-bye.

251
00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:49,100
..which links London
with Dublin, via Holyhead.

252
00:15:56,660 --> 00:15:58,420
At the time of my Bradshaw's,

253
00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:01,140
Edwardian travellers would have
encountered a rising tide

254
00:16:01,140 --> 00:16:03,180
of Welsh nationalism.

255
00:16:03,180 --> 00:16:07,420
and they would have marvelled
at the sight of Gwrych Castle.

256
00:16:07,420 --> 00:16:08,860
Hello. Hello.

257
00:16:08,860 --> 00:16:12,500
Mark Baker is founder
of its preservation trust.

258
00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:15,340
Mark, it's a most romantic ruin.

259
00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:16,900
How old is the castle?

260
00:16:16,900 --> 00:16:20,260
Most of what you see is dating to
around about 1810, so it's Georgian.

261
00:16:20,260 --> 00:16:24,260
However, there are parts
which date to around about 1485,

262
00:16:24,260 --> 00:16:26,340
so very late medieval.

263
00:16:26,340 --> 00:16:28,820
Which family was the house
associated with?

264
00:16:28,820 --> 00:16:30,540
It was the Lloyds of Gwrych,

265
00:16:30,540 --> 00:16:34,300
and they were descended
from the noble tribes of Wales,

266
00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:37,940
and they trace their ancestry right
back to the fall of Rome

267
00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:40,580
when tribes moved down
from the north of England

268
00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:41,900
and settled in this area.

269
00:16:41,900 --> 00:16:44,300
In the period that I'm following
at the moment,

270
00:16:44,300 --> 00:16:46,220
the Edwardian period,
who would've been here?

271
00:16:46,220 --> 00:16:48,100
Winifred Bamford Hesketh.

272
00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:50,540
She was the sole heiress
of the estate,

273
00:16:50,540 --> 00:16:53,540
and she married
the 12th Earl of Dundonald.

274
00:16:53,540 --> 00:16:55,620
What sort of a woman was Winifred?

275
00:16:55,620 --> 00:17:00,860
Strong, very determined, and
incredibly passionate about Wales.

276
00:17:01,180 --> 00:17:04,140
So, from here, she's tried
to get the Welsh agenda

277
00:17:04,140 --> 00:17:06,780
at the top of the list
at Number Ten.

278
00:17:06,780 --> 00:17:11,220
The Countess and her husband
were in an arranged marriage.

279
00:17:11,220 --> 00:17:13,660
And, although she bore him
five children,

280
00:17:13,660 --> 00:17:15,660
he lived in his native Scotland,

281
00:17:15,660 --> 00:17:17,380
while she stayed at Gwrych Castle.

282
00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:22,220
She saw herself as the last
of the Lloyds of Gwrych.

283
00:17:22,220 --> 00:17:24,060
How did the castle
come to be a ruin?

284
00:17:24,060 --> 00:17:27,500
The castle was bought in the late
1980s by an American,

285
00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:30,020
who was an absentee owner,

286
00:17:30,020 --> 00:17:33,180
New Age travellers moved in,
and asset strippers,

287
00:17:33,180 --> 00:17:37,020
and they systematically dismantled
the interior of the castle,

288
00:17:37,020 --> 00:17:38,660
and sold it.

289
00:17:38,660 --> 00:17:41,900
So, the main building
is literally just a ruin.

290
00:17:41,900 --> 00:17:44,540
And you are trying
to do something about it?

291
00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:46,580
20 years ago, when I was 12,

292
00:17:46,580 --> 00:17:50,620
I was passing the castle every day
to and from school,

293
00:17:50,620 --> 00:17:55,500
and I would see the buildings slowly
becoming more and more deteriorated

294
00:17:55,500 --> 00:17:57,140
and derelict.

295
00:17:57,140 --> 00:18:01,020
So I decided to set up the
castle trust, and since then,

296
00:18:01,020 --> 00:18:03,820
I've been campaigning
for the restoration.

297
00:18:03,820 --> 00:18:06,500
A 12-year-old set up a castle trust?

298
00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:11,180
I know it's, well... At the time,
it was quite natural for me,

299
00:18:11,180 --> 00:18:14,420
but when one looks back,
it is rather odd.

300
00:18:14,420 --> 00:18:16,700
So, you know, it's my life.

301
00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:19,460
It's absolutely extraordinary.

302
00:18:19,460 --> 00:18:22,140
Congratulations.
What is it you had to do here?

303
00:18:22,140 --> 00:18:24,740
So, the gardens
were completely derelict.

304
00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:26,300
This was a forest.

305
00:18:26,300 --> 00:18:29,820
We carried out a systematic
archaeological excavation

306
00:18:29,820 --> 00:18:31,740
and we found some of the plant tags,

307
00:18:31,740 --> 00:18:36,700
and they turned out to be named
after people that the Countess knew.

308
00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,620
So there was a set of roses.

309
00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:41,820
One was her hairdresser,
one was her costumier,

310
00:18:41,820 --> 00:18:44,340
and she had them
planted along the walls.

311
00:18:44,340 --> 00:18:47,340
They were climbing roses,
so we've had them put back here.

312
00:18:47,340 --> 00:18:49,540
And what hope for the buildings?

313
00:18:49,540 --> 00:18:53,860
Well, we're in the process of
negotiating a sale to the trust

314
00:18:53,860 --> 00:18:56,220
from the current owners.

315
00:18:56,220 --> 00:19:00,300
So our plan will be to restore
it back to its former glory.

316
00:19:00,300 --> 00:19:02,580
That's fantastic.
I'm lost in admiration.

317
00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:05,740
The trust has already
obtained a lease,

318
00:19:05,740 --> 00:19:09,260
enabling Mark and a team of
volunteers to begin restoration

319
00:19:09,260 --> 00:19:12,100
of the gardeners' tower.

320
00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:15,300
Welcome to the countess'
writing room.

321
00:19:15,300 --> 00:19:18,820
So, this was one of her private
spaces at the castle,

322
00:19:18,820 --> 00:19:22,260
and she would sit in here,
write her letters, her diaries,

323
00:19:22,260 --> 00:19:27,500
and, on that fire, is where
her husband, after her death,

324
00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:30,140
burned all of her private papers.

325
00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:31,860
Why on earth would he do that?

326
00:19:31,860 --> 00:19:34,180
He was very angry.

327
00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:39,260
And felt that she had disinherited
him from what he was owed.

328
00:19:39,540 --> 00:19:43,980
She had left the castle to the
royal family on her death.

329
00:19:43,980 --> 00:19:48,060
She knew that he would try to
destroy the vision of the Lloyds,

330
00:19:48,060 --> 00:19:51,380
which was the castle, and
that's what he set out to do.

331
00:19:51,380 --> 00:19:55,220
Why are you so devoted to the
castle, and also the countess,

332
00:19:55,220 --> 00:19:56,820
the last of the Lloyds?

333
00:19:56,820 --> 00:20:01,060
With the castle,
it's somewhere that I see,

334
00:20:01,060 --> 00:20:06,340
really regenerating, not only the
buildings, but the local area.

335
00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:09,180
And I think the Countess
was such an enigma.

336
00:20:09,180 --> 00:20:10,900
She's not been celebrated,

337
00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:13,500
and that's part of the legacy
of her husband,

338
00:20:13,500 --> 00:20:16,060
trying to erase her from history.

339
00:20:45,180 --> 00:20:47,260
My journey continues west,

340
00:20:47,260 --> 00:20:51,220
along the coast before a change
of trains at Llandudno Junction.

341
00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:06,900
I then divert south, towards
the Snowdonia National Park.

342
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:14,220
I'll leave this train at Dolgarrog.

343
00:21:14,220 --> 00:21:15,980
At the time of my Bradshaw's,

344
00:21:15,980 --> 00:21:19,860
it was not yet important enough
to have a railway station.

345
00:21:19,860 --> 00:21:23,380
But, a new industrial process
electrified the place

346
00:21:23,380 --> 00:21:25,300
and set it on its metal.

347
00:21:28,620 --> 00:21:32,260
Hello. Hello. How are you?
Very well, thank you. Good, good.

348
00:21:32,260 --> 00:21:35,100
It's one of the loveliest lines.
Yeah. Do you enjoy it?

349
00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:37,340
It gets really busy in the summer.
Foreigners.

350
00:21:37,340 --> 00:21:40,140
Foreigners includes the English, we
don't know how to pronounce them!

351
00:21:40,140 --> 00:21:43,340
Dolgarrog, right? Yes, this will be
your stop now. All right.

352
00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:50,260
Bye-bye then.
Lovely, thanks very much.

353
00:21:50,260 --> 00:21:52,780
Situated in the Conwy Valley,

354
00:21:52,780 --> 00:21:57,420
Dolgarrog takes its name from a
mythical Welsh creature, Y Garrog.

355
00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:01,500
At the time of my Bradshaw's,

356
00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:04,540
a new industrial process
kept the town busy.

357
00:22:04,540 --> 00:22:06,340
Aluminium smelting.

358
00:22:07,380 --> 00:22:10,220
The works that were here
have now closed.

359
00:22:17,580 --> 00:22:19,380
Thank you very much.

360
00:22:19,380 --> 00:22:24,020
Hywel Thomas is among the last
generation to have worked there.

361
00:22:24,020 --> 00:22:26,340
Hywel, hello. Hello Michael.

362
00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:27,900
Good to see you.

363
00:22:28,940 --> 00:22:32,780
Thank you for choosing
such a cosy pub. Cheers. Cheers.

364
00:22:35,620 --> 00:22:38,060
Aluminium. Why was it
so important to us?

365
00:22:38,060 --> 00:22:41,700
Well, aluminium was regarded
as this new wonder metal.

366
00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:43,780
It's an extremely light metal,

367
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:46,940
and it can be made
to be quite strong

368
00:22:46,940 --> 00:22:49,820
by adding other elements to it.

369
00:22:49,820 --> 00:22:51,380
Does it occur naturally?

370
00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:54,540
It's the most abundant element
on the earth's crust,

371
00:22:54,540 --> 00:22:58,340
but it doesn't occur
in its natural metallic form.

372
00:22:58,340 --> 00:23:01,020
So it's in clay.

373
00:23:01,020 --> 00:23:04,180
It's in the slate waste
in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

374
00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:07,700
The metal must be recovered from
its ore by heating and melting,

375
00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:09,140
or smelting.

376
00:23:09,140 --> 00:23:11,860
Aluminium was expensive to process,

377
00:23:11,860 --> 00:23:15,220
but the development
of a new cheaper method

378
00:23:15,220 --> 00:23:17,220
allowed for larger scale production,

379
00:23:17,220 --> 00:23:19,900
requiring lots of electricity.

380
00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:25,140
It's about 18,000 kilowatt hours
per tonne of aluminium produced.

381
00:23:25,380 --> 00:23:28,420
That sounds like a lot. It is a lot.

382
00:23:28,420 --> 00:23:31,460
Why did they choose the hills of
North Wales for the factory?

383
00:23:31,460 --> 00:23:33,700
Dolgarrog is on very high ground,

384
00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:36,860
and an average rainfall
of three metres per annum.

385
00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:38,980
There was abundance of water,
basically,

386
00:23:38,980 --> 00:23:42,260
and hydroelectric power
was the perfect means

387
00:23:42,260 --> 00:23:45,460
to reduce alumina to aluminium.

388
00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:48,740
In the early 1900s,

389
00:23:48,740 --> 00:23:51,180
a lightweight metal like aluminium

390
00:23:51,180 --> 00:23:55,460
was ideal to feed growing
industries, especially aviation.

391
00:23:57,060 --> 00:24:01,860
It also served to create lighter and
more efficient household items,

392
00:24:01,860 --> 00:24:04,180
such as saucepans and frying pans,

393
00:24:04,180 --> 00:24:07,300
previously made
from copper and cast iron.

394
00:24:07,300 --> 00:24:10,100
The factory expanded rapidly,

395
00:24:10,100 --> 00:24:13,940
and would go on to play a vital role
in aircraft production

396
00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:16,300
during the Second World War.

397
00:24:16,300 --> 00:24:19,980
At its height,
800 people worked at the works.

398
00:24:19,980 --> 00:24:22,540
Whole families worked there.

399
00:24:22,540 --> 00:24:25,700
Was it a tough place, the factory?
Dirty, noisy, hot?

400
00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:28,380
It was heavy industry.
There was no respite at night,

401
00:24:28,380 --> 00:24:30,820
and there were complaints
after the company closed

402
00:24:30,820 --> 00:24:34,220
that people couldn't get
to sleep because it was too quiet.

403
00:24:35,220 --> 00:24:36,900
And it closed in...?

404
00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:42,140
2007, precisely 100 years
from when it opened in 1907.

405
00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:43,980
It was a sad time.

406
00:24:46,540 --> 00:24:50,940
The water that was so useful
to the aluminium smelting works

407
00:24:50,940 --> 00:24:55,100
has now been harnessed
in a very different way.

408
00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:59,220
It's being used to create the
longest man-made surfable waves

409
00:24:59,220 --> 00:25:00,700
in the world.

410
00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:06,260
What a bizarre sight!

411
00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:09,380
A surfer racing towards me
in a place where there used to be

412
00:25:09,380 --> 00:25:10,820
an aluminium factory!

413
00:25:10,820 --> 00:25:13,660
What a fantastic example
of regeneration

414
00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:15,420
in a derelict industrial area.

415
00:25:15,420 --> 00:25:19,140
You may say that a surf beach looks
out of place in the Welsh hills,

416
00:25:19,140 --> 00:25:21,620
but so did an aluminium factory.

417
00:25:25,060 --> 00:25:28,380
The best way to understand
the thrill of the waves

418
00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:30,140
is to take to the water.

419
00:25:30,140 --> 00:25:31,740
Hello!

420
00:25:31,740 --> 00:25:34,980
My instructor today is Welsh
national surfing champion,

421
00:25:34,980 --> 00:25:36,420
Jo Dennison.

422
00:25:36,420 --> 00:25:38,060
So how do we begin?

423
00:25:38,060 --> 00:25:40,740
I'll start by just telling
you how we get waves here.

424
00:25:40,740 --> 00:25:42,860
So we've got a big wave foil.

425
00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:44,540
It's shaped like a snowplough,

426
00:25:44,540 --> 00:25:47,620
so the snowplough gets
pulled through the water

427
00:25:47,620 --> 00:25:49,780
and we get waves either side
of the pier.

428
00:25:49,780 --> 00:25:51,220
And what do I need to know?

429
00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:52,780
OK, so lying on the board.

430
00:25:52,780 --> 00:25:54,940
You want your toes
just on the tail here.

431
00:25:56,780 --> 00:25:58,660
OK, perfect. Just look forward.

432
00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:00,540
Always looking where you want to go.

433
00:26:00,540 --> 00:26:04,260
Arch your back a little bit,
so you can see the wave coming.

434
00:26:04,260 --> 00:26:08,140
Look over your shoulder. Then
you're going to start to paddle.

435
00:26:08,140 --> 00:26:10,940
As it gets closer,
you're going to go faster.

436
00:26:10,940 --> 00:26:13,180
And then you should catch the wave,

437
00:26:13,180 --> 00:26:16,380
hands under the armpits
and lean back. Right. Good.

438
00:26:18,140 --> 00:26:19,420
Wow!

439
00:26:26,140 --> 00:26:27,620
Another wave coming!

440
00:26:36,260 --> 00:26:37,380
Ooh!

441
00:26:40,220 --> 00:26:41,540
Cracking wave!

442
00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:57,860
That was a good one! Nice one!

443
00:26:59,660 --> 00:27:01,500
That was great, Jo, thank you!

444
00:27:02,940 --> 00:27:04,500
What a thrill, eh?

445
00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:06,180
Thank you very much.

446
00:27:21,260 --> 00:27:23,700
In the years
that I've known Liverpool,

447
00:27:23,700 --> 00:27:26,220
I've seen it transformed
by regeneration,

448
00:27:26,220 --> 00:27:28,940
and by striking new buildings.

449
00:27:28,940 --> 00:27:34,180
Giles Gilbert Scott invented a new
architecture for the Edwardian age,

450
00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:39,500
breaking from the Victorian Gothic
style of his famous grandfather.

451
00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:41,340
He was a prodigy,

452
00:27:41,340 --> 00:27:44,780
taking on the enormous task
of Liverpool Cathedral,

453
00:27:44,780 --> 00:27:46,940
aged just 22,

454
00:27:46,940 --> 00:27:50,260
and wrestling with it
for the rest of his days.

455
00:27:50,260 --> 00:27:55,380
Mark Baker was just 12 when he set
up a trust to save Gwrych Castle,

456
00:27:56,460 --> 00:28:00,660
and I have a feeling that that
too will be a life's work.

457
00:28:00,660 --> 00:28:04,940
Next time, I follow in the footsteps
of Edwardian climbers.

458
00:28:04,940 --> 00:28:07,340
We made it! Good stuff.

459
00:28:07,340 --> 00:28:09,980
A great view. Yeah, stunning.

460
00:28:09,980 --> 00:28:13,460
Meet a descendant of a great
British Prime Minister.

461
00:28:13,460 --> 00:28:16,660
How would you assess Lord George's
role in winning World War I?

462
00:28:16,660 --> 00:28:19,020
Victory was his goal, not glory.

463
00:28:19,020 --> 00:28:24,220
And, after the Flying Scotsman,
watch out for a flying Englishman.

464
00:28:24,380 --> 00:28:25,620
Oh, my goodness!

465
00:28:25,620 --> 00:28:27,420
Oh, so close to the ground!