Great British Railway Journeys (2010)
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
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Episodes
SpecialsSeason 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Season 5Season 6Season 7Season 8Season 9Season 10Season 11Season 12Season 13Season 14Season 15Season 16
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1. Denham to Swindon2024-03-18 · 28mBeginning at London Marylebone, the last great Victorian railway terminus to be built in the capital, Michael Portillo embarks on a postwar exploration of Britain’s southern counti
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2. Chippenham to Yeovil2024-03-19 · 29mMichael Portillo joins Navy Wings pilots for a spectacular close formation flight in the skies over Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton and visits the magnificent Elizabethan mansion
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3. Swanage to Portchester2024-03-20 · 28mMichael Portillo reaches England’s south coast to continue his exploration of postwar Britain, beginning on the steam-powered Swanage Railway in Dorset.
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4. Havant to Guildford2024-03-21 · 28mMichael Portillo reaches Havant, where the Scalextric factory was located, and Haslemere, the surprise birthplace of a musical phenomenon: the plastic recorder.
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5. Wokingham to Heathrow2024-03-22 · 28mMichael goes on a tour around Heathrow Airport, taking an eerie walk around the mothballed Terminal 1 building and ending up atop the iconic 87.5 metre control tower.
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6. Loch Lomond to Kelvinbridge2024-03-25 · 29mMichael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes.
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7. Glasgow to Cumbernauld2024-03-26 · 28mAt the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there.
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8. Shawlands to Livingston2024-03-27 · 29mMichael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.
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9. Edinburgh to Queensferry2024-03-28 · 28mAt the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey.
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10. Dundee to Loch of the Lowes2024-03-29 · 29mMichael’s rail journey through post-war Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.
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11. Liverpool to Uttoxeter2024-04-01 · 29mMichael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, visiting the strikingly contemporary Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and visits the former home of artist and poet Ad
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12. Derby to Nottingham2024-04-02 · 29mMichael Portillo reaches the jet age in the Derby suburb of Peartree, where he tours the engineering colossus Rolls-Royce.
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13. Lincoln to York2024-04-03 · 29mMichael Portillo’s postwar journey from Merseyside to Teesside resumes at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, where England’s oldest canal, the Fossdyke, meets the city of Lincoln.
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14. York to Skipton2024-04-04 · 28mMichael Portillo’s journey finds him in York, a paradise for rail enthusiasts. He discovers the gardens at Harlow Carr in Harrogate and checks into the headquarters of Yorkshire Te
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15. Northallerton to Chester-Le-Street2024-04-05 · 28mMichael Portillo confronts a detachment of Gurkhas, produces a fine heritage cheese and discovers a monster cracker, which is key to making plastic.
Cast
Michael PortilloSelf - PresenterImages
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