-Hi, I'm Rick Steves, back with
more of the best of Europe. This time, we're having
a grand old time navigating our way through
the heart of England. Thanks for joining us. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ In this episode,
we'll visit some of the sites that put the "great"
in Britain -- reminders of its
industrial might, its royal heritage,
venerable universities, and a grand palace with
a pretty impressive backyard. We'll visit the schools
of kings and prime ministers, wind up a giant catapult, marvel at Gothic architecture, learn some pub etiquette, and drop in on Churchill's
palatial birthplace. We'll learn to drive British, and then we'll fire up
some memories at the birthplace of
the Industrial Revolution. In England, we start about
60 miles north of London in Cambridge, then visit Oxford
with nearby Blenheim Palace before venturing north to
Warwick and Ironbridge Gorge. Cambridge is famous
for its prestigious university, and it's the epitome
of a university town, with stately colleges
and distinguished alumni, ranging from Isaac Newton
to Prince Charles. Proud locals love to say, "DNA was first modeled
just over there. The electron was discovered
in that very lab, and the atom was first split
just up there." The university dominates
and owns most of Cambridge, a historic town
of about 120,000 people. It's compact, and everything
is within a pleasant walk. The town is built along
the sleepy Cam River, which is lined
with esteemed colleges, and fronting the colleges
is the main street with most of
the commercial energy. As you stroll,
notice how peaceful the town is. Lots of bikes weaving through
lots of pedestrians. Your sightseeing revolves
around the school, its traditions,
and quirky spirit. For example,
this clock was unveiled by the late Cambridge physicist
Steven Hawking. The grotesque grasshopper that
relentlessly pulls time forward periodically winks at passersby. The message? Time is passing, so live
every moment to the fullest. ♪♪ England's greatest universities,
Oxford and Cambridge, have been rivals
since the 1300s. We'll visit Oxford later. Each has the same basic heritage
and design. No main campus --
instead, the many colleges are scattered throughout
the charming town center. By catching one of the many
guided town walks, you'll get an insider's look
at an urban mix of what locals "town and gown." -In medieval Europe, it was the church that was
in charge of higher education, and here in Cambridge,
we have 31 colleges, all with the same design. You have
a beautiful green court. Set around the court
are buildings where the students eat,
sleep, pray, and study. ♪♪ -Many colleges welcome
the public to browse around. At their historic front gates,
you'll find a porter's lodge. The porter delivers mail,
monitors who comes and goes, and keeps people off the grass. Colleges have
centuries of heritage, and you feel that
in their exquisite libraries. Here in Corpus Christi's
Parker Library, that college's
literary treasures are proudly on display,
such as letters from Anne Boleyn before husband Henry VIII
lopped off her head and a first edition of Newton's
groundbreaking treatise, "Principia Mathematica." The exclusive putting-green
quality of the courtyard lawns is a huge deal here. Generally,
only senior professors can walk on the courts, the centerpiece
of each college campus. One of the powerhouse colleges
at Cambridge is Kings, which has a central courtyard to match
its esteemed reputation. The 500-year-old
Kings College Chapel, built by Henrys VI through VIII, is England's best
surviving example of late Gothic architecture. With its emphasis
on vertical lines, it's called
Perpendicular Gothic. This is the most impressive
building in Cambridge, with the largest single span
of vaulted roof anywhere -- 2,000 tons of
glorious fan vaulting. ♪♪ Here, you can enjoy
the most complete collection of original
16th-century Renaissance stained glass in existence. With the help of
this closed captioning, handy if you can read Latin, you can wander through
the entire Bible. And the "Adoration of the Magi," a masterpiece by Rubens,
adorns the altar. Trinity College,
just next door, was founded in 1546
by Henry VIII. It's the richest
and biggest in town. Cambridge has produced
nearly 100 Nobel Prize winners, and about 1/3 of them
were Trinity graduates. The great mathematician
Sir Isaac Newton, who both studied
and taught at Trinity, famously clapped his hands
and timed the echo to calculate the speed of sound. Huh, 1,120 feet per second
or 761 miles per hour at this altitude. The colleges that face
the Cam River each have garden-like backyards
that combine to make the riverbank feel like
a lush and exclusive park. A beloved Cambridge tradition
is a romantic and graceful glide past these colleges in a
traditional flat-bottomed punt. Skilled locals make the ride
look effortless. -So this is Trinity College,
and this is the Wren Library. -You can hire a boat
to enjoy a witty narration by a student as you're pulled
past fine college architecture. -Yeah, these are called the
"Backs," the backs of the river. There's eight colleges
along the river. So this area is called the Backs because, quite simply, it's the back of those colleges. The only way you can see
the backs of these colleges is along the river,
so the best way to see the backs of all
the colleges is by punting. -Or, for a little levity
and probably more exercise than you really want,
why not rent one yourself? [ Laughter ] The punts are tougher
to maneuver than they look. [ Chatter ] ♪♪ England's easy to explore
by car, train, or bus. Rather than bother
with the expense and the headache of a car
in the big cities, we took the train
from London to Cambridge, and now we're going to
catch the bus to Oxford. This direct bus
is easier, cheaper, and just as fast as the train. It costs about as much
as pub lunch, and we get to enjoy the view
along the way. In about three hours,
we're there. Oxford, founded in
the 10th century, is home to the oldest university
in the English-speaking world. Its university was born
back in the early Middle Ages, and ever since the first
homework was assigned, the university of Oxford's
graduates have helped to shape
Western civilization. It brags that its teachers
and alumni include a couple dozen prime ministers, over 50 Nobel Prize winners,
and nearly a dozen saints. Today, it's a thriving town
of 160,000 -- part industry, part university, and part
bedroom community for Londoners. It's a lively town
filled with fun and energy during both the academic term, when you'll see
students everywhere, or during summer break. We're here in July, when
tourists outnumber the students. Like in Cambridge, the river
is filled with tourists still working on
their punting skills. -Oh, we're going to smash. Ooh.
-Ah! -Oxford's main drag,
High Street, is lined with both
shops and colleges. Again, it's a mix
that illustrates that town-gown division. ♪♪ There's been a tension between the privileged
university population and the hardscrabble
regular people of Oxford for over 800 years. In fact, it was a town-gown spat
back in 1209 that drove a group of professors
and students out of Oxford and to the more welcoming
town of Cambridge, where they helped to found
that rival university. The historic heart
of Oxford University is its
Old Schools Quad[rangle]. In the courtyard
of its main library, the quad is surrounded
by the university's first set
of purpose-built classrooms each marked with
the original curriculum -- metaphysics, astronomy, music,
moral philosophy, and so on. Oxford, like Cambridge, is designed on
the collegiate system. While each of the many colleges nurtures its students
in its own way, the university
provides the curriculum, and while students
live and study and are mentored in
their respective colleges, it's here in the university
buildings that they go to class, are tested, and enjoy
the great ceremonial events that come with being a student
at Oxford. To imagine studying here
in the 1400s, pop into the Divinity School to see the university's
first formal classroom. Here, under this impressive
fan-vaulted ceiling, the mission of higher education
was particularly respected. ♪♪ Upstairs
is Duke Humphrey's library. In those days, libraries were
placed above classrooms for maximum sunlight
and minimum moisture. It's a world of books
dating back to the Middle Ages stacked neatly under
a painted wooden ceiling. ♪♪ Books were considered
so precious that many were actually
chained to the desk. Of course, there are plenty
of modern buildings, too. In a wing of the university's
fabled Bodleian Library, visitors are free to peruse
its treasures gallery, a literary treasure chest celebrating the genius of Oxford
over the centuries. You'll see a Shakespeare
first folio, 18 plays from 1623; an original score of Handel's
"Messiah" written in 1741; a copy of the Magna Carta
from 1217, when King John was forced to grant his nobility
certain rights, opening the door to democracy. It seems this copy
was nibbled on by a mouse. Fancy meal. ♪♪ Across the street is the Museum
of the History of Science. It's filled with
scientific equipment that the scholars of Oxford
used to change our world. There's chemistry,
the 18th-century boom in the study of oxygen
and other gases. Medicine -- after 1850,
anesthetics and antiseptics made major surgery
more survivable. Microscopes
helped scholars observe and tell them unseen worlds. Science enjoyed the support
of England's royalty. King George III had
his own ornate microscope made of silver in 1770, and Einstein's chalkboard
still features his hand-scrawled equations
from 1931. Obviously,
from the last four lines, the universe is expanding. Like at Cambridge, you can visit
many of Oxford's colleges. Magdalen College, where C.S.
Lewis taught, is the prettiest. Established in 1458, its cloister is
a monastic-feeling square ringed by the dining hall,
chapel, and student dorms. The grounds are
meticulously kept, as if to inspire
Magdalen students to excellence. Christ Church is Oxford's
grandest college, with the most esteemed
list of alumni. ♪♪ It was founded
by King Henry VIII back in the 16th century
on the site of an old monastery. While it still has
a close connection with the royal family,
it's most popular these days because scenes from the "Harry
Potter" movies were filmed here. ♪♪ "Harry Potter" fans
love the dining hall. The grand hall, with its
splendid hammerbeam ceiling, is ringed with portraits
of alumni gazing down, as if wondering,
"Who is Harry Potter?" ♪♪ Oxford or Cambridge?
That's the question. I'd see just one or the other
and save time for something entirely different
on your itinerary. Both are about an hour
from London. Cambridge may be more charming,
with its river and gardens. Oxford is more substantial,
with more to see and do. One plus for Oxford -- it's on
the way to our next stop, Blenheim Palace. ♪♪ Blenheim Palace is
the Duke of Marlborough's home. England has plenty of noble
palaces in its countryside. This is my vote for the finest. Given to the first
Duke of Marlborough for a great military victory, Blenheim Palace is now home
to his descendant, the 12th Duke of Marlborough,
and he welcomes the public, whose entrance fees
help maintain his huge estate. It's remarkable
to think that two of the most important
military victories in the entire history
of Britain, while two centuries apart,
were overseen by commanders from
the same family -- Churchill. John Churchill,
who was the first Duke, defeated Louis XIV
and the French at the Battle of Blenheim
in 1704, and Winston Churchill,
who was born in this palace, won the Battle of Britain and helped defeat Hitler
in World War II. In the aptly named Great Hall, you'll be dwarfed by
the grandeur of the palace. ♪♪ A long hall
leads through a series of richly decorated state rooms. These sumptuous rooms are lined
with portraits of past dukes. This is number four
and his family. Photos of
the present duke's family are a reminder that
the palace is still lived in. Several dukes were rocked
in this ornate cradle as babies. Winston Churchill was born
in this room in 1874. His golden locks, first cut
when he was 5 years old, hang above the bed. The dining room has hosted about
300 years of fancy banquets. The Blenheim tapestry
shows the moment the French commander surrendered
to that first Marlborough, quite dashing
on his white horse. In the distance,
we see the latest artillery, the carnage of battle,
and legions of soldiers. The remarkable Long Library was,
in the 18th century, one of the finest
private libraries in Europe. It's over seen by Queen Anne,
who honored the first duke by giving him this palace, which remains in his family
to this day. The palace's enchanting gardens
are vast and feel natural, but the sublime lake and the
beautifully landscaped vistas were carefully planned. The majestic water terraces
were designed to complete with Versailles. And they do. The tea garden is an ideal place
from which to ponder it all, and the Column of Victory, capped by the first Duke
of Marlborough, oversees everything. ♪♪ For a quick getaway, we're
heading north on the motorway. England's excellent motorways are beautifully engineered
and toll-free. In an hour,
we're at one of England's most entertaining castles. ♪♪ Warwick Castle has been turned
into a virtual theme park. It's a hit with families,
as from dungeon to lookout, the enterprising Earl of Warwick is wringing
maximum tourist dollars out of his castle. Along with
all the entertainment, there's centuries of history. The man-made defensive mound is
where the original Norman castle was built in 1068. Back then, a wooden stockade
defined the courtyard in the way
the stony walls do now. -Hello! -You can climb the towers
and ramble the ramparts. Today's castle is
a 15th-century fortified shell surrounding a 19th-century
noble residence. Inside, the cavernous Great Hall is decorated with 16th-century
weaponry and dazzling armor. Imagine 500 years ago, the pageantry
of a jousting tournament. The elegant state rooms are
brought to life by wax figures. We've dropped in
on a royal weekend gala, and we're going to party
like it's 1898. The countess of Warwick, considered
the most beautiful woman in Victorian England,
greets her guests. The latest hits are played live. There's no other way, and big-name aristocrats
have dropped in, including a young
Winston Churchill. ♪♪ The castle works to bring
the Middle Ages back to life. Out at the moat,
an archer shows off his mastery of the all-important long bow. [ Cheers and applause ] And down by the river,
families gather for a demonstration
of a catapult-like weapon called a trebuchet built from
13th-century drawings. The crew powers the treadmill, which raises
the six-ton counterweight. When triggered, this hurls
a boulder 200 yards. [ Indistinct shouting ] [ Chatter ] 800 years ago, if this machine
rolled up to your castle, it was a very bad day. Driving farther north,
we head for our last stop. Leaving the motorway,
we do-si-do our way through a serious
of roundabouts. Britain's roundabouts are fun
once you understand them. Try to merge without stopping but always yield to drivers
already in the circle. And relax. If necessary, give yourself
a free exploratory loop to be sure
you've got the right exit. Driving along the sleepy
Severn River Valley, we come to Ironbridge Gorge,
named after its iconic bridge, the first iron bridge
ever built. With the original factories
of the Industrial Age once lining the valley,
this is considered the birthplace
of the industrial revolution. In its glory days,
the Severn River Valley gave the world
its first iron wheels, steam-powered locomotive,
and cast-iron bridge. The museums here take you back
to those heady days when Britain was racing
into the modern age and taking the rest
of the West with her. This bridge was built in 1779, while England was at war
with their American colonies, to show off a wonderful
new building material. Lacking experience with iron, they erred on the side
of sturdiness. Just up the valley, amid the ruins
of a mighty industrial plant, is a memorial
built around an invention that made iron
in a revolutionary new way. ♪♪ The 19th century
was an exciting time. With new materials
and technology, Europe built more
in the 19th century than in all previous centuries
combined. Within a few decades, the entire
continent was laced together by iron train tracks, and it all started here with
Abraham Darby's blast furnace. Little remains of Darby's
first innovative furnace, which was built in 1709, but this made the mass
production of iron possible, which eventually kicked off
the modern industrial age. ♪♪ The Severn River Valley is full
of evocative industrial ruins. Take the time to walk through
these sites, imagining the way it might
have been two centuries ago, and enjoy the scene
as nature slowly reclaims the site of
so much heavy industry. ♪♪ The town of Ironbridge,
just a few red-brick blocks gathered around its bridge,
was once a powerhouse. No longer engulfed
in a smoke-belching bustle, today, it's just a sleepy base
from which to explore this area. Our B&B fills an old mansion,
and with advice from our hosts, we know just where to enjoy
a good pub evening. -See you. -The Coalbrookdale Inn
is a classic neighborhood pub. "Pub" is short
for "public house," and it's often where
the community gathers. It's a place where you can feel
entirely comfortable going in alone
and striking up conversations. So this is your "local" here? -Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah.
-Yeah. How long have you
been coming here? -25... Since the early '90s.
-Okay. So, Andy,
if you come into the bar and you sit at the table,
you'll never get served? -No, you'll never
get served all night. No, no. No, you have to go the bar and
tell them exactly what you want. -Beers with a long handle and
beers with a little short tab: What's the difference? -These are
fairly traditional real ales, and the ones with
the short handles over there are the commercial stuff, like,
as in lagers and the ciders. -So with the long handle,
they're physically pulling it up from a keg in the bottom.
-Yeah. It's a mechanical pump. Yeah. -And if you ask for a "beer," you're normally
going to get a pint, right? -Yes, yes. -Can you ask for a half-pint? -Yes, you can ask for
a half-pint if you want. -What would you think
if I asked for a half-pint? -I'd think you was
a lightweight. [ Laughter ] -I think you'd be right. [ Laughter ] Of the many museums
here in the Valley, the Blists Hill Victorian Town, creatively humanizing the age,
is my favorite. You'll wander through
a 50-acre industrial site with a recreated town
from the 1890s, staffed with characters
in Victorian dress. Pop into whatever shop appeals. We're meeting
the candlestick maker. Repeatedly dipping her candles
into the wax, she reminds us, "There's no rest
for the Victorian worker." Then, she shows off her clever
double-wick candle. -This is a Victorian
double-wicked candle. The flame can jump
from wick to wick, and it won't blow out so easily. -Around the corner,
the printer is hard at work. Even with ingenious
mechanization, mass-production still required
skilled labor. ♪♪ As the engineer
fires up a replica of the first steam-powered
locomotive from 1802, we're reminded that Britain
was the workshop of the world and that the combination
of steam power, iron wheels, and iron tracks helped propel the British Empire
to world dominance. Today, as industry evolves
and this early technology is eclipsed by our digital
and global age, museums like this help us
appreciate the impact of the relentless march
of progress. ♪♪ I hope you've enjoyed
our journey through the heart of England -- royal, intellectual,
industrial, and more. It's the land
of many dimensions. I'm Rick Steves. Until next time,
keep on travelin'. -This time, we're surrounded
by all sorts of co-stars, navigating our way
through Cambridge. Ciao! -Ciao!
-Ciao! ♪♪ -It's a land of many contrasts and dimensions
and flavors and slices. Claps.
-Claps. ♪♪ [ Clap echoes ] ♪♪
