By 1850, 6,000 miles of railway track had been laid, altering forever Britain’s townscapes and landscapes. The road system, in decline since the departure of the Romans, had begun to improve in the eighteenth century, when the turnpike movement produced roads with surfaces fit for the ‘flying coaches’.1 Further improvements in transport occurred with the construction of canals, as a fundamental element in the industrial revolution. Now, both roads and canals were losing passengers and freight to the new rail network. Thomas, anxious to pre-empt the mounting number of competitors who were also utilising trains, set up tours to new destinations. His survival depended on creativity, stamina and an ability to keep just a little ahead of the competition. He let his old ambition surface and began seriously to ‘give his attention to Eastern routes’, knowing that many would clamour to make such a journey. Indeed, the advantages of trips to ‘the Eastern Lands of the Bible’ were acknowledged by many clergymen.
