Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC4. All aboard! Michael Portillo explores the UK the railways made. Uncover hidden gems and fascinating communities from across the nation. The program has been available since 2024. A total of 219 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in May 2025.
Last broadcast:15/05/2025 at 07:10
Last episode
25:00


Great British Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo's latest railway excursion is fit for royalty, as he follows Queen Victoria's regular journey south from Windsor - collecting the mail on the way.
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Michael Portillo travels from London's Docklands to the Barbican, examining the story of the arrival at Tilbury in 1948 of over a thousand passengers from the Caribbean.


Michael Portillo continues his post-war exploration of northwest England in Bradford and Shipley, before ending at Hebden Bridge.
Series 12
35:00


Michael Portillo heads for leafy Hatch End, where he investigates an illustrator whose work was so popular in the 1920s and 30s that his name entered the English dictionary.
Series 3
25:00


London's calling for Michael Portillo, as he enjoys a ride on a secret miniature railway beneath the capital's streets and rings the church bells in Bow.


Travelogue meets Victorian history in this fascinating series with Michael Portillo. Here the This Week regular heads to Hackney, hearing about an on-board murder.


The 'sad man on a train' - as he is known to Andrew Neil - tours Victorian freak show sites by rail and rides one of the very first electric railways in Southend.


Michael Portillo's train-hopping travels take him to the Port of Felixstowe. The Bradshaw buff traces the lost city of Dunwich - Britain's very own Atlantis.
Series 12
25:00


Michael Portillo continues his travels through England's Home Counties at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where he discovers the legacy of a German Jewish doctor who fled the Nazis.
Series 3
25:00


Michael Portillo takes to the tracks yet again. The ex-MP discovers the grave-robbing past of Great Yarmouth and works a Victorian swing bridge in Reedham.
Series 2
25:00


Travelling by train up the breathtaking west coast of Scotland to Skye, Michael Portillo discovers how the railways helped train commandos at Lochailort for WWII.


Travels by train. Michael Portillo investigates the mysterious parallel roads of Glenroy and takes a steam train across the spectacular viaduct at Glenfinnan.


Rail buff Michael Portillo hears how trains helped spread the word about Oban whisky and visits Corrour, one of the Victorian elite's favourite shooting estates.
Series 12
30:00


Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys, starting with a tour of the Home Counties and beyond in the city of dreaming spires, Oxford.
Series 2
25:00


Spectacular rail voyages inspired by Victorian pioneer George Bradshaw. Michael Portillo visits Loch Lomond and the Dumbarton shipyard that built the Cutty Sark.


Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with George Bradshaw's seminal Victorian Railway Guidebook. A visit to the hometown of Robbie Burns and a lesson in haggis-making.


Michael Portillo travels the length and breadth of Britain by train. Hastings and Romney Marsh are on today's itinerary and Michael samples Kent's sparkling wine.


Series 3, Episode 9 - Brockenhurst to Poole
Expected on
A Victorian voyage by train. Michael Portillo seeks out venomous adders in the New Forest, uncovers a secret library in Wimborne and visits the Poole potteries.

Series 3, Episode 8 - Winchester to Isle of Wight
Expected on
Roving by rail. Michael Portillo discovers what did amuse Queen Victoria, as he travels by train to her favourite holiday destination - the Isle of Wight.

Series 3, Episode 7 - Reading to Alton
Expected on
Train travels. Michael Portillo samples a Victorian superfood in Alton, explores the wonderfully preserved Whitchurch Silk Mill and takes control of a steam train.