Great British Railway Journeys

For Victorian Britons,

George Bradshaw was a household name.

At a time when railways were new,

Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take the tracks.

I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains

transformed Britain -

its landscape, its industry, society and leisure time.

As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me

to discover the Britain of today.

I'm beginning a journey across southern Scotland,

exploring the people and pastimes that make this country distinctive.

Long before my Bradshaw's guide,

this region had produced key creators of the modern world -

the philosopher David Hume, from Berwickshire,

the economist Adam Smith, from Kirkcaldy,

the developer of the steam engine - James Watt, from Greenock.

No wonder that the Industrial Revolution took root here.

My journey this week will take me across Scotland from west to east.

Beginning at the Firth of Clyde,

I head through the Scottish Lowlands to Glasgow.

Then north to Stirling and Perth,

close to where the kings of Scotland were crowned.

I'll travel on east to Fife

and the famous university town of St Andrews,

finally heading south to Scotland's capital, where my journey ends.

On today's leg, I'll hug the coast up to the North Ayrshire town

of Kilwinning, before heading to the historic harbour at Troon.

I'll then make tracks northeast to Kilmarnock,

before ending my journey in rural Stewarton.

'On this first part, I get to grips with an ancient sport...'

Good, and let go.

HE GIGGLES

'..learn how being overweight could bring a heavy penalty...'

The way they worked out the passengers was

exactly the same way as the goods on it - they were done by weight.

So you wanted quite a small breakfast

- before you went down to the train? - Well...

'..and cap it all off with a touch of tartan.'

Maybe try that one on for size?

You'll ne'er look so bonny as in a Bonnet Toun bonnet.

Bradshaw's tells me that about ten miles out in the sea

is Ailsa Craig,

a huge basalt rock 1,100ft high and two miles around.

I'm getting off the train at Ayr to discover what use is made

of the craig in this land of ice and granite.

The wild character of the Scottish coastline shows much evidence

of a landscape shaped by glaciers and volcanoes.

And dominating the seascape, this famous rock, which is

also the source of Scotland's prized curling stones.

'I'm lucky enough to be visiting the family-owned factory that

'still makes them. Bill Hunter is the manager.' Hello, Bill.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you, sir.

Bill, I've come in search of Ailsa Craig granite. Have I found it?

You have found it, and this is the one piece of it.

Ailsa Craig is...

It's been used now for well over 100 years,

and it is now proved to be the best granite for making curling stones.

It's part of the volcano from Arran.

When the offshoot came out, it cooled down so fast there's

no chance of quartz to grow, so it's now classified as a microgranite.

'That means it's a rock that is much more densely packed,

'containing crystals smaller than grains of rice,

'and it makes a difference to the stones' resilience.'

When the two stones hit off each other, they don't shatter.

If you're working with other granites, they are quartz-rich,

so when the two stones hit, they will shatter.

This is the only company in the world

that actually uses Ailsa Craig granite.

'Kays of Scotland was founded back in 1851, and every 12 years,

'it harvests around 2,000 tonnes of granite.

'The company supplies stones to 55 countries around the world.'

It doesn't look much like a curling stone at the moment.

- What do you do to it next? - Come into the factory and we'll show you.

Thank you.

'The process begins with a stone-cutting machine,

'which carves from the granite a shape like a cheese wheel.

'Then it's on to the grinder,

'to bring the stone closer to its finished weight of 44 pounds.

'Finally, it's off to the experienced hands

'of the polisher, who removes a further ten pounds.

'This expertise has been carefully passed down the generations

'of the family.

'The current owner is Jimmy Wyllie.'

Hello, Jimmy.

Hello, Michael.

That's a little bit smaller than the curling stone I expected to see.

- What is that? - Yes, this is the miniature gift wheel that we do.

This is exactly the same material from Ailsa Craig

- as the large stones. - Beautiful.

And you're actually part of the family.

Yes, born and bred, as they say.

Third generation of my family in the business.

My grandfather got into the business well over 100 years ago,

and I think that probably about...

More than 12 or 13 of the family at the last count

- are involved, over more than 100 years. - Extraordinary.

Do you ever do any curling yourself?

Yes, now that I'm an old man, I decided I'd better take it up

again, so yes, I've been curling again in recent years.

- And how's it going? - Er...

Not as good as I would like.

Does it take its toll on the joints?

- Because I'm thinking of having a go myself. - Yes.

The modern way of delivering the stone involves really quite a bit

of physical manoeuvring, you might say,

and maybe you should have a little lubrication before you try.

MICHAEL LAUGHS

'Well, ever the willing guinea pig, now's my chance to curl.

'I feel very lucky to have a Scottish world champion,

'Sheila Swan, to teach me.'

- Hello. - Hi, Michael. Nice to see you. - Very good to see you.

When were the rules of curling established?

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club,

the governing body for curling in Scotland,

was constituted in 1838 and they're generally known as the mother club

of curling and contributed to the major rules of the game.

It's fundamentally a Scottish sport, then.

Yes, the sport originated in Scotland back in the 15th century.

It's remarkable that this sport was born when the Scots discovered

the fun that could be had throwing stones onto a frozen river.

What's been your role in the sport?

Development manager for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club

and I'm responsible for adults, disability

and competitions within the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

Her coaching has brought huge success to the Scottish junior team,

but teaching me is one of her tougher assignments.

So this is the hack. It's a bit like a starting block in athletics.

Your gripper foot will go on top of the hack, your toes up on the slope.

Your slider foot will be parallel to

but slightly in front of your gripper foot.

From there you bend at the knees, hips and waist.

So you hold on to the stabiliser and the stone.

And you keep your back nice and flat. That is the ready position.

Steady, you will pull back your stone and your sliding foot

and then go, your stone moves forward, sliding foot behind.

Curling resembles bowls, but players slide a stone down a 45-metre

stretch of ice known as a curling sheet.

Points go to teams that get more of the stones closer

to the centre of a target, called the house.

Bend at the knees, hips and waist.

Lift your bottom up a little bit. Excellent, that's ready, steady...

pull back and...go.

Good. And let go.

SHE LAUGHS

That was very good for a first attempt.

So where does all the brushing come into it?

OK, sweeping does three things. It keeps the ice clean.

If a little bit of dirt gets under the stone it will deviate

from its line quite sharply.

It makes it go further, not faster, and it also keeps it straighter,

because curling stones always go in a curve rather than a straight line.

Sweep, Michael!

Hard, Michael! Hard! Hard!

Hard, hard, hard!

- We're in! - Well swept! - House!

- Brilliant! - Well done. - Well done.

I've headed back to Ayr station to take the mainline north.

I love to see Scottish stations so beautifully kept.

Louis Wall and his team of green-fingered volunteers

look after 21 of them.

Louis, I must say this station looks absolutely splendid.

- Do people appreciate what you are doing? - Absolutely.

It cheers them up.

Stations used to always look glorious,

but I think we've improved on days past.

- Have you won any awards in the past? - Oh, yes.

Last year we came up with the national award,

the award for the United Kingdom.

And we came top in that category of best floral display.

- Well done to you. - Thank you very much. - Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.

My next stop is Kilwinning, which lies 25 miles southwest of Glasgow.

From one traditional activity to another.

I shall be getting off at Kilwinning

because Bradshaw's tells me that an archery club is held here

which was established in 1488 and at which the popinjay is held.

What is "popinjay"? I'm all a-quiver.

Kilwinning is a historic Ayrshire town.

The settlement and its 12th century abbey are thought to be named

after St Winin.

Today the abbey is just a ruin,

but Bradshaw's is generally reliable on places of interest.

It may look like a festival of umbrellas,

but it is in fact an archery competition with a long history.

I'm meeting Stuart Wilson

from the Ancient Society Of Kilwinning Archers.

- Hello! - Hello, Michael. How are you? - How are you doing, Stuart?

Excellent, apart from the rain.

Bradshaw's tells me that you've had an archery club here since 1488.

1483, in actual fact, is the date we go for.

Its history has been a bit indistinct in that time.

Bradshaw's talks about a popinjay. What's that?

Popinjay is an English word, in actual fact, for parrot.

An old English word.

The Scots word for it is papingo,

and that's what we'll be doing today, shooting at the papingo.

What is this handsome object here?

This is the Ancient Society Of Kilwinning Archers silver arrow.

The first medal on it is 1697, which is before the Act Of Union.

And the earliest part of the trophy is this part along here.

This was donated by an archer called David Muir.