Great British Railway Journeys

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Last episode
30:00
Great British Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo's journey to the North Sea continues and he investigates the Victorian scientist who invented modern atomic theory.

Series 8
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from Blackpool to Manchester unveiling a monument to railwaymen of the London and North Western Railway who died in the Great War.
Series 15
Beginning 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 counties.
Series 7
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from Newhaven to Worthing, examining the nation's hidden defences and finding a novel way to pick tomatoes.
30:00
Michael Portillo embarks on a railway journey along England's south coast, beginning in Dover and ending at the Glyndebourne opera festival on the South Downs.
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from Cheshire to Staffordshire, stopping off in Macclesfield, where he finds the end of the Silk Route and tries screen printing.
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from St Helens to Knutsford, learning about glass-making and how Victorian building techniques have evolved.
30:00
Michael Portillo journeys from Preston to Swinton, discovering the poetry of Edwin Waugh and twisting his tongue around the Lancashire dialect.
30:00
Michael Portillo continues through the Lake District, learning about the legacy of author Beatrix Potter, and finishes with a brief encounter at Carnforth.
30:00
Michael Portillo learns more about the country's railways, setting off from Carlisle on the first leg of a journey through north-west England.
Series 6
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from Oakham to Cambridge, finding out why Stamford is a popular location for period dramas and examining Charles Darwin's student days.
Series 8
30:00
In Musselburgh, Michael Portillo gets a taste of life as a fishwife, before exploring Edinburgh where a popular 19th-century mode of transport is making a comeback.
30:00
Michael Portillo journeys from Darlington to Dunbar, following the route taken by George Stephenson's steam engine on its 1825 journey.
30:00
Michael Portillo journeys from Newark-on-Trent to Stockton-on-Tees, and a scandalous novel written in Thirsk leads him to a wildlife centre.
30:00
Michael Portillo explores a Swiss garden in Bedfordshire, drives a 'locomobile', and discovers the Victorian origins of the fertiliser industry.
30:00
Michael Portillo sets out on the first leg of a trip from London to Edinburgh aboard the Flying Scotsman, beginning at King's Cross as he heads for York.
Series 7
30:00
Michael Portillo's final leg begins in Egham, Surrey, where he visits a steam fair before making his way to Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire for a spot of rowing.
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from Woking to Walton-on-Thames, uncovering the story of Britain's first purpose-built crematorium.
30:00
Michael Portillo travels from East Grinstead to Guildford, including a visit to Leith Hill Place to explore the compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Episodes expected soon

Series 15, Episode 2 - Chippenham to Yeovil...

Expected on
Michael 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 of Longleat.
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