Carlisle

S1, E9: Michael reaches the wild border country and his first stop is Carlisle. Here he meets artist Gordon Young, a descendant of the Border Reivers, a bunch of ancient lawless clansmen from the area who are mentioned in Bradshaw's guide. Gordon shows Michael his public sculpture, the famous curse of Carlisle engraved on a huge stone. That night Michael visits a pub where a local Reiver band play the ballads of the Reivers as collected by Sir Walter Scott. Michael's next stop is Gretna Green where blacksmith Alistaire Houston tells Michael about Gretna's famous marriage business. Bradshaw predicted the end of Gretna's marriage trade but today one in six of all Scottish weddings take place here. Michael congratulates a newly wed couple who true to form, eloped over the border. Just outside Gretna, Michael heads to an old MOD munitions site to meet manager David Watt. David shows Michael around the site on its internal railway system and explains how thousands of women made a lethal concoction called Devil's Porridge here in the First World War. The last stop today is the great Scottish city of Glasgow. In a Victorian version of poverty tourism, Bradshaw guides Michael to the Calton, an area of great social deprivation in Victorian times. Today, Michael meets writer and resident Janey Godley who tells him that the area isn't much different and residents of the Calton have one of the lowest life expectancies in the country. He also visits the centre of Glasgow, which despite the problems of areas like the Calton, is enjoying a renaissance in popularity.