In Episode 1, Melvyn Bragg travels around the north of England.The north-eastern town of Jarrow sets the scene for centuries of diverse writing, from the Venerable Bede to the steelworkers of the Industrial Revolution.The earliest surviving writing in Britain was found nearby, at the Vindolanda dig near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.Bragg also travels through the Lake District, inspiration to William Wordsworth and Alfred Wainwright, and the Pennines, backdrop to Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.