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Great British Train Journeys from Above Season 1 Episode 1
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00:00The North Yorkshire Moors, the Highlands of Scotland, the rolling hills of Somerset, and Snowdonia, known today as Errerie.
00:14Our trains are time travellers, transporting us back to the Golden Age of Steam,
00:25to unravel the truth about Britain's Great Railway Revolution.
00:36Sit back, soak up the scenery, and enjoy all the romance and the thrill of a steam train journey, like you've never seen it before.
00:55The Highlands of Scotland are a land of mystery and magic.
01:05A world of ancient mountains and lochs, of myth and legend, and through its heartland runs a railway that's been voted the greatest in the world.
01:31It's called the Jacobite Railway.
01:49And it starts in Fort William.
01:52But the steam train is also known as the Hogwarts Express.
02:05And has become world famous, thanks to its starring role in the Harry Potter movies.
02:11As the train waits in the station, we're about to embark on an unforgettable adventure
02:22that will take us back three centuries
02:26to uncover a dramatic chapter of Scottish history.
02:31The train is about to set off on a 42-mile journey through the Scottish Highlands from Fort William to Malag.
03:01The train passes the most iconic landmarks of the Jacobite Rebellion.
03:11At the world-renowned Glenfinnan Viaduct, we'll discover the exact spot
03:16where Bonnie Prince Charlie united Highland clansmen against the crown.
03:22And on our way to Malag, we'll pass the loch that will reveal if the rebellion was a success.
03:30As the train inches its way out of the station,
03:46the Jacobite Railway is about to become a front row seat
03:52to the bloodiest chapter in Scottish history, the Jacobite Rebellion.
03:58We'll find out who they were and why the rebellion took place,
04:05and more importantly, how the outcome would shape Scotland forever.
04:10On the outskirts of Fort William, the train picks up speed through the foothills of the highest mountain in Britain.
04:31Once a vast volcano, Ben Nevis is all that remains after a cataclysmic explosion millions of years ago.
04:43The train journey has begun in its shadow.
04:47Fort William, as its name implies, was originally a fort built as a garrison
04:56to protect the English crown from the Scottish clans.
05:04They had never accepted rule by an English king.
05:08As the train leaves Fort William and its journey through the mountains begins,
05:20it's about to pass a remarkable example of the challenge of building a railway in this environment.
05:30The train crosses the Caledonian Canal, which runs north to Inverness.
05:45But to create the canal, in the foothills of the mountains, engineers had to form Neptune's Staircase.
05:53Built more than 200 years ago, it's the longest staircase lock in Britain.
06:05And it raises canal boats 60 feet.
06:08Two miles out from Fort William, the landscape opens and the train begins to leave civilization behind.
06:30We've reached Loch Eel, where the Jacobite Railway starts its journey through the mystery and enchantment of the highway.
06:38We've reached Loch Eel, where the Jacobite Railway starts to leave.
06:40We've reached Loch Eel, where the Jacobite Railway starts to leave.
06:50Whilst the track is flat and straight, it's an opportunity for passengers to enjoy the thrill of the golden age of travel.
06:59As the steam engine picks up speed and races along with stunning views.
07:08The railway has entered clan country.
07:18For centuries, this landscape was dominated by one of Scotland's most ancient clans, the Camerons.
07:27Historically, the highlands were divided into territories ruled over by different clans.
07:32Loch Eel was the ancestral home of the Camerons clan.
07:41And today, the chief of the clan still carries the name, Camerons of Loch Eel.
07:46As the track weaves along Loch Eel, voices of the past echo through the empty landscape, from a time three centuries ago.
08:00It was in these hills that the Camerons gathered with clans from throughout the highlands.
08:17The clansmen were supporters of James II, a Scottish king who for four years also held the English throne.
08:25But he was overthrown and replaced with a new king with a radically reduced role chosen by the English.
08:37The Jacobites, named after Jacobus, the Latin name for James, wanted to return James II to the throne and make him king of England and Scotland again.
08:50But, as the largest ever mass rising of Scottish forces gathered in these hills, could they take the English crown?
09:04Over 20 years after the imposition of an English king, 16,000 rebels from 26 Scottish clans marched south to confront the English forces at the Battle of Sheriff Muir.
09:25The rebels outnumbered the English forces almost three to one, but the battle was a disaster.
09:35The rising was put down and the leaders killed or exiled.
09:42It was a major setback for the rebels, but was there a more successful uprising to come?
09:5515 miles from Fort William, the train is chugging hard on the first steep climb through the highlands.
10:02But the reward will be the most spectacular spot on the entire line.
10:15So, naturally, it's the place the Harry Potter filmmakers chose to convey an enchanting world of magic and mystery on the big screen.
10:24The Glenfinnan Viaduct.
10:37The Glenfinnan Viaduct.
10:38Instantly recognisable to hundreds of millions of movie fans across the globe.
10:55The magnificent viaduct and its spellbinding Highland backdrop plays a leading role in the movies.
11:02It's the magic moment that Harry, Hermione and Ron travel into the wizard world for the start of term at Hogwarts.
11:15Even before the viaduct became a global superstar, Glenfinnan was already a celebrated location in Scottish history.
11:29The
11:35Because what unfolded here was pivotal to the fate of the rebellion.
11:42Little wonder that every day hundreds of people flock to Glenfinnan to take in this Scottish spectacle.
11:50Little wonder that every day hundreds of people flock to the stars.
12:00Coming up.
12:07As our magical mystery tour continues,
12:11we'll discover the unforgettable scene that transformed the Glenfinnan Viaduct into a cinematic icon.
12:18And how, three centuries earlier, at the same location,
12:24there was the beginning of an even stronger rebel uprising.
12:38In the Scottish Highlands, we're tracing the journey of a steam train through some of the most famous landscape in the country.
13:01On the Jacobite Railway.
13:03Three centuries ago, this remote world of ancient mountains and lochs was clan country,
13:14where tribes of Highlanders united to overthrow the English crown.
13:21The King's forces had already put down the largest uprising in Scottish history.
13:26But was there a stronger rebellion to come?
13:33At the railway's most iconic spot, the answer starts to unfold.
13:47The Glenfinnan Viaduct has played such a significant role in Scottish history that it features on the ten-pound note.
14:11And we're about to discover why.
14:12As the train stops here, the passengers take in the beauty of their surroundings.
14:24The arched viaduct is a horseshoe curve 100 feet above the ground that follows the steep contours of the mountains.
14:32And looking south, reaching out towards the horizon, passengers can spot Loch Shiel glistening like a fjord.
14:48Stretching for 17 miles, the narrow loch surrounded by towering mountains is a quintessential view of the highlands.
14:57But the most iconic part of the extraordinary railway vista is the monument on the shore of the loch.
15:17The monument takes us back in time over 300 years.
15:21To one of the most dramatic scenes in Scottish history.
15:41In the early hours of the 19th of August, 1745,
15:46Bonnie Prince Charlie stepped ashore here.
15:51His ambition was to put his father, the son of James II, on the throne.
16:00So he would one day inherit the throne himself and become king.
16:10The prince was hoping to be welcomed by hundreds of clansmen.
16:14But when he arrived, there was barely a soul to be seen.
16:21But in late afternoon, the sound of bagpipes coming over the hills
16:36hailed the arrival of 1,200 clansmen who wanted to pledge their allegiance to the prince.
16:46Over half of the men were from Clan Cameron, led by their chief, Donald Cameron, of Loch Hill.
17:01At the top of the monument stands the unknown Highlander.
17:05It's a tribute to the men who pledged to give their lives for the rebellion.
17:13To signal the start of the rebellion, the prince raised his standard and, together with his Highland army,
17:21set out on his mission to take the English throne.
17:24But would the prince's plan to invade England be a success?
17:39Today, half a million people visit Glenfinnan every year.
17:43It's an opportunity to pay their respects to a historic moment in Scotland's history.
17:56But there's another reason why so many people come.
18:03Magic.
18:06Harry Potter fans will recognize the great lake in the grounds of the famous school of magic, Hogwarts.
18:13It's a great place.
18:15Loch Shiel's size, together with its spellbinding scenery,
18:19made it the perfect spot to bring the great lake to life.
18:25In the second movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
18:30Harry is flying around the sky on his broomstick,
18:33playing the magical game of Quidditch.
18:36And Loch Shiel is the backdrop to the stadium.
18:43The Glenfinnan Viaduct is the most popular spot on this magical tourist trail,
18:53because it features in so many standout scenes.
18:56But the most memorable scene is from Chamber of Secrets,
19:04when Harry and Ron are chasing the train in a flying car,
19:07swooping wildly around the viaduct because it's been placed under a curse.
19:12Thanks to one of the most watched movie franchises in Hollywood history,
19:19the Glenfinnan Viaduct has been etched into the memory of hundreds of millions of movie fans
19:25for all time.
19:32From Harry Potter to Bonnie Prince Charlie,
19:36the Glenfinnan Viaduct is of great cultural and historical importance.
19:40The Glenfinnan Viaduct is also an engineering masterpiece.
19:48Repairs are needed, so it's being preserved for future generations to enjoy.
19:56When the railway was built over 120 years ago,
19:59the line's engineer was Robert McAlpine, who founded what is still one of Britain's large construction companies.
20:12Using the breakthrough material of the day on an industrial scale for the very first time
20:17gave him a new nickname, Concrete Bob.
20:22And today, stretching over 1,200 feet, the viaduct is still the longest concrete railway structure in Scotland.
20:45After Glenfinnan, Concrete Bob's railway climbs to the highest point of the entire line.
20:52As the weather closes in, and the landscape appears more ominous than ever before,
21:01we're about to discover how ambitious, or foolhardy, you had to be to build a railway up here.
21:07This stretch of rocky terrain after Glenfinnan encapsulates why the line was one of the final challenges for Victorian railway engineers.
21:26The train carves a path through the toughest terrain imaginable.
21:34A strong rock called Mykoschist is everywhere.
21:37So digging out tunnels and cuttings and building embankments and bridges did not come cheap.
21:47When construction work began, the target was to build the railway in just four years.
21:57Further along the line, we'll discover how a spark of genius, this time from Concrete Bob's son,
22:10would help overcome the back-breaking challenge of digging through mile after mile of unforgiving rock.
22:17A strong rock called Mykoschist is everywhere.
22:19A strong rock called Mykoschist is everywhere.
22:21A strong rock called Mykoschist is everywhere.
22:23A strong rock called Mykoschist is everywhere.
22:25Cruising down from the line's high point, we reach the shores of Loch Ylt,
22:29where there's yet another example of a famous scene from the Harry Potter films.
22:4022 miles from Fort William, it's an opportunity to relax, look out the window,
22:47and enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery Scotland has to offer.
22:59From the whole world to the world, we're not going to be able to reach the sea.
23:13When we're in the world to the mountains, we're not going to be able to reach the sea.
23:19If you're in the sea, we'll be able to reach the sea.
23:24The final resting place of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore
23:37is this mystical tree-dotted island called Island Nemoina.
23:46Dumbledore's grave on Loch Eald adds to the flying car over the Glenfinnan viaduct
23:52and wizards buzzing around over Loch Shiel,
23:56transforming the Jacobite Railway into the real Hogwarts Express.
24:08Next.
24:13The jewel of the Highlands.
24:18The Atlantic Coast.
24:22And a date with destiny for the rebels.
24:26Would Bonnie Prince Charlie's bold plan to invade England finally bring success?
24:32In the Highlands of Scotland,
24:36In the Highlands of Scotland, we're tracing the journey of a steam train on the Jacobite railway.
25:06That's transported us back three centuries to follow in the footsteps of Bonny Prince Charlie and his army of rebels.
25:26The train is heading for the place that will reveal whether the prince was able to achieve his ultimate goal.
25:32Invading England, taking the crown, and putting his grandfather James II on the throne.
25:43As the train heads further and further west,
26:13it's more complicated than any we've seen.
26:21After leaving Loch Eilert Station, we've already travelled 26 miles, but there's still 16 to go.
26:28We're heading for Loch Nanua, a place that was both the beginning of Bonny Prince Charlie's story and reveals the outcome.
26:41As the steam engine races into view, it passes an isolated white building.
26:48This is Our Lady of the Braes' church.
26:58But the last mass here was nearly 50 years ago.
27:05And today, the church standing in the empty landscape asks the question,
27:18Why did all the people who called this enchanting place home leave?
27:26The answer lies with the fate of Bonny Prince Charlie.
27:42After the prince and his rebel army left Glenfinnan to invade England,
27:46they began to march towards London with a newfound belief that they really could achieve their goal and topple the English king.
27:58After support for the cause mounted with an unexpectedly one-sided victory at Preston Pans,
28:04the rebels crossed the border into England and reached Derby over half the way to London.
28:12The train is approaching the loch that will reveal the outcome of Bonny Prince Charlie's invasion.
28:31It's also a section of the line that illustrates the engineering challenge of carving a railway through the highlands.
28:39There are three long tunnels and three viaducts in just this short three-mile section of the line.
28:57Following in his father's footsteps, Concrete Bob's son, Malcolm McAlpine, also had an innovative approach to engineering.
29:11At the time, drilling tunnels was a notoriously difficult operation.
29:17But observing a water-powered drill used by his dentist, Malcolm had his own eureka moment.
29:26He realized that water could be the power source that would revolutionize the drilling of tunnels.
29:33It was cheaply available and brought about a four-fold increase in the speed of drilling.
29:42As it heads further west, the train arrives at Loch Nanua.
29:52Where Bonny Prince Charlie first set foot on the Scottish mainland with his small band of supporters.
30:05Just five months later, with the Prince's army of Highlanders camped near Derby, the crown was tantalizingly within reach.
30:22But, spooked by reports of a large number of the king's soldiers gathering nearby with superior weaponry,
30:29the rebel army retreated all the way to Scotland.
30:35Where, four months later, at the Battle of Culloden, the end came for the rebels.
30:45The Prince left his men exposed to cannon fire, and they were decimated.
30:55The old fighting ways of the Highlands were defeated by modern warfare.
31:02The Prince was to flee Scotland as a fugitive, with the equivalent today of a five million pound bounty on his head.
31:13Loch Nanua is Gaelic for Loch of the Caves.
31:17And it's believed the Prince sheltered in one of the Loch's caves overnight before escaping to France.
31:24On the opposite side of the Loch to the railway lies the Ardnish Peninsula,
31:45where the empty landscape demonstrates how the defeat of the rebellion changed Scotland forever.
31:54Over the century following the defeat, the clan system collapsed, and tens of thousands of Highlanders were forced from their lands as a result of the infamous Highland Clearances.
32:07Creating a Scottish diaspora in North America and Australasia, where many of their descendants live today.
32:20An already sparsely populated land became desolate.
32:27Today, the Ardnish Peninsula is completely uninhabited.
32:32The abandoned, crofting villages along the coastline are an evocative reminder of a happier past.
32:40Once a flourishing place with a deep history, the ruins of Pian Menech was once a village that recorded 48 people in the 1841 census.
32:56There's an Iron Age fort, and the remains of a Viking boat shed on the shore.
33:07The last resident to leave the area was Nellie McQueen, who moved out of this Bothy during the Second World War, unable to survive on wartime rations.
33:25Today, the ruins, like Our Lady of the Braes Church nearby, stand as memorials to a once thriving Highland community.
33:34On the train's great journey west, the Atlantic has appeared on the horizon.
33:47And with it, the promise of one of Scotland's most dramatic coastlines, the pristine beaches of the Atlantic coast are the jewel of the Highlands.
34:14With crystal clear water that you might expect in the Caribbean, this is an unspoiled haven with mile after mile of white sand for the few people who venture here.
34:33Further along the coastline are small communities put on the map thanks to the railway.
34:48For centuries, travel into the mainland from the tiny fishing village of Arasa was slow and arduous.
35:00Before the railway opened, access to the rest of the world was by coastal steamer, or by a mail coach that took seven and a half hours to reach Fort William.
35:22On the railway, the journey took less than two hours.
35:32As the train approaches Arasa, our journey west has arrived at the most westerly train station.
36:00In Scotland.
36:02Concrete Bob and his son Malcolm had been challenged to build the railway in four years.
36:15Trains began running almost a year ahead of schedule.
36:21Arasa Station is the perfect spot to celebrate the groundbreaking engineering achievement of Concrete Bob and Malcolm.
36:35This is where the morning and afternoon services cross paths every day.
36:42A fitting tribute to the wonder and majesty of steam trains and their key role in the revitalization of the Highlands.
36:53Coming up on the last leg of our journey.
37:00We continue through this land of extremes.
37:05Past Scotland's deepest loch and its shortest river.
37:12And the boat trip to the Isle of Skye that's come to symbolize the romantic legacy of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
37:27In the Highlands of Scotland, we're following a steam train that's come to be known as the real Hogwarts Express.
37:52And has brought to life the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army of rebels.
37:59From the hope of Glenfinnan.
38:05To the despair of the devastating highland clearances that followed.
38:20But at the turn of the 19th century, hope was on the horizon once more.
38:26Let's try this to first go.
38:28Brilliant.
38:41Leaving Arisek Station, the train has turned north.
39:04With just seven miles left, the train has left the mountains behind.
39:09But the landscape is just as scenic.
39:19The steam train is heading towards a vast open coastline.
39:27Stretching as far as the eye can see, to the Atlantic.
39:34And the Western Isles on the horizon.
39:39On the approach to Murrah Station, we cross the Murrah River.
39:56To the east, Britain's shortest river flows for less than a mile past another gorgeous white sand beach.
40:03And to the west, Loch Murrah stretches for 12 miles.
40:15The waters of Britain's deepest loch sink down over 300 meters.
40:37Plenty of room for a mythical beast called Morag.
40:44Morag is considerably more shy than her more famous relative Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
40:55According to Highland folklore, the half-human, half-fish creature appears when the Murrah clan is defeated in battle.
41:03So, what would I do?
41:05What would you do?
41:06Which means, Morag would have been at the height of her appearance during the rebellion.
41:10What is the name of the lake?
41:12What would I do?
41:14What would I do?
41:15Of course.
41:16The darkness of the hill has been on the island.
41:16I don't think it's a rare way.
41:18There's been a dark day after Culloden.
41:22As the train passes, Loch Mora, passengers can spot an island that's a final reminder of the dark days after Culloden.
41:30What is the name of the Lord Lovett?
41:36Like Bonnie Prince Charlie, many rebels went into hiding.
41:42One of them, Lord Lovett, took refuge on this isolated island, Eileen Ban.
41:52But in 1747, after he was captured by English forces,
41:57Lord Lovett entered the history books as the last person
42:01to be publicly beheaded in Britain.
42:17On the last leg of our journey,
42:20the train hugs the rugged Atlantic coastline all the way to Mallet.
42:27Despite Lord Lovett's grisly end,
42:31his legacy lives on in the port
42:33where he encouraged his tenants to relocate and pursue fishing.
42:38By the time of the Second World War,
42:47Mallet had established itself as the busiest herring port in Europe.
42:51But the fortunes of Mallet waxed and waned with shoals of herring
42:53that didn't always turn up where and when they were expected to.
43:05Today, steam trains have returned and brought fame back to the region.
43:11The Jacobite Railway brings in tens of thousands of people from all over the world every year.
43:30All of them eager for their own taste of the mystery and the magic of the Hogwarts Express.
43:41And there's one last tale to tell.
43:52After fleeing the mainland, the Prince met Flora MacDonald.
44:02She risked her own life out of compassion for a fugitive
44:07who had staked everything on his bid to win a kingdom and lost.
44:16Flora disguised the Prince as an Irish maid
44:19and helped him to escape on a boat to the safety of Skye.
44:24But Flora was arrested and jailed in the Tower of London for treason.
44:34Her act of bravery in support of the Prince
44:38has come to symbolize Scotland's resistance to the English crown.
44:49The Prince did eventually escape to France.
44:52But he would never be king of England or Scotland.
45:08As our adventure draws to a close,
45:13it's an opportunity to reflect on one of the greatest steam train journeys in the world.
45:22through the drama of the Highlands
45:25and the history of Scotland.
45:29The Prince of England
45:32West
45:35European
45:52Transcription by CastingWords
46:22CastingWords
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