Kevin McCloud's UK Superstructures

The Forth Bridge (1x1)

: 18, 2000

Designer and architectural journalist Kevin McCloud (Grand Designs) kicks off this new series by tackling the Forth Bridge as only the famed painters have done before. Painting the Forth Bridge may be the stuff of modern legend but what’s it really like to get to grips with the nuts and bolts of this engineering miracle? Designed by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker at the end of the 19th century, the bridge has become a much-loved symbol of Scotland, even though the building of it claimed 60 lives. And it continues to dominate the lives of people who live nearby and work on its steel frame. Kevin braves the raw Scottish winds to climb from sea level to summit. Along the way, he meets some of the characters associated with it, including George, who used to paint the bridge the old-fashioned way; Ralph who keeps it spick and span using new methods; and Betty, whose life was changed by the bridge when both her husband and son died working on it.