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 2024. A total of 281 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in September 2025.
Last episode
25:00
25:00Great British Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo arrives in Hassocks and the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, before making his way to the village of Benenden.
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25:00Michael Portillo takes a trip in a Second World War Spitfire above Biggin Hill aerodrome.
Series 7
35:00
35:00Michael 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.
25:00Michael Portillo travels from Hampton Court to Teddington, viewing the world's longest grapevine and hearing about the birth of the Victorian era.
Series 14 25:00
25:00From Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, Michael Portillo visits Coleford in the Forest of Dean, Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, and Bristol Temple Meads.
Series 9 25:00
25:00Michael Portillo travels from Croydon to Shoreham-by-Sea, hearing the story of a once-celebrated composer and visiting the oldest licensed airport in the UK.
25:00Michael Portillo explores Edwardian utopia in Letchworth, where he meets a fourth generation citizen who introduces him to the town's community spirit.
35:00Michael Portillo embarks on train journeys through Edwardian Britain, exploring the grand estates of Norfolk and a bivouac on Brownsea Island on the way.
Series 14 25:00
25:00Michael Portillo stops in Wolverhampton, where he finds out about the impact of Enoch Powell's 1968 speech, and also visits Cheltenham.
25:00Michael Portillo sees the work being done for the new HS2 railway in Warwickshire, and in Stratford-upon-Avon he learns about the founding of the RSC.
35:00Michael Portillo hears of the destruction of Coventry's gothic cathedral by the German Luftwaffe, and visits the factory where the London taxi is built.
25:00Michael Portillo journeys from the Midlands to the West Country, visiting Derby's famous 19th-century railway works and the Walkers crisps factory in Leicester.
25:00Michael Portillo explores RAF Lakenheath, the market town of Brandon on the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, and he ends his journey in Cambridge.
25:00Michael Portillo explores Felixstowe, which suffered catastrophic flooding in 1953, and in Norwich, he admires the Norman Cathedral.
35:00Michael Portillo ventures deep underground onto London's newest railway - the Elizabeth Line - enjoying a smooth ride from Paddington to Tottenham Court Road.
25:00Michael Portillo visits London's South Bank, where the 1951 Festival of Britain drew more than eight and a half million visitors.
25:00Michael 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.
25:00Michael Portillo continues his post-war exploration of northwest England in Bradford and Shipley, before ending at Hebden Bridge.
35:00In Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Michael Portillo visits the National Coal Mining Museum for England at Caphouse Colliery.
25:00Michael Portillo visits Oldham's Victorian theatre, attends a knife-making workshop in Sheffield and goes to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.