Original subtitles

We're really lucky to have so many great European cities

right on our doorstep just waiting to be rediscovered.

I don't know anywhere else you can get this many different sounds,

colours and, of course, smells.

Look at that!

Mm.

And the weekend escape...

Wahey!

...is a brilliant and easy way to explore them.

I am loving this!

Feast your eyes on Venice.

So, I'm going to have loads of amazing food...

Go on, baby, sizzle. Sizzle!

I may have found the best food in Amsterdam.

...see some amazing sites...

Colosseum!

This is the famous Checkpoint Charlie.

Wow! This is stunning.

...and check out the culture of each city.

You are the bravest people in Europe and maybe the craziest.

Guys, I'm inside the fountain.

I'm part of the Trevi Fountain.

So, I'll be packing lots...

Ooh! Come and have a look at this.

...into my three-day trips...

Oh, wow! We're up on the roof.

There is beer, there is wine, there is sunshine, music,

and there are lots and lots of smiles.

...showing you how to get the most out of a weekend getaway.

I feel like Audrey Hepburn.

Founded by the Romans back in 71 AD,

York was, for hundreds of years,

thought of as the capital of the North.

Today, that history leaves an amazing legacy

that has made this city a firm favourite with tourists.

So, I've hopped on a train north

and arrived early on my first day of three.

Well, I've made it to York

and I've actually never been here for a long weekend before,

but I seem to be the only person who hasn't,

because this city attracts more than 8.5 million people

from all over the world every year.

Now, that's not bad for a place with about 200,000 inhabitants.

So, York has obviously got something very special about it,

and over the next three days, I'm going to find out what it is.

There is something special about a weekend away

where you can walk everywhere,

and York is definitely one of those cities.

It's walled centre is less than a mile wide,

and from the station, it's just a 15-minute stroll to my hotel.

Wow, fantastic!

DOOR CREAKS

Oh, hello.

I've got a reservation in the name of Wallace, please.

Yes, bear with me. This is stunning,

absolutely stunning. Thank you.

Do you mind if I have a wander? Not at all.

How old is this place?

Well, it was commissioned in 1080 by the first northern archbishop.

I'm just trying to think what these walls may have seen over the years.

There's at least three royal visits.

James I was here and he dined in the long gallery

and there's a little plaque upstairs

to commemorate the seven noblemen he knighted. Wow!

You've had not only kings staying

but you've had people being knighted here as well.

Yes. Absolutely fabulous.

Well, I may not be a Sir Gregg,

but they're laying out the red carpet for me anyway.

Ooh, wow!

I've got a four-poster, look.

That is beautiful.

You can feel the history just coming out of the walls here, can't you?

And I've got a feeling, everywhere I turn in York,

I'm going to feel the sense of history.

But of course it's not just history.

No weekend away is really special

unless you are getting to try local food,

and Yorkshire has one of the strongest regional food cultures

in the UK.

Hello. Hello. Do you have parkin?

And there is something I'm really keen to try.

This little slice of deliciousness, this is called parkin.

And I think it's one of the great divides

between the north and the south

because where I'm from, in the south,

it's virtually unheard of, but here in Yorkshire,

it is a winter and autumn staple.

Packed with oats and treacle,

this gooey, sweet treat is especially popular on Bonfire Night

and I can see why.

This is actually lovely because it's treacly

and it's got a hint of ginger about it.

I know for a fact that Yorkshire has got quite a few sweet treats

and I've got a great sweet tooth

and I'm going to get through as many of these as I can in three days.

Having refuelled, I'm ready to hit the sights,

and in York, there really is only one place to start.

Completed in 1472 and built in local limestone,

the Minster soars 73 metres above York.

And while the building's towers, statues and gargoyles

are undoubtedly impressive,

it's the inside that really takes your breath away.

CHORAL SINGING

Look at this. Absolutely stunning, beautiful.

I can't believe I've never been here before.

Do you know, this is the biggest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps

and there's been a church here since the people of this town

hurriedly built one to baptise King Edwin of Northumbria

back in 627.

Obviously, it's been through a lot of changes since then

but there is layer upon layer of history here.

With almost 1,400 years of history to get your head around,

I need someone who knows all of the secrets hidden in these stones,

so I've organised to meet up with the head verger Alex.

Hello, good to meet you. Hello.

What a stunning place to spend your days.

It's just absolutely beautiful. It's not bad, is it?

And the building itself tells a story - a story of both a city,

a story of the nation - and every day, you can find something new.

After 30 years working here, there can't be many people

with more insider knowledge than Alex,

and he reckons a tour of the Minster can tell you

not just the story of York but a lot of the story of England.

Wow.

Let's have a look at the Kings' Screen. Kings' Screen.

It's technically called the Pulpitum.

Who are these? These are kings of England.

It's not just any kings of England.

This screen depicts the first 15 monarchs

after the Norman conquest in 1066.

We start off at the far left-hand side.

50, William the Conqueror through to John.

So, you've got seven on this side.

Then, you've got Henry III to Henry VI.

There's 15? That's 15.

You've noticed. But that's not symmetrical.

That means you got more on this side than the other side. That's right.

Why didn't they stop at 14? They were going to have just 14

and finish at Henry V,

but Henry V died, was succeeded by Henry VI,

so they needed to actually honour the new king,

so Henry VI was included.

If I'm not mistaken, he was a little boy when he was...

He was a little boy. And in fact, if you look carefully

at the statue of Henry VI that's on this screen,

he looks totally different to all of the others,

and that's because Henry VI was murdered by Edward IV.

He was almost worshipped as a saint. Edward IV thought,

"I'm not having any of this. I've just got rid of this man."

50, Henry VI's statue was taken away and destroyed.

It remained empty for a number of years, and in the 19th century,

it was commissioned for a new statue of Henry VI to be made.

So, how old are all the other statues?

Round about 1450. Wow!

The Minster is also home to a stunning stained glass window

that can tell you about one of the most important moments

in English history, if you know where to look.

The Rose Window symbolises the end of the Wars of the Roses.

That was the war between the Houses of Lancaster and the House of York.

This came to a climax in the late 15th century,

the Battle of Bosworth, when Richard III was killed

and Henry Tudor from the Lancastrian side was victorious.

Henry's victory at Bosworth started the Tudor era,

and his descendants Henry VIII and Elizabeth I would become

two of our most famous monarchs.

But first, Henry needed to unite the divided nation.

To actually create the peace,

Henry married Elizabeth of York.

And to actually show that unity of the two Houses,

the Tudor Rose was created - the red rose of Lancaster,

the white rose of York superimposed on each other.

And that's what we've got here. Oh!

That is hugely significant for the history of England.

It is, and I think it was George VI, if I remember rightly, said,

"The history of York is the history of England."

Is that right? Yeah.

Is that right? I wouldn't argue with that.

I bet Alex could turn the history of the Minster

into a whole encyclopaedia of Britain.

But he's not the only one dedicating his life

to keeping this building's story alive.

Round the back, Alex has arranged for me to meet up

with his colleague Richard, who is taking

a more hands-on approach to keeping the Minster alive.

Amazing. Hello.

Tell me, are you repairing or replacing stone?

We are replacing, in this particular instance,

but we do repair work as well.

We've got one very big project going on at the moment

where we're probably replacing 400 or 500 stones

on one area of the building. Why, forgive me?

650 years of wear and tear.

It's been up there since the late 13005 and it's looking very tired.

Tourists can watch Richard

and 14 other full-time stonemasons hard at work.

But to see the project close up,

I'm going to need a hard hat and a head for heights.

Six storeys up, Richard's team are working

above the Minster's central choir,

and it's also a great spot to get a proper view of the city.

Open sesame.

Oh, wow!

Whoa-ho-ho!

HE LAUGHS So, I've got to hang on.

That is fantastic, isn't it?

Can I look over the edge? Oh, yeah.

Whoa! Hello!

HE LAUGHS

Oh! Now, that is quite fabulous.

Do you know what I think is better? Not looking down,

is looking really closely

at what would be hundreds of feet above me. Yeah.

The view might be spectacular,

but sadly, the intricate pinnacles are showing

serious signs of wear and tear.

So, would that have been a proper carved face at some point? Yeah.

So, originally, probably, the head would have been that big,

the neck would have been a lot thicker,

there'd have been big wings here.

So, the whole thing has gone back in probably an inch,

an inch and a half, over the last few hundred years.

What erodes it? Is it rain?

It's sulphur dioxide dissolved in rainwater, which forms a mild acid.

I suppose it's just unrealistic to think

that anything is going to last for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Nothing lasts forever, no.

The incredible stonework of the mediaeval masons

might be almost gone, but that gives Richard and his team a chance

to get to work with some worthy replacements.

Now, these look really modern. Are they an authentic stone replica?

Yeah, we try and copy what's left.

If there's nothing left to copy, we just have an eroded stump,

then we've got a bit more artistic licence to do something new.

We don't go too off-piste.

There's no Star Wars figures or Star Trek figures up there.

So, these three figures that we've got on these three corners

tell the story of King Solomon

and his judgement on who is the real mother of the baby.

When you're on the ground, you always look up

and see these figures,

but you never, ever get this close to them.

I don't think you ever realise just how much detail there is.

Would it be wrong to write "Gregg was here 2020"

with a marker pen? Well, you could,

but you might be taking a quick trip off the side of the scaffolding.

GREGG LAUGHS

Just want to have my own little bit up here.

Well, you can do that. When we go back down,

you can have a go on the stone that we've got down on the ground level.

Really? Yep. Oh, that is fabulous!

It takes years to train as a stonemason,

and this building must attract some of the best in the business.

Is that the piece you're actually working on now? Yeah.

So, I have to confess to being a bit nervous about joining their ranks.

So, what you want to do is have the chisel

coming down into the stone at about 45 degrees.

Nice, firm grip on your shaft.

A steady rhythm. I feel a terrible sense of responsibility here.

How's my angle? We'll go a bit closer to the line.

That's it. Oh.

There you go. A-ha.

HE LAUGHS

There you go. I'm actually doing it.

That's extraordinary.

And that's a 250 million-year-old bit of stone, that.

It predates the dinosaurs. Really?

Yeah. Oh, my word.

Thank you so much for this.

A little bit of my work is going to be

on this beautiful Minster at York, and it's going to be on there

for hundreds and hundreds of years. Yeah. That's brilliant.

Coming up, I try a feast flavoured from the fields of Yorkshire...

You've shown the versatility

of what I think may be one of Yorkshire's greatest products.

...and realise this city might not be as welcoming as I thought.

My name's Wallace. Am I in trouble?

Potentially. You want to get out before midnight.

I'm on a three-day getaway to York,

a city packed with almost 2,000 years of history.

But for me, my trip is also a chance

to get some great Yorkshire food inside me.

Now, I've been working with food for many, many years,

which means I've met loads of chefs.

In fact, a lot of my mates are chefs,

and all the chefs from Yorkshire I've ever met claim

that Yorkshire has the best ingredients in the country.

Now, I don't know about that. That just could be local pride.

But I would really like to find out,

and I think I know just the man to ask.

For dinner, I've come to meet my friend Tommy Banks,

who became the UK's youngest Michelin-starred chef in 2013,

with food that celebrates the ingredients of Yorkshire.

Chef. Gregg, how are you?

Mate, great to see you. You too.

Listen, there was no way I was going to be up here without popping in.

No, it's nice to have you. But I did want to ask you something, OK,

and that is about Yorkshire produce.

Best in the world. We've got everything.

We've got the coastline, we've got the moors,

we've all the shooting and the game, great farmland.

When I go down to London and go down to the market,

how much stuff says "From Yorkshire" on it? All sorts. A lot.

Tommy wants to show his pride is well-placed

by cooking with one of Yorkshire's finest ingredients,

and it's a firm favourite with me.

Yorkshire rhubarb is a luxury item

akin to the first of the English strawberries

or the first of the asparagus.

This is forced Yorkshire rhubarb.

It's bright pink, whereas the summer rhubarb has

quite a lot of green to it, it's more fibrous and stringy.

For me, normal rhubarb and Yorkshire rhubarb,

it's the difference between a glass of cola and a glass of champagne.

Now, you might just think I'm going to get

a dinner of crumble and custard,

but Chef has something a bit different in mind.

Shellfish is the one, so a beautiful, fat, plump scallop

and rhubarb, for me, is a wonderful combination.

I have to admit, Tommy, as good as you are, I'm sceptical on this. Oh.

Game... Yes. ..and rhubarb, I get,

because game and fruit, I understand.

A fish with sweet flavours?

Well, I think it allows something like a scallop,

the natural sweetness to come out more than something like lemon.

It doesn't stop there.

Tommy has set his whole kitchen to work on a menu of dishes

that use rhubarb, both savoury and sweet.

So, explain to me, right, exactly what the "forced" means

and why it's different.

So, when you talk about forcing a vegetable,

that means you've literally grown it in the dark

and it just forces it to grow like that.

And what you find, without any photosynthesis,

you don't get that sort of green flavour you get with vegetables.

You think spinach or kale is really green.

It's bitter and irony. Exactly.

Tommy is using the juice of that intense flavour

to create a sauce with mussel stock, smoked butter and razor clams.

Have you just put more rhubarb in there?

Yeah, a little bit of diced rhubarb at the end.

Tommy, it's a funny thing to force rhubarb, keep it in the dark.

Where did it start, do you know?

Well, it started in Yorkshire in the 18005.

I think West Yorkshire, especially, was a very industrial place,

lots of cotton mills, and as that industrial movement

started to stop, they had all these sheds left over.

So, they started converting the sheds

from one industry into another, which was growing rhubarb.

Is that right? Yeah.

So, Yorkshire rhubarb is a by-product

of the industrial revolution. Yeah.

At that time, I think 90% of the world's rhubarb was grown

just in this little area of Yorkshire. Wow!

So, it's got serious history. What is it about Yorkshire?

You'd never leave here, would you? No, absolutely not.

It's down to the people. If you serve some dross food,

they're going to tell you straight away.

You don't get away with anything.

Oh, look at that beautiful, beautiful thing.

I can't wait to get stuck in.

And to go with this dish, we've got smoked duck breast

with rhubarb ketchup, a rhubarb ice cream tart,

and to finish off, miso and rhubarb madeleines.

I might not be coming home.

I mean, that just shows how versatile rhubarb is.

Mm!

Yeah, of course that works, doesn't it?

The colour on the top of the scallop gives sweetness,

and that sweetness is picked up by the sweetness in the rhubarb.

But the rhubarb also gives it a little bit more acidity.

It's the first time I've had it with shellfish.

This is absolutely lovely.

And with the other dishes,

Tommy's team have embraced some more classic rhubarb combinations.

Oh, mate, you are a clever boy.

Duck and rhubarb is perfect.

Oh!

I like sweet things, I love my desserts. This is beautiful.

It's so sticky.

Oh, wow. Oh, wow!

Firm on the outside, soft in the middle.

Bit like you, Chef.

It works with savoury ingredients

and it most certainly works with sweet desserts as well.

Oh, that's good. I think you've proved the point,

you've shown the versatility of what I think may be

one of Yorkshire's greatest products.

Oh, cheers. Cheers.

It's pretty clear that Yorkshire is an area

where people take great pride in their food traditions,

so I've taken a bit of an insider's tip from Tommy

and got up early to try and secure my breakfast table.

Morning. Good morning. What can I get you today?

What cake is typically Yorkshire, would you say?

If you're looking for something Yorkshire,

you definitely want one of our fat rascals. What's it called?

A fat rascal. I've got to have a fat rascal.

Anything else? Maybe try a Yorkshire curd.

Now, I'm not sure these are strictly meant to be breakfast,

but, sh, don't tell anyone. I am on my holidays.

Crusty on the outside, soft in the middle.

It's dry like a scone, and it's got dried fruit in it as well.

That is very, very much like a scone.

In fact, that's so scone-like...

...it's almost a scone. But look at it.

It's not dainty, is it? It's big and it's hearty

and I think that's probably what Yorkshire is all about.

Next, I want to try possibly the most iconic

of all Yorkshire's cakes, the curd tart,

a delicacy originally made by cheesemakers with leftover curds.

That is absolutely delicious. That is packed full of nutmeg.

I mean, it tastes and smells like Christmas

and it's got little bits of dried fruit in it as well.

That's not as sweet as it looks

and it's got a kind of yoghurty, cheesy tang to it.

That is absolutely delightful,

and I'm just ashamed that I've never had one before.

What I'm beginning to learn is this part of the country has

its own food identity.

This morning, I want to work off those cake calories...

Hiya. Hi.

...exploring something you can't help but bump into in York.

The city is home to the most complete city walls in England,

and at two miles long, the fortifications are

the perfect length for a morning stroll.

Morning!

York has been a walled city since Roman times,

and local historian Rachel is giving me the chance

to get up close and personal with them.

So, this is a little bit of a hidden gem.

This actually shows you one snapshot

of the different levels of York as it grew over time. Brilliant.

This bit here, the Anglian Tower, this was Roman.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, someone was on guard here

making sure that no-one invaded.

Now, they came here cos they were sorting out

a bit of Celtic tribal trouble.

Didn't really want to be here, but it was kicking off.

So, the Romans came up from Lincoln.

5,000 men built York from the ground up.

It grew over the years.

The Vikings, the Normans, and finally, the mediaeval ones,

which is what you see today and which you can still walk along.

That is amazing. Isn't it? I'm going to have to touch it. Yeah.

Someone touched this and built it and put cement around it.

Absolutely.

The Roman city of Eboracum soon evolved

into a centre so powerful

that it received visits from emperors

and traded all over the known world.

What a lot of people don't know,

there were a lot of Africans in the Roman legions

and there was an African lady buried in York, a high-status African lady.

So, before the Anglo-Saxons even thought about touching down here,

we had Africans living in Britain. Brilliant!

The Romans might be long gone,

but you can still walk along the walls they started.

Ancl up on top, you not only get a great view,

but you can also discover remnants of the invasions

and occupations that shaped the city.

Ancl possibly, no invasion shaped York more

than the one that came from across the North Sea

in the ninth century.

So, after the Romans had gone and we had the Anglo-Saxons,

then we had the Vikings coming here.

And on the other side of that tower,

you can actually see the Viking ramparts that they built. No way!

Yeah. Where the road is now, there would have been a ditch

20 metres across and about 3 metres deep

to stop anyone getting near these walls.

That's brilliant. And that's Viking-made? Viking-made.

What's the story with York and the Vikings? They grew this city.

They grew it to the size, the shape it more or less is today

and it became this whole focal point for the North.

This was the capital of England to the Vikings.

Can you still see or feel the presence of the Vikings in York?

You can. All the street names in York are Viking

cos they end in the word "gate",

which is the Norwegian word for "street".

Is that right? Yeah.

50, down here, you've got Gillygate,

you've got Feasegate, Fossgate, Petergate.

They're all Viking names. Fabulous!

On top of the Viking fortifications are the mediaeval walls

that still exist today.

And as you walk around, you have to pass through

four mediaeval gate houses that date from the 13005,

known by the Viking name "bar".

So, what is this?

This is Bootham Bar, and these would have been closed at dusk

and reopened at dawn.

They were also really important places where they took tolls,

took taxes off traders coming in and out of the sea.

So, it's for safety, but it's also to raise money. Exactly, yeah.

These would have had accommodation in them as well,

so someone would have lived here

and would have been like a constable of the city.

So, every age just adapted the original Roman fort to its own uses.

Yeah, exactly. Why waste a good foundation?

Come the mediaeval period,

they're now using it to tax traders in and out.

They're using it to tax traders in and out,

but also, they're building up their defences

cos they had the Scots up the road who were causing a bit of trouble.

You had Robert the Bruce, William Wallace,

all coming down here, taking this city and attacking it.

But to this day, it is still perfectly legal

to kill a Scotsman if you find one in the city walls after midnight.

No way! It is. That can't be right.

I don't think you'd get away with it, but it's in law.

My name's Wallace. Am I in trouble?

Potentially. You want to get out before midnight.

This is amazing. So much history. Completely, yeah.

And you can walk it.

Coming up, I get my hands

on Yorkshire's greatest culinary export...

It's like a grown-up sweetshop, isn't it?

...and get stuck into some Yorkshire portions.

Whoa, that's a pie!

That's about a kilo of pie!

It's the second day of my three-day trip to York

and I'm starting to feel pretty at home here.

RINGS BELL

Oh, yea! Oh, yea! Oh, yea!

Bald man from London comes to York, causes chaos!

And I'm beginning to realise that even though it's compact,

this city is full of surprises around every corner.

Look at this. Isn't it lovely?

This is the Shambles,

probably the best preserved mediaeval street in the country.

Look, absolutely beautiful.

Some of these buildings date back to the 14th century,

but back then, these would have all been butchers shops

and this was known as the Flesh Shambles.

Now, Flesh Shambles, that is an old Anglo-Saxon word

meaning "flesh shelf".

Shelves full of flesh. Butcher shops, right.

While the butchers are long gone,

there is a Yorkshire food tradition I know I can find around the corner.

Yorkshire has got quite a few authentic, traditional dishes,

but there is only one that I think has gone completely national.

In fact, to be honest, it's probably gone international.

It is the mainstay of every good roast dinner.

A Yorkshire pudding is a fantastic thing,

and while I'm here, I've absolutely got to get one.

Now, how to best serve a Yorkie is, of course,

a matter of great national debate.

But here in York is a place that has pushed the pudding

in a totally new direction...

Hello.

...by creating a Yorkshire pudding wrap.

We have Yorkshire puddings with nearly every Sunday lunch,

but why do we? We don't have the same meat every Sunday,

but we have a Yorkshire pudding every Sunday.

If you didn't have a Yorkshire pudding,

you wouldn't feel as though you'd had a Sunday lunch.

This is the home of the Yorkshire pudding. Can you show me

how to make the perfect, perfect Yorkshire pudding? I'll try.

Now, I'm never one to turn down the chance

of getting some local food tips.

Here we are.

Wayne has got us using a classic batter mix

of equal parts flour and water and a couple of eggs.

I'lljust get my whisk.

Hang on a minute.

What's happening here?

Yours is much bigger than mine.

I think your wrist action will be very good.

So, it's not the size of the whisk, it's your wrist action. Exactly.

Back in the 17005, this pudding was cooked in trays under the meat

as a way of collecting and using dripping,

and while the cooking technique has evolved,

what hasn't is the need to get air in there

to make it light and fluffy.

Was the Yorkshire pudding always served with a roast dinner,

with the meat and the gravy and the veg?

No, people, presumably because of money,

they would use it as a starter, they'd have it as a starter.

So, as a kid, I used to go to my Auntie Margaret's

and we used to have it with onion gravy on the top of it,

but they'd have it as a starter. Something to fill you up. Yes.

In a way, it's a kind of Yorkshire equivalent of pasta. Correct.

So, what's the secret to a light, fluffy Yorkshire pudding?

Oven heat. Don't open the oven door, not even for a peek.

But in truth, we don't want it to rise too much

because we have to flatten it down.

For our larger, flatter puddings,

Wayne has some smoking hot pans ready to go.

You pour your mix into there, sir, and I'll pour mine.

Whoa, that's hot oil, isn't it?

And while those cook for 15 minutes,

Wayne has some ready to go for our wraps.

Boss, to me, they look absolutely perfect.

Oh, that's very good of you. You can see they're light and fluffy,

you can see they're crisp on the outside. Yes.

Wayne's shop window is filled with everything you could want

for a perfect roast dinner, and as I'm away on my own,

I can create one just the way I like.

Beef. Whoa!

Crumble that over. Oh!

That is lovely. Right, crackling.

I want crackling with my beef, I do.

Some gravy and then some horseradish.

Do you know what this is? This is like a grown-up treat.

It's like a grown-up sweetshop, isn't it?

Being able to put together the roast dinner that you really want.

What do you reckon, mate? Well, it looks great.

That is a thing of absolute beauty, my friend. Yeah.

That's it.

That is fantastic! And of course, it's fantastic

because I filled it with all the things that I personally like. Yeah.

But I've just worked out why it is

so universally popular.

That Yorkshire puddings are so universally popular.

It mops up other flavours, it doesn't compete with them.

Whatever you put with it, the Yorkshire pudding complements it.

That's it. You've sussed it out.

I think I have a new Sunday special to take home to the family.

And with a full belly, I'm ready to explore the city's streets.

I've been really taken by how many layers of history there are here.

You can check out the Romans, see the Vikings,

explore the mediaeval.

But this afternoon, I'm going on a tour

dedicated to possibly the city's most famous son.

You must be John, right. You must be Gregg, I'm guessing.

Yeah. HE LAUGHS

You're going to teach me all about Guy Fawkes.

You're in the right place. This little church behind us here,

Michael-le-Belfrey, he was baptised in this very church.

Today, we know Guy Fawkes as the man who tried to blow up Parliament

in a Catholic coup attempted back in 1605,

an event that's inspired many a bonfire and fireworks display.

And this is where he learnt about sparklers, is it?

JOHN LAUGHS

This is the beginning of it all, Gregg.

And on this tour, John shows visitors

how a young boy from York rose to infamy

in a nation deeply divided between Protestants and Catholics.

He was born just behind us there.

So, what sort of family was Guy Fawkes born into?

A very respectable Protestant family,

and both his grandfather and his father, Edward Fawkes,

had both played a unique role. They were prosecutors.

It was their job, if you like,

to basically name and shame these recusing Catholics.

I need to know how a young man, Guy Fawkes, born into a prominent,

eminent Protestant family in York ends up as a Catholic radical.

John reckons that hidden in the streets of York

are all the answers to my questions.

But to get around,

we'll need something a bit quicker than our feet.

IS that it? Let's do it.

GREGG LAUGHS

Fantastic!

What's the next stage of our story?

Well, it's a major life event for young Guy,

because his father dies when he's just nine years old.

But after having been brought up

in this sort of fiercely Protestant household,

his mother now goes on to marry a Catholic. No way!

Seriously. No way! OK.

So, he's beginning to see life

from a Catholic point of view for the first time. Absolutely.

Guy was sent to get an education at St Peter's School,

founded in 627 AD.

This is the fourth oldest still-running school in the world,

and it's the next stop on our adventure.

Wow, what a place! It's beautiful, right? Stunning.

So, what happens to him here then?

He's starting to rub shoulders

with the children of the influential wealthy Catholics of Yorkshire,

who were being prosecuted,

who were being jailed, and as time goes on,

people were actually being put to death for their beliefs.

Isn't fate a funny thing? Isn't it just?

Now, you might think the school would hide away

from this infamous part of their history, but far from it.

Brilliant.

And here he is, the man himself. And we're told

this is the only portrait they have of their former pupil.

I suppose, at the point he's leaving this school,

I can understand that he'd be angry. Yeah.

I think this is the fork in the road.

He decides he's going to go off and be a mercenary

and fight on behalf of the Roman Church,

and I think that's really where the die is cast.

I'm really beginning to get a great picture

of this angry young man. Mm.

Oh, come on!

Let's do it.

As dinner time approaches, John has promised to tell me

the rest of the story at a local pub.

And as for where, well, it could only be one place.

It just so happens, we're at the Guy Fawkes Inn.

Ha, ha, ha, ha.

I'll buy. Good man. That'll do, won't it?

Good health.

We've ordered a pub classic - pie and a pint,

which I like to think is very much the sort of thing

the plotters would have been eating back in 1605.

Whoa, that's a pie! That's about a kilo of pie!

It's Yorkshire portions now, Gregg. Wow, look at that!

We all think we know the story.

How does Guy Fawkes get involved and what do they plan to do?

What's interesting is we tend to talk about it now

as him trying to blow up Parliament. In reality,

he just knew the king was going to be there

for the State Opening of Parliament.

He's the guy that's entrusted on getting the gunpowder in there

and ensuring the fuse is lit in time.

Why did the plotters not succeed?

Well, it's very likely that from very, very early on,

Lord Cecil, who was the kind of spymaster-in-chief,

was aware of their activities.

Why not stop the plot earlier? You wouldn't get the splash,

you know, so that everybody can see the threat Catholics pose.

It worked, didn't it? Because we're still talking about it now,

400 years later. Absolutely.

It's become a seminal event in British history.

Now, what's your favourite, a rocket or a Catherine wheel?

Rocket, right? A rocket. Absolutely.

Coming up...

SNAPPING Oh, listen to that snap.

...I join the ranks of workers in York's most famous industry...

Mm! I think I've become a chocolate master.

...and take the opportunity to see a record-breaking icon.

I like trains.

It's early morning on my final day in York,

possibly the finest mediaeval city in the country.

No way! Look at this.

Look, I've got to get a picture.

That is incredible.

You could spend a whole three days here,

just exploring that period of the city's history.

But there is something here I have wanted to see

since I was a kid, and it's a bit more modern.

Right next to the station is the National Railway Museum,

and it's here because York was once the biggest station in the world

and this was the centre of the railway industry in Britain,

just another great layer to York's incredible history.

This huge museum is home to over 100 locomotives,

dating from the present-day to the very start of the railway age.

But there's one that I've always wanted to see.

Come and have a look at this beautiful thing here.

Look, you see that blue Mallard? Do you know what that is?

That is the fastest steam train ever.

That reached a top speed of 126 miles an hour.

It's a bit funny, really, or a little bit ironic,

because that was the epitome of engineering,

but steam was already on its way out.

Diesel was about to happen.

Beautiful though, isn't it? Look at these beautiful lines, look.

It's almost Art Deco.

There's something very romantic, isn't there,

in the age of steam, because it's a smart way to travel

and it was the fastest way to travel.

But I think there's something nice about trains anyway, isn't there?

Much nicer than cars. You can get up, you can walk around,

you can properly chat. I like trains.

My own train home isn't that long away,

but before I leave York, I have some shopping to do.

Now, I'm not sure why,

but I think there are some serious links between York and chocolate.

And even if I'm wrong, who can resist a bar of chocolate, right?

HE CHUCKLES

When I was a kid,

York was known as the "Chocolate City",

so I've come to meet Sophie,

one of the city's top chocolatiers, to try and figure out why.

This is a lovely shop, fabulous shop. But why here?

50, York has this really long tradition of chocolate-making.

York has these two big chocolate companies

that became really famous - Terry's, and we've got Rowntree's.

And the railway brought steam power to the city,

so those two companies industrialised pretty quickly

in comparison to anyone else.

So, an ancient historical town, through industrialisation,

ended up with two enormous chocolate factories.

Absolutely. Well, actually, more than two.

Around this whole area of the North,

we end up with lots of chocolate companies.

Thank you, I'm going to buy some stuff to take back to the family.

What should I buy? 50, here, we invite people

to make their own chocolate.

So, you can recreate that chocolate bar that's your favourite

and do it to your own taste. No way!

In her workshop, Sophie has every filling you could imagine

to make your fantasy chocolate, from toffee to chilli,

and it's the perfect way to learn more

about our favourite confectionery.

I've loved it since I can remember.

Well, in York, we have the history of so many different chocolate bars.

So, KitKat came from York, Chocolate Orange.

Tell me Yorkie came from York. Absolutely.

Did it really? Of course!

So, there used to be this sign at the train station that said,

"Welcome to York where the chocolate is chunky and the men are hunky."

I don't know if I can provide the hunky men,

but I can have a go at the chunky chocolate.

To get my perfect bar, we have to temper the solid chocolate.

That's melting it, to you and me.

Ancl Rachel has a high-tech machine for achieving our goals.

Hairdryer? Yeah, absolutely.

It's the most important tool for us. We are breaking down

what we call the crystal structure in our chocolate.

So, the crystal structure is the cocoa butter

that is holding very tightly all these bonds of fabric together.

But we need to temper our chocolate,

making sure, when it gets hot,

that those bonds go back together.

And give it a really good stir.

So, our chocolate looks perfectly tempered. Well done.

So it's ready for us to work. Not quite yet.

I'd like to put toffee.

I've always liked toffee and chocolate. Yeah?

Yeah, so like the top of a Mars Bar rather than the bottom.

And the Quality Street, the purple one with the nut in the middle.

It's toffee and chocolate. It's all those flavours I've always loved.

Absolutely. So, a company like Mackintosh, that came from Halifax,

and Halifax used to be known as "Toffee Town".

Mackintosh merged with Rowntree, and they brought with them

things like Toffee Crisp and Lion Bar,

as well as Quality Street. Is that them as well?

People can see me putting pepper in this, and I'm not joking, I like it.

But I tell you why I like it

is it just irritates your taste bud enough

to heighten other flavours, so it's almost like a slight irritant.

Bit like me on the telly.

I'm not sure there was much pepper in the bars of my childhood,

but I'm hoping it gives a modern twist to those classics.

One spoonful in each of the moulds.

So, that looks great, perfect.

You're going to take the mould in both hands

and tap it gently on the table.

Look at that! Can I put some nibs on? Put some nibs on.

So, now, we need to wait for our chocolate to set.

You're welcome to help

with the washing up, if you want. Yeah, I don't mind.

While we do a quick tidy,

our chocolate is taking a 30-minute rest to return to solid.

Right, Gregg, it looks like it's ready. All right.

I've cleaned nearly all... It's nearly all clean. Well done.

So, as soon as you're already. Ooh.

Whoa! There we go, perfect. Yes!

This one, we're going to wrap up.

This one's going home. This one...

Oh, my God.

SNAPPING Oh, listen to that snap.

Mm! I think I've become a chocolate master.

Top marks.

I know I made it myself, but that is rather yum.

Sophie, this is good. That is good! I'd give you a job.

Tempting as it is to stay and work with chocolate,

my time in York has come to an end.

But I definitely feel like this three-day trip has shown me

why so many people love to come here.

I like York. I mean, it's obviously a beautiful city,

but I think what makes it such a draw for tourists

is how many important lines of English history run

right through it.

In fact, I don't think you can truly understand

the history of our country without understanding the history of York.

And when you're here, you can feel it. That history just comes alive.

And not only that,

Yorkshire has got one of the strongest food cultures in England.

Now, that's not a bad combination for a few days away, is it?

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