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A century ago, Britain's rail
network was the envy of the world.

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You could get a train from
almost anywhere...

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..to almost anywhere else.

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But many of these lines were
considered unprofitable,

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and in the 1960s,

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Dr Beeching was recruited by the
government to come up with a

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plan that would stop the railways
from haemorrhaging money.

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He famously brought the axe down
on over 4,000 miles of track,

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and 2,000 stations.

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Almost overnight, 30% of the
network was closed down.

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50 years on,

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I'm going on a journey to discover
just a few of those lost lines.

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I'll be walking the Penrith to
Cockermouth line in Cumbria.

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I'll get an insight into the mining
industry that thrived here...

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That's got to be lead, isn't it?

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I'll follow in the footsteps of
the region's first tourists...

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This is magic! Woo-hoo-hoo!

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And I'll seek out some of the
relics of the past...

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This is brilliant. This is just
what I wanted to see!

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And finally,
experience what the Lakes'

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most famous guide-book writer
described as "the ultimate view".

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I'm here at Penrith Station.

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It's on the main line between London
and Glasgow, and once upon a time,

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you would have changed here
for what was one of Britain's

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most popular branch lines.

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Only now, 50 years on,
it's become one of Britain's

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great lost railways,

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and I've come to rediscover it.

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Like so many lines,

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it was built to transport freight
from Britain's industrial heartland

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to the Cumbrian coast, some 40 miles
or so in that direction,

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but it's what lies in-between
those points that interests me.

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They used to call it Lakeland.

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Nowadays, we know it as the
Lake District.

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I'm walking the Penrith to
Cockermouth line in Cumbria,

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closely following
its 31.5 mile stretch,

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that passes through some of the most
stunning countryside in Britain.

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This old branch line is called the
CKP, and was opened only for goods

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traffic in 1864, carrying minerals
like iron ore, lead, and coal,

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from the ten major mines
operating in

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West Cumberland and South Durham.

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The line cost much more
than anticipated,

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and while the mineral traffic
wasn't as lucrative as predicted,

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the passenger and goods traffic
made the CKP profitable.

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Penrith Station today sees
passenger and freight trains,

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but what I want to know is
where to pick up the branch line
that's been lost.

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To help me get along my way,
I've come to meet Ken Harper,

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who started working here as
a youngster in 1965,

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and back then, his official
job title was Signal Box Lad.

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Hello.

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How do you do? Thanks for
meeting me here.

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So, this is where you
used to work here?

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I worked in the signal
box at that end.

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So, yes, it was rather
exciting at the time.

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Was it? Do you remember what
it was like? Oh, yeah.

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I was learning to be a signalman,

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but assisting the signalman
at the same time.

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You were the learning on the
job? Learning on the job.

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What've you got here, Ken?
This was part of the
signalling system.

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To ensure that trains didn't meet
on a single line, and crash

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into each other, the driver had to
be in possession of a key token.

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So, what would this do then?
You handed this to the driver?

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The signalman gets that out of the
machine in the signal box, with the

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agreement of the signalman at the
other end, puts it into the pouch,

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gives it to the driver of the train,
to go onto the single line, and then

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as the train goes past, he would
hand it to the driver like that.

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So then that way, no-one else was
allowed onto that section of line.
Exactly.

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And it was a sackable offence for
him to go on the single line
without the key.

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Well, understandably.
I mean, that's a huge safety risk.

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Yes, exactly.

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Well, if I wanted to start
walking the old line,

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where do I need to get started?

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Right. If you walk across here, then
the actual junction from the main

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line to the Keswick line is
about half a mile that ways.

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OK, so I will need to be
heading up there,

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and then I'm going to be
looking to branch out west.

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Branches out off to the right, yes.
Oh, yeah.

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It's a bit overgrown now,
but I'm sure you'll spot it there.

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I feel like I'm living
civilisation behind, then,
and heading off into the wilderness.

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It's a great unknown,
but I'm sure you'll be OK!

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And because this is still
operated main line,

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I've had to take a little detour,
out from around the station,

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to get back here, but the
station is just there.

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When the branch line
first opened in 1864,

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obviously, none of this was here.

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All of this was dug out,
for the motorway to be built.

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Back then, it was just a slow
incline out from the station,

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and away up into the hills.

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This is where I leave the
main line out of Penrith.

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We'll just start through here.

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This has gotta got to be it.

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Yes.

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That is where the branch line
originally split off,

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and it is quite a
climb out of Penrith.

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I'm heading west through
Blencow towards Troutbeck.

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There's very little left of the
old branch line around here.

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Sadly, much has been taken
back by nature,

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used as a public footpath,

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or redeveloped for other purposes,
like a golf course.

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So, trying to follow the path that
the railway took is not going

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to be an easy task.

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A little track here.

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I reckon that track's been there a
while, because I can see remnants

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of some stone there, and all this
stuff's just been left here.

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This very possibly could be...

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I think it is, though.
There's little clues here.

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Yeah. Look at the shape of this.

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To me, that's saying that is the
keystone in the top of an

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arch bridge.

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I reckon this is what's left of a

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demolished stone
arch railway bridge,

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on our line,

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which went across this gap here.

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There's another clue up there,
I think.

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You've got what looks like a
fairly modern house behind,

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from the brickwork.

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See this little hut, here?

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That is much older brickwork there.

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That would have been right
alongside the railway itself,

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that's some kind of railway
maintenance hut, there.

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I'm a few miles beyond the
old Troutbeck Station,

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which has completely vanished.

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But what does exist somewhere
around here is a lost relic of

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Victorian architecture.

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Now, what better way to be brought
west into true Lake District

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landscape than this -

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the Mosedale Viaduct.

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It's absolutely beautiful.

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You're building a railway, you want
to keep a straight, flat route,

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so unsurprising here in
the Lake District,

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there are viaducts like this to
help keep it as flat as they can.

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This is an abandoned piece of
Victorian engineering,

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that's isolated in the middle
of a farmer's field here.

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Nobody gets to see it.

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It's too beautiful to be lost!

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Oh, it's gorgeous.

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Look at these brick arches!

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I've never seen a bad example of a

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Victorian brick,
arched railway viaduct.

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In the 1990s, the fate of the
Mosedale Viaduct hung in the

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balance when British Rail decided
to demolish it as a defunct

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piece of infrastructure,
but in 1997,

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those plans were abandoned due
to considerable pressure from
a campaign to reinstate the

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Penrith to Keswick line,
and personally,

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I'm very thankful for that.

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Coming to this side of the viaduct,

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train passengers would've been
faced with the first big peak

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of the Lake District along
this line - Blencathra.

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As I follow the line through this
dramatic landscape, I'll find

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out just how challenging it was
to build a railway through it.

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Railways and the Lake District
don't combine at all.

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I'm 13 miles into my journey on the
Penrith to Cockermouth line.

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This was one of Britain's most
popular branch lines for tourism,

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and you can see why.

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I've deviated from the track
slightly so I can capture my

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route from a different perspective.

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There it is - Mosedale Viaduct.

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And actually, if you use a
little bit of imagination,

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you can see where the line
came through from Penrith,

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heading up the valley
towards Keswick.

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Imagine puffs of steam snaking their
way through the valley here.

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But I'm not just here for the views.

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I'm meeting Steve Birkinshaw,

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a man who has an affinity with
these surrounding peaks.

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Steve holds the world record for
running up all 214 of these fells,

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in just six days and 13 hours!

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Steve! Hello.

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Hello! Good to meet you!

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Good to see you.

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Take a pew, have a rest! Thank you.

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How's that? Yeah, great.

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What more could you ask for, running
on the fells on a day like today?

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In my mind, a fell is a hill.

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Is it as simple as that? Just
another word for it? I think so.

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It's a hill in the Lake District.

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OK. And fell running is basically
running anywhere you like

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on these areas.

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And how popular is fell running
up in these parts?

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These parts, it's really
popular, yeah.

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I guess it's been a part of the
culture since Victorian years.

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Is that because more and more
people were coming in?

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Yeah, so people were coming in
because of the railways.

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They wanted to go walking on the
fells, and they needed guides.

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And the guides then had races
between them to see their

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pecking order -
see who was the best.

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So, it became part of the
local shows.

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To me, it's just freedom.

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I can just run where I want to.

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I think you're up amongst the guys
who have done the most fells

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the fastest, aren't you?

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Yes, and I hold the record for
going round all 214 Lake District

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fells as fast as possible.

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Which is how long?
Six and a half days.

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That's really quick!

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Yeah! You must have been
exhausted after that.

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Well, it took a lot out of
me, actually, yeah.

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Took two years to recover from that!
Goodness me!

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Back to full fitness now.
And you're back out here? Yeah.

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So, where's your route now?

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I'm pretty much going straight
back down. Are you? Steve,
really nice to meet you.

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Good to see you, yeah.
Thank you very much indeed.

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Nice to talk to you. Yeah.
Enjoy the rest of your run.

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I'm back on the track now, and this
section has been re-purposed

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as a Lake District Park walkway,

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and dotted along it are still some
wonderful reminders of the old line.

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Old railwayman's hut.

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Bit of storage and shelter for the
men working out on the line.

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At one point, there were 135
under and overbridges between

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Penrith and Cockermouth, which tells
you just how difficult it

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must have been to create a route
through this mountainous landscape.

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Right.

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This looks like it's going to be
difficult to get through.

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In fact, it says "No Access".

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So, it was a matter of time, really,
before I was going to come up
against something likethis.

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This area has suffered some severe
floods over the last decade or so,

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and as far as I'm aware,
a lot of the trail up here was

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really quite badly damaged,
almost washed away.

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So, that's as far as I
can go up here.

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So, back round and a bit of
a detour, I guess.

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There's a lot of local campaigning
to get this track reinstated

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as a railway, so I've arranged to
meet park ranger Cath Johnson,

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of the Lake District Park Authority,

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to find out what this trail means
to the local community.

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Nice to see you. Yeah.
Nice to meet you.

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So, this is why I couldn't
come across along there. Yes.

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So, you can see, there's a very
big bridge missing here.

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So, December 2015, Storm Desmond
hit Cumbria, and this bridge here

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was knocked clean off its abutments,
and just left as wreckage.

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That just happened in
a 24-hour period.

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So, they were there on Saturday
morning, and by Sunday morning,
they'd gone.

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Goodness me. Yeah.

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This was one of the
biggest record storms.

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Unprecedented levels, historically.

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It was just devastation, really.

235
00:14:05,180 --> 00:14:07,380
It must be such a tough time
for the community.

236
00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:10,500
Well, the significance of this
path was it was just such a jewel

237
00:14:10,500 --> 00:14:11,700
in the crown.

238
00:14:11,700 --> 00:14:14,420
It's a level route, people's
children have learned to

239
00:14:14,420 --> 00:14:17,580
cycle on this route, but people
with limited mobility as well,

240
00:14:17,580 --> 00:14:22,740
you know, so trampers, all-terrain
scooters, wheelchair access.

241
00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:25,260
Cyclists, runners - you name it.

242
00:14:25,260 --> 00:14:27,900
So, the loss was really felt
by the community.

243
00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:30,700
Do you think the line here
would ever be reinstated as a

244
00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:32,420
railway line, back through here?

245
00:14:32,420 --> 00:14:36,660
Well, it's not within the realms
of impossibility that we would

246
00:14:36,660 --> 00:14:40,620
see some sort of transport system
using this route in the future,

247
00:14:40,620 --> 00:14:44,980
and that could be anything -
you know, something like

248
00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:48,820
driverless pods, in fact, could be
seen using the route, probably.

249
00:14:48,820 --> 00:14:51,380
There's a thought!
There's a thought!

250
00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:55,620
This possibly could become some
kind of futuristic transportation

251
00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:57,620
along this route.
Well, it's a possibility.

252
00:14:57,620 --> 00:14:58,740
Tell you what,

253
00:14:58,740 --> 00:15:01,500
I'm going to ponder on that as
I continue on my journey, Cath.

254
00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:04,060
Well, thanks very much.
OK. Yeah. Nice to meet you.

255
00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:08,980
Driverless pods.

256
00:15:08,980 --> 00:15:11,300
Sounds very Jurassic Park.

257
00:15:11,300 --> 00:15:14,900
While the future is uncertain,
we can be sure about the past,

258
00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:18,300
and I'm meeting bridge expert
John Mather to find out more

259
00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:20,220
about the man who
designed this line,

260
00:15:20,220 --> 00:15:23,500
pioneering engineer,
Thomas Bouch.

261
00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:24,740
Mind if I join you here?

262
00:15:24,740 --> 00:15:27,220
This a nice little spot, isn't it?
It's absolutely gorgeous.

263
00:15:27,220 --> 00:15:30,740
This is one of Thomas Bouch's
original bridges

264
00:15:30,740 --> 00:15:34,100
on the
Cockermouth-Keswick-Penrith line.

265
00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:37,380
He designed three railways
within Cumbria.

266
00:15:37,380 --> 00:15:39,980
All of them were well-built,

267
00:15:39,980 --> 00:15:43,540
and altogether, he designed over
300 miles of railways,

268
00:15:43,540 --> 00:15:45,060
and some large bridges,

269
00:15:45,060 --> 00:15:47,700
within Northern England and
Southern Scotland.

270
00:15:47,700 --> 00:15:50,020
So, let's talk about this
particular bridge,

271
00:15:50,020 --> 00:15:52,780
cos this is quite an iconic bridge,
really, isn't it? It's a classic.

272
00:15:52,780 --> 00:15:54,980
The inverse bowstring truss bridge.

273
00:15:54,980 --> 00:15:58,220
I mean, it looks a little bit like
an arch underneath the bridge.

274
00:15:58,220 --> 00:16:00,860
What's the advantage of having it
under rather than over the top?

275
00:16:00,860 --> 00:16:05,540
It makes the bridge more stable,
cos the train and carriages

276
00:16:05,540 --> 00:16:09,940
are above the bridge, so the
dead load is within the structure.

277
00:16:09,940 --> 00:16:11,420
So, the centre of gravity is lower.

278
00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:12,500
That's right, yeah.

279
00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:14,660
And the actual structure
is so light.

280
00:16:14,660 --> 00:16:15,820
It's so slender.

281
00:16:15,820 --> 00:16:18,700
Railways and Lake District
don't combine at all.

282
00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:22,660
However, Thomas Bouch was such an
ambitious and innovative engineer,

283
00:16:22,660 --> 00:16:25,540
he decided he could do it.

284
00:16:25,540 --> 00:16:29,940
Through force of character and some
incredible innovative engineering,

285
00:16:29,940 --> 00:16:32,820
he managed to weave the
railway line through some

286
00:16:32,820 --> 00:16:34,940
dreadful mountainous scenery.

287
00:16:36,900 --> 00:16:40,580
Thomas Bouch was, without doubt,
an expert engineer.

288
00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:42,740
He was even knighted for
his achievements,

289
00:16:42,740 --> 00:16:45,820
but this tale has a sour end.

290
00:16:45,820 --> 00:16:48,900
15 years after he
completed the CKP line,

291
00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:52,060
he built the Tay Bridge in Dundee.

292
00:16:52,060 --> 00:16:53,460
The poor materials,

293
00:16:53,460 --> 00:16:59,460
unskilled labour and bad maintenance
all led to tragic disaster in 1879.

294
00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:04,860
During a fierce storm, the bridge
collapsed while a train was

295
00:17:04,860 --> 00:17:07,820
travelling over it,
and 75 people died.

296
00:17:12,460 --> 00:17:15,860
Thomas Bouch was ultimately
held responsible.

297
00:17:15,860 --> 00:17:19,660
He died ten months later,
with his reputation in tatters.

298
00:17:21,820 --> 00:17:23,220
It's a pity, really,

299
00:17:23,220 --> 00:17:26,460
that he hadn't stopped once he
built some of his good bridges.

300
00:17:26,460 --> 00:17:28,900
He's remembered now for all
the wrong reasons.

301
00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:30,100
For the Tay Bridge disaster?

302
00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:31,180
Exactly, yeah.

303
00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:34,580
He could've been celebrated and
feted for the schemes he did

304
00:17:34,580 --> 00:17:36,860
in Cumbria, I do believe.

305
00:17:41,220 --> 00:17:45,220
Building these lines was bold and
ambitious, and I'm keen to

306
00:17:45,220 --> 00:17:49,060
continue on this journey to
see more of this old line.

307
00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:51,100
Keswick is a busy market town,

308
00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:54,020
surrounded by mountains
like Skiddaw.

309
00:17:54,020 --> 00:17:57,580
The well-preserved station platform
reveals more about how the

310
00:17:57,580 --> 00:18:00,380
railways and hotels
worked hand-in-hand.

311
00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:10,140
The closer you get... Yeah.

312
00:18:10,140 --> 00:18:12,340
Loads of it still intact.

313
00:18:12,340 --> 00:18:15,420
That whole canopy is
exactly the same.

314
00:18:15,420 --> 00:18:18,060
The railway track curves off
round to the right.

315
00:18:18,060 --> 00:18:19,780
That's great.

316
00:18:19,780 --> 00:18:24,020
The Keswick Hotel is right behind
the station here, purposefully so.

317
00:18:24,020 --> 00:18:26,980
I'm here to meet Bob, who's going
to give me a bit more history

318
00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:30,380
about the hotel and the
station here in Keswick,

319
00:18:30,380 --> 00:18:33,620
and how much of a hub Keswick was
for tourists in the Lake District.

320
00:18:39,180 --> 00:18:40,900
Bob, very, very nice to meet you.

321
00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:42,260
Well, this is lovely, isn't it?

322
00:18:42,260 --> 00:18:47,260
It's a famous spot, this,
and the second of January, 1875,

323
00:18:47,260 --> 00:18:50,860
was a red letter day, cos that's
the day the first train came...

324
00:18:50,860 --> 00:18:53,020
From Penrith... ..from Penrith...

325
00:18:53,020 --> 00:18:54,700
..here into Keswick.

326
00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:56,500
On to Cockermouth.
On to Cockermouth.

327
00:18:56,500 --> 00:19:01,660
And I suppose every schoolchild in
Keswick was here - half the town.

328
00:19:01,660 --> 00:19:04,780
An enormous cheer when the
train stopped, you know?

329
00:19:04,780 --> 00:19:05,980
Absolutely!

330
00:19:05,980 --> 00:19:07,500
It was a big moment, wasn't it?

331
00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:09,820
It's putting Keswick
firmly on the map.

332
00:19:09,820 --> 00:19:11,020
Absolutely.

333
00:19:11,020 --> 00:19:12,460
Was there an element, then,

334
00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:16,700
that the railway was helping to sell
the dream of the Lake District?

335
00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:20,180
I'm sure it was, although the
initial reason was some

336
00:19:20,180 --> 00:19:23,180
businessmen who wanted to make
money, that was the railway

337
00:19:23,180 --> 00:19:26,060
they were thinking of, but the
tourism element increased.

338
00:19:26,060 --> 00:19:28,900
That just made it easier for
people to get here. It did.

339
00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:32,540
And there were lots of
hidden freedoms as well,

340
00:19:32,540 --> 00:19:34,100
which people don't often talk about.

341
00:19:34,100 --> 00:19:35,500
I mean, for example,

342
00:19:35,500 --> 00:19:37,900
you've got a bigger choice of a
boyfriend or a girlfriend.

343
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:40,540
I mean, I'm quite certain that
quite a few people used the

344
00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:43,220
railways to have one girlfriend in
Keswick, and one in Penrith,

345
00:19:43,220 --> 00:19:45,220
and that made sure they
never met, you see?

346
00:19:45,220 --> 00:19:47,420
Yes, it was a real freedom.

347
00:19:47,420 --> 00:19:50,180
So, first of all, then,
was upper-class tourists. Yes.

348
00:19:50,180 --> 00:19:52,980
If you take, for example,
the design of this platform,

349
00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:55,300
at this far end here
there's a big door,

350
00:19:55,300 --> 00:19:58,020
and that goes into this new hotel,
and the first-class

351
00:19:58,020 --> 00:20:01,620
passengers could go straight
from that without getting wet.

352
00:20:01,620 --> 00:20:04,020
With the canopy over them.
Yeah, indeed.

353
00:20:04,020 --> 00:20:07,780
One person who came across was
the Kaiser himself, Wilhelm,

354
00:20:07,780 --> 00:20:09,700
and he brought his cars with him -

355
00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:11,740
the Yellow Earl. They were
all painted yellow.

356
00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:14,860
And he must have used the
railways to get the cars here.

357
00:20:14,860 --> 00:20:17,620
Were there other famous people
who stayed here at Keswick?

358
00:20:17,620 --> 00:20:19,820
Well, we know
Winston Churchill was here.

359
00:20:19,820 --> 00:20:25,060
The Royals, of course - 1956,
the present queen, she was here,

360
00:20:25,060 --> 00:20:27,900
and was photographed in
front of, of course, the hotel.

361
00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:31,980
Well, as the railways allows all
those early tourists to head

362
00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:35,100
off into the Lake District,
I'm going to continue my journey

363
00:20:35,100 --> 00:20:36,140
through as well, Bob.

364
00:20:36,140 --> 00:20:37,460
Thanks very much. Bye-bye now.

365
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:44,900
This illustrious building,
and its adjoining platform,

366
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:49,060
gives me a snapshot of the
exceptional standard of this
Victorian route.

367
00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:56,940
And it's no surprise to learn that,
as a consequence,

368
00:20:56,940 --> 00:21:01,100
Keswick has retained its
reputation as a go-to destination.

369
00:21:06,740 --> 00:21:09,620
But it wasn't just tourists that
the railways brought in -

370
00:21:09,620 --> 00:21:12,220
it was industry that put the
Lakes on the map.

371
00:21:12,220 --> 00:21:17,260
The railway suddenly arrived, and
altered the whole scheme of things.

372
00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:27,140
I'm in the tourist town of Keswick,

373
00:21:27,140 --> 00:21:30,180
walking the old Penrith to
Cockermouth line.

374
00:21:30,180 --> 00:21:33,140
I want to take a look at a
curious instrument that,

375
00:21:33,140 --> 00:21:36,540
because it was so heavy,
relied entirely on the railways for

376
00:21:36,540 --> 00:21:39,700
its transportation and
its success.

377
00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:42,340
This is it, is it?
This is it.

378
00:21:42,340 --> 00:21:45,260
This is the work of
Joseph Richardson,

379
00:21:45,260 --> 00:21:47,220
a local stonemason in this area.

380
00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:50,460
He became very interested in the
musical properties of the

381
00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:51,540
Skiddaw stone.

382
00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:53,340
That mountain range,
or mountain group...

383
00:21:53,340 --> 00:21:56,020
Skiddaw is the mountain range,
and on Skiddaw,

384
00:21:56,020 --> 00:21:58,540
you find hornfel stones,
which are what these are.

385
00:21:58,540 --> 00:22:00,860
Ooh, there's a sound!

386
00:22:01,980 --> 00:22:04,380
The hornfel is a metamorphic rock,

387
00:22:04,380 --> 00:22:07,420
and to get the musical stones
to actually play,

388
00:22:07,420 --> 00:22:10,420
you need a rock that the grains
are really close to one another,

389
00:22:10,420 --> 00:22:12,660
to carry the vibration
through the stone.

390
00:22:12,660 --> 00:22:17,700
And so, 1827, Richardson starts
playing a little bit with the

391
00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:20,340
stone and becomes
completely obsessed.

392
00:22:20,340 --> 00:22:22,980
13 years later,
this is the product.

393
00:22:22,980 --> 00:22:24,740
13 years?! 13 years.

394
00:22:24,740 --> 00:22:26,620
Can I have a little... Certainly!

395
00:22:31,060 --> 00:22:33,340
But you have to give
it quite a bang.

396
00:22:37,180 --> 00:22:39,620
That sounds beautifully in-tune,
I have to say!

397
00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:41,900
Is that what took
Richardson so long?

398
00:22:41,900 --> 00:22:45,180
Making sure that the tone was
absolutely perfect on all of
these stones?

399
00:22:45,180 --> 00:22:48,700
That is the real skill behind
what he was doing. Wow.

400
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:51,100
So, was this quite successful,
then, once it was finished?

401
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:52,620
It was hugely successful.

402
00:22:52,620 --> 00:22:56,100
Joseph Richardson and his son set
off on a three-week tour,

403
00:22:56,100 --> 00:22:58,020
and they didn't come back
for three years,

404
00:22:58,020 --> 00:22:59,940
travelling all the way
through Europe by train.

405
00:22:59,940 --> 00:23:02,020
They'd take this around with them?

406
00:23:02,020 --> 00:23:04,420
Yep. You can imagine the
weight of these stones.

407
00:23:04,420 --> 00:23:05,500
Yeah, I know.

408
00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:08,140
I doubt if they had roadies back
then, either, helping them out!

409
00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:10,660
Do you think this would've had
a bit of a reputation, then, and

410
00:23:10,660 --> 00:23:14,060
people would've been quite
excited, "Oh, I've heard about
this! We need to go see it!"

411
00:23:14,060 --> 00:23:15,300
Everybody was very excited.

412
00:23:15,300 --> 00:23:17,780
The boys actually went to
do a performance at

413
00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:22,180
Buckingham Palace and had to
give an encore for it.

414
00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:23,260
Wow.

415
00:23:23,260 --> 00:23:26,420
And I've never heard rocks
sound like this before.

416
00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:28,060
Just lovely harmonies there.

417
00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:34,020
Absolutely beautiful.

418
00:23:34,020 --> 00:23:36,500
Thank you so much for showing
this to me, Becks. Not a problem.

419
00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:37,500
This is lovely.

420
00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:48,380
I'm leaving Keswick now, and trying
to get back onto the old line,

421
00:23:48,380 --> 00:23:51,100
but some parts of it have
either completely vanished,

422
00:23:51,100 --> 00:23:53,220
or are totally hidden from view.

423
00:23:55,740 --> 00:23:59,540
I want to make sure I really
can find where it went.

424
00:23:59,540 --> 00:24:01,460
Here we go. Keswick.

425
00:24:01,460 --> 00:24:06,220
There's the station,
which is behind me, there.

426
00:24:06,220 --> 00:24:08,820
So, from the station it does
bend round to the right,

427
00:24:08,820 --> 00:24:13,860
which means, I think, it probably
hugged this line through here.

428
00:24:15,020 --> 00:24:18,260
So, I think I need to be back
just along these trees.

429
00:24:23,980 --> 00:24:25,540
Here we go.

430
00:24:25,540 --> 00:24:30,500
Whenever you've got a bit that's
built up suddenly, like this here,

431
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:32,820
that says to me
"railway embankment".

432
00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:37,580
I'm back on track.

433
00:24:43,020 --> 00:24:46,780
I'm 20 miles along the old line
from Penrith to Cockermouth,

434
00:24:46,780 --> 00:24:49,780
tracing the route to the old
mining village of Braithwaite

435
00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:52,540
to check out the now defunct
Force Crag Mine.

436
00:24:53,780 --> 00:24:56,740
This area was once an
industrial landscape,

437
00:24:56,740 --> 00:25:00,020
and the railway at the bottom of the
valley in Braithwaite played

438
00:25:00,020 --> 00:25:02,860
a big part in moving all the
lead and zinc mined here.

439
00:25:05,140 --> 00:25:07,140
Waiting for me is Ian Tyler,

440
00:25:07,140 --> 00:25:11,940
a man who had the explosive task of
blasting the rocks with dynamite.

441
00:25:13,060 --> 00:25:14,340
It's quite a walk, that, Ian!

442
00:25:14,340 --> 00:25:15,380
Aye, it is, isn't it?

443
00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:16,420
LAUGHTER

444
00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:18,420
Good to meet you. Yeah. I made it!

445
00:25:18,420 --> 00:25:20,380
So, this is Force Crag mine?

446
00:25:20,380 --> 00:25:23,020
Well, basically you're
looking at Lob's Mill,

447
00:25:23,020 --> 00:25:27,260
which was the first real,
properly-constructed workplace.

448
00:25:27,260 --> 00:25:29,500
What minerals were coming out
of the hillside here?

449
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:32,020
Lead, zinc, and barite.

450
00:25:32,020 --> 00:25:36,300
Well, part of the challenge here
must have always been getting the

451
00:25:36,300 --> 00:25:38,980
mineral from the mine here,

452
00:25:38,980 --> 00:25:42,780
to export it out to where it
could be sold and be useful.

453
00:25:42,780 --> 00:25:46,260
Yeah. We got the mineral,
but we couldn't get it away!

454
00:25:46,260 --> 00:25:47,460
It was difficult.

455
00:25:48,740 --> 00:25:50,940
Well, it is quite isolated
up here, isn't it? Yep.

456
00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:53,740
We've got a two-mile road, which
you've enjoyed walking this morning.

457
00:25:53,740 --> 00:25:54,860
I have. I have.

458
00:25:54,860 --> 00:26:00,180
The railway suddenly arrived and
altered the whole scheme of things.

459
00:26:00,180 --> 00:26:05,940
Now, we've got access to heavy
carriage and moving things away.

460
00:26:05,940 --> 00:26:08,020
Before, it was a horse and cart.

461
00:26:08,020 --> 00:26:10,740
Well, where are you going to
go with a horse and cart?

462
00:26:10,740 --> 00:26:15,060
You know, one cart only carries
a tonne, tonne and a quarter.

463
00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:18,900
So, when the railways did arrive
here, Braithwaite was the

464
00:26:18,900 --> 00:26:21,420
station where all this mineral
would be loaded, would it?

465
00:26:21,420 --> 00:26:23,860
Yeah. But along with mines
all around, as well. Yeah.

466
00:26:23,860 --> 00:26:30,140
Just in this valley, there were ten
major mines and quarries, you know?

467
00:26:30,140 --> 00:26:32,980
So, this was a real
industrial landscape.

468
00:26:34,380 --> 00:26:36,580
There's some lovely machinery
behind us here, now.

469
00:26:36,580 --> 00:26:39,060
I imagine there's quite a bit more
to see down below, is there?

470
00:26:39,060 --> 00:26:41,380
Absolutely, yeah. The mill
is completely full.

471
00:26:41,380 --> 00:26:43,340
I'd love to go and see it
if we can, yeah. Off we go.

472
00:26:43,340 --> 00:26:45,340
Careful down here. Yep, thank you.

473
00:26:45,340 --> 00:26:47,540
This is all... Just give me
your arm. I've got you.

474
00:26:47,540 --> 00:26:48,940
I've got you. Aye, you're
a good man.

475
00:26:48,940 --> 00:26:50,260
I can feel the strength in that.

476
00:26:50,260 --> 00:26:51,260
Whoa!

477
00:26:53,220 --> 00:26:56,060
It's beautifully tranquil
and peaceful here at the moment.

478
00:26:56,060 --> 00:26:58,260
But back when those mines
were operating,

479
00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:00,420
I imagine it was really
quite different.

480
00:27:00,420 --> 00:27:01,820
Absolutely.

481
00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:04,060
Oh, that's great, all of this, Ian.

482
00:27:04,060 --> 00:27:05,100
Here we go!

483
00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:10,100
I just need a second to take
all of this in, Ian.

484
00:27:11,140 --> 00:27:12,540
There's a lot of it in one place.

485
00:27:12,540 --> 00:27:14,340
It's quite cramped in here,
isn't it?

486
00:27:14,340 --> 00:27:15,940
Yeah, and noisy.

487
00:27:15,940 --> 00:27:18,580
Oh! The mill, then,
was all about, what?

488
00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:21,100
Crushing and processing what
was coming out of the mine?

489
00:27:21,100 --> 00:27:24,300
And separating the
minerals from the rock.

490
00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:29,660
OK. That's... All we're doing
is making it into proper,

491
00:27:29,660 --> 00:27:32,820
workable mineral to leave
to go to the railway.

492
00:27:32,820 --> 00:27:36,980
So, you would have lead, you'd have
barite, and zinc. That's it.

493
00:27:38,740 --> 00:27:42,020
I was happy to be given the full
tour through this wonderfully

494
00:27:42,020 --> 00:27:46,220
preserved mill, and I can tell Ian
misses the days of blowing up

495
00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:47,380
rocks in the mines here.

496
00:27:47,380 --> 00:27:49,860
Enjoy your walk back down the road.

497
00:27:49,860 --> 00:27:51,260
I will. Don't get lost.

498
00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:53,540
You've given me so much enjoyment,
seeing all this, Ian.

499
00:27:53,540 --> 00:27:55,380
Thank you very much indeed.

500
00:27:58,580 --> 00:28:01,460
And now, I'm getting back on track,
and heading over to

501
00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:04,660
Braithwaite so I can see where all
those minerals were loaded up.

502
00:28:05,740 --> 00:28:08,620
As a tourist coming to
Lake District today,

503
00:28:08,620 --> 00:28:12,660
to enjoy picturesque walks,
and this famous scenery,

504
00:28:12,660 --> 00:28:15,500
it's easy to ignore the fact that,
for centuries,

505
00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:18,740
tourists coming here would have
experienced heavy industry as

506
00:28:18,740 --> 00:28:22,580
part of this landscape from the
likes of the Force Crag Mine.

507
00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:26,820
Just look and listen at how
quiet it is here now.

508
00:28:27,860 --> 00:28:29,980
But just here...

509
00:28:32,140 --> 00:28:35,740
..is the old Braithwaite Station -

510
00:28:35,740 --> 00:28:40,220
what has now been converted into
this picture-perfect cottage.

511
00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:43,260
It's private property,
so I've been given special access.

512
00:28:43,260 --> 00:28:46,460
But look, you can see the edge
of the platform, right here,

513
00:28:46,460 --> 00:28:49,660
and this is where all the
minerals from the mines in the

514
00:28:49,660 --> 00:28:53,500
surrounding valleys here would have
been delivered and consolidated,

515
00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:56,700
to be loaded onto heavy
freight trains,

516
00:28:56,700 --> 00:29:00,180
to be taken off around the
country for further processing.

517
00:29:00,180 --> 00:29:04,420
It is a world away from
what we've got here now.

518
00:29:04,420 --> 00:29:08,100
But it's a really important part
of this area's history.

519
00:29:13,460 --> 00:29:16,100
I'm three-quarters of the
way into my journey now,

520
00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:20,100
and heading to my first taste of
what this region is renowned for -

521
00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:22,340
stunning lakeside views.

522
00:29:26,420 --> 00:29:29,300
There are 16 bodies of
water in this region,

523
00:29:29,300 --> 00:29:32,980
but only one of them is
traditionally called a lake.

524
00:29:32,980 --> 00:29:36,700
Lake Bassenthwaite is the
fourth largest in the country.

525
00:29:39,980 --> 00:29:46,220
In 1965, construction started on one
of the main east to west coast roads

526
00:29:46,220 --> 00:29:49,260
in the north of England - the A66.

527
00:29:49,260 --> 00:29:52,260
It's this road just beside me here.

528
00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:55,700
Now, the railways often took the
most efficient route through

529
00:29:55,700 --> 00:30:01,500
the landscape, and so when the
old CKP line closed down in 1966,

530
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:05,900
it was the obvious choice to build
a road following the same route.

531
00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:08,820
In fact, for much of its length
through the Lake District,

532
00:30:08,820 --> 00:30:13,220
the A66 is built right on top of
the old CKP line,

533
00:30:13,220 --> 00:30:16,140
including this stretch here,

534
00:30:16,140 --> 00:30:18,940
alongside the stunning
Bassenthwaite Lake.

535
00:30:21,140 --> 00:30:25,500
The rapid growth in car ownership
in the 1960s meant road networks

536
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:27,780
were being extended all
over Britain.

537
00:30:27,780 --> 00:30:30,780
People were swapping train journeys
for car journeys at an

538
00:30:30,780 --> 00:30:31,780
alarming rate.

539
00:30:32,980 --> 00:30:36,420
The railways were suffering a
dramatic drop in passenger use,

540
00:30:36,420 --> 00:30:39,820
and the way to stem the huge
losses was for the axe to fall on

541
00:30:39,820 --> 00:30:43,460
over 50% of the stations
across the network.

542
00:30:43,460 --> 00:30:46,820
It simply wasn't profitable to
run routes like this any more.

543
00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:11,500
Following this old track bed,
I'm hoping to find a lost relic

544
00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:16,020
of the old railway, but 52 years
on since this line was closed,

545
00:31:16,020 --> 00:31:18,420
you never know if any of
it will still exist.

546
00:31:21,700 --> 00:31:26,020
That's the thing with these old
railway lines - sometimes it
is a nice, smooth path,

547
00:31:26,020 --> 00:31:31,420
other times, you have to work a
little bit harder to find the route.

548
00:31:31,420 --> 00:31:33,820
You can't get away from the fact
that I'm right alongside the

549
00:31:33,820 --> 00:31:35,180
busy A66 here.

550
00:31:36,660 --> 00:31:40,060
Cars, vans, lorries
continuously streaming past.

551
00:31:44,660 --> 00:31:49,540
Now somewhere up here, I'm expecting
to find Bassenthwaite Station.

552
00:31:49,540 --> 00:31:54,740
I've seen some photos of it,
but I've no idea what state it's

553
00:31:54,740 --> 00:31:57,740
going to be in now,
or if it's there at all.

554
00:31:57,740 --> 00:32:00,540
It could've been completely
ripped down and demolished,

555
00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:02,380
but that's all part of the fun.

556
00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:03,740
It's part of the adventure.

557
00:32:16,380 --> 00:32:17,460
This is man-made.

558
00:32:17,460 --> 00:32:18,500
That's not natural.

559
00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:21,580
That is...big old stone bricks.

560
00:32:21,580 --> 00:32:23,260
That's platform, maybe?

561
00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:24,780
Embankment?

562
00:32:24,780 --> 00:32:27,740
Let's have a look, confirm that...
Ooh, yeah. Ugh.

563
00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:29,580
Confirm that in a sec.
This is great.

564
00:32:29,580 --> 00:32:32,700
This is old railway
archaeology through here!

565
00:32:36,900 --> 00:32:38,460
So, this is the station,

566
00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:41,100
and that little brick wall that's
now sunk into the ground there,

567
00:32:41,100 --> 00:32:44,020
I reckon would've been the edge of
the platform, so the railway would

568
00:32:44,020 --> 00:32:46,340
have been down there, dug out.

569
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:50,220
I'm so pleased there's
something left.

570
00:32:50,220 --> 00:32:54,580
Let's see if I can compare this
against how it was when there

571
00:32:54,580 --> 00:32:56,460
was a railway here.

572
00:32:57,980 --> 00:33:00,180
Do you know what?
It is actually from roughly here.

573
00:33:00,180 --> 00:33:02,700
You've got the two windows
just down the end there.

574
00:33:02,700 --> 00:33:06,300
You've got this row of maybe
five or six windows just in here,

575
00:33:06,300 --> 00:33:08,020
and this gable sticks out.

576
00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:09,260
This is excellent!

577
00:33:09,260 --> 00:33:10,740
This is exactly it.

578
00:33:10,740 --> 00:33:13,900
These are the little surprises
that I absolutely love finding

579
00:33:13,900 --> 00:33:16,420
along the route here,
cos they are genuine surprises.

580
00:33:16,420 --> 00:33:19,620
When you do find any kind of
remnants, it's nice,

581
00:33:19,620 --> 00:33:22,980
it's special, and it kind of brings
the line back to life for you.

582
00:33:22,980 --> 00:33:24,900
You've got to do your work,
you know,

583
00:33:24,900 --> 00:33:27,380
you've got to put your homework
in and a bit of physical work

584
00:33:27,380 --> 00:33:30,380
to get here as well,
but it's so worth it.

585
00:33:41,220 --> 00:33:44,740
Swapping the railway bed for the
roads, I'll finish the final

586
00:33:44,740 --> 00:33:49,060
leg of my journey in the same style
as the wealthy Victorian tourists.

587
00:33:49,060 --> 00:33:51,780
This is magic! Woo-hoo-hoo!

588
00:34:02,060 --> 00:34:04,260
I'm nearing the end of my walk along

589
00:34:04,260 --> 00:34:06,700
the Penrith to Cockermouth line
in Cumbria,

590
00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:10,700
which cuts through 31 miles of the
most stunning Lake District scenery.

591
00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:14,380
I've arrived in Cockermouth,

592
00:34:14,380 --> 00:34:17,620
on the western edge of the
Lake District National Park.

593
00:34:17,620 --> 00:34:20,500
Now, freight trains would've
continued another eight miles

594
00:34:20,500 --> 00:34:23,380
or so out to the coast,
but for most tourists,

595
00:34:23,380 --> 00:34:27,820
this was the end of the line,
which is rather apt, really,

596
00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:31,780
because the man who encouraged
many of those early tourists to

597
00:34:31,780 --> 00:34:34,740
come to the Lakes in the first place
actually came from here.

598
00:34:37,980 --> 00:34:40,180
Cockermouth is an
ancient market town

599
00:34:40,180 --> 00:34:43,300
where romantic poet
William Wordsworth was born,

600
00:34:43,300 --> 00:34:44,860
and spent his young adult life.

601
00:34:47,740 --> 00:34:50,460
He brought the wonders of the
Lake District into the hearts and

602
00:34:50,460 --> 00:34:52,940
minds of people everywhere.

603
00:34:52,940 --> 00:34:56,460
He even published a guide-book
for the Lakes in 1820.

604
00:34:56,460 --> 00:34:59,740
Now, this little book was
undoubtedly responsible for

605
00:34:59,740 --> 00:35:02,420
the early influx of
tourists to the area.

606
00:35:02,420 --> 00:35:05,900
All right. With the line
running through here,

607
00:35:05,900 --> 00:35:09,900
this is where Cockermouth
Station once was.

608
00:35:09,900 --> 00:35:13,900
I mean, there's very little,
if any sign at all of it here now,

609
00:35:13,900 --> 00:35:17,340
but the trains would have come
in here from Penrith,

610
00:35:17,340 --> 00:35:21,620
and then headed off towards
Workington in that direction.

611
00:35:21,620 --> 00:35:26,260
And the main reason so many
tourists ventured as far as this is

612
00:35:26,260 --> 00:35:29,220
because by the 20th century,
the station here had been

613
00:35:29,220 --> 00:35:33,540
cleverly renamed
"Cockermouth for Buttermere."

614
00:35:33,540 --> 00:35:37,380
Buttermere has always been one of
the most revered lakes in the

615
00:35:37,380 --> 00:35:41,180
whole of the Lake District,
so to follow in the footsteps of

616
00:35:41,180 --> 00:35:44,380
those Victorian tourists,
that's where I'm headed now.

617
00:35:47,220 --> 00:35:51,700
Buttermere is the unspoilt jewel in
the crown of the Lake District,

618
00:35:51,700 --> 00:35:54,940
but it's ten miles away from
where I am here in Cockermouth.

619
00:35:56,380 --> 00:35:58,940
Now, there was no railway
to Buttermere, so,

620
00:35:58,940 --> 00:36:03,500
much like the tourists back in
the 1920s and '30s might've done,

621
00:36:03,500 --> 00:36:07,220
I'm going to indulge in some
new-fangled motor transport.

622
00:36:11,540 --> 00:36:12,940
This is beautiful, isn't it?

623
00:36:12,940 --> 00:36:16,180
Yeah. 1925 Humber 12/25.

624
00:36:16,180 --> 00:36:18,620
But this is exactly the type of
vehicle that tourists coming

625
00:36:18,620 --> 00:36:21,220
up to the Lakes might have gone
in to take their day trips? Yeah.

626
00:36:21,220 --> 00:36:23,740
It's not always as nice as
today, but we have got...

627
00:36:23,740 --> 00:36:24,780
Oh, is this for me? Yep.

628
00:36:24,780 --> 00:36:26,300
Oh, yes, please!

629
00:36:26,300 --> 00:36:27,660
Have a jacket to keep you warm.

630
00:36:27,660 --> 00:36:30,140
That's made-to-measure, that, Chris!
Lovely. Look at that!

631
00:36:34,380 --> 00:36:35,380
Take us away, Ken!

632
00:36:43,900 --> 00:36:46,540
So, hand-signals to indicate?

633
00:36:46,540 --> 00:36:48,180
Yeah. Everyone was used to that.

634
00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:51,100
We'd better just help everyone
else on the roads are really
used to it now!

635
00:36:51,100 --> 00:36:52,940
Well, yes, but I think
they're looking at us,

636
00:36:52,940 --> 00:36:55,820
cos, you know, we've got
some style to us. We do!

637
00:36:55,820 --> 00:36:58,300
I guess this is what it would've
been seen as back then as well -

638
00:36:58,300 --> 00:36:59,780
travelling in style, this!

639
00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:01,940
Yeah, and this is for
your richer traveller.

640
00:37:12,140 --> 00:37:15,900
Was it quite an established day
trip, then, for tourists

641
00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:19,780
coming in on the train to get a car
from Cockermouth to Buttermere?

642
00:37:19,780 --> 00:37:21,260
Yeah, they would've advertised.

643
00:37:21,260 --> 00:37:23,860
And you'd write a letter ahead,
booking your place...

644
00:37:23,860 --> 00:37:25,420
OK, so well ahead! Yeah.

645
00:37:25,420 --> 00:37:28,540
When you arrive on the train,
the man's there waiting for you

646
00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:30,020
to take you on your day trip.

647
00:37:30,020 --> 00:37:32,660
So, was this kind of day trip,
and I guess access

648
00:37:32,660 --> 00:37:35,380
out into these more remote
areas of the Lakes,

649
00:37:35,380 --> 00:37:38,620
the reserve of the rich
and the affluent few?

650
00:37:38,620 --> 00:37:42,340
No, they had charabancs -
ten or 12 people, squeeze them in.

651
00:37:42,340 --> 00:37:44,900
Those charabancs would have been,
kind of middle classes,

652
00:37:44,900 --> 00:37:46,860
probably, being able to afford that.

653
00:37:46,860 --> 00:37:49,660
Unfortunately, the poor working
classes just don't have that money

654
00:37:49,660 --> 00:37:52,420
to get out and about as much,
unless you wanted to walk.

655
00:37:52,420 --> 00:37:55,020
If you can get the train to all
those different train

656
00:37:55,020 --> 00:37:58,460
stations you've been stopping at,
you could walk from one to the next.

657
00:38:02,380 --> 00:38:06,100
Hi. It makes people smile
when it goes by, doesn't it?

658
00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:07,180
Everyone loves this!

659
00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:11,780
Look at this!

660
00:38:11,780 --> 00:38:15,260
This is why people wanted to
get out of Cockermouth

661
00:38:15,260 --> 00:38:17,700
and come and see this, you know?

662
00:38:17,700 --> 00:38:20,260
I guess the motor car
allowed you to do that.

663
00:38:20,260 --> 00:38:23,220
Yeah, and quicker than a horse
would have done. Of course.

664
00:38:26,900 --> 00:38:28,420
This is magic!

665
00:38:31,100 --> 00:38:33,300
Woo-hoo-hoo!

666
00:38:39,140 --> 00:38:41,580
Amazing. Amazing.

667
00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:49,700
The tranquil surroundings of
Buttermere are simply breathtaking.

668
00:38:49,700 --> 00:38:52,380
You can see why poets and writers
have been attracted to this

669
00:38:52,380 --> 00:38:55,340
place for over 100 years.

670
00:38:57,620 --> 00:39:01,060
It's off the beaten track from the
railways, but without them,

671
00:39:01,060 --> 00:39:04,860
many people would have never got
to discover this unspoilt,

672
00:39:04,860 --> 00:39:07,260
natural beauty.

673
00:39:07,260 --> 00:39:10,580
One of the Lakes' most famous
writers is Alfred Wainwright.

674
00:39:10,580 --> 00:39:13,860
He produced seven pictorial guide
books on the Lakes that are

675
00:39:13,860 --> 00:39:16,540
still a go-to guide for
tourists today.

676
00:39:16,540 --> 00:39:19,380
To tell me more about the
man is Chris Jesty,

677
00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:22,340
who's been on a mission to
retrace every path and fell

678
00:39:22,340 --> 00:39:24,060
that Wainwright ever documented.

679
00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:28,780
How much time did it take
you to do the lot?

680
00:39:28,780 --> 00:39:30,620
Ten years and three weeks. Wow.

681
00:39:30,620 --> 00:39:35,140
It was from 2003 to 2013.

682
00:39:35,140 --> 00:39:39,020
Wainwright picked out 214 fells.

683
00:39:39,020 --> 00:39:43,420
You have re-walked every
possible route?

684
00:39:43,420 --> 00:39:44,660
Yes, every route,

685
00:39:44,660 --> 00:39:47,660
and every path that was shown on the
original - I've walked them.

686
00:39:47,660 --> 00:39:51,900
It sounds like an incredible
amount of work that you undertook.

687
00:39:51,900 --> 00:39:55,060
Oh, well, you must remember I did
nothing else for ten years. Mm.

688
00:39:55,060 --> 00:39:56,860
Was it an enjoyable experience?

689
00:39:56,860 --> 00:39:57,940
Oh, very. Yes.

690
00:39:57,940 --> 00:39:59,620
You know, a lot of people say, oh,

691
00:39:59,620 --> 00:40:01,820
they'd like to live on a
farm or something.

692
00:40:01,820 --> 00:40:04,620
But at a farm, you see the
same scenery every day,

693
00:40:04,620 --> 00:40:06,500
but I see different
scenery every day.

694
00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:10,500
How did you come to be so
involved in Wainwright's world?

695
00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:13,220
I first suggested to revise
the books, I think,

696
00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:16,900
in about 1980,

697
00:40:16,900 --> 00:40:20,740
and he said he didn't want it
done until after his death,

698
00:40:20,740 --> 00:40:22,940
and that was in 1991.

699
00:40:22,940 --> 00:40:26,300
And Haystacks was the place that
he chose to have his ashes

700
00:40:26,300 --> 00:40:29,380
scattered when he died,
because he thought that was the most

701
00:40:29,380 --> 00:40:32,340
interesting of all the
Lakelands' summit areas.

702
00:40:32,340 --> 00:40:34,700
That was his favourite,
then, was it? It was, yes.

703
00:40:34,700 --> 00:40:36,420
It's more interesting
than some others.

704
00:40:36,420 --> 00:40:38,660
And lot of the mounts there's
just nothing there at all.

705
00:40:38,660 --> 00:40:42,020
This makes me feel like I need to go
and experience it somewhat myself.

706
00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:45,300
Yes. Chris, thank you very much
for meeting me down here.

707
00:40:45,300 --> 00:40:47,740
The surroundings are just
wonderful, aren't they?

708
00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:48,980
Oh, it's been a pleasure.

709
00:40:59,060 --> 00:41:01,660
And that's where I'm heading.

710
00:41:01,660 --> 00:41:07,500
The Lakes simply do not cease
to impress...and inspire.

711
00:41:24,900 --> 00:41:26,540
There it is, look.

712
00:41:26,540 --> 00:41:31,380
Wainwright's favourite fell here in
the Lake District - Haystacks.

713
00:41:31,380 --> 00:41:35,260
It is a fair way up,
but it's got to be done.

714
00:41:35,260 --> 00:41:38,860
The Lake District is undoubtedly
one of Britain's most distinct

715
00:41:38,860 --> 00:41:40,780
and popular places to visit.

716
00:41:40,780 --> 00:41:43,460
It has been for centuries.

717
00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:48,220
Before the railway, the upper class
came by horse-drawn transportation,

718
00:41:48,220 --> 00:41:51,700
and so the arrival of the
CKP line revolutionised the

719
00:41:51,700 --> 00:41:56,620
tourism industry here, bringing
more people, and not just the elite.

720
00:41:56,620 --> 00:41:58,660
Now that the railway has gone,

721
00:41:58,660 --> 00:42:03,420
it's the motor car giving access
to all this, to all people.

722
00:42:04,540 --> 00:42:09,620
So, whilst how tourists have
arrived has shifted over time,

723
00:42:09,620 --> 00:42:13,300
why they come here has
never changed,

724
00:42:13,300 --> 00:42:17,460
and I don't think there's any more
I need say to explain that.

725
00:42:31,660 --> 00:42:35,220
Next time, I'll see why the
lost Somerset and Dorset line

726
00:42:35,220 --> 00:42:37,220
brought financiers to their knees...

727
00:42:37,220 --> 00:42:41,260
It was this thick, boggy marshland.

728
00:42:41,260 --> 00:42:44,700
I'll make an unexpected
discovery in a lost world...

729
00:42:44,700 --> 00:42:46,780
Oh, my goodness me!

730
00:42:46,780 --> 00:42:52,060
The labour intensity, along with the
cash, would have been phenomenal.

731
00:42:53,140 --> 00:42:56,820
..and I'll learn that cutting
costs can cost lives.

732
00:42:56,820 --> 00:42:58,020
It killed people?

733
00:43:00,460 --> 00:43:04,140
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