Great British Railway Journeys (2010–…): Season 3, Episode 11 - Oxford to Pershore - full transcript
In 1840,
one man transformed travel in Britain.
His name was George Bradshaw
and his railway guides inspired
the Victorians to take to the tracks.
Stop by Stop
he told them where to travel,
what to see, and where to stay.
Now, 170 years later,
I'm making a series of journeys across
the length and breadth of the country
to see what of Bradshaw's Britain
remains.
Guided, as ever, by my Bradshaw's,
I've embarked on a new journey
from the rolling countryside
of Oxfordshire
to the mining and smelting
heartlands of South Wales.
During the Industrial Revolution,
the Victorians exploited
the fruits of this land,
transforming the country and its cities.
And as ever, the catalyst for that
change was the arrival of the railways.
I'm beginning
in a quintessentially English region.
Its timeless beauty and quirky
traditions are all recorded
in my 19th-century guidebook.
On this leg of the journey,
HI be seeing Oxford
through Bradshaw's eyes...
It's really worth the climb.
That is the most fantastic view.
Sampling a Victorian navvy's
favourite brew...
Cheers. You could build a railway
once you've drunk that, couldn't you?
And discovering a surprising crop
in the heart of the Cotswolds.
This is the most unexpected sight.
Suddenly this riot of colour.
This journey starts in
the heart of England.
Taking me west through the Malvern Hills
and across the Welsh border.
I'll then travel through the
industrial powerhouse of South Wales,
finishing up in Milford Haven.
Starting in historic Oxford,
this stretch explores
the picture-postcard landscape
of the Cotswold hills
as far as a Pershore,
near the agricultural vale of Evesham.
My first stop is Oxford,
known as home to
one of Britain's best universities.
According to my Bradshaw's,
Oxford University
has an advantage over Cambridge
in being placed among
more attractive scenery
and combining a greater variety
of splendid architecture.
That judgment will be
highly controversial
amongst people, like me,
who went to Cambridge.
Whatever my persona! views,
there's no disputing that Oxford is
a wonderfully preserved historic city.
After the railway arrived here in the
1840s, it brought new waves of tourists
to admire the dreaming spires
and provided a speedy way
for students to travel
to and from
their venerable seat of learning.
Many of Oxford's beautiful buildings
and ancient traditions
date back to medieval times,
but the 19th century also left its mark,
introducing competitive rowing, punting
and the bicycle to the city.
My "Bradshaw's Guide" waxes lyrical
about seeing the Oxford panorama
from above.
To see how the modern view measures up,
I'm meeting Chris Kissane
at Merton College.
Chris, hello.
- Hello, Michael.
Great to see you.
- Nice to meet you.
Oxford is a city to be proud of.
It really is, it's a wonderful city.
What's your connection?
I'm a student here now
at Balliol College
and when I was born, my dad
was a student at Merton College,
so we lived in college accommodation.
You were born within Merton College.
Yeah, I'm an Irishman
but Oxford is home away from home.
Merton is the oldest college?
We, in Balliol, claim
to be the oldest college as well,
but to avoid family arguments
we'll agree to disagree.
You're clutching a very impressive key.
I'm lucky enough to get the key to
the tower of Merton College Chapel,
one of the oldest remaining
Medieval buildings in Oxford.
We're going to have look up the top
and see the view of the city.
I can't wait, lead me on.
OK.
- Thank you.
Merton is just one of dozens
of independent colleges
that make up the university.
Each adds its own distinctive
architecture to the city skyline,
creating the view
that my guidebook so admires.
It's really worth the climb, isn't it'?
That is the most fantastic view.
It's extraordinary.
It's inspiring, isn't it?
What Bradshaw says
is that it's the concentration,
the combination of buildings,
that makes Oxford so great.
I think that's true. He says,
"The city presents
a very imposing appearance,
from the number and variety of its
spires, domes and public edifices,
while these structures, from their
magnitude and splendid architecture,
give it an air of great magnificence."
A pretty good description, isn't it?
Very apt, yes.
(Michael) This is Bradshaw’s view.
It hasn't changed very much.
- It hasn't.
Oxford is lucky to have preserved
its stunning skyline.
During the Second World War,
the Luftwaffe deliberately targeted
some of Britain's most historic cities,
in a bid to dent morale.
They even used guidebooks
to pinpoint heritage towns.
But amazingly,
Oxford survived unscathed.
Why is it so well preserved'?
The story goes that Hitler
had his eyes on Oxford's
magnificent buildings for his capital,
if he ever invaded England.
Story's never been proven,
but you can understand why anyone
would be enchanted by the view.
It's a rather grim reason
for a very beautiful survival.
(Chris) It is.
One famous landmark that survived
is the Radcliffe Camera.
Bradshaw says, “its dome is one of
the most conspicuous objects
in the views of Oxford."
But, to me, this library is
memorable for another reason.
Even though I was at Cambridge,
when I was running up to some exams,
I did two weeks' revision
in the Radcliffe Camera.
For me, although
it's a beautiful building,
it has that horrible feeling of fear
when you're running up to an exam.
An experience that I and many Oxford
students can definitely identify with.
The university
has always set Oxford apart,
and despite the arrival of the railway,
the city didn't develop any major
industries in the 19th century.
But the ever-expanding
academic community
ensured that local trades thrived.
Bradshaw's says
that the high street of Oxford
is justly considered
the finest in England.
"From the number and elegance
of its public buildings
and the remarkable curvature."
And it does indeed resemble
a long crescent.
And then it says, "Oxford
has long been famous for good sausages."
That's news to me.
To see whether sausages
are still a local delicacy,
I'm heading to the covered market.
It was built 230 years ago
to try and rid the city centre of
unsightly and smelly outdoor stalls.
The first businesses to move in
were the butchers
and several still prosper here today.
Fantastic display of sausages.
Colin Dawson has worked here
since the 1990s.
Colin, hello.
- Hello, Michael.
I've come in search of sausages.
I've come to the right place.
You certainly have.
What about the Oxford sausage?
Do you have that?
We do. This is the Oxford sausage.
It's our best-selling sausage.
I confess, I've never heard of an
Oxford sausage. What do you put in it?
It's pork, lemon, there's herbs,
there's thyme, parsley, breadcrumbs.
(Michael) I'm following a 19th-century
guidebook. Would it be the same?
No. In those days they used to have
veal and beef suet as well.
(Carmichael) The veal sounds
as if it would've been tasty.
What about the beef suet,
what would that have done?
Beef suet would've been very greasy.
Make a very greasy sausage.
I think in those days they thought
it was good for their health.
Actually, recipes for Oxford sausages
date back to the early 18th century,
but it was in Victorian times that
they achieved national recognition.
Evidently the Oxford sausage
was popular in the 1860s.
Where did you get the recipe from?
The recipe was handed down to us
from another company,
but in Mrs Beeton 's, the Victorian
Mrs Beeton, Household Management Book,
the recipe is in there.
That would account for
why Bradshaw's mentions it,
because she's 1860s as well, isn't she'?
Yeah, 1861, the book.
Isabella Beeton’s book was a hit
with the growing middle classes,
seeking guidance on
how to run a respectable household.
Her recipe gives two ways to serve an
Oxford sausage, with or without skins.
Apparently the earliest Oxford sausages
resembled our modern hamburgers.
As far as we understand,
this is the type of thing...
Just pressed out like that.
Then they moved on to sausage
a bit later in time.
Very good.
Despite the historic interest,
I think I'll go for a sausage today.
(Colin) All right.
These are
the Oxford sausages cooked today.
Beautiful.
- Help yourself.
Gosh, that's good.
That is meaty and I can taste the herbs
and I can taste the lemon,
lots of lemon.
Absolutely brilliant.
That's good. Glad you're enjoying it.
Put in by my sausage,
I am now leaving Oxford behind
to head into the picturesque Cotswolds.
The line I'm following
was built in the 1850s,
under the supervision of the famous
engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunei.
In the 19th century, the construction of
railways was scarcely mechanised at all.
It depended on thousands of labourers,
or navvies, using shovels and hammers.
Luckily, these fields supplied a crop
used to produce a refreshing,
not-to-say alcoholic drink, that
could be used to quench their thirst
after a day of toil and sweat.
In Victorian times,
this pan of Oxfordshire
was a major growing area for barley,
a principal ingredient in beer.
To find out how the railways
helped beer making to flourish here,
I'm getting off at Charlbury Station.
Beautiful station.
Not the best day to see it.
Just up the road is a splendid Victorian
brewery, born in the railway age.
For five generations ifs been run
by James Clarke's family
Michael. Welcome to Hook Norton.
- Lovely to be here.
What a fantastically historic
and picturesque looking brewery this is.
(James) We're very lucky.
Very traditional design
and unspoilt, really, by time.
Nineteenth-century Britons
were beer enthusiasts,
believing it to be a healthy drink,
and it was seen as patriotic
to choose a traditional British brew
over European wine.
In the 1800s licensing laws
were changed to boost beer production,
fuelling an explosion of new breweries.
(James) The company was started in 1849
by my great-great-grandfather.
We got the first commercial
brewing records back in 1856.
The brewing developed and he built
a small brewery in the 1870s
and followed it with this brewery
that was complete
around the turn of the century.
The industry was quick to adopt
the latest technology.
This brewery embraced steam power
to mill malted barley,
the first stage of the brewing process.
And the steam engine still works?
It does.
Steam engine was installed in 1899
and it would've been
the sole source of motive power
that was distributed
throughout the brewery,
by a series of line shafting
and open drive belts.
Is it possible to see the machine work?
Absolutely. Let's fire her up.
(laughs)
We disappear in a cloud of water vapour.
What a fantastic machine.
It has a bit of the look
and certainly the sound of
a locomotive on the railway.
Absolutely, just Victorian engineering,
really well and solidly built,
and consequently lasted 110 years, plus.
It makes me feel very at home.
Breweries are traditionally built
on many floors, so that gravity can help
to move the beer between
the different stages of production.
(Carmichael) Up and up and up.
(James) Yes, six flights of stairs
to the top of the brewery
and we've just come up a couple of them.
This brewery grew rapidly
in the late-19th century,
thanks in part to a new railway line
built through
the nearby Oxfordshire hills.
I believe the process of
building the railway
had a big impact on the brewery.
- It had a huge impact.
The section through Hook Norton
was quite difficult engineering-wise
and reputed to have taken
400 navvies four years
to build two sets of viaducts
and a long tunnel.
So, clearly, 400 men working very hard
and working up quite a thirst.
For the navvies who built the railways,
We was tough.
The dark beer that they drank
was an important source of nutrition,
rich in iron.
And are you making those Victorian
beers, on which the navvies thrived?
We have an old bottle here,
which shows the original label.
That's a beer
we're still producing today.
Wow, that is dark, isn't it?
- It is.
A small amount of
very highly roasted malt in it,
to give it a depth of colour
and flavour.
That's as black as night.
Mmm.
Wow.
Cheers.
- Cheers.
You could build a railway once
you'd drunk that, couldn't you?
That puts hairs on your chest and
muscles on your arms, I should think.
Barrels of beer used to be carried
by horse and can
to the railway at Hook Norton,
a mile down the road.
Sadly, that branch tine has closed, but
the horse and cart tradition continues.
Hello, what a fabulous dray
and what beautiful horses.
You wouldn't be going towards
the station?
I certainly can do. Walk on!
Well, I've often travelled by railway
like George Bradshaw,
but never headed towards the station
by horse like George Bradshaw.
My Victorian transport is
carrying me towards my next train.
This Keg of the journey takes me deeper
into the heart of the famous gently
rolling hills called the Cotswolds.
My next stop got its station in 1853,
but its history as a halting place for
travellers reaches far into the past.
My journey has brought me across
the border from Oxfordshire
into Gloucestershire,
to Moreton-in-Marsh.
And here I shall find a place
to rest my head.
My guidebook tells me
that Moreton-in-Marsh
is a small town on the old Fosse Way,
a Roman road that stretched
all the way from Exeter to Lincoln.
The perfect spot
for a traditional coaching inn.
I love the colour of Cotswold stone.
It has an extraordinary warmth.
And one of the hotels mentioned
in my Bradshaw's still stands.
The White Hart.
Good evening.
Michael Portillo checking in.
Nice to meet you.
Very good to see you. What have you...
This evening you'll be staying in
the King Charles Suite.
Ah... Which King Charles is that?
It was King Charles I and the suite
is actually named after him.
In fact he stayed here the night
on his way to Marston Moor
and left the next morning
without paying his bill.
Oh. That is fantastically historic.
As long as you don't
expect me to pay his bill.
You can if you want to.
- Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Magnificent.
This really crowns my day.
We woken to a perfect day
for exploring the Cotswolds.
Before I catch my next train,
I want to uncover the story
behind a local landmark.
I've come to Moreton
because my Bradshaw's mentions
the Saxon tower on Broadway Hill.
And the author was seeing it
from Warwick 20 miles away,
so it must be rather special.
Broadway Hill is a stiff climb
from Moreton
and the second highest point
in the Cotswolds.
Intriguingly, my "Bradshaw's Guide"
claims that the tower that tops it
is visible from Warwick Castle,
and as I approach it I begin to see why.
There's a stunning view.
A slender castle.
And whoever built it
really knew their site.
What a fantastic position.
The horizon is just opened up
all around it.
Neil Thorneywork knows the history
of this castellated curiosity.
Hello, Neil.
- Hello.
Tower looking beautiful
in sunlight today.
Yes, it's always nice
when the sun's on it, looks a treat.
Now, my Bradshaw's refers to it as a
Saxon tower, but I'm guessing it's not.
No, it was finished in 1799.
Saxon refers to
the style of architecture used.
(Carmichael) Who built the tower?
(Neil) It was built by the sixth Earl
of Coventry as a present for his wife.
Very, very nice present, too.
A bit unusual
compared to today's presents.
What was she supposed to do with it?
Nothing. All she wanted to do
was look out of the estate window
some ten miles away and basically say,
"That's my tower."
So this was in the tradition
of building follies?
Yes, very much so.
Wealthy Victorians continued to
construct quirky buildings like this
and Britain is claimed to have had more
follies than anywhere else in the world.
The definition of folly
is a pointless, useless building
and they were built by the wealthy,
in a period from 1750 to about 1910.
Some people think of them
as even done to give people employment.
But normally they was just there
as a show of wealth.
And so they were buildings
that they could enjoy
views of, views from,
and just to amuse their friends.
Or just to amuse their friends
and say, "This is my folly."
These days
the tower is open to the public,
and reputedly, on a fine day, you can
see for over 50 miles from the top.
That is stunning, isn't it?
- Some view, isn't it?
(Carmichael) That's fantastic.
How high are we now?
(Neil) We're about 1,080 feet,
including the tower.
(Carmichael) And reputedly,
you can see 14 counties from here?
Yes, on a perfectly clear,
atmospheric day.
Which are they?
- Worcestershire, Warwickshire,
Gloucestershire, Leicestershire,
Oxfordshire, Nonhamptonshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Staffordshire, Shropshire,
Avon, Dyfed, Gwent, Powys,
Wiltshire and Somerset.
(applauds)
Bravo. That was very, very good.
Now, the author of Bradshaw's Guide
was standing on Guy's Tower at
Warwick Castle when he saw this tower.
Do you know where that is?
Warwick Castle, just over
in that direction there.
OK.
Obviously, we would be able to see it
from here on a perfectly clear day.
I think you'll probably need
field glasses to distinguish it.
Although the tower was built
as a flight of fancy,
in the 19th century,
it helped the development
of an important an movement.
The Pre-Raphaelite artists,
the arts and crafts movement,
all used to come and stay here.
Because?
Basically the resident here at the time
was a gentleman called Crom Price,
who was a very good friend
of Burne-Jones.
So he used to invite the Pre-Raphaelites
to come here and stay with him
and I'm sure William Morris gained
some great inspiration from being here.
He'd certainly be able to see lots of
leaves and trees and inspiring things.
That's right.
Visiting here led William Morris
to campaign to preserve
Britain's historic monuments.
I for one am very glad that this
particular oddity has survived.
Any man watching this programme
who's stuck for an idea
for his wife for Christmas...
A folly's the thing.
That's right, build a tower,
wins every time.
I'd love to stay and plan my gift list,
but ifs time for me
to catch my next train.
So, I continue down
the beautiful Cotswolds Line.
Next stop, Pershore.
The scenery I'm passing through
is beautiful.
But it hasn't always been peaceful.
My train will soon pass
under the Cotswold Ridge,
through the Camden tunnel.
And this was the scene of an
extraordinary piece of railway history.
The tunnel was under
the engineering supervision of Brunei.
He'd employed some navvies to dig it.
He was dissatisfied with their progress
and decided to evict them.
And he did that by marching his own band
of 3,000 navvies to throw them out.
It was the scene of one of
the last pitch battles on British soil
and it was fought over a railway tunnel.
Brunel's side was victorious, and
within a year the tunnel was complete.
The finished line
linked Oxford and Worcester
and these days ifs known as
the Cotswolds Line.
Good afternoon, sir, tickets, please.
Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
This line is so beautiful,
the Cotswolds Line.
We're quite lucky to have it still,
aren't we?
(conductor) It's a pleasure to work on.
Yeah, lots of beautiful stations
and scenery.
My journey now brings me
into Worcestershire,
which my Bradshaw's says is
engaged chiefly in agriculture.
And I'm heading for Pershore.
Bradshaw says, "The situation
of the town is very beautiful
and the surrounding scenery
is picturesque."
I want to see
how agriculture has changed
and I'm certainly hoping to see
something highly picturesque.
I'm getting off at a station
on the edge of the Vale of Evesham,
a richly fertile area,
which in the 19th century
was a major centre for market gardening.
Orchards covered the countryside
and hundreds of tonnes of fruit
were sent to market by rail.
In the 20th century,
as foreign competition grew,
this trade died off and many farmers
struggled to survive.
But one family farm
has recently had a renaissance,
thanks to this stunning crop.
This is the most unexpected sight.
Here we are in the middle of
an English countryside,
normal greens and browns,
and suddenly this riot of colour.
It's like someone tipped
a pot of different coloured paints
all over the landscape. Fantastic!
I'm meeting Charles Hudson,
whose family has farmed this land
for over 200 years.
What an amazing sight.
What a riot of colour this is.
It is a bit of a surprise when you
walk down a green country lane,
turn the corner and suddenly see this.
Very unlikely.
This sensational array of delphiniums
isn't just for decoration,
and nor are they sold as cut flowers.
In fact, this farm grows
a vital ingredient
for a traditional English wedding.
We pick the petals, we dry them
and then they are...
They can be thrown as confetti.
That's a wonderful idea.
Whenever I've been to a church,
I've seen paper confetti.
This is obviously a much lovelier idea.
And does it work as a business?
(Charles) We farm over a thousand acres
here and this field is about 15 acres
and this makes up 50% of our turnover.
- Really?
So it's been a real saviour
of everything.
It's got us through
some difficult times.
Newlyweds have been showered with
everything from rice to sweets
for centuries.
The origins of modern confetti
are unclear, but by Victorian times,
the kind of paper missiles
that we launch today were common.
I suppose, environmentally, if you're
chucking around an organic product,
that's a much nicer thing to do
than chucking around paper.
(Charles) Certainly, yes.
Paper, and there's a pernicious
new product, which is foil confetti,
which everybody really hates
because it just never goes.
Yes, petals are just like the grass
and the leaves.
They're organic
and they just disappear.
Confetti is the latest in a tong tine
of crops grown here by Charles's family.
Over the years
they've witnessed many changes,
including the arrival of the railway.
We stopped the railways coming through
our farm a couple of hundred years ago.
Why did your family do that?
Originally, 300 years ago,
the turnpike road went through
and cut things in half.
Then the railways,
it was a son of giddy limit.
So I think they campaigned, really,
to try and son of push it
the other side of the river,
which is ultimately what happened,
which is why Pershore Station
is about a mile and a half out of town.
I think everybody always sort of curses
the walk they have to make into town.
Before I make the trek
back to the station,
I want to see Charles's
finished product.
This is what it looks like.
Those are son of bags...
You would hardly know
that they weren't...
It's got a nice son of hay smell to it.
(Carmichael) Lovely smell.
That's a stunning blue in there,
isn't it?
It's really a very far cry
from paper confetti.
It's wonderfully natural.
Yeah...
- Light.
Well, thank you, Charles.
I must head to the railway station,
which thanks to your ancestors
is quite a long way away.
I'm afraid it is. Sorry about that.
Pershore's confetti fields
have certainly made their mark
on the landscape.
And they're ringing the changes
at weddings, too.
The industrial revolution
brought factories
and dark satanic mills
to much of Britain.
But when I looked down on
the colleges of Oxford
and on the countryside around Broadway,
and walked through the flowers
at Pershore,
I was reminded that whilst the railways
affected everywhere,
many places were left unspoiled.
This is still a land of green pastures.
On the next step of my journey,
I'll be visiting the home of
Queen Victoria's favourite bishop...
She commented that Bishop Perowne
had the best legs in tights
of any man on the Episcopal bench.
Sniffing out the secrets of
a famous 19th-century condiment...
That's a glorious smell,
but a very concentrated smell.
And following in the footsteps of
Victorian health fanatics.
There'd be wet towels Mapped around you
and water poured upon you
from a ghastly height.
So, actually pretty bracing stuff.
- Bracing indeed.
one man transformed travel in Britain.
His name was George Bradshaw
and his railway guides inspired
the Victorians to take to the tracks.
Stop by Stop
he told them where to travel,
what to see, and where to stay.
Now, 170 years later,
I'm making a series of journeys across
the length and breadth of the country
to see what of Bradshaw's Britain
remains.
Guided, as ever, by my Bradshaw's,
I've embarked on a new journey
from the rolling countryside
of Oxfordshire
to the mining and smelting
heartlands of South Wales.
During the Industrial Revolution,
the Victorians exploited
the fruits of this land,
transforming the country and its cities.
And as ever, the catalyst for that
change was the arrival of the railways.
I'm beginning
in a quintessentially English region.
Its timeless beauty and quirky
traditions are all recorded
in my 19th-century guidebook.
On this leg of the journey,
HI be seeing Oxford
through Bradshaw's eyes...
It's really worth the climb.
That is the most fantastic view.
Sampling a Victorian navvy's
favourite brew...
Cheers. You could build a railway
once you've drunk that, couldn't you?
And discovering a surprising crop
in the heart of the Cotswolds.
This is the most unexpected sight.
Suddenly this riot of colour.
This journey starts in
the heart of England.
Taking me west through the Malvern Hills
and across the Welsh border.
I'll then travel through the
industrial powerhouse of South Wales,
finishing up in Milford Haven.
Starting in historic Oxford,
this stretch explores
the picture-postcard landscape
of the Cotswold hills
as far as a Pershore,
near the agricultural vale of Evesham.
My first stop is Oxford,
known as home to
one of Britain's best universities.
According to my Bradshaw's,
Oxford University
has an advantage over Cambridge
in being placed among
more attractive scenery
and combining a greater variety
of splendid architecture.
That judgment will be
highly controversial
amongst people, like me,
who went to Cambridge.
Whatever my persona! views,
there's no disputing that Oxford is
a wonderfully preserved historic city.
After the railway arrived here in the
1840s, it brought new waves of tourists
to admire the dreaming spires
and provided a speedy way
for students to travel
to and from
their venerable seat of learning.
Many of Oxford's beautiful buildings
and ancient traditions
date back to medieval times,
but the 19th century also left its mark,
introducing competitive rowing, punting
and the bicycle to the city.
My "Bradshaw's Guide" waxes lyrical
about seeing the Oxford panorama
from above.
To see how the modern view measures up,
I'm meeting Chris Kissane
at Merton College.
Chris, hello.
- Hello, Michael.
Great to see you.
- Nice to meet you.
Oxford is a city to be proud of.
It really is, it's a wonderful city.
What's your connection?
I'm a student here now
at Balliol College
and when I was born, my dad
was a student at Merton College,
so we lived in college accommodation.
You were born within Merton College.
Yeah, I'm an Irishman
but Oxford is home away from home.
Merton is the oldest college?
We, in Balliol, claim
to be the oldest college as well,
but to avoid family arguments
we'll agree to disagree.
You're clutching a very impressive key.
I'm lucky enough to get the key to
the tower of Merton College Chapel,
one of the oldest remaining
Medieval buildings in Oxford.
We're going to have look up the top
and see the view of the city.
I can't wait, lead me on.
OK.
- Thank you.
Merton is just one of dozens
of independent colleges
that make up the university.
Each adds its own distinctive
architecture to the city skyline,
creating the view
that my guidebook so admires.
It's really worth the climb, isn't it'?
That is the most fantastic view.
It's extraordinary.
It's inspiring, isn't it?
What Bradshaw says
is that it's the concentration,
the combination of buildings,
that makes Oxford so great.
I think that's true. He says,
"The city presents
a very imposing appearance,
from the number and variety of its
spires, domes and public edifices,
while these structures, from their
magnitude and splendid architecture,
give it an air of great magnificence."
A pretty good description, isn't it?
Very apt, yes.
(Michael) This is Bradshaw’s view.
It hasn't changed very much.
- It hasn't.
Oxford is lucky to have preserved
its stunning skyline.
During the Second World War,
the Luftwaffe deliberately targeted
some of Britain's most historic cities,
in a bid to dent morale.
They even used guidebooks
to pinpoint heritage towns.
But amazingly,
Oxford survived unscathed.
Why is it so well preserved'?
The story goes that Hitler
had his eyes on Oxford's
magnificent buildings for his capital,
if he ever invaded England.
Story's never been proven,
but you can understand why anyone
would be enchanted by the view.
It's a rather grim reason
for a very beautiful survival.
(Chris) It is.
One famous landmark that survived
is the Radcliffe Camera.
Bradshaw says, “its dome is one of
the most conspicuous objects
in the views of Oxford."
But, to me, this library is
memorable for another reason.
Even though I was at Cambridge,
when I was running up to some exams,
I did two weeks' revision
in the Radcliffe Camera.
For me, although
it's a beautiful building,
it has that horrible feeling of fear
when you're running up to an exam.
An experience that I and many Oxford
students can definitely identify with.
The university
has always set Oxford apart,
and despite the arrival of the railway,
the city didn't develop any major
industries in the 19th century.
But the ever-expanding
academic community
ensured that local trades thrived.
Bradshaw's says
that the high street of Oxford
is justly considered
the finest in England.
"From the number and elegance
of its public buildings
and the remarkable curvature."
And it does indeed resemble
a long crescent.
And then it says, "Oxford
has long been famous for good sausages."
That's news to me.
To see whether sausages
are still a local delicacy,
I'm heading to the covered market.
It was built 230 years ago
to try and rid the city centre of
unsightly and smelly outdoor stalls.
The first businesses to move in
were the butchers
and several still prosper here today.
Fantastic display of sausages.
Colin Dawson has worked here
since the 1990s.
Colin, hello.
- Hello, Michael.
I've come in search of sausages.
I've come to the right place.
You certainly have.
What about the Oxford sausage?
Do you have that?
We do. This is the Oxford sausage.
It's our best-selling sausage.
I confess, I've never heard of an
Oxford sausage. What do you put in it?
It's pork, lemon, there's herbs,
there's thyme, parsley, breadcrumbs.
(Michael) I'm following a 19th-century
guidebook. Would it be the same?
No. In those days they used to have
veal and beef suet as well.
(Carmichael) The veal sounds
as if it would've been tasty.
What about the beef suet,
what would that have done?
Beef suet would've been very greasy.
Make a very greasy sausage.
I think in those days they thought
it was good for their health.
Actually, recipes for Oxford sausages
date back to the early 18th century,
but it was in Victorian times that
they achieved national recognition.
Evidently the Oxford sausage
was popular in the 1860s.
Where did you get the recipe from?
The recipe was handed down to us
from another company,
but in Mrs Beeton 's, the Victorian
Mrs Beeton, Household Management Book,
the recipe is in there.
That would account for
why Bradshaw's mentions it,
because she's 1860s as well, isn't she'?
Yeah, 1861, the book.
Isabella Beeton’s book was a hit
with the growing middle classes,
seeking guidance on
how to run a respectable household.
Her recipe gives two ways to serve an
Oxford sausage, with or without skins.
Apparently the earliest Oxford sausages
resembled our modern hamburgers.
As far as we understand,
this is the type of thing...
Just pressed out like that.
Then they moved on to sausage
a bit later in time.
Very good.
Despite the historic interest,
I think I'll go for a sausage today.
(Colin) All right.
These are
the Oxford sausages cooked today.
Beautiful.
- Help yourself.
Gosh, that's good.
That is meaty and I can taste the herbs
and I can taste the lemon,
lots of lemon.
Absolutely brilliant.
That's good. Glad you're enjoying it.
Put in by my sausage,
I am now leaving Oxford behind
to head into the picturesque Cotswolds.
The line I'm following
was built in the 1850s,
under the supervision of the famous
engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunei.
In the 19th century, the construction of
railways was scarcely mechanised at all.
It depended on thousands of labourers,
or navvies, using shovels and hammers.
Luckily, these fields supplied a crop
used to produce a refreshing,
not-to-say alcoholic drink, that
could be used to quench their thirst
after a day of toil and sweat.
In Victorian times,
this pan of Oxfordshire
was a major growing area for barley,
a principal ingredient in beer.
To find out how the railways
helped beer making to flourish here,
I'm getting off at Charlbury Station.
Beautiful station.
Not the best day to see it.
Just up the road is a splendid Victorian
brewery, born in the railway age.
For five generations ifs been run
by James Clarke's family
Michael. Welcome to Hook Norton.
- Lovely to be here.
What a fantastically historic
and picturesque looking brewery this is.
(James) We're very lucky.
Very traditional design
and unspoilt, really, by time.
Nineteenth-century Britons
were beer enthusiasts,
believing it to be a healthy drink,
and it was seen as patriotic
to choose a traditional British brew
over European wine.
In the 1800s licensing laws
were changed to boost beer production,
fuelling an explosion of new breweries.
(James) The company was started in 1849
by my great-great-grandfather.
We got the first commercial
brewing records back in 1856.
The brewing developed and he built
a small brewery in the 1870s
and followed it with this brewery
that was complete
around the turn of the century.
The industry was quick to adopt
the latest technology.
This brewery embraced steam power
to mill malted barley,
the first stage of the brewing process.
And the steam engine still works?
It does.
Steam engine was installed in 1899
and it would've been
the sole source of motive power
that was distributed
throughout the brewery,
by a series of line shafting
and open drive belts.
Is it possible to see the machine work?
Absolutely. Let's fire her up.
(laughs)
We disappear in a cloud of water vapour.
What a fantastic machine.
It has a bit of the look
and certainly the sound of
a locomotive on the railway.
Absolutely, just Victorian engineering,
really well and solidly built,
and consequently lasted 110 years, plus.
It makes me feel very at home.
Breweries are traditionally built
on many floors, so that gravity can help
to move the beer between
the different stages of production.
(Carmichael) Up and up and up.
(James) Yes, six flights of stairs
to the top of the brewery
and we've just come up a couple of them.
This brewery grew rapidly
in the late-19th century,
thanks in part to a new railway line
built through
the nearby Oxfordshire hills.
I believe the process of
building the railway
had a big impact on the brewery.
- It had a huge impact.
The section through Hook Norton
was quite difficult engineering-wise
and reputed to have taken
400 navvies four years
to build two sets of viaducts
and a long tunnel.
So, clearly, 400 men working very hard
and working up quite a thirst.
For the navvies who built the railways,
We was tough.
The dark beer that they drank
was an important source of nutrition,
rich in iron.
And are you making those Victorian
beers, on which the navvies thrived?
We have an old bottle here,
which shows the original label.
That's a beer
we're still producing today.
Wow, that is dark, isn't it?
- It is.
A small amount of
very highly roasted malt in it,
to give it a depth of colour
and flavour.
That's as black as night.
Mmm.
Wow.
Cheers.
- Cheers.
You could build a railway once
you'd drunk that, couldn't you?
That puts hairs on your chest and
muscles on your arms, I should think.
Barrels of beer used to be carried
by horse and can
to the railway at Hook Norton,
a mile down the road.
Sadly, that branch tine has closed, but
the horse and cart tradition continues.
Hello, what a fabulous dray
and what beautiful horses.
You wouldn't be going towards
the station?
I certainly can do. Walk on!
Well, I've often travelled by railway
like George Bradshaw,
but never headed towards the station
by horse like George Bradshaw.
My Victorian transport is
carrying me towards my next train.
This Keg of the journey takes me deeper
into the heart of the famous gently
rolling hills called the Cotswolds.
My next stop got its station in 1853,
but its history as a halting place for
travellers reaches far into the past.
My journey has brought me across
the border from Oxfordshire
into Gloucestershire,
to Moreton-in-Marsh.
And here I shall find a place
to rest my head.
My guidebook tells me
that Moreton-in-Marsh
is a small town on the old Fosse Way,
a Roman road that stretched
all the way from Exeter to Lincoln.
The perfect spot
for a traditional coaching inn.
I love the colour of Cotswold stone.
It has an extraordinary warmth.
And one of the hotels mentioned
in my Bradshaw's still stands.
The White Hart.
Good evening.
Michael Portillo checking in.
Nice to meet you.
Very good to see you. What have you...
This evening you'll be staying in
the King Charles Suite.
Ah... Which King Charles is that?
It was King Charles I and the suite
is actually named after him.
In fact he stayed here the night
on his way to Marston Moor
and left the next morning
without paying his bill.
Oh. That is fantastically historic.
As long as you don't
expect me to pay his bill.
You can if you want to.
- Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Magnificent.
This really crowns my day.
We woken to a perfect day
for exploring the Cotswolds.
Before I catch my next train,
I want to uncover the story
behind a local landmark.
I've come to Moreton
because my Bradshaw's mentions
the Saxon tower on Broadway Hill.
And the author was seeing it
from Warwick 20 miles away,
so it must be rather special.
Broadway Hill is a stiff climb
from Moreton
and the second highest point
in the Cotswolds.
Intriguingly, my "Bradshaw's Guide"
claims that the tower that tops it
is visible from Warwick Castle,
and as I approach it I begin to see why.
There's a stunning view.
A slender castle.
And whoever built it
really knew their site.
What a fantastic position.
The horizon is just opened up
all around it.
Neil Thorneywork knows the history
of this castellated curiosity.
Hello, Neil.
- Hello.
Tower looking beautiful
in sunlight today.
Yes, it's always nice
when the sun's on it, looks a treat.
Now, my Bradshaw's refers to it as a
Saxon tower, but I'm guessing it's not.
No, it was finished in 1799.
Saxon refers to
the style of architecture used.
(Carmichael) Who built the tower?
(Neil) It was built by the sixth Earl
of Coventry as a present for his wife.
Very, very nice present, too.
A bit unusual
compared to today's presents.
What was she supposed to do with it?
Nothing. All she wanted to do
was look out of the estate window
some ten miles away and basically say,
"That's my tower."
So this was in the tradition
of building follies?
Yes, very much so.
Wealthy Victorians continued to
construct quirky buildings like this
and Britain is claimed to have had more
follies than anywhere else in the world.
The definition of folly
is a pointless, useless building
and they were built by the wealthy,
in a period from 1750 to about 1910.
Some people think of them
as even done to give people employment.
But normally they was just there
as a show of wealth.
And so they were buildings
that they could enjoy
views of, views from,
and just to amuse their friends.
Or just to amuse their friends
and say, "This is my folly."
These days
the tower is open to the public,
and reputedly, on a fine day, you can
see for over 50 miles from the top.
That is stunning, isn't it?
- Some view, isn't it?
(Carmichael) That's fantastic.
How high are we now?
(Neil) We're about 1,080 feet,
including the tower.
(Carmichael) And reputedly,
you can see 14 counties from here?
Yes, on a perfectly clear,
atmospheric day.
Which are they?
- Worcestershire, Warwickshire,
Gloucestershire, Leicestershire,
Oxfordshire, Nonhamptonshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Staffordshire, Shropshire,
Avon, Dyfed, Gwent, Powys,
Wiltshire and Somerset.
(applauds)
Bravo. That was very, very good.
Now, the author of Bradshaw's Guide
was standing on Guy's Tower at
Warwick Castle when he saw this tower.
Do you know where that is?
Warwick Castle, just over
in that direction there.
OK.
Obviously, we would be able to see it
from here on a perfectly clear day.
I think you'll probably need
field glasses to distinguish it.
Although the tower was built
as a flight of fancy,
in the 19th century,
it helped the development
of an important an movement.
The Pre-Raphaelite artists,
the arts and crafts movement,
all used to come and stay here.
Because?
Basically the resident here at the time
was a gentleman called Crom Price,
who was a very good friend
of Burne-Jones.
So he used to invite the Pre-Raphaelites
to come here and stay with him
and I'm sure William Morris gained
some great inspiration from being here.
He'd certainly be able to see lots of
leaves and trees and inspiring things.
That's right.
Visiting here led William Morris
to campaign to preserve
Britain's historic monuments.
I for one am very glad that this
particular oddity has survived.
Any man watching this programme
who's stuck for an idea
for his wife for Christmas...
A folly's the thing.
That's right, build a tower,
wins every time.
I'd love to stay and plan my gift list,
but ifs time for me
to catch my next train.
So, I continue down
the beautiful Cotswolds Line.
Next stop, Pershore.
The scenery I'm passing through
is beautiful.
But it hasn't always been peaceful.
My train will soon pass
under the Cotswold Ridge,
through the Camden tunnel.
And this was the scene of an
extraordinary piece of railway history.
The tunnel was under
the engineering supervision of Brunei.
He'd employed some navvies to dig it.
He was dissatisfied with their progress
and decided to evict them.
And he did that by marching his own band
of 3,000 navvies to throw them out.
It was the scene of one of
the last pitch battles on British soil
and it was fought over a railway tunnel.
Brunel's side was victorious, and
within a year the tunnel was complete.
The finished line
linked Oxford and Worcester
and these days ifs known as
the Cotswolds Line.
Good afternoon, sir, tickets, please.
Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
This line is so beautiful,
the Cotswolds Line.
We're quite lucky to have it still,
aren't we?
(conductor) It's a pleasure to work on.
Yeah, lots of beautiful stations
and scenery.
My journey now brings me
into Worcestershire,
which my Bradshaw's says is
engaged chiefly in agriculture.
And I'm heading for Pershore.
Bradshaw says, "The situation
of the town is very beautiful
and the surrounding scenery
is picturesque."
I want to see
how agriculture has changed
and I'm certainly hoping to see
something highly picturesque.
I'm getting off at a station
on the edge of the Vale of Evesham,
a richly fertile area,
which in the 19th century
was a major centre for market gardening.
Orchards covered the countryside
and hundreds of tonnes of fruit
were sent to market by rail.
In the 20th century,
as foreign competition grew,
this trade died off and many farmers
struggled to survive.
But one family farm
has recently had a renaissance,
thanks to this stunning crop.
This is the most unexpected sight.
Here we are in the middle of
an English countryside,
normal greens and browns,
and suddenly this riot of colour.
It's like someone tipped
a pot of different coloured paints
all over the landscape. Fantastic!
I'm meeting Charles Hudson,
whose family has farmed this land
for over 200 years.
What an amazing sight.
What a riot of colour this is.
It is a bit of a surprise when you
walk down a green country lane,
turn the corner and suddenly see this.
Very unlikely.
This sensational array of delphiniums
isn't just for decoration,
and nor are they sold as cut flowers.
In fact, this farm grows
a vital ingredient
for a traditional English wedding.
We pick the petals, we dry them
and then they are...
They can be thrown as confetti.
That's a wonderful idea.
Whenever I've been to a church,
I've seen paper confetti.
This is obviously a much lovelier idea.
And does it work as a business?
(Charles) We farm over a thousand acres
here and this field is about 15 acres
and this makes up 50% of our turnover.
- Really?
So it's been a real saviour
of everything.
It's got us through
some difficult times.
Newlyweds have been showered with
everything from rice to sweets
for centuries.
The origins of modern confetti
are unclear, but by Victorian times,
the kind of paper missiles
that we launch today were common.
I suppose, environmentally, if you're
chucking around an organic product,
that's a much nicer thing to do
than chucking around paper.
(Charles) Certainly, yes.
Paper, and there's a pernicious
new product, which is foil confetti,
which everybody really hates
because it just never goes.
Yes, petals are just like the grass
and the leaves.
They're organic
and they just disappear.
Confetti is the latest in a tong tine
of crops grown here by Charles's family.
Over the years
they've witnessed many changes,
including the arrival of the railway.
We stopped the railways coming through
our farm a couple of hundred years ago.
Why did your family do that?
Originally, 300 years ago,
the turnpike road went through
and cut things in half.
Then the railways,
it was a son of giddy limit.
So I think they campaigned, really,
to try and son of push it
the other side of the river,
which is ultimately what happened,
which is why Pershore Station
is about a mile and a half out of town.
I think everybody always sort of curses
the walk they have to make into town.
Before I make the trek
back to the station,
I want to see Charles's
finished product.
This is what it looks like.
Those are son of bags...
You would hardly know
that they weren't...
It's got a nice son of hay smell to it.
(Carmichael) Lovely smell.
That's a stunning blue in there,
isn't it?
It's really a very far cry
from paper confetti.
It's wonderfully natural.
Yeah...
- Light.
Well, thank you, Charles.
I must head to the railway station,
which thanks to your ancestors
is quite a long way away.
I'm afraid it is. Sorry about that.
Pershore's confetti fields
have certainly made their mark
on the landscape.
And they're ringing the changes
at weddings, too.
The industrial revolution
brought factories
and dark satanic mills
to much of Britain.
But when I looked down on
the colleges of Oxford
and on the countryside around Broadway,
and walked through the flowers
at Pershore,
I was reminded that whilst the railways
affected everywhere,
many places were left unspoiled.
This is still a land of green pastures.
On the next step of my journey,
I'll be visiting the home of
Queen Victoria's favourite bishop...
She commented that Bishop Perowne
had the best legs in tights
of any man on the Episcopal bench.
Sniffing out the secrets of
a famous 19th-century condiment...
That's a glorious smell,
but a very concentrated smell.
And following in the footsteps of
Victorian health fanatics.
There'd be wet towels Mapped around you
and water poured upon you
from a ghastly height.
So, actually pretty bracing stuff.
- Bracing indeed.