S01E01 Liverpool to Eccles
Ep1: Liverpool to Eccles. Michael begins his journey on the world's first passenger railway line, learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles...
Great British Railway Journeys
S01E06: Preston to Morecambe
Michael explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool, a resort made by the railways, and takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with the official Keeper of the Sands.
Overview
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.
Episodes
S01E02 Manchester to Bury
Michael is in Manchester to find out more about George Bradshaw himself. He also gets fitted for a trilby in Denton and learns how the railways helped to create a national institution - fish and...
S01E03 Todmorden to York
Michael travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, finds out about the latest Roman discoveries in York and takes to the air in the Network Rail helicopter.
S01E04 Pontefract to Bridlington
Michael searches for the last liquorice grower in Pontefract, discovers how the railways turned Hull into one of the largest white fish ports in the world and goes fishing for sea bass in Bridlington.
S01E05 Filey to Scarborough
Michael goes bird-watching on the wild cliffs of Flamborough Head, learns to decipher traditional knitting patterns in Filey and meets one of the oldest residents of the Victorian seaside resort of Scarborough - a 4000-year-old...
S01E06 Preston to Morecambe
Michael explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool, a resort made by the railways, and takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with the official Keeper of the Sands.
S01E07 Settle to Garsdale
Michael returns to the historic Settle-Carlisle line to find out what has happened to it since he helped save it in the 1980s. Along the way, he explores the magnificent Ribblehead viaduct, finds out about...
S01E08 Windermere to Kendal
Michael takes a steamboat tour of Lake Windermere, visits Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere and makes sausages with a local Herdwick sheep farmer.
S01E09 Carlisle to Glasgow
Michael meets the wild clansmen of Carlisle, the Border Reivers, witnesses a wedding in Gretna Green and visits a secret World War One munitions factory.
S01E10 Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy
Michael makes apple juice in the Clyde valley orchards, pays a thrilling visit to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge and relives his childhood memories in his grandparents' home town of Kirkcaldy.
S01E11 Swindon to Bristol
Michael finds out about free holiday trains for the GWR workers in Swindon, samples the Spa in Bath, and tries his hand at glass blowing in Bristol.
S01E12 Yatton to Weston Super Mare
Michael samples local Cheddar strawberries, explores Cheddar Gorge and the famous caves, and visits one of the oldest piers in the country at Weston Super Mare.
S01E13 Torquay to Totnes
Michael finds out about Torquay's micro climate, goes salmon fishing on the Dart estuary and spends some of Totnes' new local currency.
S01E14 Bugle to Mevagissey
Michael visits the largest clay mine in the world near St Austell, goes pilchard fishing in Mevagissey and finds out how the estate of Heligan shaped British gardens.
S01E15 Truro to Penzance
Michael searches for the lost church of St Piran, explores the last working tin mine in Cornwall and harvests oysters on the Helford River.
S01E16 Buxton to Matlock
Michael visits an architectural wonder, the Duke of Devonshire's stables in Buxton, helps to repair the ancient peat landscape of the Peak District and travels on the historic steam railway to Rowsley.
S01E17 Cromford to Burton-on-Trent
Michael visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford, explores the country's first public park in Derby and finds out why Burton's beer is said to be the best.
S01E18 Walsall to Bournville
Michael meets the queen's saddler in Walsall, learns how to cook an authentic Indian curry in Birmingham and visits Bournville, rumoured to be the best place to live in Britain.
S01E19 Coventry to Watford
Michael relives the Coventry Blitz, meets the last pure breed Aylesbury duck farmer in Buckinghamshire and finds out how the trains helped to evacuate millions of children during World War II.
S01E20 St Pancras to Westminster
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the...
Cast
Michael Portillo
Self - Presenter
