Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC4. Documentary series in which Michael Portillo travels the country by train. The program has been available since 2025. A total of 275 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in November 2025.
Last episode
25:00
25:00Great British Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo continues his post-war exploration of northwest England in Bradford and Shipley, before ending at Hebden Bridge.
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25:00In Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Michael Portillo visits the National Coal Mining Museum for England at Caphouse Colliery.
35:00Michael Portillo visits Oldham's Victorian theatre, attends a knife-making workshop in Sheffield and goes to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.
25:00Michael Portillo is in Greater Manchester, hearing about the birth of the NHS and the first episode of Coronation Street.
25:00Michael Portillo explores the Britain of his youth, starting at Preston's Fulwood Barracks and heading to Bury Bolton Street Station in Greater Manchester.
Series 13
25:00
25:00Michael Portillo discovers the origins of Harry Beck's map of the London Underground, and explores the headquarters of Churchill's war cabinet.
35:00Michael Portillo is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Starting in Dagenham, he ends up at the iconic Battersea Power Station.
25:00Michael Portillo travels to Hampstead, where he learns more about the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, before making his way to Islington.
25:00Michael Portillo continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London's East End, making his way from Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus.
25:00Michael Portillo continues his travels in Greater London, ending up in Kennington to learn about the childhood of Charlie Chaplin.
35:00Michael Portillo reaches the Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay, eventually crosses the North Downs to Lenham, and pays a visit to Leeds Castle.
25:00Michael Portillo heads to Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to Lord Beauchamp, and in Margate he discovers the connection to TS Eliot.
25:00Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw's guide to the unspoilt East Sussex port of Rye, then boards the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway to Dungeness.
25:00Michael Portillo arrives in Hassocks and the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, before making his way to the village of Benenden.
Series 9 35:00
35:00In Snowdonia, Michael Portillo braves the fastest zip line in the world - 1,500 feet across a quarry - as he begins the last leg of his journey to Caernarfon.
25:00Michael Portillo travels between Liverpool and Wales, finding a miniature tank engine made by Frank Hornby and visiting the ruins of Gwrych Castle.
Series 12 35:00
35:00Michael Portillo travels from Aberystwyth into the Cambrian Mountains at Devil's Bridge, and finishes in Newtown, Powys.
25:00Michael Portillo explores Snowdonia, the town of Porthmadog, and the village Portmeirion, crafted by Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis.
Series 9 30:00
30:00Michael Portillo travels to the steel city of Sheffield where he discovers an early 20th century steam engine, before heading to Nantwich.
30:00Michael Portillo conducts important research in an historic York tea room, discovers Leeds' textile heritage, and investigates Bradford's musical heritage.