Great British Railway Journeys (2010)
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
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Episode 1 - Newcastle to County Durham
Release Date: 2020-01-06Beginning just outside Newcastle in Jarrow, Michael uncovers the desperation which led 200 men to march 300 miles to Westminster in order to petition the Government for work. In Newcastle, Michael admires the city's iconic railway bridge.
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Episode 2 - Kielder Forest to Edinburgh
Release Date: 2020-01-07Steered by his 1936 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo is in Northumbria en route to the Highlands.
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Episode 3 - Falkirk to Dundee
Release Date: 2020-01-08Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Newcastle to Loch Ness reaches Falkirk in Scotland.
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Episode 4 - Dundee to Aberdeen
Release Date: 2020-01-09Stopping at Dundee, Michael Portillo heads for Glamis Castle, where Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, grew up.
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Episode 5 - Elgin to Loch Ness
Release Date: 2020-01-10Michael Portillo's journey ends at Loch Ness, where he joins the Deep Scan research team as they scour the deep for signs of the elusive monster.
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Episode 6 - St Ives to St Day
Release Date: 2020-01-13Michael Portillo explores the West Country between the wars and discovers a Cornish fisherman, who, although he began painting only in his seventies, inspired established artists from the capital.
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Episode 7 - Truro to St Mawgan
Release Date: 2020-01-14In the countryside surrounding Truro, Michael finds the historic estate of Trewithen, whose gardens were stocked from China by professional plant hunters commissioned by its owner.
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Episode 8 - Bodmin to Totnes
Release Date: 2020-01-15Clutching his 1930s Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo reaches Bodmin en route to Totnes as he explores the West Country from St Ives to Salisbury Plain.
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Episode 9 - Paignton to Tiverton
Release Date: 2020-01-16The Dartmouth Steam Railway takes Michael Portillo to the beautiful home of Agatha Christie, in the company of her great-grandson, James Prichard.
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Episode 10 - Taunton to Salisbury Plain
Release Date: 2020-01-17Michael Portillo crosses the county line from Devon into Somerset. He sees first-hand how willow farmers sought to overcome the challenge from the production of synthetic plastics during the 1930s.
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Episode 11 - Canterbury to Alexandra Palace
Release Date: 2020-01-20Beginning in Canterbury in Kent, Michael treads the boards as he uncovers the political message behind a play, published in 1936, inspired by the 12th-century murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket.
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Episode 12 - Limehouse to Rochford
Release Date: 2020-01-21On this leg, Michael alights at Limehouse in east London for Cable Street, which became the focus of Britain's fight against fascism in the 1930s.
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Episode 13 - Witham to Felixstowe
Release Date: 2020-01-22Michael Portillo's railway journey reaches Witham in Essex. Here he visits the factory of the world's oldest supplier of metal framed windows which became popular in the 30s.
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Episode 14 - Saxmundham to Norwich
Release Date: 2020-01-23Michael Portillo heads for Snape Maltings, a concert and arts venue, and learns how the music and life of one of Britain’s greatest composers was shaped by the sea and his Suffolk surroundings.
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Episode 15 - Attleborough to Skegness
Release Date: 2020-01-24Michael Portillo is in Attleborough, at the headquarters of an international horse welfare organization which was established in the late 1920s, where he learns about the charity's pioneering founder.