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Britain's railways
were once 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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They were the network that supported
an industrial superpower.

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Here we go.

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THUNDEROUS RUMBLE

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Oh!

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I've never seen anything like that!

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But today...

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4,000 stations,

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and 8,000 miles of track

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lie silent.

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This station feels truly lost.

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So I'm setting off to discover
more of Britain's lost railways.

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Wow!

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This is something else!

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They tell a story...

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Look at this!

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..of how we once lived.

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Oh, I love that!

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..and how we once worked.

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CREAKING

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This is one heck of
a piece of engineering.

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And they help reveal
how our world has changed today.

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This is fantastic fun.

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STEAM HISSING

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GULLS CAW

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This time, I've come to King's Lynn,

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the gateway to Norfolk.

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You might think of Norfolk as being

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absolutely ideal
for building a railway.

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It is famously flat.

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But this isn't really an area
you often associate with railways.

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You tend to think of Norfolk
as big skies,

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open spaces,

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wonderful coastline,

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and remarkably few people.

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What you will find here
are vast country estates,

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more than a few Royals,

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and the richest farmland
Britain has ever known.

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But in the 1880s,

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one railway threatened to
shatter this haven forever.

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It beat a path through
prime country estates,

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past the Norfolk Broads,

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and on to the east coast.

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It brought in tourists
by the thousand...

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STEAM HORN PARPS

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..built towns
where only fields had been...

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..and even put Norfolk
on the front line of World War II.

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Surely none of these things
were meant to happen

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in sleepy old Norfolk!

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These days, we've been brought up
on images of the Royal estate

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at Sandringham.

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The Queen Christmases in Norfolk
every year.

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Her neighbours now include
the Cambridges, William and Kate,

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but Norfolk's appeal
to top tier establishment

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goes back hundreds of years,

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to when this region was
England's agricultural powerhouse.

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There's been a market in King's Lynn
since at least the 12th century.

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There's still one twice a week
to this day.

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As for my lost railway line,

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it wasn't built
until the early 1880s.

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That's a good 40 years after railway
mania took hold in most of Britain.

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Norfolk didn't exactly pounce on
the industrial age.

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And when my line did arrive,

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it encountered a landscape
often unchanged in centuries.

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BIRDS CHIRRUP

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Just outside King's Lynn
is my first example.

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I think it would be fair to say that
the railway made very little impact

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just here.

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This is Roydon Common.

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It's the largest natural heath
in Norfolk.

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Luckily for the common now,

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you'd barely notice
the human intrusion at all.

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BIRDS TWITTER

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The worst we'd manage to achieve
here was the odd heath fire,

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caused by sparks from passing
steam trains during hot weather.

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All of which suited the great
and the good of Norfolk just fine.

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As my line was built,

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Queen Victoria's son,
the future Edward VII,

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was in charge at Sandringham.

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The new railway ran along the
southern edge of his country estate.

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His neighbours included
Lord Ffolkes of Hillington Hall,

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Marquess of Cholmondeley
at Houghton Hall,

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and the Earl of Leicester
at Holkham Hall,

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owner of a whopping 43,000 acres.

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Edward and his friends turned
this part of Norfolk

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into a vast shooting estate.

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One day at Sandringham
accounted for 1,300 partridges.

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GUNSHOT BOOMS

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And Edward's also known to have shot
at another grand estate

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that the railway line
passed through.

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Just have a look at this.

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Raynham Hall is the seat
of Marquess Townshend.

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Without his support 140 years ago,

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there would have been no railway.

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When you see a house like that...

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..it just gives you a brilliant idea
of the amount of power and influence

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these great landowners had.

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It's magnificent!

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Good morning. Hello!

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It's where I'm meeting the eighth
and current Marquess Townshend.

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You don't look like a burglar.

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Good, I hope not!

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It was one of your predecessors
who was instrumental

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in allowing the railway to come
through these parts of Norfolk.

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I've got a silly cartoon
that I thought might amuse you.

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That's the fifth Marquess.

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He lived most of the time in Paris,

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and lived off the income
from Raynham.

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The Marquess
controlled 7,000 acres round here,

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but with farming in decline,

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he took the view that
railways should finally be embraced.

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So there was a financial incentive
for these landowners.

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Oh, very much so. Yeah, yeah.

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Family was, still is,
very much agricultural.

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It was very important that we were
able to get produce from the farm

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into King's Lynn, or to the boats,

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or wherever they were going.

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And the railway helped you do that
in much larger volume,

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all of a sudden. Yes, yes,
and much quicker and much better.

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The railway was very important.

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And we don't have a motorway
up here, we don't want one. No.

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It's still a notoriously tough part
of the country to get to.

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It is, it is.
When I drive into the Midlands,

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I realise how many roundabouts,

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and traffic lights, and...
HE GROANS

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Best stay here
and enjoy all this, then.

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Absolutely.
We're very lucky up here.

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Listen, Lord Townshend, thank you
very much. Not a bit, not a bit.

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It is lovely to be in here,
and see all this.

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Well, I'm glad you're here,
because we love sharing it.

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So, folk here
are still proud of Norfolk being

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just that little bit different.

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But in 1880,

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reservations were put to one side,

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and a railway
through the Raynham estate arrived,

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complete with its own station.

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I've been given special permission
to come and have a look around.

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It's privately owned, these days.

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But it is beautifully looked after.

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SHEEP BAA IN DISTANCE

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Look, you've still got
this waiting room here.

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It's just lovely to see.

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Just a little bit
of railway history kept alive.

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The last train
rumbled through Raynham in 1959.

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But before I get any further,

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there's something curious
about this railway's route

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that needs investigating.

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Most railways in southern Britain
were built

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spreading outwards from London,

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like a giant spider's web.

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But my line broke the mould.

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It ran east - west,

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connecting Norfolk to the Midlands.

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To find out why,

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I'm meeting
Norfolk railway historian Dave King.

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Was there a grand plan for
the railway across north Norfolk?

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I think it came about piecemeal.

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There were
three or four constituents.

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The Lynn & Fakenham was one,

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the Great Yarmouth & Stalham Light
was another one.

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They had got shared directors.

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And they stood
looking at each other.

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Rude not to join up, so they did.

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ROB CHUCKLES

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The result was a complicated route

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linking small towns and villages,

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and it ended up with
a name to match.

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The Midland & Great Northern
Joint Railway.

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It wasn't really an express route
across Norfolk, was it?

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No, no, no... It was given
a nickname Muddle and Get Nowhere.

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Oh, really?! M&GN. Yeah!
As it's all this... Yeah.

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They did that with railways.
I mean...

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The Great Western
was Great Way Round,

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and things like that.

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Since it's been gone
we've got a new nickname, mind you.

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Go on.

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Missed and Greatly Needed.

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Ahh...
ROB CHUCKLES

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I feel you tell me that
with some passion there, Dave.

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Oh, yes.

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THEY CHUCKLE

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How successful was the railway?

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Did it bring Norfolk
into the industrial age?

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Heavy industry, no, not really.

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The main things
the M&GN was known for

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was the fish.

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Cromer crabs, obviously.

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And the fruit season,
the sugar beet season.

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Growing sugar beet,
sending it off to the refinery,

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that was a growth industry.

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So the railway didn't really
bring in the Industrial Revolution

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like it had done
in other parts of the country? No,

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but it enabled people
to come to the area,

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and it enabled
the produce of the area

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to go to the people
where they lived.

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Coming up...

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I find a town
built just for my line.

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We've got some
mighty massive buildings here!

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CHUCKLING

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And I take to the air...

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Oh, there's nothing quite like this.

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..to see how the railway put Norfolk
on the front line of the war.

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That is absolutely enormous.

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I'm following a lost railway
that once brought the modern world

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00:10:09,540 --> 00:10:12,100
to the farmlands...

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00:10:12,100 --> 00:10:14,300
wealthy estates...

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00:10:14,300 --> 00:10:17,460
and wide-open spaces of Norfolk.

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Exploring lost railway lines,

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I'm quite used to walking along
little raised embankments,

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past the odd cutting,

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the occasional tunnel
or bridge, maybe.

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Not so much of that
around these parts.

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Famously flat Norfolk didn't need
any grand railway infrastructure.

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Which means that
60 years after my line closed,

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there are some wonderful
unspoiled stretches along my route.

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But, approaching the middle
of my journey,

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I've reached a key point
in East Anglia's lost rail network.

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As my lost line headed east,

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it crossed another line
heading north.

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That junction became
north Norfolk's railway hub.

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The town of Melton Constable.

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00:11:04,980 --> 00:11:08,180
This whole street feels quite alien
to where I am here

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00:11:08,180 --> 00:11:09,340
in north Norfolk.

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It's something I'd associate
much more with

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00:11:12,780 --> 00:11:15,220
the industrial heartlands
of the Midlands, or up North.

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00:11:16,700 --> 00:11:20,180
I think that says a lot for what
went on here in Melton Constable.

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The Midland and Great Northern
Joint Railway company

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controlled both lines
passing through here,

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so this became
their centre of operations.

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The result was an entire town,

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complete with
a primary and secondary school,

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a pub,

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and even a gasworks,

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all built
after the railway arrived here,

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by the railway company.

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Before 1880, it's all it was.

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It's just a tiny little street.

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To find out how
this town came to be,

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I'm meeting Norfolk railway experts
John Batley and Dan Knights.

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00:12:01,180 --> 00:12:02,260
All these people then,

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00:12:02,260 --> 00:12:05,100
being brought into Melton Constable
because of the railways,

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00:12:05,100 --> 00:12:07,380
they needed providing for.

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Schools, services, whatever else.

246
00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:12,300
We are standing in the
Railway Institute. This building?

247
00:12:12,300 --> 00:12:14,900
This building behind you right now,
this was actually built by

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00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:16,700
the Midland and Great Northern
Joint Railway

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00:12:16,700 --> 00:12:17,980
to look after the employees.

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This was a recreation room.

251
00:12:20,380 --> 00:12:21,420
It was a washroom.

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It was a study room for the workers.

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Everybody came here
on their time off,

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and they could educate themselves,

255
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and obviously look after themselves
as well.

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This population existed

257
00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:34,380
because Melton Constable
and its railway junction

258
00:12:34,380 --> 00:12:38,380
became the M&GN's
major engineering works.

259
00:12:39,420 --> 00:12:41,660
And much of the history
of this place

260
00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:43,660
is still hidden behind the town.

261
00:12:43,660 --> 00:12:46,740
Luckily, I'm with
just the men to help me find it.

262
00:12:47,820 --> 00:12:49,980
John and Dan
specialise in unearthing

263
00:12:49,980 --> 00:12:51,900
Norfolk's lost railway treasures.

264
00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:54,380
The track would have been
literally where I'm standing now.

265
00:12:54,380 --> 00:12:56,220
They explore woodland...

266
00:12:56,220 --> 00:13:00,660
A 60 foot turntable was placed,
believe it or not, here.

267
00:13:00,660 --> 00:13:02,580
..delve underground...

268
00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:04,420
The only tunnel in Norfolk.

269
00:13:04,420 --> 00:13:07,140
..and reveal what once existed.

270
00:13:07,140 --> 00:13:08,340
An interesting find.

271
00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:13,300
Melton Constable
is one of their favourite locations.

272
00:13:13,300 --> 00:13:16,780
But there are still parts
of the site they've not explored.

273
00:13:16,780 --> 00:13:19,180
We've got
some mighty massive buildings here!

274
00:13:19,180 --> 00:13:20,860
CHUCKLING
These are big buildings!

275
00:13:22,780 --> 00:13:25,860
How big was this site, then,
how big was the engineering works?

276
00:13:25,860 --> 00:13:27,500
We're talking 14 acres.

277
00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:30,100
This is a wagon and carriage works.

278
00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:33,540
There was a boiler...actual workshop
just at the back there.

279
00:13:33,540 --> 00:13:35,540
You could do everything
that you needed to, here,

280
00:13:35,540 --> 00:13:36,580
for a railway.

281
00:13:38,260 --> 00:13:40,860
1,000 people
would have once worked here,

282
00:13:40,860 --> 00:13:44,100
building and maintaining
the M&GN's rolling stock.

283
00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:46,540
Even tracks were constructed,

284
00:13:46,540 --> 00:13:49,740
to be used on the front line
during the First World War.

285
00:13:49,740 --> 00:13:54,300
Alongside, the massive platform
ran for 800 feet,

286
00:13:54,300 --> 00:13:58,900
with extensive sidings for shunting
and reorganising carriages.

287
00:13:58,900 --> 00:14:02,620
We've been given special access
to explore the site,

288
00:14:02,620 --> 00:14:04,740
and see
what original buildings remain.

289
00:14:06,060 --> 00:14:07,980
There's still a few clues,
aren't there?

290
00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:10,220
This is a 1951 engine shed.

291
00:14:11,660 --> 00:14:14,580
We've got rails,
three sets of rails.

292
00:14:14,580 --> 00:14:16,020
I say rails, I mean... These pits,

293
00:14:16,020 --> 00:14:18,820
were these so you can get underneath
engines? You've got it.

294
00:14:18,820 --> 00:14:21,700
There was servicing going on for
the locomotives that were coming in

295
00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:23,660
from all points of the compass.

296
00:14:24,740 --> 00:14:29,300
Up to 30 engines in one shift would
have been worked on by engineers,

297
00:14:29,300 --> 00:14:33,180
at ground level,
and down in the pits.

298
00:14:34,420 --> 00:14:35,980
It's more noise, it's more activity,

299
00:14:35,980 --> 00:14:37,500
it's big scale engineering. Yeah.

300
00:14:39,220 --> 00:14:40,980
But Melton Constable was also

301
00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:44,140
a base for the M&GN's all-important
freight business.

302
00:14:44,140 --> 00:14:45,180
This is fantastic!

303
00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:47,900
This is an original goods shed.

304
00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:49,700
Everything that Norfolk produced

305
00:14:49,700 --> 00:14:51,380
and anything that Norfolk needed

306
00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:53,660
came streaming through here
every day.

307
00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:55,580
Potatoes, fruit...

308
00:14:55,580 --> 00:14:58,540
Everything you could think of
that people needed to survive.

309
00:15:00,860 --> 00:15:02,340
Which leads us to a building

310
00:15:02,340 --> 00:15:04,700
John and Dan have
long been hoping to explore.

311
00:15:06,140 --> 00:15:07,380
Oh.

312
00:15:07,380 --> 00:15:08,540
Look at this!

313
00:15:08,540 --> 00:15:11,140
And finally they have their chance.

314
00:15:11,140 --> 00:15:12,380
Can we get in here as well?

315
00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:14,260
Shall we have a look?
Go on, let's have a peek.

316
00:15:15,340 --> 00:15:16,540
Cobwebs...

317
00:15:16,540 --> 00:15:17,580
CHUCKLING

318
00:15:17,580 --> 00:15:19,180
This is a time capsule.

319
00:15:21,620 --> 00:15:25,860
This office organised
the M&GN's goods operation,

320
00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:28,540
sending and receiving produce
from all around the country.

321
00:15:29,580 --> 00:15:31,020
There's a map on the wall here.

322
00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:34,820
Oh, my word.
How have you spotted that?!

323
00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:38,020
You can see where the four lines
are coming in, there.

324
00:15:38,020 --> 00:15:40,940
Oh, yeah. So here you've got
north - south, east - west,

325
00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:42,900
all coming out
through Melton Constable.

326
00:15:44,220 --> 00:15:46,420
Good spot, that! Well done, Dan!

327
00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:50,020
There was one item in particular

328
00:15:50,020 --> 00:15:52,580
that the clerks
wanted to keep a close eye on.

329
00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:56,180
This is
where all the beer was brought.

330
00:15:56,180 --> 00:15:58,580
Beer that would have been moved in
and out on the railway?

331
00:15:58,580 --> 00:16:00,780
In and out,
or consumed within the village.

332
00:16:00,780 --> 00:16:01,900
Well...
CHUCKLING

333
00:16:02,940 --> 00:16:05,580
I love that enquiries
at the window here.

334
00:16:05,580 --> 00:16:07,180
What beers have you got in
this week?

335
00:16:07,180 --> 00:16:09,140
Exactly! That'd be my first enquiry.

336
00:16:11,460 --> 00:16:13,180
You often have to work hard

337
00:16:13,180 --> 00:16:15,860
to imagine what places like this
would have been like.

338
00:16:15,860 --> 00:16:17,420
But here,

339
00:16:17,420 --> 00:16:20,020
it's as if someone locked up
half a century ago

340
00:16:20,020 --> 00:16:21,620
and never came back.

341
00:16:21,620 --> 00:16:23,500
It's a real link to the past.

342
00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:25,260
It is, isn't it?
Absolutely brilliant.

343
00:16:27,540 --> 00:16:31,900
For 80 years, the railway made
a real impact here.

344
00:16:33,180 --> 00:16:35,820
And its legacy,
in the form of Melton Constable,

345
00:16:35,820 --> 00:16:37,340
is plain to see.

346
00:16:38,980 --> 00:16:41,380
But just eight miles along the line,

347
00:16:41,380 --> 00:16:44,460
the importance of this railway
was more remarkable still.

348
00:16:47,140 --> 00:16:49,940
It played a role
that came about suddenly,

349
00:16:49,940 --> 00:16:52,540
and was vital to the whole nation.

350
00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:57,980
In the early 1940s,
as war gripped the nation,

351
00:16:57,980 --> 00:17:02,940
a market town like this, Fakenham,
in the heart of north Norfolk,

352
00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:05,180
with railway connections,

353
00:17:05,180 --> 00:17:08,460
was perfect
as a safe refuge for evacuees.

354
00:17:09,660 --> 00:17:13,900
In fact, tens of thousands
of children and mothers

355
00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:17,500
were sent up this way
to escape the Blitz in London.

356
00:17:19,100 --> 00:17:20,500
But by the middle of the war,

357
00:17:20,500 --> 00:17:25,900
Norfolk itself was about to take on
a pivotal role in Allied operations.

358
00:17:27,980 --> 00:17:29,980
Almost overnight,

359
00:17:29,980 --> 00:17:34,180
Norfolk's open spaces became the
military focus of the war effort.

360
00:17:36,980 --> 00:17:40,540
One of the key sites
was served by Fakenham station.

361
00:17:41,860 --> 00:17:46,420
For centuries, this was all fields
outside a quiet Norfolk village

362
00:17:46,420 --> 00:17:48,980
with a brilliantly descriptive name.

363
00:17:48,980 --> 00:17:50,820
Little Snoring.

364
00:17:50,820 --> 00:17:54,100
But come 1942,
it was all change.

365
00:17:54,100 --> 00:17:58,060
Little Snoring got
its very own wartime airfield.

366
00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:03,980
Nearly 80 years later,
part of the site still functions,

367
00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:07,820
and it's where I'm meeting
Norfolk airfield expert Ian Brown.

368
00:18:07,820 --> 00:18:09,500
Hello! How are you doing, Rob?

369
00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:11,220
Nice to meet you.
Very nice to meet you.

370
00:18:11,220 --> 00:18:13,740
There's not loads around here,
is there?

371
00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:15,740
It's a little bit barren,
definitely.

372
00:18:15,740 --> 00:18:17,500
It's very typical for Norfolk.

373
00:18:18,740 --> 00:18:21,020
Some of the runways
have been taken up, sadly.

374
00:18:21,020 --> 00:18:23,140
There is
a couple of Type II hangars here.

375
00:18:25,700 --> 00:18:28,460
The control tower is original.

376
00:18:29,660 --> 00:18:30,980
You can still see the balcony

377
00:18:30,980 --> 00:18:33,140
where the officers would have
counted the planes in

378
00:18:33,140 --> 00:18:34,340
and counted the planes out...

379
00:18:35,380 --> 00:18:38,100
..as they were taking off
on their sorties. Goodness me.

380
00:18:41,180 --> 00:18:43,180
Why build an airfield here,

381
00:18:43,180 --> 00:18:46,460
just outside this quiet village
of Little Snoring?

382
00:18:46,460 --> 00:18:49,300
Its location. The position
of Norfolk was absolutely perfect.

383
00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:51,300
It's close to the coastline,

384
00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:53,860
so this was an easy access
into Europe,

385
00:18:53,860 --> 00:18:56,180
bombing over the occupied areas.

386
00:18:57,220 --> 00:19:00,300
And Little Snoring
was far from alone.

387
00:19:00,300 --> 00:19:02,620
At times, in 1942,

388
00:19:02,620 --> 00:19:06,260
a new airfield was opening
in East Anglia almost every week.

389
00:19:07,380 --> 00:19:12,100
But each one needed 130,000 tonnes
of ballast and cement.

390
00:19:13,660 --> 00:19:16,060
How did they manage to do that
during the war?

391
00:19:16,060 --> 00:19:17,460
It was down to the railways.

392
00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:20,140
The railways were
the key part of carrying

393
00:19:20,140 --> 00:19:23,060
the construction materials needed
to construct all the airfields.

394
00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:27,500
The line between King's Lynn and
Norwich was absolutely paramount.

395
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,860
I mean, Fakenham would
regularly have drops of

396
00:19:29,860 --> 00:19:34,340
40, 50 different trucks of various
different construction materials,

397
00:19:34,340 --> 00:19:36,540
and then it would go off
to the various airfields.

398
00:19:36,540 --> 00:19:38,500
What are they bringing in?
Brick, stone? Chalk.

399
00:19:38,500 --> 00:19:41,340
During the Blitz, you've got
the bombed-out buildings in London.

400
00:19:41,340 --> 00:19:43,260
They transported
all the rubble to Norfolk

401
00:19:43,260 --> 00:19:45,820
where they needed to construct
runways and airfields,

402
00:19:45,820 --> 00:19:48,540
so we could be looking at brickwork
from London on that tower.

403
00:19:50,020 --> 00:19:51,540
Or we could be standing on some now.

404
00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:54,940
The railways were also used

405
00:19:54,940 --> 00:19:58,220
to transport cargo
from a little further afield.

406
00:19:58,220 --> 00:20:03,100
By the end of 1942,
Norfolk was full of Americans.

407
00:20:03,100 --> 00:20:07,500
They'd be based at over 20 airfields
in this county alone.

408
00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:10,940
At one point, there was round about
50,000 American personnel living...

409
00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:13,140
What, around here?
Around this area.

410
00:20:13,140 --> 00:20:15,340
They called it
the friendly invasion.

411
00:20:15,340 --> 00:20:17,860
That many... That many people.
..coming in so quickly.

412
00:20:17,860 --> 00:20:19,860
It must have felt like an invasion.

413
00:20:19,860 --> 00:20:22,060
You could spin around,
throw a stick,

414
00:20:22,060 --> 00:20:24,460
boof, you land in
a military installation or airfield.

415
00:20:25,740 --> 00:20:27,700
Now this I have to see.

416
00:20:28,900 --> 00:20:31,620
And what better way
to find airfields

417
00:20:31,620 --> 00:20:32,940
than from the air?

418
00:20:34,420 --> 00:20:36,340
This is lovely.

419
00:20:36,340 --> 00:20:39,540
My pilot today is Matt Pettit.

420
00:20:39,540 --> 00:20:41,180
And we're airborne!

421
00:20:41,180 --> 00:20:46,140
And appropriately, he's taking me up
in a 1940s American plane.

422
00:20:51,900 --> 00:20:54,620
What's the model of this plane
that we're in, here, Matt?

423
00:20:54,620 --> 00:20:56,060
It's a Piper Cub,

424
00:20:56,060 --> 00:20:58,260
but this is
a military version of it,

425
00:20:58,260 --> 00:21:01,020
so it has all of the extra glass
for the artillery spotting.

426
00:21:03,020 --> 00:21:06,020
It would be difficult
to find a wartime plane

427
00:21:06,020 --> 00:21:08,500
more different from the heavy
bombers that once flew here.

428
00:21:09,780 --> 00:21:12,940
Tiny Piper Cubs
were used to spot German tanks

429
00:21:12,940 --> 00:21:14,100
hidden on the battlefield.

430
00:21:15,140 --> 00:21:17,500
I can actually fly it by
putting your hands out the window.

431
00:21:17,500 --> 00:21:18,540
Look, watch.

432
00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:19,580
LAUGHTER

433
00:21:20,820 --> 00:21:23,100
Right, put my hands
out the other side. Look.

434
00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:24,100
That's great! Yeah!

435
00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:29,340
If it was used correctly,

436
00:21:29,340 --> 00:21:31,540
you'd be sat in the pilot's seat,
in the front. OK.

437
00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:32,740
And I'd be the observer,

438
00:21:32,740 --> 00:21:34,420
and I'd be sat facing backwards,

439
00:21:34,420 --> 00:21:36,140
using the table that's behind me.

440
00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:41,660
The visibility
is still fantastic, though.

441
00:21:41,660 --> 00:21:45,420
And first up,
we're looking for RAF Oulton.

442
00:21:45,420 --> 00:21:48,500
The old railway line
should guide us straight to it.

443
00:21:49,820 --> 00:21:51,980
So if I follow that
through the village here

444
00:21:51,980 --> 00:21:52,980
and follow it on,

445
00:21:52,980 --> 00:21:55,180
that should take me
to the airfield

446
00:21:55,180 --> 00:21:57,860
because RAF Oulton
was right near it,

447
00:21:57,860 --> 00:21:59,780
just on the north side
of the railway.

448
00:22:01,940 --> 00:22:03,060
There it is.

449
00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:05,020
This is that classic triangle,

450
00:22:05,020 --> 00:22:06,300
that classic A shape.

451
00:22:06,300 --> 00:22:07,500
That's it, yeah.

452
00:22:08,740 --> 00:22:11,100
But it's not an airfield any more,
is it?

453
00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:13,020
No, it's a pig farm.
That's a pig farm, yeah.

454
00:22:13,020 --> 00:22:14,100
That's a pig farm.

455
00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:15,780
All the little porkers down there.

456
00:22:16,900 --> 00:22:19,100
All around the county,

457
00:22:19,100 --> 00:22:22,780
there are wartime airfields
enjoying a very different life now.

458
00:22:22,780 --> 00:22:25,060
That is RAF Attlebridge.

459
00:22:26,100 --> 00:22:28,460
Attlebridge was
a US Air Force base.

460
00:22:28,460 --> 00:22:30,580
It's now a wind farm.

461
00:22:31,780 --> 00:22:33,580
Well, that is quite a sight,

462
00:22:33,580 --> 00:22:35,220
seeing a wind turbine from above.

463
00:22:35,220 --> 00:22:36,380
That's very cool.

464
00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:40,420
In fact, renewable energy
is a popular choice.

465
00:22:40,420 --> 00:22:42,020
That's RAF West Raynham,

466
00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:45,020
and it's one of the biggest
solar parks I've ever seen.

467
00:22:45,020 --> 00:22:47,100
That is absolutely enormous.

468
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:49,620
There's some
very significant big buildings.

469
00:22:49,620 --> 00:22:50,820
Yes. They're the hangars.

470
00:22:52,020 --> 00:22:54,860
At one point, there was
over 3,000 people based here.

471
00:22:55,820 --> 00:22:57,020
In the middle of Norfolk,

472
00:22:57,020 --> 00:22:58,540
in the middle of nowhere. Wow!

473
00:22:59,540 --> 00:23:03,500
But just occasionally, there's one
that's still an airfield.

474
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:05,900
That one there is Sculthorpe.

475
00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:07,620
That's still MoD, is it?
That's still MoD,

476
00:23:07,620 --> 00:23:09,580
that's why we don't go
too close to it.

477
00:23:09,580 --> 00:23:10,780
Yep, fair enough!

478
00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:17,940
From 1942-43,
37 airfields were built in Norfolk,

479
00:23:17,940 --> 00:23:20,820
and they transformed
the local scenery.

480
00:23:20,820 --> 00:23:23,380
During the war, they're all active,

481
00:23:23,380 --> 00:23:25,580
and so the amount of aircraft...

482
00:23:25,580 --> 00:23:27,460
I mean, people used to say
they were like flies,

483
00:23:27,460 --> 00:23:29,580
you know, the air was thick
with aeroplanes. Wow!

484
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:31,620
This is unforgettable.

485
00:23:31,620 --> 00:23:32,620
Glad you've enjoyed it.

486
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:42,900
Coming up...

487
00:23:42,900 --> 00:23:44,540
I'm on the Broads,

488
00:23:44,540 --> 00:23:47,660
sailing the forerunner
to Norfolk's railways.

489
00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:49,540
What was it that led to
the demise of wherries?

490
00:23:49,540 --> 00:23:51,420
The railway.
It was the railway, wasn't it?

491
00:23:51,420 --> 00:23:52,580
The railway.

492
00:23:52,580 --> 00:23:56,580
And I find a station that
dealt with Norfolk's new industry.

493
00:23:56,580 --> 00:23:57,820
Tourists.

494
00:23:57,820 --> 00:23:59,340
80 trains a day
coming through here?!

495
00:23:59,340 --> 00:24:00,660
It was 82 that was the record.

496
00:24:05,540 --> 00:24:07,020
I'm following a lost railway

497
00:24:07,020 --> 00:24:10,700
that once wound its way across
a famously undeveloped corner

498
00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:11,740
of England.

499
00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:16,580
The Midland and Great Northern
Joint Railway

500
00:24:16,580 --> 00:24:19,100
once ran through
the heart of rural Norfolk.

501
00:24:20,220 --> 00:24:23,300
It was often known as
the Muddle and Go Nowhere.

502
00:24:24,700 --> 00:24:27,100
But 60 years
after the railway closed,

503
00:24:27,100 --> 00:24:29,020
that name seems a little unkind.

504
00:24:30,060 --> 00:24:34,020
This line from the Midlands
played a vital wartime role,

505
00:24:34,020 --> 00:24:37,700
and caused an entire engineering
town to be built from scratch.

506
00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:40,300
On the other hand,

507
00:24:40,300 --> 00:24:44,620
much of the route now has simply
returned to its old rural ways.

508
00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:54,180
A good example of this
is the old station at Honing

509
00:24:54,180 --> 00:24:57,060
which, just five years ago,

510
00:24:57,060 --> 00:24:58,620
looked like this.

511
00:25:00,060 --> 00:25:01,300
But then...

512
00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:04,220
it received more than a little
love and attention.

513
00:25:06,140 --> 00:25:07,700
Stuart. Rob, nice to meet you.

514
00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:09,260
How you doing?
Not so bad, how are you?

515
00:25:09,260 --> 00:25:10,620
All right, thanks!

516
00:25:10,620 --> 00:25:13,100
Stuart McPherson
was one of the volunteers

517
00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:14,780
who rediscovered the station,

518
00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:17,180
with real clues
to the railway's past.

519
00:25:17,180 --> 00:25:20,140
These are the best kept
ruins, if you like,

520
00:25:20,140 --> 00:25:22,340
of a station
I think I've ever seen. Yes!

521
00:25:22,340 --> 00:25:25,700
This was Honing station
which opened in 1882,

522
00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:27,140
and when it shut in 1959,

523
00:25:27,140 --> 00:25:28,620
it was retaken by nature.

524
00:25:29,620 --> 00:25:31,860
At first, it was the wild flowers.

525
00:25:32,860 --> 00:25:35,020
But as the decades passed,

526
00:25:35,020 --> 00:25:36,940
bushes and trees took over.

527
00:25:36,940 --> 00:25:39,540
It was completely covered.
There was weeds everywhere,

528
00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:41,300
you couldn't even see
the platform walls.

529
00:25:41,300 --> 00:25:44,060
So you could walk through without
realising...? Yeah, people did,

530
00:25:44,060 --> 00:25:46,260
without even realising
there was a station here.

531
00:25:46,260 --> 00:25:49,380
The abandoned buildings
eventually turned...

532
00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:52,180
..to ruins.

533
00:25:55,020 --> 00:25:57,220
But since 2014,

534
00:25:57,220 --> 00:26:01,700
Stu and the team
have removed weeds, roots and soil.

535
00:26:01,700 --> 00:26:04,580
They've restored platforms...

536
00:26:04,580 --> 00:26:06,980
and signage...

537
00:26:06,980 --> 00:26:11,180
to create an unusual shrine
to railway days gone by.

538
00:26:12,580 --> 00:26:15,620
Even the station building
is open once again.

539
00:26:15,620 --> 00:26:16,700
Can we go inside?

540
00:26:16,700 --> 00:26:19,220
Yeah, you can wander in through
the main front doors, if you like.

541
00:26:20,220 --> 00:26:21,420
It's crazy!

542
00:26:21,420 --> 00:26:22,700
Into the main waiting room.

543
00:26:24,260 --> 00:26:25,940
You've got the ticket office
behind you.

544
00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:28,660
Even the gents' have been reclaimed.

545
00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:32,500
Just in the gutter
outside the front doors, we found...

546
00:26:32,500 --> 00:26:34,780
this original Victorian key.
Let's have a look!

547
00:26:34,780 --> 00:26:37,580
Which has been obviously left
by the last person who locked up.

548
00:26:37,580 --> 00:26:39,500
Do you think
that's what happened there? Yeah.

549
00:26:39,500 --> 00:26:41,500
And this you found
just kicking about there?

550
00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:44,060
It was in the gutter. Right in the
middle, between the two doors.

551
00:26:44,060 --> 00:26:45,380
That's amazing.

552
00:26:45,380 --> 00:26:47,540
Oh, I love that!

553
00:26:47,540 --> 00:26:49,060
When you've got something like this,

554
00:26:49,060 --> 00:26:50,900
you can almost
picture that happening. Yes.

555
00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:52,700
It shows you, if you put in
a bit of hard work,

556
00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:54,460
you can find all sorts of stuff
around here.

557
00:26:54,460 --> 00:26:56,740
Let me give you that back.
All sorts of stories and history.

558
00:26:57,780 --> 00:27:00,220
But just yards up the platform,

559
00:27:00,220 --> 00:27:04,540
the team also unearthed evidence of
this line's original purpose.

560
00:27:04,540 --> 00:27:07,420
Got some cattle docks over there,
and some horse pens.

561
00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:11,060
That's part of the station? Yeah,
that's all part of the station.

562
00:27:11,060 --> 00:27:12,980
Got cattle pens at the station!

563
00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:15,860
Where they'd be kept before being
shoved onto the trains. Yes.

564
00:27:15,860 --> 00:27:18,220
And it wasn't just cattle
coming through here.

565
00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:19,580
There was corn,

566
00:27:19,580 --> 00:27:21,260
there was fish coming through,

567
00:27:21,260 --> 00:27:22,780
there was local sugar beet.

568
00:27:23,820 --> 00:27:26,660
Just as those planning the railway
had intended,

569
00:27:26,660 --> 00:27:28,860
the line was getting Norfolk produce

570
00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:31,020
to big markets
all round the country.

571
00:27:32,420 --> 00:27:35,460
Soft fruit
became the new Norfolk crop,

572
00:27:35,460 --> 00:27:38,420
much being sent to
the Rowntree's factory in York.

573
00:27:40,620 --> 00:27:42,660
But, by the late 1880s,

574
00:27:42,660 --> 00:27:45,420
this station had
another brand-new line of work.

575
00:27:46,580 --> 00:27:47,780
Holidaymakers.

576
00:27:48,980 --> 00:27:50,980
For a small rural village
like this,

577
00:27:50,980 --> 00:27:53,220
this is a pretty long platform,
isn't it?

578
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:55,380
Yeah, it's massive.
It's about 400 feet long.

579
00:27:55,380 --> 00:27:57,180
Geez.

580
00:27:57,180 --> 00:27:59,580
It was designed to accommodate
the largest trains

581
00:27:59,580 --> 00:28:01,380
they could ever think of
at that time.

582
00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:03,740
So this would see
upwards of 80 trains a day

583
00:28:03,740 --> 00:28:06,300
during the summer months.
80 trains a day coming through here?

584
00:28:06,300 --> 00:28:08,860
Yeah, I think 82 in one day
was the record.

585
00:28:08,860 --> 00:28:11,540
And bearing in mind
it's single track either side...

586
00:28:11,540 --> 00:28:14,380
Yeah. The poor old signalman
must have had some hard work.

587
00:28:14,380 --> 00:28:15,500
CHUCKLING

588
00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:22,940
This one ruined station sums up
my railway's two great roles.

589
00:28:22,940 --> 00:28:25,780
To boost the old farming industry,

590
00:28:25,780 --> 00:28:28,700
and kick-start
a new tourist industry.

591
00:28:30,940 --> 00:28:34,940
This line in particular sold
the delights of Norfolk's coastline

592
00:28:34,940 --> 00:28:36,620
to millions of Midlanders.

593
00:28:38,580 --> 00:28:40,220
But before I get there,

594
00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:42,940
Norfolk had one more trick
up its sleeve.

595
00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:45,060
Just ahead of me there,

596
00:28:45,060 --> 00:28:47,060
on the other side of the road,
behind those bushes

597
00:28:47,060 --> 00:28:49,180
is where Stalham station used to be.

598
00:28:50,140 --> 00:28:51,940
There's barely sign of it
at all, now,

599
00:28:51,940 --> 00:28:54,860
save for this pathway
that runs along the old line.

600
00:28:56,500 --> 00:29:00,700
But the holidaymakers and tourists
that so many trains carried

601
00:29:00,700 --> 00:29:02,900
increasingly wanted to come here,

602
00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:07,140
because Stalham is
the gateway to the Norfolk Broads.

603
00:29:11,460 --> 00:29:13,540
These meandering waterways

604
00:29:13,540 --> 00:29:17,020
are as much a part of
the Norfolk experience now

605
00:29:17,020 --> 00:29:19,020
as big skies and beaches.

606
00:29:20,020 --> 00:29:21,420
But there was a time when

607
00:29:21,420 --> 00:29:24,460
no-one in their right mind
would come here for fun.

608
00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:29,260
The history of the Broads is
about as close to heavy industry

609
00:29:29,260 --> 00:29:30,660
as Norfolk has ever got.

610
00:29:32,660 --> 00:29:35,140
And the workhorses
of that old industry

611
00:29:35,140 --> 00:29:36,500
were the wherries.

612
00:29:39,180 --> 00:29:40,780
Thank you very much.
That's my pleasure.

613
00:29:42,980 --> 00:29:47,780
Norfolk wherries like Albion were
the steam locomotives of their day.

614
00:29:47,780 --> 00:29:50,260
And joining me onboard
is Nicola Hems,

615
00:29:50,260 --> 00:29:52,140
from the Museum of the Broads.

616
00:29:52,140 --> 00:29:54,620
Before we had roads and railways,

617
00:29:54,620 --> 00:29:56,140
everything that came to Norwich,

618
00:29:56,140 --> 00:29:57,860
and all the towns and villages
in between,

619
00:29:57,860 --> 00:29:58,980
came by river.

620
00:30:00,260 --> 00:30:04,180
So what kind of cargo might Albion
have been carrying around?

621
00:30:04,180 --> 00:30:06,700
Anything. Ships could have come
from the north of the country

622
00:30:06,700 --> 00:30:08,060
carrying coal,

623
00:30:08,060 --> 00:30:09,860
and would have transferred
onto Albion.

624
00:30:09,860 --> 00:30:11,700
She might have carried wood...

625
00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:13,460
bricks, straw...

626
00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:14,740
reeds for thatching,

627
00:30:14,740 --> 00:30:17,700
and possibly even some vegetables
and that sort of thing.

628
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:19,860
Two centuries ago,

629
00:30:19,860 --> 00:30:23,060
several hundred cargo wherries,
with their distinctive sails,

630
00:30:23,060 --> 00:30:25,260
would have littered
the Broads landscape.

631
00:30:25,260 --> 00:30:28,780
Wherries were specially built for
the Norfolk Broads and the rivers

632
00:30:28,780 --> 00:30:30,980
because the rivers
are fairly shallow.

633
00:30:30,980 --> 00:30:33,620
So we needed special boats
to navigate the shallow

634
00:30:33,620 --> 00:30:35,380
and fairly narrow rivers as well.

635
00:30:35,380 --> 00:30:39,620
Albion, today, is just one of two
cargo wherries left sailing.

636
00:30:40,700 --> 00:30:42,340
What was it that led to

637
00:30:42,340 --> 00:30:44,540
the demise of wherries shipping
around all the cargo?

638
00:30:44,540 --> 00:30:47,020
The railway. It was the railway,
wasn't it? The railway.

639
00:30:47,020 --> 00:30:49,060
If you had something
like blackcurrants,

640
00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:51,340
or fruit that
really had a short lifespan,

641
00:30:51,340 --> 00:30:54,220
railways would get it
to their destination much quicker.

642
00:30:55,540 --> 00:30:57,460
What was the fate
of the cargo wherries?

643
00:30:57,460 --> 00:30:59,700
Quite a few of these wherries
were scuttled,

644
00:30:59,700 --> 00:31:01,660
just sunk.

645
00:31:01,660 --> 00:31:03,860
But others were used
to carry passengers,

646
00:31:03,860 --> 00:31:06,340
because the railways brought in
a different type of cargo.

647
00:31:06,340 --> 00:31:07,660
They brought in tourists.

648
00:31:08,740 --> 00:31:10,580
By the early 1900s,

649
00:31:10,580 --> 00:31:13,780
some of the filthy, coal-carrying
vessels were cleaned out

650
00:31:13,780 --> 00:31:16,380
to carry passengers each summer.

651
00:31:16,380 --> 00:31:18,300
Some went a stage further.

652
00:31:19,380 --> 00:31:22,300
They were transformed into
something called pleasure wherries.

653
00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:24,780
They had cabins and a bathroom,

654
00:31:24,780 --> 00:31:27,140
living area, galley,
kitchen area...

655
00:31:28,260 --> 00:31:30,820
Plus of course they had a full crew
to look after you.

656
00:31:30,820 --> 00:31:35,180
These industrial workhorses were now
elegant and refined cruise boats.

657
00:31:35,180 --> 00:31:38,380
It's very difficult to be out here
and not just enjoy this.

658
00:31:40,140 --> 00:31:42,380
And to be doing it
on an old cargo wherry as well

659
00:31:42,380 --> 00:31:43,860
is just something quite special.

660
00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:45,060
It's very special.

661
00:31:45,060 --> 00:31:46,100
It's so quiet!

662
00:31:50,660 --> 00:31:53,100
Much like my railway line,

663
00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:55,660
the Broads' time as
a vital transport link

664
00:31:55,660 --> 00:31:57,100
has come and gone.

665
00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:02,220
But interest in exploring them
only seems to grow.

666
00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:06,580
So I thought I'd find something
thoroughly modern.

667
00:32:06,580 --> 00:32:08,540
I think I'm ready, Sarah.
Ready to go? Let's do it.

668
00:32:10,660 --> 00:32:14,340
Sarah Bradford is letting me loose
on a paddleboard.

669
00:32:15,820 --> 00:32:17,740
Good job.
Just keep moving.

670
00:32:17,740 --> 00:32:20,340
It's like riding a bike, much easier
when you're actually moving.

671
00:32:21,780 --> 00:32:24,580
Paddleboarding originated in Hawaii.

672
00:32:24,580 --> 00:32:29,340
But somehow, the slow simplicity
of this form of transport

673
00:32:29,340 --> 00:32:31,740
just seems perfect for Norfolk.

674
00:32:34,340 --> 00:32:37,700
We've got miles and miles
of flat waterways.

675
00:32:37,700 --> 00:32:39,540
The adventures you can have...

676
00:32:39,540 --> 00:32:41,340
You know, you can stick a tent
on the front,

677
00:32:41,340 --> 00:32:42,780
you can stick a backpack on,

678
00:32:42,780 --> 00:32:44,700
and you can just go for a day or two
if you wanted.

679
00:32:49,740 --> 00:32:51,660
Look at all this wonderful nature
around us.

680
00:32:51,660 --> 00:32:54,460
You see birds, and splashes and
little bubbles every now and then.

681
00:32:55,620 --> 00:32:57,460
Can you get a bit closer to them?
Yeah, you can.

682
00:32:57,460 --> 00:32:59,140
You kind of start getting
to the stage

683
00:32:59,140 --> 00:33:00,940
where you're taking a heron
for granted.

684
00:33:00,940 --> 00:33:03,140
Kingfishers will just dart out,

685
00:33:03,140 --> 00:33:05,020
skimming across the surface,
and off they go.

686
00:33:05,020 --> 00:33:06,940
As soon as you're on the water,

687
00:33:06,940 --> 00:33:08,220
everything slows down.

688
00:33:08,220 --> 00:33:10,140
I think that's what people want
out of a holiday.

689
00:33:11,300 --> 00:33:14,100
Ever since
the arrival of the railway,

690
00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:16,860
the old industrial waterways
of Norfolk

691
00:33:16,860 --> 00:33:20,220
have steadily become
something altogether different.

692
00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:21,540
I'm enjoying it.

693
00:33:21,540 --> 00:33:24,660
I am definitely enjoying it,
this is a real type of just...

694
00:33:24,660 --> 00:33:26,180
serenity.

695
00:33:26,180 --> 00:33:27,540
Calm. Peacefulness.

696
00:33:27,540 --> 00:33:29,940
Exactly. Exactly,
that's what it's all about.

697
00:33:32,100 --> 00:33:33,500
Coming up...

698
00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:35,900
my railway hits the coast.

699
00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:37,580
I've reached the seaside!

700
00:33:37,580 --> 00:33:39,580
And, at Great Yarmouth...

701
00:33:39,580 --> 00:33:41,380
It's all go along here.
What do you fancy?

702
00:33:41,380 --> 00:33:44,140
..I get to ride on a scenic railway.

703
00:33:44,140 --> 00:33:46,540
We're reaching the top, here we go!

704
00:33:50,580 --> 00:33:54,260
Here we go, then. We've got
ice creams, fish and chips,

705
00:33:54,260 --> 00:33:55,940
seagulls...
GENTLE CAWING

706
00:33:55,940 --> 00:33:58,900
I've definitely reached
seaside holiday territory here.

707
00:34:00,940 --> 00:34:05,220
The Norfolk farmland
and the Broads are behind me.

708
00:34:05,220 --> 00:34:09,500
And my 70 mile route along the old
Midland and Great Northern Railway

709
00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:10,620
is almost at an end.

710
00:34:11,620 --> 00:34:14,420
The M&GN line ran along this road,

711
00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:16,940
a straight line
heading towards the beach.

712
00:34:18,180 --> 00:34:19,260
HE BREATHES DEEP

713
00:34:19,260 --> 00:34:21,660
You can smell the sea air
here as well.

714
00:34:21,660 --> 00:34:23,340
Well, that could be
the fish and chips.

715
00:34:24,620 --> 00:34:27,540
This was the point
where my line met the sea

716
00:34:27,540 --> 00:34:31,060
and turned south towards
East Anglia's ultimate holiday spot,

717
00:34:31,060 --> 00:34:32,420
Great Yarmouth.

718
00:34:34,180 --> 00:34:38,340
But arguably, this tiny place
right here got the better name.

719
00:34:39,420 --> 00:34:41,540
This is California.

720
00:34:42,700 --> 00:34:44,220
I've reached the seaside!

721
00:34:45,180 --> 00:34:46,260
HE CHUCKLES

722
00:34:46,260 --> 00:34:48,060
That makes me
very, very happy indeed.

723
00:34:50,460 --> 00:34:52,940
Now this place name, California,

724
00:34:52,940 --> 00:34:55,100
apparently came about
as a bit of a locals' joke.

725
00:34:56,100 --> 00:34:58,740
The story goes that in 1848,

726
00:34:58,740 --> 00:35:02,100
a stash of very valuable,
very old coins were found

727
00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:03,900
down here on the beach.

728
00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:07,300
Just a few months earlier,

729
00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:10,180
gold had been discovered
in the other California,

730
00:35:10,180 --> 00:35:12,580
and sparked the gold rush there.

731
00:35:12,580 --> 00:35:14,540
So, because of the coins,

732
00:35:14,540 --> 00:35:16,660
this became Norfolk's California.

733
00:35:19,020 --> 00:35:21,420
Can't really tell the difference
between the two, can you?

734
00:35:23,780 --> 00:35:27,820
By 1911, an express service
thundered through California

735
00:35:27,820 --> 00:35:29,020
six days a week.

736
00:35:30,340 --> 00:35:35,300
One Saturday saw 3,000 Midlanders
crossing Norfolk to reach the coast.

737
00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:40,820
The early tourist rail users were
all about getting to the seaside,

738
00:35:40,820 --> 00:35:42,620
to Great Yarmouth in particular,

739
00:35:42,620 --> 00:35:45,900
about four miles south
from where I am here now.

740
00:35:45,900 --> 00:35:48,100
But the more people came
to Yarmouth,

741
00:35:48,100 --> 00:35:52,060
the more tourism spilled out
to places like California here.

742
00:35:53,900 --> 00:35:56,860
So eventually, the place
got its own station.

743
00:35:57,980 --> 00:35:59,300
And it wasn't alone.

744
00:36:00,340 --> 00:36:05,340
A selection of simple summertime
halts appeared along the coastline,

745
00:36:05,340 --> 00:36:09,220
but wherever the people actually
stayed, they could take the train

746
00:36:09,220 --> 00:36:11,860
for a visit
to Norfolk's holiday capital.

747
00:36:13,380 --> 00:36:15,260
Which was also
the end of the line

748
00:36:15,260 --> 00:36:17,540
for the Midland and
Great Northern Railway.

749
00:36:19,060 --> 00:36:20,460
This is it, then.

750
00:36:20,460 --> 00:36:21,580
The end of the line.

751
00:36:22,700 --> 00:36:25,020
Beach Station in Great Yarmouth.

752
00:36:26,100 --> 00:36:27,340
What do you think?

753
00:36:27,340 --> 00:36:28,460
HE CHUCKLES

754
00:36:28,460 --> 00:36:30,780
There are a couple of
throwback remnants.

755
00:36:30,780 --> 00:36:31,980
Bit of rail,

756
00:36:31,980 --> 00:36:33,180
these stanchions,

757
00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:34,700
but it's pretty much gone now.

758
00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:37,940
This is what it once looked like.

759
00:36:39,020 --> 00:36:41,060
A fairly substantial station.

760
00:36:41,060 --> 00:36:42,540
All these sidings here.

761
00:36:44,020 --> 00:36:46,220
But the sad thing, for me at least,

762
00:36:46,220 --> 00:36:49,820
is a lot of this infrastructure
was only demolished in the 1980s,

763
00:36:49,820 --> 00:36:52,060
to leave us with this...car park.

764
00:36:53,700 --> 00:36:56,780
But the name Beach Station
wasn't a total con.

765
00:37:01,660 --> 00:37:04,900
At the end of their journey
from the industrial Midlands...

766
00:37:06,540 --> 00:37:10,580
..passengers on the M&GN line
walked just 400 yards

767
00:37:10,580 --> 00:37:13,300
to reach
one of Britain's finest beaches.

768
00:37:16,700 --> 00:37:21,500
The railway brought them
to 15 miles of unbroken sands.

769
00:37:23,860 --> 00:37:26,340
Now here we go,
the Great Yarmouth beachfront.

770
00:37:27,380 --> 00:37:30,740
Miles and miles of sandy beach
behind the seawall there,

771
00:37:30,740 --> 00:37:34,620
but out here, all the hustle
and bustle of a seaside town.

772
00:37:43,060 --> 00:37:44,900
It's all go along here.
What do you fancy?

773
00:37:44,900 --> 00:37:46,860
The arcades?

774
00:37:46,860 --> 00:37:48,540
Bingo?

775
00:37:48,540 --> 00:37:50,500
A spot of crazy golf, maybe?

776
00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:52,220
Go-karts?

777
00:37:52,220 --> 00:37:53,540
Ooh, doughnuts!

778
00:37:53,540 --> 00:37:54,940
HE LAUGHS

779
00:37:54,940 --> 00:37:56,060
CAWING

780
00:37:56,060 --> 00:38:00,220
Yarmouth still attracts
five million visitors a year.

781
00:38:01,260 --> 00:38:03,660
But today, we think little
of travelling the country

782
00:38:03,660 --> 00:38:05,420
in search of a sunny getaway.

783
00:38:06,740 --> 00:38:09,980
So I want to turn the clock back
a good few decades.

784
00:38:13,180 --> 00:38:15,460
To get a sense of Yarmouth
in the railway age...

785
00:38:15,460 --> 00:38:16,900
Darren, hello. Hello.

786
00:38:16,900 --> 00:38:19,980
..I'm meeting
conservation officer Darren Barker.

787
00:38:19,980 --> 00:38:21,780
There must have been
so much excitement

788
00:38:21,780 --> 00:38:24,100
for people who'd never seen
the seaside before.

789
00:38:24,100 --> 00:38:26,900
Absolutely, and you can imagine,
you're travelling by train,

790
00:38:26,900 --> 00:38:29,460
which in itself
would have been an adventure,

791
00:38:29,460 --> 00:38:32,660
and you arrive in Norfolk,
with these huge skies.

792
00:38:32,660 --> 00:38:34,580
You get to Great Yarmouth,

793
00:38:34,580 --> 00:38:36,020
a seaside town,

794
00:38:36,020 --> 00:38:40,260
for a week's absolute fun
and frolic and pleasure.

795
00:38:40,260 --> 00:38:43,420
And I think it would just be
that moment in the year

796
00:38:43,420 --> 00:38:45,100
that they could
really let themselves go.

797
00:38:46,500 --> 00:38:47,620
For the past year,

798
00:38:47,620 --> 00:38:49,860
Darren's been overseeing
the restoration

799
00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:52,540
of Yarmouth's
most genteel attraction.

800
00:38:52,540 --> 00:38:56,340
The 1928 Venetian waterways.

801
00:38:56,340 --> 00:38:59,980
It was established
as an unemployment relief programme

802
00:38:59,980 --> 00:39:02,700
for soldiers coming back from
the First World War,

803
00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:05,820
to try and build skills
in the community,

804
00:39:05,820 --> 00:39:07,820
and make people more employable.

805
00:39:09,820 --> 00:39:12,060
What would it have looked like
out here, in its heyday?

806
00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:15,100
In its heyday, we had boats
travelling along the canals.

807
00:39:17,380 --> 00:39:19,700
Carved animal heads
on the fronts of them.

808
00:39:21,460 --> 00:39:24,100
The planting
was opulent and lavish.

809
00:39:25,540 --> 00:39:27,300
There was piped classical music.
ROB SIGHS

810
00:39:28,340 --> 00:39:30,300
And all of that of course
on the North Sea coast.

811
00:39:31,460 --> 00:39:33,300
It drew people
from all over the country.

812
00:39:38,020 --> 00:39:39,380
Just along the beach,

813
00:39:39,380 --> 00:39:41,740
there were fewer flowerbeds...

814
00:39:41,740 --> 00:39:43,540
SCREAMING
..but no shortage of fun.

815
00:39:46,980 --> 00:39:50,780
The amusement park's been open here
since 1909.

816
00:39:50,780 --> 00:39:52,140
And for most of that time,

817
00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:55,220
there's one ride
that everyone makes a dash for.

818
00:39:58,460 --> 00:40:01,340
When it arrived here in 1932,

819
00:40:01,340 --> 00:40:04,420
this ride was called
The Scenic Railway.

820
00:40:04,420 --> 00:40:07,700
This is one
of Britain's oldest rollercoasters.

821
00:40:07,700 --> 00:40:10,820
And not much of it has changed.
Look, you can see it's a woodie.

822
00:40:10,820 --> 00:40:12,220
It's made out of timber.

823
00:40:12,220 --> 00:40:13,700
CLANKING

824
00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:15,500
And here's the big climb!

825
00:40:16,660 --> 00:40:18,620
TRUNDLING

826
00:40:18,620 --> 00:40:20,740
We're reaching the top!
Here we go!

827
00:40:21,580 --> 00:40:22,700
Woohoo!

828
00:40:27,660 --> 00:40:29,180
HE LAUGHS

829
00:40:30,220 --> 00:40:32,780
Britain's first wave
of rollercoasters

830
00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:34,980
were often known as scenic railways.

831
00:40:36,020 --> 00:40:38,020
As if the ride wasn't enough,

832
00:40:38,020 --> 00:40:41,820
they were adorned with images from
wild and frankly hillier places

833
00:40:41,820 --> 00:40:43,300
than Norfolk.

834
00:40:43,300 --> 00:40:45,460
Castles, windmills,

835
00:40:45,460 --> 00:40:47,100
and alpine scenery.

836
00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:51,660
And it's still got
an actual brake man.

837
00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:57,140
He's physically braking it,

838
00:40:57,140 --> 00:40:59,260
to make sure
that we're under control.

839
00:41:00,220 --> 00:41:03,940
Great Yarmouth,
with its coasters and carousels

840
00:41:03,940 --> 00:41:06,700
is a monument to the time
when thousands of us

841
00:41:06,700 --> 00:41:08,540
first travelled here by rail.

842
00:41:15,540 --> 00:41:18,780
It's still very possible
to reach Yarmouth by train.

843
00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:22,060
But for those
coming from the Midlands,

844
00:41:22,060 --> 00:41:24,060
the journey got a lot harder

845
00:41:24,060 --> 00:41:27,900
with the closure of the Midland
and Great Northern Joint Railway.

846
00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:32,780
The Muddle and Go Nowhere nickname

847
00:41:32,780 --> 00:41:36,140
I think was always
probably a little unfair.

848
00:41:36,140 --> 00:41:38,340
For three quarters of a century,

849
00:41:38,340 --> 00:41:42,860
this albeit rather different railway
made a real impact in these parts.

850
00:41:44,340 --> 00:41:46,420
But in 1959,

851
00:41:46,420 --> 00:41:50,220
it was decided sleepy old Norfolk
simply didn't need

852
00:41:50,220 --> 00:41:51,340
that many railways.

853
00:41:52,380 --> 00:41:54,940
And the line was axed
from the national network.

854
00:41:57,740 --> 00:42:01,220
And 60 years
after the railway's closure,

855
00:42:01,220 --> 00:42:06,540
it's remarkable really just
how little has changed in Norfolk.

856
00:42:06,540 --> 00:42:08,580
It's still unspoiled,

857
00:42:08,580 --> 00:42:10,660
it's still timeless...

858
00:42:10,660 --> 00:42:14,220
which is exactly
what it's always been loved for.

859
00:42:20,940 --> 00:42:22,260
Next time...

860
00:42:22,260 --> 00:42:24,100
I'm in Scotland...

861
00:42:24,100 --> 00:42:25,580
Oh, my word!

862
00:42:25,580 --> 00:42:30,180
..exploring a line that once crossed
the glorious Scottish Borders.

863
00:42:30,180 --> 00:42:32,460
Well, this is magnificent,
isn't it? It's beautiful.

864
00:42:32,460 --> 00:42:36,180
Its closure caused uproar
along its length, but now...

865
00:42:37,420 --> 00:42:39,420
The exciting thing
about this lost line...

866
00:42:39,420 --> 00:42:40,740
TANNOY PINGS

867
00:42:40,740 --> 00:42:42,380
It might just come back.

868
00:43:07,260 --> 00:43:10,260
Subtitles by Red Bee Media