Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC4. All aboard! Armed with his trusty Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo explores the UK the railways made. Uncover hidden gems and fascinating communities from across the nation. The program has been available since 2022. A total of 313 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in May 2024.
Last episode
Great British Railway Journeys
Michael 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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30:00
Armed with his interwar copy of Bradshaw’s Guide to the Railways, Michael reaches the Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay, where he learns about a pioneering aviatrix.
Series 1
30:00
30:00Michael Portillo hits the tracks to see how the railways have shaped Britain. Michael meets the Queen's saddler and learns how to cook an authentic curry.
30:00Travels by train. Ex-MP Michael Portillo visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford and explores the country's first public park in Derby.
Series 13 30:00
30:00Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp, whose openly homosexual lifestyle led to his exile from the country.
Series 9 30:00
30:00Michael Portillo explores Edwardian utopia in Letchworth, where he meets a fourth generation citizen who introduces him to the town's community spirit.
30:00Michael Portillo embarks on train journeys through Edwardian Britain, exploring the grand estates of Norfolk and a bivouac on Brownsea Island on the way.
Series 1 30:00
30:00Ex-MP Michael Portillo begins his epic trip from Buxton to London, visiting the Duke of Devonshire's stables and hopping on the historic steam railway to Rowsley.
30:00Travels by train. Michael Portillo searches for the lost church of St Piran, explores a working tin mine in Cornwall and harvests oysters on the Helford River.
Series 15
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.
Series 1 30:00
30:00Epic rail journeys inspired by cartographer George Bradshaw. Michael Portillo visits the largest clay mine in the world near St Austell and goes pilchard fishing.
30:00Michael Portillo travels along Brunel's Great Western Railway. Here he goes salmon fishing on the Dart estuary and spends some of Totnes's new local currency.
Series 13 30:00
30:00Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex port of Rye, where he learns about the loss of a generation of lifeboatmen in 1928 and explores a wartime pillbox.
Series 1 30:00
30:00Travels by train. Ex-MP Michael Portillo samples local Cheddar strawberries, explores Cheddar Gorge and visits an extremely old pier in Weston-super-Mare.
30:00
Train travels with the ex-Tory. Michael Portillo journeys from Swindon to Penzance, sampling spa treatments in Bath and trying glassblowing in Bristol on the way.
30:00Michael Portillo continues his epic journey from Preston to Scotland, visiting the Clyde valley orchards, the Forth Rail Bridge and the town of Kirkcaldy.
30:00Michael Portillo hits the rails. Here the ex-MP meets wild clansmen in Carlisle, witnesses a wedding in Gretna Green and visits a secret WWI munitions factory.
Series 13
Michael visits the village of Ditchling, once the home of a community of Catholic artists, before heading to Bexhill-on-Sea to learn about the role of ARP wardens during the war.
Series 1 30:00
30:00Travels by train. Michael Portillo continues his journey to Scotland, riding a steamboat on Lake Windermere and visiting Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere.
30:00Michael Portillo travels across Britain to see how railways changed us. Michael returns to the historic Settle-Carlisle line after helping to save it in the 1980s.