Truro

S1, E15: Michael is now on the last leg of his journey from Swindon to Penzance. Passing through Truro, he's on the way to Perran Sands to find out about a mysterious church mentioned in Bradshaw. Meeting up with local Angela Penrose, Michael heads into the sand dunes in search of the lost church of St Piran. St Piran was the patron saint of Cornish tin miners and his original church is thought to be one of the earliest Christian sites in England. It was gradually buried by the shifting sands and lay buried for centuries until the sands parted again in Bradshaw's time, revealing it once more. It quickly became a site of pilgrimage for many. Michael's next stop is Redruth to see what remains of the Cornish tin industry which was in full production during Bradshaw's time. Michael meets mine manager John Webster who takes him down the tunnels in South Crofty mine. Although South Crofty closed in the 1990s, John is trying to reopen it again, after a resurgence in the demand for tin. Leaving Redruth, Michael heads for St Ives to spend the night in Treganna Castle. Mentioned in Bradshaw's Guide as a private house, it was taken over by the Great Western Railway and turned into a hotel. The next morning he journeys on to the Helford River estuary to meet oyster farmer Ben Wright. Ben takes him out to the oyster beds to sample some fresh oysters and explains what's happened to the oyster industry since Bradshaw's time. Finally, Michael heads to the end of the line at Penzance to find out how the railways linked even the remotest Cornish villages to the rest of the country.