Great British Railway Journeys S13E04 · Deal to Margate

Overview

From the Kent Cinque Port of Deal, Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp. Michael’s guide, the founder of the LGBTQ working group for English Heritage, tells Michael of the lavish homosexual parties Lord Beauchamp held at the castle and how his openly hedonistic lifestyle, at a time when homosexuality was illegal, resulted in his exile from the country. Tracking the east Kent coast, Michael reaches the Royal Harbour of Ramsgate, where he remembers the courage of the little ships that evacuated men from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. Michael goes deep underground to see where the town’s residents sheltered from enemy bombs in a two-and-a-half mile long disused railway tunnel, some for up to five years. Next stop is Margate, 'an exuberant resort' according to Bradshaw’s and the holiday destination of choice for Londoners drawn by the town’s pioneering amusement park, Dreamland.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

1. 1 1. Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest2021-05-17 · 30mMichael Portillo experiences a terrifying ‘victory roll’ in a World War II Spitfire, high above the most famous aerodrome of the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill. The 80-year-old air
2. 2 2. Hassocks to Benenden2021-05-18 · 30mStarting in Hassocks, Michael makes his way to the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, where, between the wars, a Roman Catholic community of artists made their home. Michael fi
3. 3 3. Rye to Dungeness2021-05-19 · 30mMichael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex port of Rye, where he learns about the loss of a generation of lifeboatmen in 1928 and explores a wa
4. 4 4. Deal to Margate2021-05-20 · 30mFrom the Kent Cinque Port of Deal, Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp. Michael’s guide, the fou
5. 5 5. Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent2021-05-21 · 30mArmed with his interwar copy of Bradshaw’s Guide to the Railways, Michael reaches the Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay, where he learns about a pioneering aviatrix who began her wo
6. 6 6. Chislehurst to Kennington2021-05-24 · 30mMichael continues his journeys in greater London. Beginning on its southeastern fringe in the leafy and historic village of Chislehurst, Michael finds surprising imperial connectio
7. 7 7. Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus2021-05-25 · 30mMichael continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London’s East End. Michael explores Hackney Wick, today transformed from the time of his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, w
8. 8 8. Hampstead to Islington2021-05-26 · 30mMichael’s Bradshaw’s-inspired rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, a groundbreaking Jewish doctor found refuge. Si
9. 9 9. Dagenham to Battersea2021-05-27 · 30mArmed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Michael is drawn to the industrial eastern suburb by the unexpected
10. 10 10. Park Royal to Westminster2021-05-29 · 30mMichael Portillo discovers the origins of Harry Beck's map of the London Underground, learns about a shocking surrealist show in 1930s Piccadilly and explores the headquarters of C