

Tom Scott: England
2026– · Nebula · 23 min · 1 season
S01E31 · This Machine Breaks Things
Mon, 19 Oct, 11:00 pm
At Kirkaldy's Testing Works, in the historic county of Surrey, there's a sign above the door that says, "Facts Not Opinions".
About
Tom Scott takes a road trip to every county of England, travelling by car, train, boat, plane, tram, monorail and hovercraft, visiting hidden infrastructure, ancient traditions, and more bells than you might expect.
Episodes
- E01
I Helped Break a 142-Year-Old Bell, and That's Okay
Mon, 23 Mar· 31 minAt the John Taylor Bell Foundry in Leicestershire, there's fire, sledgehammer swinging, and metal hotter than a volcano.
- E02
They Can Fly 200 Miles With No Fuel. Here's How.
Mon, 30 Mar· 25 minIn Rutland, I try to fit an entire county in one camera shot, learn to spot chimneys in the sky, and make a very strange noise.
- E03
I Missed the Evidence. Can You Spot It?
Mon, 6 Apr· 27 minAt the University of Lincoln's Crime Scene House, where they teach forensic science, I have a challenge for you.
- E04
These People Walk Towards Mining Disasters
Mon, 13 Apr· 20 minIn Nottinghamshire, I join the team at MRS Training and Rescue for an exercise that could have been so much worse.
- E05
These mannequins can bleed.
Mon, 20 Apr· 27 minAt Sheffield Hallam University in the West Riding of Yorkshire, I meet the Clinical Simulation team, and deal with some surprisingly animated patients. (Note: includes simulated blood and gore.)
- E06
I finally got to drive Yorkshire's tiny boats
Mon, 27 Apr· 22 minAt Peasholm Park in Scarborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, I visit the Naval Warfare, ride with the world's smallest crewed navy, and scare at least two seagulls.
- E07
If you found candy with my name in it, here's why
Mon, 4 May· 16 minAt the John Bull Rock Factory outside Bridlington, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, I watch as boiling sugar becomes an enormous amount of rock. Also, there's 1990s Dutch happy hardcore.
- E08
Oh no, I sympathized with a Victorian arms dealer
Mon, 11 May· 23 minIn Northumberland, at the National Trust's Cragside mansion, I visit the former home of the Magician of the North, learn a shocking fact about some lamps, and utter the phrase "it gets worse".
- E09
The mist that keeps the Tyne Tunnels safe
Mon, 18 MayAt the Tyne Road Tunnels, just over the border into Durham, I get very wet and cold underneath a river... but not in the way you might expect
- E10
This man stops people drowning in quicksand
Mon, 25 May· 25 minIn Westmorland, at Morecambe Bay, I meet the King's Guide to the Sands, walk across a very dangerous stretch of sand, and learn about a centuries-old tradition that's been brought into the 21st century.
- E11
Pulling the lever is the easy part
Mon, 1 June· 25 minIn Lancashire, at National Rail's Manchester signalling classroom, I learn why it's very, very rare for trains to collide... and then go to an actual, live signal box to see it for real.
- E12
Can a 70-Year-Old Telescope Still Be Useful?
Mon, 8 June· 25 minIn Cheshire, I ask whether a telescope built in the 1950s can still do useful science and get to fulfill a childhood dream.
- E13
We can't invent a robot better than these ferrets
Mon, 15 June· 25 minIn Derbyshire, at the National Ferret School, I say "hello" to some smelly thieves, and go on a surprisingly Biblical tangent.
- E14
I Got Hit in the Teeth With 900-Year-Old Antlers
Mon, 22 June· 25 minIn the village of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, I join the oldest village tradition in Britain: the Horn Dance.
- E15
I Launched the Mighty Trebuchet
Mon, 29 June· 25 minAt Warwick Castle, there's a medieval siege engine. I got to see how it works, meet the person in charge, and help fire it.
- E16
If I get this wrong, 50,000 people will hear it.
Mon, 6 July· 25 minAt Worcester Cathedral, I finally take on a challenge that hundreds of people have suggested: bell ringing. It's difficult, a little dangerous, and also lets me talk about a lot of weird English words.
- E17
I Have a Weird Conspiracy Theory About This Bridge
Mon, 13 July· 25 minIn Shropshire, I have a corkboard, pins, string, and an unhinged conspiracy theory about what an architect was planning.
- E18
I get excited about an ampersand.
Mon, 20 July· 25 minAt Hereford Cathedral, I visit a library where the books are chained to the shelves -- and see two of those books, to help understand just how quickly one technology can change the world.
- E19
I'm so glad this hidden monorail broke down.
Mon, 27 July· 25 minAt the English end of the Prince of Wales Bridge, in Gloucestershire, I get to visit the Rapid Access Train, the RAT, a hidden suspended monorail. Except... that's only half the story.
- E20
Two Nerds Try to Build a Wall
Mon, 3 Aug· 25 minAt the Dry Stone Academy, I have until our camera batteries run out to try one of the oldest surviving crafts in Britain.
- E21
This 100-Year-Old Ride Must Never Change Again
Mon, 10 Aug· 16 minAt Wicksteed Park, there's a 100-year-old water chute, and I took a ride. Also, I make a fool of myself on a slide.
- E22
How Do You Keep 8,995 Codebreakers Secret?
Mon, 17 Aug· 25 minAt Bletchley Park, I don't want to know how a few boffins broke the Enigma code, because it wasn't a few boffins.
- E23
I Didn't Need to Drive This Mars Rover, but I Did
Mon, 24 Aug· 25 minIn Hertfordshire, I got to meet some Mars rovers, take a test drive, and discover the most incredible wheel I've ever seen.
- E24
Flying a Plane Badly, on Purpose
Mon, 31 Aug· 16 minAt Cranfield University, I'm going aboard the National Flying Laboratory and trying to keep my sense of direction.
- E25
Thomas, a Tank Engine, Is Not Thomas the Tank Engine
Mon, 7 Sept· 16 minAt the Nene Valley Railway, I meet a tank engine called Thomas that is, for legal reasons, not Thomas the Tank Engine.
- E26
I'm the 97th Best Tiddlywinks Player in the World
Mon, 14 Sept· 25 minAt the University of Cambridge, I try to get good enough at a Victorian parlour game to break the world top 100 in just one day.
- E27
When I Blow This Whistle, a Swimming Pool Appears
Mon, 21 Sept· 25 min - E28
This Arcade Game Makes You Climb a Ladder
Mon, 28 Sept· 10 minAt Southwold Pier, I visit a collection of automata and arcade games that offer something a bit more interesting than prizes.
- E29
Why Robots Can't Pick Strawberries Yet
Mon, 5 Oct· 30 minIn Essex, this city boy gets impressed by agricultural infrastructure, and meets some robots that work better than others.
- E30
Tom Gets Excited About a Pendulum
Mon, 12 Oct· 21 minAt the Cumbria Clock Company, I meet the team that manage and restore more than a thousand public clocks across the UK.
- E31
This Machine Breaks Things
Mon, 19 Oct· 22 minAt Kirkaldy's Testing Works, in the historic county of Surrey, there's a sign above the door that says, "Facts Not Opinions".
Cast

Tom Scott
Tom Scott

