1 00:00:02,700 --> 00:00:06,860 For the past 20 years, I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles 2 00:00:06,860 --> 00:00:10,260 to uncover the history of these islands. 3 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:12,820 But now it's time to do something different. 4 00:00:14,500 --> 00:00:17,740 I'm going to turn the engine off, and leave the car behind. 5 00:00:20,620 --> 00:00:22,820 Instead, I'm going to walk. 6 00:00:26,060 --> 00:00:31,700 My walks will uncover the richest history from our finest landscapes 7 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:33,780 in a way that's only possible on foot. 8 00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:40,700 This time I'm in Derbyshire, following a spectacular route 9 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:43,900 through the Peak District and along the Derwent Valley. 10 00:00:44,980 --> 00:00:49,060 The landscape here is incredible. It's wild. It's dramatic. 11 00:00:49,060 --> 00:00:50,820 It's romantic. 12 00:00:50,820 --> 00:00:53,380 But it's also the place where one of the most extraordinary 13 00:00:53,380 --> 00:00:56,460 chapters in British history unfolded. 14 00:00:56,460 --> 00:00:59,140 Because the Derwent Valley is the place 15 00:00:59,140 --> 00:01:01,540 where the Industrial Revolution began. 16 00:01:13,540 --> 00:01:17,940 On this walk, I'm going to see how Britain transformed itself 17 00:01:17,940 --> 00:01:21,860 from a nation of farmers into the industrial powerhouse of the world. 18 00:01:23,940 --> 00:01:27,340 I've devised a four-day walk, starting in the Peak District 19 00:01:27,340 --> 00:01:31,980 town of Bakewell, focus point of the area's agricultural past. 20 00:01:33,620 --> 00:01:37,180 I'll explore the River Wye and the limestone high ground 21 00:01:37,180 --> 00:01:40,740 that's created some of the greatest fortunes in the land. 22 00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:46,340 As I join the River Derwent, I'll see for myself the immense power 23 00:01:46,340 --> 00:01:49,660 of water and the groundbreaking mill towns of the valley. 24 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:54,540 I'll follow the Cromford Canal for five miles, 25 00:01:54,540 --> 00:01:58,100 stopping off to explore revolutionary steam technology... 26 00:01:59,820 --> 00:02:05,220 ..before finishing my 44-mile route in the great railway city of Derby. 27 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:12,460 Over one remarkable 80-year period from the late 18th century 28 00:02:12,460 --> 00:02:16,500 the landscape and resources of the Derwent valley became the key 29 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:19,100 to a giant leap forward for mankind. 30 00:02:23,020 --> 00:02:26,420 The Industrial Revolution changed the way we live. 31 00:02:26,420 --> 00:02:30,660 It opened the door to goods, new forms of power and transport. 32 00:02:30,660 --> 00:02:33,820 It turned Britain into the richest nation on earth. 33 00:02:37,180 --> 00:02:40,340 At the heart of it all was the simple concept of mass production - 34 00:02:40,340 --> 00:02:45,460 a concept that dominates our world to this day. 35 00:02:45,460 --> 00:02:48,660 A concept first proven here. 36 00:02:51,060 --> 00:02:56,620 It's hard to believe that modern Britain, with all its sprawling cities and its motorways 37 00:02:56,620 --> 00:03:00,220 and its technological paraphernalia, should have started 38 00:03:00,220 --> 00:03:02,980 in such a quiet and old-fashioned landscape. 39 00:03:02,980 --> 00:03:08,060 But it did - and it's a cracking story. 40 00:03:08,060 --> 00:03:12,580 Here in the heart of Britain's oldest national park, 41 00:03:12,580 --> 00:03:14,420 I want to start by finding out 42 00:03:14,420 --> 00:03:17,780 what was going on before the industrial age arrived. 43 00:03:18,980 --> 00:03:23,300 Modern Bakewell remains at the centre of an agricultural area, 44 00:03:23,300 --> 00:03:27,660 but it's also now making plenty of money from visitors like me. 45 00:03:27,660 --> 00:03:28,540 Good Morning. 46 00:03:28,540 --> 00:03:31,260 Hiya. That is not a Bakewell tart, is it? 47 00:03:31,260 --> 00:03:33,700 It's not indeed, no. It's a Bakewell pudding. 48 00:03:33,700 --> 00:03:34,900 What's the difference? 49 00:03:34,900 --> 00:03:37,460 They're totally different. This one hasn't got any flour. 50 00:03:37,460 --> 00:03:40,220 It's got ground almonds, eggs, butter and sugar mixed together, 51 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,220 so it sets a bit like an egg custard in texture. 52 00:03:42,220 --> 00:03:43,580 Totally different to the tart. 53 00:03:43,580 --> 00:03:45,100 Can I have a little one for my walk? 54 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:45,660 You can indeed. 55 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,020 Ta. 56 00:03:50,060 --> 00:03:50,900 Thank you. Bye bye. 57 00:03:50,900 --> 00:03:51,900 Thanks. See you. 58 00:03:53,940 --> 00:03:56,340 Tourism may be big business today, 59 00:03:56,340 --> 00:03:59,740 but over the years, the local landscape has had an uncanny 60 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:03,180 habit of providing very nicely for the people of Derbyshire. 61 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:06,700 Here in Bakewell, 62 00:04:06,700 --> 00:04:12,300 Mother Nature provided a series of springs that flowed with warm water. 63 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:17,140 And by the Middle Ages, this was already a very wealthy area. 64 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:21,340 In times gone by, they used to grow hay down there. 65 00:04:21,340 --> 00:04:23,500 And that's where the thermal springs come in 66 00:04:23,500 --> 00:04:27,220 because they kept the crops warm. They reckon that in Saxon times, 67 00:04:28,340 --> 00:04:30,980 you could grow up to six crops a year down there. 68 00:04:34,820 --> 00:04:35,940 Throughout history, 69 00:04:35,940 --> 00:04:41,340 wealth has invariably originated by exploiting the land. 70 00:04:41,340 --> 00:04:45,420 And local prosperity is a key reason why the Industrial Revolution 71 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:50,140 took off here rather than anywhere else. 72 00:04:50,140 --> 00:04:53,100 So I'm starting my walk by heading upstream, 73 00:04:53,100 --> 00:04:58,460 to unspoilt areas where agriculture still rules. 74 00:04:58,460 --> 00:05:01,780 Just a mile and a half out of Bakewell, the delightful 75 00:05:01,780 --> 00:05:05,940 village of Ashford in the Water has been farming since medieval times. 76 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:11,500 One business in particular has always dominated, 77 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:15,100 so I'm meeting 88-year-old Tom Brocklehurst for an insight. 78 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:16,140 Hiya, Tom. 79 00:05:16,140 --> 00:05:17,820 Hello, how are you? 80 00:05:17,820 --> 00:05:19,540 All right. Nice to see you. 81 00:05:19,540 --> 00:05:23,500 Tom is the fifth generation of his family to keep sheep. 82 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:25,340 And in the 21st century, 83 00:05:25,340 --> 00:05:27,980 Tom is one of the last to remember the traditional 84 00:05:27,980 --> 00:05:33,460 practice of bringing his flock to the 17th-century Sheep Wash Bridge. 85 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:37,820 Why did you have to wash the sheep? 86 00:05:37,820 --> 00:05:42,980 Because there was a price difference between washed sheep wool and unwashed wool. 87 00:05:42,980 --> 00:05:44,820 So you made more money if the sheep were clean? 88 00:05:44,820 --> 00:05:46,700 Yes, that's right. 89 00:05:46,700 --> 00:05:51,100 Every year, all the local flocks would be brought here for an annual dunking. 90 00:05:52,540 --> 00:05:56,780 Once gathered in this pen, each sheep would be unceremoniously 91 00:05:56,780 --> 00:05:59,260 dumped in the flowing water for a few minutes, 92 00:05:59,260 --> 00:06:03,620 before being hauled out downstream to dry out on the grassy bank. 93 00:06:03,620 --> 00:06:09,460 What was it like here in wool's heyday when they were doing the washing? 94 00:06:09,460 --> 00:06:12,060 Well, it would be a hive of activity. 95 00:06:12,060 --> 00:06:15,380 Most of the village brought all their sheep together. 96 00:06:15,380 --> 00:06:17,820 Of course, the children had the day off school as well. 97 00:06:17,820 --> 00:06:18,500 Oh, did they? 98 00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:20,420 Yes. 99 00:06:20,420 --> 00:06:21,300 That's me. 100 00:06:21,300 --> 00:06:22,300 That's you? 101 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:24,420 Yes. Slimline! 102 00:06:24,420 --> 00:06:26,260 Very sprightly, weren't you? 103 00:06:26,260 --> 00:06:27,260 Yes. 104 00:06:29,140 --> 00:06:33,860 This one taking the...taking it off at the other side. 105 00:06:33,860 --> 00:06:34,900 I like your pipe. 106 00:06:34,900 --> 00:06:36,820 Yes. 107 00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:40,780 Yes... That's the sheep returning. 108 00:06:40,780 --> 00:06:42,140 That is a fantastic photo. 109 00:06:42,140 --> 00:06:43,540 Yes. 110 00:06:43,540 --> 00:06:46,860 We'd take them all back into the village and they'd 111 00:06:46,860 --> 00:06:50,500 peel off at their own farm because they left the lambs behind. 112 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:52,740 Well, thanks for showing me all that. 113 00:06:52,740 --> 00:06:53,260 Nice to meet you. 114 00:06:53,260 --> 00:06:55,060 You're welcome. You're welcome. 115 00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:56,100 Cheers. 116 00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:57,220 OK. Have a good walk. 117 00:06:57,220 --> 00:06:58,580 And you. Have a good day. 118 00:07:07,060 --> 00:07:08,140 Leaving Ashford, 119 00:07:08,140 --> 00:07:12,660 you can see the extent to which farming still shapes the landscape. 120 00:07:17,980 --> 00:07:21,900 Never mind sheep farming...they ought to be farming flipping goats up here! 121 00:07:25,060 --> 00:07:28,100 In the past, the route to success was very simple - 122 00:07:28,100 --> 00:07:32,100 the more land you acquired, the more wealth you could generate from it. 123 00:07:34,940 --> 00:07:37,340 And here among the limestone peaks of Derbyshire, 124 00:07:37,340 --> 00:07:40,660 the ground offered up one major bonus - 125 00:07:40,660 --> 00:07:43,700 something else for the great landowners to exploit - 126 00:07:43,700 --> 00:07:46,260 massive amounts of lead. 127 00:07:47,420 --> 00:07:51,100 And there's evidence of that exploitation over there. 128 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:54,300 That's Magpie Mine, and it's one of the many lead mines that 129 00:07:54,300 --> 00:07:55,900 cover this part of the Peaks. 130 00:08:10,140 --> 00:08:14,740 In the 1600s, just a century before the industrial age began, 131 00:08:14,740 --> 00:08:18,500 the national economy was still dominated by the wool trade. 132 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:22,580 But incredibly, the second most important business was lead. 133 00:08:24,020 --> 00:08:25,700 It was used for all sorts of things. 134 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:28,900 It was used for lead shot for muskets. 135 00:08:28,900 --> 00:08:32,780 It was used...a huge amount of it was used in plumbing, for example, 136 00:08:32,780 --> 00:08:34,500 before copper piping, 137 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:38,140 all the stately homes had lead downspouts. 138 00:08:38,140 --> 00:08:40,820 They had piping for the water, etc. 139 00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:45,500 These magnificent mine buildings are a Victorian construction. 140 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:46,540 But by that point, 141 00:08:46,540 --> 00:08:51,820 they'd been extracting lead from the ground here for up to 800 years. 142 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:56,540 Well, this doesn't look quite as dramatic as that up there, does it? 143 00:08:56,540 --> 00:09:00,460 No. Everyone thinks of that up there as Magpie Mine, 144 00:09:00,460 --> 00:09:06,340 but this shaft, Shuttlebark shaft, has been since late 1600s - 1674. 145 00:09:06,340 --> 00:09:07,780 This kind of mining here - 146 00:09:07,780 --> 00:09:11,900 presumably it was nowhere near as profitable as... 147 00:09:11,900 --> 00:09:15,300 as the archetypal mine that we've got up on the hillside? 148 00:09:15,300 --> 00:09:18,340 Sometimes that would be right but here it's wrong. 149 00:09:18,340 --> 00:09:21,020 They spent so much money going down really deep, 150 00:09:21,020 --> 00:09:24,660 because all the good lead from near the surface had already gone, 151 00:09:24,660 --> 00:09:26,100 that they lost a fortune. 152 00:09:26,100 --> 00:09:29,100 This unimpressive looking shaft - 153 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:31,660 they were making a lot of money at that point. 154 00:09:35,540 --> 00:09:39,300 The heavy work of hauling the lead ore up to ground level was done 155 00:09:39,300 --> 00:09:45,060 by horses - the most flexible source of power in pre-industrial Britain. 156 00:09:45,060 --> 00:09:49,580 But that didn't mean some serious human effort wasn't also required. 157 00:09:49,580 --> 00:09:53,140 Over 20,000 workers endured the dangers of mining 158 00:09:53,140 --> 00:09:57,500 here in Derbyshire, in return for a higher wage than farm labouring. 159 00:10:01,860 --> 00:10:05,740 But the real beneficiaries, of course, were the landowners. 160 00:10:05,740 --> 00:10:11,660 Shuttlebark and thousands more shafts like it were producing great profits. 161 00:10:11,660 --> 00:10:14,060 Added to the proceeds from the wool trade, 162 00:10:14,060 --> 00:10:17,980 it meant that on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, Derbyshire 163 00:10:17,980 --> 00:10:20,820 boasted some of the greatest fortunes in England. 164 00:10:22,660 --> 00:10:26,740 Four miles from Magpie Mine is one of the very greatest. 165 00:10:27,940 --> 00:10:31,380 These fields that I'm walking across are known as Haddon Fields. 166 00:10:31,380 --> 00:10:36,060 And that is Haddon Hall. It's very impressive, isn't it, and very big. 167 00:10:36,060 --> 00:10:40,980 Particularly when you know that it was built round about 1150, 168 00:10:40,980 --> 00:10:45,940 and it's been in the hands of the same wealthy family for round about 900 years. 169 00:10:45,940 --> 00:10:50,220 In fact, by the time of the Industrial Revolution, 170 00:10:50,220 --> 00:10:55,460 their land stretched from here all the way to Sheffield, which is about 20 miles away. 171 00:10:59,140 --> 00:11:04,580 Old Derbyshire money has never been afraid of an entrepreneurial opportunity. 172 00:11:04,580 --> 00:11:08,540 In the last 20 years, Haddon Hall has been rented out to showbiz - 173 00:11:08,540 --> 00:11:13,700 three Jane Eyres, one Elizabeth, and a Pride and Prejudice, no less. 174 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:17,820 Centuries ago, moneymaking opportunities were rather different. 175 00:11:17,820 --> 00:11:20,900 The great landowners used their wealth and influence 176 00:11:20,900 --> 00:11:22,380 to make big things happen. 177 00:11:25,420 --> 00:11:28,740 And Derbyshire was very well set up. 178 00:11:28,740 --> 00:11:31,540 It happened to be at the very centre of the country, 179 00:11:31,540 --> 00:11:36,900 it had a large workforce, and the money to make serious capital investment. 180 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:41,300 But as I approach Rowsley village, the Wye joins the Derwent, 181 00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:44,820 I'm hoping my best investment has been my Bakewell pudding. 182 00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:49,860 Mmmm, rather nice! 183 00:11:50,980 --> 00:11:54,620 Tomorrow, I'm going to investigate the last key reason 184 00:11:54,620 --> 00:11:57,180 why the Industrial Revolution started here. 185 00:11:58,220 --> 00:12:02,660 It's all about the power of that river. 186 00:12:02,660 --> 00:12:07,900 No amount of horses were going to propel Britain into a new age, 187 00:12:07,900 --> 00:12:11,700 but in the Derwent Valley, nature had the answer. 188 00:12:15,762 --> 00:12:18,842 It's Day 2 of my Derbyshire walk, exploring the birthplace 189 00:12:18,842 --> 00:12:22,802 of the industrial age. Today, I'm tackling eight miles 190 00:12:22,802 --> 00:12:26,642 to reach the small village where the Industrial Revolution began. 191 00:12:28,162 --> 00:12:31,162 Leaving Rowsley, I'll join the Derwent Valley, 192 00:12:31,162 --> 00:12:32,922 heading downstream past Matlock, 193 00:12:32,922 --> 00:12:36,002 to the favourite view point of High Tor 194 00:12:36,002 --> 00:12:39,322 and finally, the key historic site of Cromford. 195 00:12:43,402 --> 00:12:47,002 When we talk about the Industrial Revolution, it tends to conjure up 196 00:12:47,002 --> 00:12:50,682 images of coal mines, doesn't it, of great big chimneys 197 00:12:50,682 --> 00:12:55,522 belching out smoke and clouds of steam. But in its infancy, 198 00:12:55,522 --> 00:12:58,562 the Industrial Revolution wasn't powered by coal, 199 00:12:58,562 --> 00:13:00,362 but by something much cleaner, 200 00:13:00,362 --> 00:13:02,802 something which there's a lot of round here. 201 00:13:02,802 --> 00:13:04,482 This stuff - water. 202 00:13:11,762 --> 00:13:15,002 Water power is hardly new, though - one way or another, 203 00:13:15,002 --> 00:13:17,402 we've been using it for thousands of years. 204 00:13:21,842 --> 00:13:24,842 But in the late 1700s, the power of the Derwent valley 205 00:13:24,842 --> 00:13:29,322 was about to be harnessed on a scale unseen anywhere in the world. 206 00:13:33,042 --> 00:13:36,722 So on the edge of Rowsley, I've come to Caudwell Mill 207 00:13:36,722 --> 00:13:39,322 to see the power of water in action. 208 00:13:42,802 --> 00:13:45,042 This building still runs as a flour mill 209 00:13:45,042 --> 00:13:47,322 and it's jam-packed full of mechanics. 210 00:13:48,482 --> 00:13:51,682 In fact, they've even spilled over into this courtyard. 211 00:13:51,682 --> 00:13:55,322 You've got pipes and grinders, wheels and cogs - 212 00:13:55,322 --> 00:13:58,762 four floors' worth - and they're all powered from in here. 213 00:14:05,682 --> 00:14:11,202 Since 1591, Caudwell Mill has ground corn, flour and animal feed. 214 00:14:13,002 --> 00:14:14,402 It's even been a sawmill. 215 00:14:16,562 --> 00:14:19,002 The machinery we see today is Victorian, 216 00:14:19,002 --> 00:14:24,202 but the power source hasn't changed in over 400 years. 217 00:14:24,202 --> 00:14:25,522 Morning, Paul. 218 00:14:25,522 --> 00:14:26,762 Morning, Tony. 219 00:14:26,762 --> 00:14:27,762 You gonna rig me up? 220 00:14:29,642 --> 00:14:35,162 'And I'm getting kitted up to access an area few visitors get to see.' 221 00:14:35,162 --> 00:14:37,242 This is incredibly slippy. 222 00:14:37,242 --> 00:14:40,242 'The only way to see what powers this huge mill 223 00:14:40,242 --> 00:14:43,322 'is by dropping through a narrow hatch 224 00:14:43,322 --> 00:14:46,802 'into a decidedly unwelcoming underground chamber.' 225 00:14:46,802 --> 00:14:51,202 This is what I've come here to see - this weird piece of machinery. 226 00:14:52,842 --> 00:14:57,682 When the mill is set to grind flour, this chamber is filled with water. 227 00:14:57,682 --> 00:14:59,762 As water flows through the giant pipe, 228 00:14:59,762 --> 00:15:02,242 it drives the sealed turbine within. 229 00:15:03,482 --> 00:15:06,002 But the water itself comes from over here - 230 00:15:06,002 --> 00:15:09,322 this is a one and half-ton sluice gate and I tell you, 231 00:15:09,322 --> 00:15:13,202 when that lifts up, the water really kicks off. 232 00:15:15,962 --> 00:15:18,402 Probably not too sensible if I hang around. 233 00:15:24,922 --> 00:15:27,882 Right, Lance - are you ready to lift the gates? 234 00:15:27,882 --> 00:15:29,002 OK. 235 00:15:48,322 --> 00:15:51,282 It's awesome that that's where I was 30 seconds ago. 236 00:15:57,242 --> 00:15:58,522 How much power is it? 237 00:15:58,522 --> 00:16:01,322 It's about 75 horsepower. 238 00:16:01,322 --> 00:16:04,602 Obviously, it depends how much water you put through it, 239 00:16:04,602 --> 00:16:07,722 but it needs a lot of horsepower because we've got this floor, 240 00:16:07,722 --> 00:16:10,882 three more floors above, all with this heavy machinery 241 00:16:10,882 --> 00:16:12,882 and belts and stuff like that running. 242 00:16:21,402 --> 00:16:25,282 The use of water to grind grain is an age-old practice, 243 00:16:25,282 --> 00:16:28,602 demonstrated quite beautifully here at Caudwell Mill. 244 00:16:31,442 --> 00:16:35,082 But the Industrial Revolution was not about producing the staples 245 00:16:35,082 --> 00:16:38,642 of life like flour or animal feed. 246 00:16:38,642 --> 00:16:41,402 The transformation to an industrial economy 247 00:16:41,402 --> 00:16:44,162 required a quite different product. 248 00:16:44,162 --> 00:16:47,722 A product whose very success would rely on it being made 249 00:16:47,722 --> 00:16:51,522 on a massive scale and being purchased by millions, 250 00:16:51,522 --> 00:16:54,002 across Britain - even across the world. 251 00:16:54,002 --> 00:16:57,242 That product was this stuff - cotton. 252 00:16:57,242 --> 00:17:01,802 See, up until the 1760s, your choices of materials to wear 253 00:17:01,802 --> 00:17:04,322 were pretty limited. There was wool, 254 00:17:04,322 --> 00:17:07,122 if it was available, but wool's pretty scratchy 255 00:17:07,122 --> 00:17:10,642 and difficult to wash. And if you attempt to cut it, 256 00:17:10,642 --> 00:17:14,402 the wool starts to unravel, so it's hard to tailor. 257 00:17:14,402 --> 00:17:17,162 There was silk - but that's very expensive. 258 00:17:17,162 --> 00:17:22,122 Cotton, though, was affordable, it was comfortable and it was washable. 259 00:17:26,642 --> 00:17:30,402 By 1750, though, the challenge was on - 260 00:17:30,402 --> 00:17:33,802 cotton was set to clothe the masses. 261 00:17:33,802 --> 00:17:37,162 Anyone who could find a way to spin tonnes and tonnes of cotton 262 00:17:37,162 --> 00:17:40,202 would open the door to a textile goldmine. 263 00:17:42,602 --> 00:17:44,282 The answer to that challenge 264 00:17:44,282 --> 00:17:48,242 lay not in the upper valley of the Derwent which was dominated by wool, 265 00:17:48,242 --> 00:17:53,042 but in the lower valley - to be dominated by new cotton. 266 00:17:53,042 --> 00:17:55,802 And I can see it all from the famous High Tor. 267 00:17:55,802 --> 00:17:57,842 You've got to look at this. 268 00:18:04,722 --> 00:18:06,322 Pretty gorgeous, isn't it? 269 00:18:08,362 --> 00:18:13,802 I started off over there, where that mast is, on the horizon. 270 00:18:13,802 --> 00:18:17,362 And then followed the Derwent in that direction. 271 00:18:17,362 --> 00:18:20,802 There's Matlock there and then it snakes round, 272 00:18:20,802 --> 00:18:26,522 the river comes along here, along the Derwent, which passes me here. 273 00:18:26,522 --> 00:18:30,162 And I'm heading off in that direction towards Cromford, 274 00:18:30,162 --> 00:18:35,402 because that is where the Industrial Revolution really started. 275 00:18:40,442 --> 00:18:43,442 From the giant limestone crag of High Tor, 276 00:18:43,442 --> 00:18:45,522 it's just an hour's walk to Cromford 277 00:18:45,522 --> 00:18:47,042 and most of it's downhill! 278 00:18:49,282 --> 00:18:52,522 Ten years ago, the 15-mile stretch of walk ahead of me 279 00:18:52,522 --> 00:18:54,882 was proclaimed a World Heritage Site. 280 00:18:56,722 --> 00:18:59,802 Recognition of the incredible contribution it's made 281 00:18:59,802 --> 00:19:01,122 to human development. 282 00:19:02,362 --> 00:19:05,922 The Derwent Valley already had the workforce, the wealth 283 00:19:05,922 --> 00:19:10,442 and the power to drive a transformation, 284 00:19:10,442 --> 00:19:15,162 but the Industrial Revolution needed a moment of genius - 285 00:19:15,162 --> 00:19:18,402 someone to light the blue touch paper. 286 00:19:19,642 --> 00:19:22,082 That person was Richard Arkwright. 287 00:19:22,082 --> 00:19:25,682 And in 1771, he turned a handful of cottages 288 00:19:25,682 --> 00:19:28,482 and farm buildings into Cromford Mill. 289 00:19:29,522 --> 00:19:32,722 The place had an impact that would change the way we live. 290 00:19:34,922 --> 00:19:37,802 Richard Arkwright was the youngest son 291 00:19:37,802 --> 00:19:40,642 of an artisan family from Preston. 292 00:19:40,642 --> 00:19:44,002 I say youngest - one of 13 children! 293 00:19:44,002 --> 00:19:49,082 And he was apprentice to a wig maker at a young age 294 00:19:49,082 --> 00:19:53,602 and one of the jobs he had was to travel around the country 295 00:19:53,602 --> 00:19:59,362 buying hair, because the best wigs were made from real hair 296 00:19:59,362 --> 00:20:01,282 and women's hair in particular. 297 00:20:01,282 --> 00:20:04,722 He came across a number of people 298 00:20:04,722 --> 00:20:08,362 who were trying to find a means of mechanising the process of spinning. 299 00:20:08,362 --> 00:20:11,882 'With a growing interest in engineering and invention, 300 00:20:11,882 --> 00:20:15,362 'Arkwright was fascinated by these ideas. 301 00:20:15,362 --> 00:20:18,922 'Conventional spinning machines needed a skilled worker 302 00:20:18,922 --> 00:20:21,282 'to produce just a single thread. 303 00:20:21,282 --> 00:20:26,922 'But by 1768, Arkwright had designed this - the spinning frame, 304 00:20:26,922 --> 00:20:32,722 'a machine that needed no skills and could spin multiple threads at once. 305 00:20:32,722 --> 00:20:35,242 'At first, it was the familiar power of horses 306 00:20:35,242 --> 00:20:38,602 'that drove the spinning, but the founder of Cromford Mill 307 00:20:38,602 --> 00:20:44,202 'was looking for more power, much more power - 24 hours a day. 308 00:20:45,722 --> 00:20:50,162 Arkwright's big idea was to see the potential of harnessing waterpower. 309 00:20:50,162 --> 00:20:54,922 And he brought the water in via an aqueduct, 310 00:20:54,922 --> 00:20:58,082 the lip of which you can see between the two buildings there. 311 00:20:58,082 --> 00:21:02,162 In converting his spinning frame into the water frame, 312 00:21:02,162 --> 00:21:05,522 Arkwright could put production on another level. 313 00:21:05,522 --> 00:21:09,242 His mill would run so long as there was water to drive it. 314 00:21:09,242 --> 00:21:11,522 And even here, Arkwright was ingenious. 315 00:21:12,722 --> 00:21:15,442 Rather than harnessing the Derwent itself, 316 00:21:15,442 --> 00:21:19,082 he used warm water drained from local lead mines, 317 00:21:19,082 --> 00:21:21,882 meaning icy conditions would never be a problem. 318 00:21:26,642 --> 00:21:31,442 In 1771, the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill 319 00:21:31,442 --> 00:21:33,282 opened right here. 320 00:21:33,282 --> 00:21:36,442 Five floors of industry, 321 00:21:36,442 --> 00:21:39,282 masses of water frames, 322 00:21:39,282 --> 00:21:42,802 each one spinning dozens of cotton threads at once. 323 00:21:46,522 --> 00:21:52,082 'This quiet, rugged shell has become a shrine to a breakthrough moment 324 00:21:52,082 --> 00:21:56,722 'in our history - celebrated today by an art installation 325 00:21:56,722 --> 00:22:02,162 'that threads, twists and spins its way across this atmospheric space.' 326 00:22:09,922 --> 00:22:13,162 Is it fair to call this birthplace of the Industrial Revolution? 327 00:22:13,162 --> 00:22:14,202 Well, I think so. 328 00:22:14,202 --> 00:22:18,522 You're standing in the first water-powered cotton-spinning mill 329 00:22:18,522 --> 00:22:21,802 in the world. And, of course, 330 00:22:21,802 --> 00:22:27,442 the ideas that Arkwright perfected here extended throughout the country, 331 00:22:27,442 --> 00:22:30,002 some 200 Arkwright mills eventually operating 332 00:22:30,002 --> 00:22:34,442 by the end of the century, and transferred also to France, Germany 333 00:22:34,442 --> 00:22:35,762 and to the United States. 334 00:22:38,282 --> 00:22:41,442 The cotton mills would help Britain become the greatest 335 00:22:41,442 --> 00:22:43,922 textile producer in the world. 336 00:22:43,922 --> 00:22:47,922 But what Arkwright achieved here was far more than that - 337 00:22:47,922 --> 00:22:51,642 for Cromford was actually the world's first factory. 338 00:22:52,722 --> 00:22:55,722 Employees performed tightly defined tasks, 339 00:22:55,722 --> 00:22:58,762 working on rotation in 12-hour shifts. 340 00:23:01,002 --> 00:23:02,642 We go round here. 341 00:23:02,642 --> 00:23:05,802 'In its early years the site employed 500 people, 342 00:23:05,802 --> 00:23:07,802 'which, away from the mill itself, 343 00:23:07,802 --> 00:23:10,202 'led to Arkwright's other great innovation - 344 00:23:10,202 --> 00:23:13,242 'he had his staff living on the doorstep.' 345 00:23:14,282 --> 00:23:20,842 He provided gardens and even pigstys to assist their self-sufficiency. 346 00:23:20,842 --> 00:23:22,522 'With the mill up and running, 347 00:23:22,522 --> 00:23:24,962 'Arkwright engineered an entire village.' 348 00:23:26,722 --> 00:23:28,082 Why did he do it? 349 00:23:28,082 --> 00:23:31,722 I think it could best be described as enlightened self-interest. 350 00:23:31,722 --> 00:23:36,202 I think he recognised that to house his workers in the village, 351 00:23:36,202 --> 00:23:40,722 near to the workplace, actually provided better workers. 352 00:23:40,722 --> 00:23:43,842 They are actually quite big houses. What was going on inside them? 353 00:23:43,842 --> 00:23:45,642 Well, they look big now. 354 00:23:45,642 --> 00:23:49,842 But they're actually one floor on the ground floor. One up. 355 00:23:49,842 --> 00:23:53,522 And then a weaving or spinning floor at the top. 356 00:23:53,522 --> 00:23:56,282 You can see the classic sort of weaving windows. 357 00:23:57,922 --> 00:24:01,922 'Up the road, the mill was almost entirely staffed by women 358 00:24:01,922 --> 00:24:06,242 'and children. Arkwright deemed them the best workers.' 359 00:24:08,642 --> 00:24:11,522 Back at home, men would work as weavers, 360 00:24:11,522 --> 00:24:14,642 producing cloth from the spun yarn. 361 00:24:14,642 --> 00:24:18,802 Not Arkwright's core business by any means, but if it meant 362 00:24:18,802 --> 00:24:22,562 he could turn a profit from a whole family - all the better. 363 00:24:24,402 --> 00:24:28,122 Cromford might just as well have been called Arkwrightville! 364 00:24:28,122 --> 00:24:30,842 And Arkwrightville is my home for the night. 365 00:24:32,802 --> 00:24:35,562 So there's time for a visit to the community hub! 366 00:24:37,562 --> 00:24:41,282 No great surprise, though - this was another spin-off business 367 00:24:41,282 --> 00:24:42,602 for you-know-who. 368 00:24:44,002 --> 00:24:48,122 This thing is very rare and I think incredibly interesting. 369 00:24:48,122 --> 00:24:49,762 It's a Spanish doubloon 370 00:24:49,762 --> 00:24:53,762 and round the outside, it says "King of Spain and the Indies". 371 00:24:53,762 --> 00:24:58,642 But when you turn it round, it's been over-stamped. 372 00:24:58,642 --> 00:25:00,522 It says "Cromford" and then a 4 and a 9, 373 00:25:00,522 --> 00:25:03,122 which I think stands for 4 and 9 pence. 374 00:25:03,122 --> 00:25:06,522 It's an Arkwright doubloon - he over-stamped it. 375 00:25:06,522 --> 00:25:11,282 And of course these things could only be used in his pubs and shops 376 00:25:11,282 --> 00:25:13,682 and this is what he paid his people with. 377 00:25:13,682 --> 00:25:15,682 So when they wanted to spend their money, 378 00:25:15,682 --> 00:25:17,402 guess who got all the profits? 379 00:25:18,722 --> 00:25:21,202 Now I wonder if an Arkwright doubloon 380 00:25:21,202 --> 00:25:23,122 could get me a room for the night? 381 00:25:24,758 --> 00:25:28,078 'I've reached the halfway point of my Derbyshire walk. 382 00:25:29,118 --> 00:25:32,158 'Tonight I need to be in the famous mill town of Belper, 383 00:25:32,158 --> 00:25:34,758 'nine miles south of here. 384 00:25:34,758 --> 00:25:37,078 'But already I've seen the birthplace 385 00:25:37,078 --> 00:25:38,678 'of the Industrial Revolution.' 386 00:25:40,038 --> 00:25:42,118 At Cromford, the Derwent Valley 387 00:25:42,118 --> 00:25:44,398 could boast the world's first factory. 388 00:25:45,958 --> 00:25:49,558 And within 15 years of its opening, Richard Arkwright - 389 00:25:49,558 --> 00:25:52,718 Cromford's founder - had built a further five cotton mills 390 00:25:52,718 --> 00:25:54,238 along the river. 391 00:25:55,878 --> 00:25:57,878 It's not a bad view, is it? 392 00:25:57,878 --> 00:26:01,798 Can you see a cream house there and a brick one next to it? 393 00:26:01,798 --> 00:26:05,398 That brick one is the house Arkwright built for himself 394 00:26:05,398 --> 00:26:06,918 next to his factory. 395 00:26:06,918 --> 00:26:10,438 And if you look over there, see that house? 396 00:26:10,438 --> 00:26:13,318 Well, that's what he built a few years later. 397 00:26:15,838 --> 00:26:18,158 By the last years of Arkwright's life, 398 00:26:18,158 --> 00:26:21,358 he'd become the richest self-made man in Britain. 399 00:26:22,598 --> 00:26:24,558 As an inventor and entrepreneur, 400 00:26:24,558 --> 00:26:28,158 he was the 18th-century equivalent of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. 401 00:26:30,838 --> 00:26:34,638 But he'd built his empire in a remote and challenging landscape, 402 00:26:34,638 --> 00:26:36,998 so he had an obvious problem. 403 00:26:38,158 --> 00:26:40,878 How to get raw cotton into the valley, 404 00:26:40,878 --> 00:26:44,598 and how to get more and more finished products out. 405 00:26:47,718 --> 00:26:50,878 Luckily for Arkwright, in the late 1780s, 406 00:26:50,878 --> 00:26:54,558 a new transport innovation was creeping across Britain, 407 00:26:54,558 --> 00:26:58,158 one that would suit the Derwent Valley very well. 408 00:26:58,158 --> 00:26:59,518 A canal. 409 00:27:01,638 --> 00:27:04,958 As canal-mania began to sweep across Britain, 410 00:27:04,958 --> 00:27:08,798 the ageing Arkwright joined other investors in a project 411 00:27:08,798 --> 00:27:12,158 to link Cromford to the growing centres of the Midlands. 412 00:27:13,678 --> 00:27:15,398 Throughout the 1800s, 413 00:27:15,398 --> 00:27:19,758 the wharves of the Cromford Canal echoed to the sound of coal barges, 414 00:27:19,758 --> 00:27:23,398 limestone barges and the cotton industry. 415 00:27:23,398 --> 00:27:27,398 Today, conserved by the Friends of the Cromford Canal, 416 00:27:27,398 --> 00:27:30,278 they seem a rather more tranquil place. 417 00:27:30,278 --> 00:27:34,038 Although I have secured a meeting with their president. 418 00:27:36,118 --> 00:27:36,878 Hey-hey! 419 00:27:36,878 --> 00:27:39,558 Tony! Ha-ha! 420 00:27:39,558 --> 00:27:40,638 Nice to see you. 421 00:27:40,638 --> 00:27:42,918 Lovely to see you, mate. 422 00:27:42,918 --> 00:27:44,318 Lovely to see you. 423 00:27:44,318 --> 00:27:45,638 Are you a Derbyshire lad, then? 424 00:27:45,638 --> 00:27:47,398 No, I'm not, I'm a Yorkshire lad. 425 00:27:47,398 --> 00:27:50,958 I come from about 30 miles... Mexborough, I was born, over there. 426 00:27:50,958 --> 00:27:53,198 And I used to come here on my holidays a lot 427 00:27:53,198 --> 00:27:54,718 and went along all the canals. 428 00:27:54,718 --> 00:27:58,398 I suppose when you think Cromford would have been so isolated, 429 00:27:58,398 --> 00:28:00,478 suddenly once it's got this canal, 430 00:28:00,478 --> 00:28:03,838 it's really linked with the outside world and the rest of the canal network. 431 00:28:03,838 --> 00:28:07,118 That's right! You can go all the way to Erewash and beyond. 432 00:28:07,118 --> 00:28:09,998 You'll be related to 2,000 miles of canals, 433 00:28:09,998 --> 00:28:12,238 that are now linking up and linking up. 434 00:28:12,238 --> 00:28:15,398 Kind of like a vertebrae, veins, right across the country. 435 00:28:15,398 --> 00:28:18,198 How do you feel about the original engineers of the canals? 436 00:28:18,198 --> 00:28:21,918 It was 1794. Amazing, miraculous, what they did. 437 00:28:21,918 --> 00:28:25,278 The whole valley here, the Cromford Valley, is Shangri-La. 438 00:28:25,278 --> 00:28:26,998 It's a most wonderful place! 439 00:28:29,038 --> 00:28:33,238 For nearly 50 years, business on the canal grew steadily 440 00:28:33,238 --> 00:28:37,118 till it was carrying almost 300,000 tonnes a year. 441 00:28:38,158 --> 00:28:41,918 The industrial revolution marked the golden age of canals. 442 00:28:41,918 --> 00:28:43,838 But it didn't last. 443 00:28:43,838 --> 00:28:47,118 By 1900, their heyday had passed, 444 00:28:47,118 --> 00:28:51,118 and like the Cromford Canal, many were simply abandoned. 445 00:28:52,318 --> 00:28:55,398 But here, there are signs of a new dawn. 446 00:28:56,518 --> 00:28:59,438 They're going to, kind of, re-open the Cromford Canal 447 00:28:59,438 --> 00:29:02,078 and dredge it and dig it and repair it, 448 00:29:02,078 --> 00:29:05,398 which is absolutely a monstrous task! 449 00:29:05,398 --> 00:29:07,998 It's 14 and a half miles long. 450 00:29:07,998 --> 00:29:11,078 Then it gets all silted up, etcetera, etcetera. 451 00:29:11,078 --> 00:29:14,198 Almost a write-off. Buildings have fallen in, 452 00:29:14,198 --> 00:29:16,758 chimneys have fallen in, bridges have fallen in. 453 00:29:16,758 --> 00:29:19,278 You're pretty passionate about it now, aren't you? 454 00:29:19,278 --> 00:29:21,398 Yes, there's a fascination with the canals for me 455 00:29:21,398 --> 00:29:25,158 in the fact that, you know, full of great crested newts, my big love, 456 00:29:25,158 --> 00:29:27,478 and smooth newts of varying colours. 457 00:29:27,478 --> 00:29:31,318 You'd see them along here in thousands and thousands. 458 00:29:31,318 --> 00:29:33,198 You could pick handfuls of them up. 459 00:29:34,278 --> 00:29:38,638 Leaving Brian to his newts, it's time for me to press on. 460 00:29:38,638 --> 00:29:41,278 I'm going to be following the old canal 461 00:29:41,278 --> 00:29:44,158 as it hugs the River Derwent heading south. 462 00:29:44,158 --> 00:29:46,878 But first of all, I'm making a diversion. 463 00:29:48,038 --> 00:29:51,758 While the canal dealt with proven transport technology, 464 00:29:51,758 --> 00:29:55,838 by the late 1820s, engineers just south of Cromford 465 00:29:55,838 --> 00:29:59,878 were working on an entirely new transport innovation. 466 00:30:02,718 --> 00:30:04,878 OK, I think I turn left here. 467 00:30:04,878 --> 00:30:10,918 Look, I've come from Cromford all the way down this brown road 468 00:30:10,918 --> 00:30:13,078 to here, which is where I am now. 469 00:30:13,078 --> 00:30:16,278 I'm going to turn left up to Middleton Top. 470 00:30:16,278 --> 00:30:19,518 See that mark there? I think that means a viewpoint, 471 00:30:19,518 --> 00:30:22,838 which sounds like I'm going to have to do quite a bit of climbing. 472 00:30:22,838 --> 00:30:27,318 'I'm joining the old track bed of the Cromford & High Peak Railway. 473 00:30:27,318 --> 00:30:31,598 'And for many, the simple word "railway" represents the highpoint 474 00:30:31,598 --> 00:30:33,998 'of the Industrial Revolution.' 475 00:30:33,998 --> 00:30:37,198 The ambition here was sky-high, 476 00:30:37,198 --> 00:30:39,598 although the method was unusual. 477 00:30:39,598 --> 00:30:43,478 The canal had opened the Derwent Valley south and eastwards. 478 00:30:43,478 --> 00:30:47,638 This railway aimed to open up an audacious corridor to the West, 479 00:30:47,638 --> 00:30:49,838 all the way to Manchester. 480 00:30:49,838 --> 00:30:53,918 It was built by the son of a canal engineer. 481 00:30:53,918 --> 00:30:57,118 But it was constructed very much like a canal. 482 00:30:57,118 --> 00:30:59,198 That was the philosophy behind it. 483 00:31:00,838 --> 00:31:04,838 Just as canals used flights of locks to gain height, 484 00:31:04,838 --> 00:31:09,038 the railway used four sections of steep track to raise the line 485 00:31:09,038 --> 00:31:12,278 by 1,000 feet in less than five miles. 486 00:31:13,398 --> 00:31:16,238 The length of the project, too, was gob-smacking. 487 00:31:16,238 --> 00:31:19,878 Just six years earlier, the famous Stockton & Darlington Railway 488 00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:23,078 had been the longest in the world, at 26 miles. 489 00:31:24,118 --> 00:31:27,878 In 1831, this railway reached 33 miles 490 00:31:27,878 --> 00:31:31,078 and crossed the Derbyshire Peaks in the process. 491 00:31:32,478 --> 00:31:35,518 So, Colin, how did they get one of those things 492 00:31:35,518 --> 00:31:38,638 chugging all the way up there? 493 00:31:38,638 --> 00:31:41,238 Well, they didn't. That's a popular misconception. 494 00:31:41,238 --> 00:31:43,598 The locomotives weren't used on the inclines. 495 00:31:43,598 --> 00:31:46,318 What they used instead was that. 496 00:31:46,318 --> 00:31:48,758 'That is Middleton Top. 497 00:31:48,758 --> 00:31:53,318 'It stands at one of the highest points on the Cromford & High Peak Railway. 498 00:31:53,318 --> 00:31:55,878 'Inside here is a steam engine. 499 00:31:55,878 --> 00:31:58,598 'Steam was the new source of power 500 00:31:58,598 --> 00:32:02,158 'that came to symbolise the whole Industrial Revolution.' 501 00:32:03,598 --> 00:32:05,278 Shall we go in? Yes, certainly. 502 00:32:07,038 --> 00:32:10,598 A winding engine! So they were actually pulling the trucks up? 503 00:32:10,598 --> 00:32:11,678 Yes. 504 00:32:11,678 --> 00:32:16,198 And there's one massive rope fixed to the trucks, 505 00:32:16,198 --> 00:32:17,638 which it's pulling up. 506 00:32:17,638 --> 00:32:19,958 Pretty well, yes. The rope would be stopped 507 00:32:19,958 --> 00:32:22,838 and wagons would be attached top and bottom by the hanger-on, 508 00:32:22,838 --> 00:32:24,798 who would wrap chains around the rope. 509 00:32:24,798 --> 00:32:25,798 Was he really called a hanger-on? 510 00:32:25,798 --> 00:32:28,238 Oh, yes. He hung the wagons on the rope, you see. 511 00:32:28,238 --> 00:32:31,758 When they were ready, the engine man would start the engine, 512 00:32:31,758 --> 00:32:33,318 the engine would move the rope 513 00:32:33,318 --> 00:32:35,518 and the wagons would move on the incline. 514 00:32:36,638 --> 00:32:38,278 Is it possible for me to have a go? 515 00:32:38,278 --> 00:32:39,438 Yes. 516 00:32:39,438 --> 00:32:40,078 What do I do? 517 00:32:40,078 --> 00:32:41,798 Just step behind there... Yep. 518 00:32:41,798 --> 00:32:44,918 And these are the two regulator levers, one in each hand, 519 00:32:44,918 --> 00:32:47,718 and you press those downwards to open them. 520 00:32:50,718 --> 00:32:52,438 Oh, it's started, yep. 521 00:33:03,678 --> 00:33:08,678 It's extraordinary to be in control of such large pieces of machinery 522 00:33:08,678 --> 00:33:11,118 which emanate such incredible power. 523 00:33:16,238 --> 00:33:17,038 When was this built? 524 00:33:17,038 --> 00:33:20,238 This was built during 1829 and these are actually 525 00:33:20,238 --> 00:33:23,478 the oldest rotative engines in the world still on their original site. 526 00:33:28,238 --> 00:33:31,478 Seen like this, in such magnificent condition, 527 00:33:31,478 --> 00:33:34,238 the power of steam is captivating. 528 00:33:36,438 --> 00:33:40,158 This was one of the world's first steam railways, 529 00:33:40,158 --> 00:33:43,838 and, remarkably, the engine is still here for us to marvel at 530 00:33:43,838 --> 00:33:45,598 180 years later. 531 00:33:52,358 --> 00:33:53,718 Back outside, 532 00:33:53,718 --> 00:33:57,838 I'm heading down the old railway line to rejoin the Derwent Valley. 533 00:34:07,398 --> 00:34:09,718 See how steep this incline is? 534 00:34:09,718 --> 00:34:13,638 Well, in the year 1888, it caused a real disaster. 535 00:34:13,638 --> 00:34:16,918 Three trucks that were coming down it broke away. 536 00:34:16,918 --> 00:34:20,318 One of them was carrying gunpowder. They got faster and faster. 537 00:34:20,318 --> 00:34:24,598 By the time they were at the bottom they were doing 120 miles per hour 538 00:34:24,598 --> 00:34:28,318 and leapt over the canal, went into the railway line, 539 00:34:28,318 --> 00:34:32,558 over the railway line and skidded to a halt in the next field. 540 00:34:32,558 --> 00:34:34,958 And woomph! Exploded. 541 00:34:34,958 --> 00:34:39,078 And minutes later, a passenger train chugged by. 542 00:34:46,078 --> 00:34:50,598 It's hard to imagine something like these hurtling down the track at 120 miles an hour, isn't it? 543 00:34:52,318 --> 00:34:55,518 'These trucks mark where the pioneering railway 544 00:34:55,518 --> 00:34:57,358 'met up with the Cromford Canal. 545 00:34:58,838 --> 00:35:01,638 'At one time this would have been a hive of activity, 546 00:35:01,638 --> 00:35:05,198 'with goods and raw materials being transferred from trucks 547 00:35:05,198 --> 00:35:07,598 'onto the old barges of the canal.' 548 00:35:09,078 --> 00:35:12,718 And I'm following the now-overgrown canal southwards, 549 00:35:12,718 --> 00:35:16,478 to find out what the local pioneers did next. 550 00:35:16,478 --> 00:35:17,878 On my way, though, 551 00:35:17,878 --> 00:35:21,598 there's the small diversion of the Wyvern Lane Bird Reserve. 552 00:35:32,478 --> 00:35:36,398 I must be the world's worst bird-watcher. 553 00:35:36,398 --> 00:35:38,598 There's supposed to be pochard here, 554 00:35:38,598 --> 00:35:41,558 teal, widgeon, tufted duck. 555 00:35:45,318 --> 00:35:49,038 But all I've seen is a few herons, and a cormorant up a tree... 556 00:35:50,078 --> 00:35:51,398 ..and a train. 557 00:35:55,918 --> 00:36:00,638 The train is at least a big clue to the latter stages of my walk. 558 00:36:00,638 --> 00:36:03,318 As the industrial revolution evolved 559 00:36:03,318 --> 00:36:07,318 and steam started powering large factories elsewhere, 560 00:36:07,318 --> 00:36:09,998 the Derwent Valley didn't simply keel over. 561 00:36:09,998 --> 00:36:13,998 Quite the opposite. The valley innovated and expanded. 562 00:36:13,998 --> 00:36:19,318 And by 1840, the Midland Railway simply had to come here. 563 00:36:24,798 --> 00:36:28,478 The nearest station is in the milling town of Belper - 564 00:36:28,478 --> 00:36:29,958 my overnight stop. 565 00:36:31,438 --> 00:36:33,198 But I'm taking a roundabout route 566 00:36:33,198 --> 00:36:36,078 to head straight to a historic local pub. 567 00:36:40,478 --> 00:36:43,518 The village of Makeney lies just off the old road 568 00:36:43,518 --> 00:36:45,718 running north through the Peaks. 569 00:36:48,278 --> 00:36:50,198 Before the railways arrived, 570 00:36:50,198 --> 00:36:53,438 what little travel there was took place by coach. 571 00:36:53,438 --> 00:36:58,958 Look. "Wanted. The noted Highwayman Richard Turpin. 572 00:36:58,958 --> 00:37:02,918 "He was seen at Makeney," which is the village we're in now, 573 00:37:02,918 --> 00:37:06,878 "where he didst call at the Holly Bush Inn", which is this pub! 574 00:37:06,878 --> 00:37:11,558 "A reward of £200 is offered for the capture of the said Turpin." 575 00:37:11,558 --> 00:37:12,958 (He was here!) 576 00:37:14,118 --> 00:37:16,358 'The roads of pre-industrial Britain 577 00:37:16,358 --> 00:37:19,198 'were the stalking grounds of highwaymen - 578 00:37:19,198 --> 00:37:21,678 'perpetrators of vicious crimes 579 00:37:21,678 --> 00:37:24,598 'that the passing of time have rather romanticised.' 580 00:37:26,598 --> 00:37:29,798 Turpin used to run a gang called the Essex Gang, 581 00:37:29,798 --> 00:37:34,398 and he heard of an old lady who was supposed to have a fortune of £700. 582 00:37:34,398 --> 00:37:35,878 So what did he do? 583 00:37:35,878 --> 00:37:40,678 He tied her up and dangled her from a rope over a fire. 584 00:37:40,678 --> 00:37:42,798 I mean, it's hardly heroic, is it? 585 00:37:43,878 --> 00:37:46,918 Turpin spent most of his life around London, 586 00:37:46,918 --> 00:37:49,878 but as the law caught up, he ventured further north, 587 00:37:49,878 --> 00:37:52,718 bringing terror to the routes of Derbyshire. 588 00:37:52,718 --> 00:37:55,718 But really he was just a remnant of a different age. 589 00:37:55,718 --> 00:37:58,398 People up here were interested in the future. 590 00:37:58,398 --> 00:38:01,758 And tomorrow I'll see how the town of Belper 591 00:38:01,758 --> 00:38:04,758 led the world in a very surprising direction. 592 00:38:05,798 --> 00:38:08,682 Upwards. 593 00:38:08,682 --> 00:38:13,362 I've spent three days finding out how, almost 250 years ago, 594 00:38:13,362 --> 00:38:17,682 the beautiful Derwent Valley was leading the world into a new age. 595 00:38:19,602 --> 00:38:24,442 But by 1800, the Industrial Revolution was in full flight, 596 00:38:24,442 --> 00:38:26,522 and factories were appearing 597 00:38:26,522 --> 00:38:29,842 in rising industrial giants like Manchester. 598 00:38:31,322 --> 00:38:34,162 So on my final day, I'm going to be seeing 599 00:38:34,162 --> 00:38:37,442 how Derbyshire kept itself ahead of the game. 600 00:38:37,442 --> 00:38:41,162 I'll be ending my walk in the railway city of Derby. 601 00:38:41,162 --> 00:38:45,882 But I'm starting upstream in the sizeable mill town of Belper. 602 00:38:45,882 --> 00:38:48,882 Belper was like Cromford's big brother. 603 00:38:48,882 --> 00:38:51,362 Everything about it was a step up in scale. 604 00:38:51,362 --> 00:38:55,442 Whereas Arkwright's Mill at Cromford employed 500 people, 605 00:38:55,442 --> 00:38:59,362 at one time, Belper employed over 2,000. 606 00:38:59,362 --> 00:39:03,522 Cromford had one water mill - this one had 14. 607 00:39:05,082 --> 00:39:09,362 While mills in other areas needed coal-powered steam engines, 608 00:39:09,362 --> 00:39:11,602 here by the mighty river Derwent, 609 00:39:11,602 --> 00:39:14,282 Mother Nature was all that was needed. 610 00:39:14,282 --> 00:39:19,442 Belper owes its size and scale initially to one man - 611 00:39:19,442 --> 00:39:21,242 Jedediah Strutt. 612 00:39:21,242 --> 00:39:24,922 By the mid 1800s, there were eight Strutt-owned mills here, 613 00:39:24,922 --> 00:39:28,002 making Belper the second largest town in the county. 614 00:39:28,002 --> 00:39:30,402 But mill owners had one big worry. 615 00:39:32,802 --> 00:39:36,882 Early cotton mills had an inherent problem - they were timber-framed, 616 00:39:36,882 --> 00:39:40,602 cotton's flammable, and just one spark could send them sky-high. 617 00:39:42,722 --> 00:39:47,082 Fire destroyed one Strutt mill in 1781. 618 00:39:47,082 --> 00:39:51,282 Five more Derbyshire mills went up in flames in the 1790s. 619 00:39:51,282 --> 00:39:55,762 And in 1803, it was the turn of Belper's own North Mill. 620 00:39:58,002 --> 00:40:01,962 But less than two years later, the North Mill was back, 621 00:40:01,962 --> 00:40:04,082 better and much bigger than before. 622 00:40:04,082 --> 00:40:05,882 At the time of the fire, 623 00:40:05,882 --> 00:40:09,602 Jedediah's son, William Strutt, had been experimenting 624 00:40:09,602 --> 00:40:13,402 with an entirely new fire-resistant building technique. 625 00:40:15,802 --> 00:40:19,722 As much as possible, he tried to replace timber with iron. 626 00:40:22,082 --> 00:40:24,802 And here in the basement of the North Mill, 627 00:40:24,802 --> 00:40:28,682 you can see his ideas put into practice on a massive scale. 628 00:40:30,282 --> 00:40:33,802 Well, this model really shows you exactly how it would work. 629 00:40:33,802 --> 00:40:37,362 You've got the stone columns that you can see down here, 630 00:40:37,362 --> 00:40:40,522 but this gives you a cutaway of what you'd see above 631 00:40:40,522 --> 00:40:43,642 and it was William that came up with this idea 632 00:40:43,642 --> 00:40:47,202 of having an iron frame and sitting on these columns. 633 00:40:50,642 --> 00:40:53,242 In 1804, the mill above me 634 00:40:53,242 --> 00:40:56,802 was the largest fire-resistant building in the world. 635 00:40:56,802 --> 00:41:00,602 The Derwent Valley had made another great contribution 636 00:41:00,602 --> 00:41:03,082 to the Industrial Revolution. 637 00:41:03,082 --> 00:41:06,002 But Strutt's idea went further. 638 00:41:06,002 --> 00:41:09,802 An iron framework meant that layers could be added. 639 00:41:09,802 --> 00:41:13,762 Floor...after floor...after floor. 640 00:41:16,002 --> 00:41:18,722 The North Mill may only be six storeys high, 641 00:41:18,722 --> 00:41:20,362 but in this building, 642 00:41:20,362 --> 00:41:23,722 Belper pioneered a building principle 643 00:41:23,722 --> 00:41:26,202 that's shaped our modern cities. 644 00:41:26,202 --> 00:41:30,602 Metal frames have been the key to building high all over the world. 645 00:41:35,122 --> 00:41:37,722 Heading south, I'm following a popular walking route 646 00:41:37,722 --> 00:41:40,602 called the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. 647 00:41:43,362 --> 00:41:45,802 It's just the right week for these blackberries. 648 00:41:45,802 --> 00:41:48,482 They're coming away from the stalk beautifully. 649 00:41:48,482 --> 00:41:51,802 700 years ago, I'd have been walking through a hunting forest 650 00:41:51,802 --> 00:41:55,722 filled with deer, wild boar and even wolves. 651 00:41:55,722 --> 00:41:58,842 But by 1800, it had all changed. 652 00:41:58,842 --> 00:42:03,482 The monuments to a groundbreaking past are everywhere. 653 00:42:05,362 --> 00:42:08,802 But it's fitting that I should be finishing my journey 654 00:42:08,802 --> 00:42:11,522 in the lower reaches of this great valley, 655 00:42:11,522 --> 00:42:14,122 where industry has stayed and thrived. 656 00:42:21,522 --> 00:42:23,122 In the 1830s, 657 00:42:23,122 --> 00:42:26,802 the great and the good of Derby had their eye on one thing - 658 00:42:26,802 --> 00:42:30,482 linking the ancient county town to the railway. 659 00:42:30,482 --> 00:42:32,642 Its future would be transformed 660 00:42:32,642 --> 00:42:36,802 if Derby could become a part of the growing national network. 661 00:42:38,202 --> 00:42:40,242 It did better than that. 662 00:42:40,242 --> 00:42:44,282 Derby's central location made it an ideal railway hub, 663 00:42:44,282 --> 00:42:47,842 and in 1844, it became the headquarters 664 00:42:47,842 --> 00:42:50,082 of the Midland Railway Company. 665 00:42:50,082 --> 00:42:52,722 Offices, platforms, 666 00:42:52,722 --> 00:42:56,562 engine sheds and workshops covered 80 acres of the city. 667 00:42:56,562 --> 00:42:58,882 The golden age of the railways 668 00:42:58,882 --> 00:43:03,522 was arguably the last great act of the Industrial Revolution. 669 00:43:03,522 --> 00:43:07,122 And one of the jewels in the railway crown is here in Derby - 670 00:43:07,122 --> 00:43:10,762 the one key building I've come to see. 671 00:43:10,762 --> 00:43:12,922 Looks like I'm on the right track. 672 00:43:12,922 --> 00:43:16,562 Just a few steps from the station is The Roundhouse. 673 00:43:18,362 --> 00:43:21,362 Beautifully restored just a few years ago, 674 00:43:21,362 --> 00:43:24,882 and now attracting the attention it deserves. 675 00:43:24,882 --> 00:43:29,922 Isn't this place fantastic? And so beautifully renovated. 676 00:43:35,602 --> 00:43:38,362 When the locomotives of the Midland Railway broke down, 677 00:43:38,362 --> 00:43:40,802 this is where they came to be fixed. 678 00:43:40,802 --> 00:43:44,882 The Roundhouse was a giant repair hangar, 679 00:43:44,882 --> 00:43:47,402 based around an ingenious turntable. 680 00:43:48,962 --> 00:43:51,362 With 16 radiating tracks, 681 00:43:51,362 --> 00:43:56,402 at least 32 engines could be serviced here at once. 682 00:43:56,402 --> 00:44:00,642 It was built in 1839 at a time when the Industrial Revolution 683 00:44:00,642 --> 00:44:03,482 wasn't really much of a revolution any more. 684 00:44:03,482 --> 00:44:08,002 70 years after Arkwright had established Cromford, 685 00:44:08,002 --> 00:44:12,562 things like mass production, and factories, and engines 686 00:44:12,562 --> 00:44:14,562 were the new normality. 687 00:44:14,562 --> 00:44:18,202 True to the innovating tradition of this valley, 688 00:44:18,202 --> 00:44:22,202 this particular factory was the first of its kind. 689 00:44:22,202 --> 00:44:26,402 The railway roundhouse was a concept copied across the country, 690 00:44:26,402 --> 00:44:27,842 and all over the world. 691 00:44:30,282 --> 00:44:32,682 What would it have been like in here? 692 00:44:32,682 --> 00:44:34,722 Oh, it would be an absolute hell-hole. 693 00:44:34,722 --> 00:44:36,402 It's the only word that can describe it. 694 00:44:36,402 --> 00:44:38,722 We're now in a beautiful, light space, 695 00:44:38,722 --> 00:44:41,082 but the glass that's now letting all the light in 696 00:44:41,082 --> 00:44:42,362 wouldn't have been here. 697 00:44:42,362 --> 00:44:44,002 There would have been wooden louvers 698 00:44:44,002 --> 00:44:45,762 that were open to let all the smoke out, 699 00:44:45,762 --> 00:44:48,922 because what you've got here is 30-odd locomotives 700 00:44:48,922 --> 00:44:51,122 belching smoke and soot. 701 00:44:51,122 --> 00:44:54,842 You've got people bashing large pieces of metal with hammers. 702 00:44:54,842 --> 00:44:56,602 Filing, repairing - just horrible. 703 00:44:56,602 --> 00:45:01,002 It would have been noisy, dirty, hot, almost unbreathable - 704 00:45:01,002 --> 00:45:02,682 a very unpleasant place to be. 705 00:45:07,522 --> 00:45:10,122 Presumably, if it hadn't been for the railways, 706 00:45:10,122 --> 00:45:13,122 then Derby could well be the size of Belper now? 707 00:45:13,122 --> 00:45:15,402 Absolutely, it could, and probably would be. 708 00:45:15,402 --> 00:45:18,202 Yeah, I mean, the railways turned Derby 709 00:45:18,202 --> 00:45:20,602 from an 18th-century market town 710 00:45:20,602 --> 00:45:24,402 into a 19th century industrial boomtown/city. 711 00:45:26,762 --> 00:45:29,922 While walking along the Derwent Valley, 712 00:45:29,922 --> 00:45:35,402 I've seen the Industrial Revolution unfold and develop in front of me. 713 00:45:35,402 --> 00:45:38,762 What started as a technological leap in Cromford, 714 00:45:38,762 --> 00:45:41,082 had influenced the entire country 715 00:45:41,082 --> 00:45:43,922 by the time the railways arrived in Derby. 716 00:45:45,322 --> 00:45:49,602 OK - Derbyshire is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, 717 00:45:49,602 --> 00:45:51,042 but when you say that, 718 00:45:51,042 --> 00:45:54,042 it just sounds like a rather arid piece of history. 719 00:45:54,042 --> 00:45:55,522 The reality is, though, 720 00:45:55,522 --> 00:45:59,042 that so many things that are really important to us today - 721 00:45:59,042 --> 00:46:02,402 like global markets and manufactured goods 722 00:46:02,402 --> 00:46:05,282 and a sophisticated transport system - 723 00:46:05,282 --> 00:46:08,722 started right here by the side of the Derwent. 724 00:46:08,722 --> 00:46:11,962 And that kind of thing hasn't gone away. 725 00:46:11,962 --> 00:46:14,442 Bombardier still make trains here, 726 00:46:14,442 --> 00:46:17,362 Rolls Royce still manufacture engines here, 727 00:46:17,362 --> 00:46:20,162 Toyota still make cars here. 728 00:46:20,162 --> 00:46:25,522 The seeds of the ideas that began here at the end of the 18th century 729 00:46:25,522 --> 00:46:30,962 still flourish today in the early years of the 21st century. 730 00:46:33,122 --> 00:46:35,442 If you want to follow in my footsteps, 731 00:46:35,442 --> 00:46:40,962 you can download a guide to my walk from www.channel4.com. 732 00:47:03,482 --> 00:47:07,202 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd