Great British Railway Journeys (original) (raw)

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Great British Railway Journeys#Series 1 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 10 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 11 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 12 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 13 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 2 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 3 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 4 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 5 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 6 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 7 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 8 (en)
Great British Railway Journeys#Series 9 (en)

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Biggin Hill to Leeds Castle, Kent (en)
Blackpool to Harwich (en)
Canterbury to Skegness (en)
Chislehurst to Westminster (en)
Crewe to Newtown (en)
Cromer to Brownsea Island (en)
Goes to Ireland: Wexford to Westport (en)
Kingston upon Hull to Caernarfon (en)
London King's Cross to Edinburgh (en)
Newcastle to Loch Ness (en)
Newry to Argyll and Bute (en)
Oxford to Winchester (en)
Saxmundham to Walsingham (en)
St. Ives to Salisbury Plain (en)
Warrington to Stoke-on-Trent (en)
Warwick to Rye (en)
Whitland to The Lizard (en)

dbp:related

(en)
Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys (en)
Great American Railroad Journeys (en)
Great Asian Railway Journeys (en)
Great Australian Railway Journeys (en)
Great Canadian Railway Journeys (en)
Great Continental Railway Journeys (en)
Great Indian Railway Journeys (en)
Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo (en)
Great Coastal Railway Journeys (en)

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1950.0
4.73364E9
Portillo finds out about the Coventry Blitz, meets the last farmer with pure-breed Aylesbury ducks in Buckinghamshire, and finds out how the trains helped to evacuate millions of children during World War II. (en)
Portillo sets off from Newcastle, finding out about the world's earliest swing bridge and its inventor William Armstrong. He then travels by boat from the port of Seahouses to examine the story of lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling, who, along with her father, rescued nine people from tumultuous seas in 1838. On Lindisfarne, Portillo explores the lime kilns and finds out how Christianity spread from here across northern England in the 7th century. (en)
At Windermere, Portillo delves into the history of the railway station and takes a steamboat tour of the lake, then visits William Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere and makes sausages with a local Herdwick sheep farmer. (en)
Portillo finds out what happened to the once proud Euston Arch and heads to Camden to see how goods were transported by rail, road and canal. He reflects on the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash of 1952 and visits a country estate in Tring, Hertfordshire, before alighting at Cheddington in Buckinghamshire, which is close to the scene of 1963's Great Train Robbery. (en)
Portillo visits Essex to discover why dairy herds travelled there by rail from all over the country in the 19th century. He also visits Waltham Cross to see how the gunpowder made there fuelled the building of an empire and heads to Hackney to uncover the gruesome details of the first murder on a train. (en)
Portillo samples the Victorian drink perry , gets up close and personal with a pedigree Hereford bull, and visits the grandfather of all skyscrapers – the world's first iron-framed building in Shrewsbury. (en)
Portillo visits Ayr, the hometown of Robert Burns, finds out how to make haggis, and recites Burns' Address to a Haggis. He then discovers how the railways transformed the game of golf at the Prestwick Golf Club and uncovers the story of the great Victorian tartan hoax in the Vestiarium Scoticum at Paisley. (en)
Portillo learns how one man's vision helped bring train travel to the Highlands, discovers how farming has changed since Bradshaw's day and hears the remarkable tale of Scotland's Victorian gold rush. (en)
Portillo learns how Queen Victoria used to hide from her subjects, discovers how factory workers went deaf and goes out with a bang in Aberdeenshire. (en)
On the final leg of his Irish journey, Portillo discovers historic jewellery with royal connections in Galway, meets a people's king and finds his voice with a traditional Irish singing group. (en)
Portillo visits Leith Hill Place to explore the compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams. He also dons a boiler suit and takes to the footplate of a locomotive on the Bluebell Railway, Britain's first passenger-carrying heritage line, and then witnesses the power of dynamite at first hand. (en)
Portillo gets to grips with the old grey matter at a Victorian asylum, gives a historic horse a facelift and makes malt the 19th-century way. (en)
Portillo begins in Wokingham where he finds out how demand from a growing number of rail commuters fuelled the development of the modern printing press. He then learns about a Tudor businessman who manufactured cloth in enormous volumes in Newbury, and ends this leg of his trip in Bradford on Avon where a local manufacturer describes how his Victorian forebears were the first in Britain to be licensed to vulcanise rubber. (en)
Portillo travels from Redditch to Gloucester, beginning with a look back to Victorian times at a needle manufactory. He also learns how to make Gloucester cheese, and joins the Gloucester Choral Society in a rendition of Jerusalem. (en)
Portillo discovers the unique cross-border history of Berwick-upon-Tweed, hears the unique story of the Pitman Painters of Ashington and sees first-hand the perils of working on the rails in Victorian times. (en)
In Newhaven, Portillo discovers a hidden Victorian fort, built to deter a French invasion. He then detours inland to see the Ouse Valley Viaduct and the Clayton Tunnel on the London-to-Brighton line. High on the South Downs, he learns how trains used to carry day-trippers up the climb to the Devil's Dyke, where flying kites was a popular past-time. At Worthing, he finds a railway which now helps to harvest tomatoes grown in a vast expanse of greenhouses. (en)
Portillo begins in Pembroke Dock, where Queen Victoria's royal yachts were built. In the little market town of Narberth, he investigates what caused rebels to dress up as women, later spending the night at an inn in Carmarthen where Horatio Nelson once met Emma Hamilton. Then he pitches in with the volunteers who look after the Gwili Railway and ends his leg in Swansea, where he learns how to pose for a photograph in Victorian style. (en)
Portillo visits a world-famous tourist hotspot that's been captivating visitors since the Victorian era, takes to the air in Yeovil and tries his hand at cloth-making the 19th-century way. (en)
Portillo wears all the colours of the flag of the Irish Republic as he starts this journey in the port of Wexford, where he experiences a 100-year-old lifeboat and learns about John Barry, Irish-born, who became a hero of the American Navy. Portillo then travels to County Wicklow where he visits the Meeting of the Waters at Avoca, and he finishes in the town of Wicklow, where he learns of a 19th century scheme to combat disease in the Irish capital, Dublin and travels in a Victorian era horse-drawn, barrel-top caravan. (en)
In Merseyside, Portillo discovers how glass-making has developed, from the inventiveness of the Victorians who constructed Crystal Palace to the modern industry, seen in St Helens and elsewhere, which has inspired a modern revolution in architecture. (en)
Portillo gets a ukulele lesson in Haddington; in Musselburgh, he learns about life as a fishwife; finally, he explores Scotland's capital, Edinburgh. (en)
On the first leg, Portillo learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool. He visits the scene of the Rainhill trials and finds out about the first railway fatality. Then, in Eccles, he explores the origins of the Eccles cake. (en)
Portillo goes fishing with the last eel trapper on the Fens at Ely and visits one of the great triumphs of 19th-century engineering, the Denver Sluice. He ends this leg in King's Lynn, where he uncovers an ambitious plan to reclaim the Wash in Bradshaw's day. (en)
Portillo celebrates Victorian iron and steel in Motherwell and admires one of its crowning achievements – the Forth Bridge. He journeys through picturesque countryside to admire the raw power of nature at the magnificent and romantic Clyde Falls, which inspired William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and where Victorian ladies swooned. In Cumbernauld, he learns of the birth of one of Scotland's best-selling soft drinks. In Linlithgow, he marvels at the ingenuity of the engineers who built the Union Canal and experiences a 21st-century technological refinement at Falkirk. (en)
Portillo travels to the manufacturing centres of the Midlands. He learns how the railways helped to make Birmingham the pen-making capital of the world, hears the chilling tale of one of 19th-century Britain's most notorious murderers and samples the delicacies concocted in a Victorian kitchen at Shugborough Hall. (en)
In the Lake District, Portillo explores the magical world of Beatrix Potter as author and illustrator of her well-loved stories and learns that she feared the encroachment of the railways. He visits the Brantwood home of the Victorian art critic and social thinker John Ruskin. Finally, at Carnforth he plays out a "Brief Encounter" . (en)
Portillo learns the ancient art of butter making, attempts to learn the basics of Ireland's oldest game, and rides the Duke of Devonshire's Victorian Irish railway. (en)
Portillo explores the historic Dumbarton shipyards that built the Cutty Sark, learns that the phrase 'Cutty Sark' is from the Tam o' Shanter poem, visits Queen Victoria's favourite Loch Lomond, and goes hunting for gold at Tyndrum. (en)
Portillo sets off in Leicester, where he finds out about the hunt for Richard III's remains. He works his passage on the Great Central Railway from Rothley to Loughborough, where he learns about a family that has been casting bells in the town since 1839. (en)
Portillo begins in Hessle, on the north bank of the River Humber, in the shadow of the Humber Bridge, where he learns about the technology that made it possible. In Kingston upon Hull, he meets his friend and sparring partner, local MP Alan Johnson, who tells him about another famous son of his city, William Wilberforce. In Scarborough, Portillo's Bradshaw directs him to the castle, where the founder of the Quaker movement was once imprisoned. His last stop of the day is York, where he learns what made the ancient capital a centre for the sweet-making industry. (en)
Portillo begins this leg in Stirling, where he visits the scene of a bloody battle at Bannockburn. Following in the footsteps of Victorian holidaymakers, he travels north to Crieff to experience the popular Crieff Hydro. In the ancient capital of Scotland, Perth, he learns what it takes to make a sporran before catching the Highland Main Line to Pitlochry and one of Queen Victoria's favourite haunts. He finishes the day with a wee dram in Scotland's smallest distillery. (en)
Portillo takes the train to the top of Wales's highest peak, Mount Snowdon, witnesses the revival of Anglesey's sea salt industry, and discovers how the railways transformed the tiny port of Holyhead. (en)
Portillo travels through Buckinghamshire, meeting one of the Second World War's most secret agents at Station X in Bletchley. In Olney, he learns about a poet whose words are still sung today, and explores the first purpose-built railway town at Wolverton. His last stop is Newport Pagnell, where he tackles the ancient craft of vellum making. (en)
Portillo visits the home of Queen Victoria's favourite bishop in Hartlebury, sniffs out the secrets of a famous 19th-century sauce in Worcester and follows in the footsteps of Victorian health fanatics to the Malvern Hills. (en)
Portillo rediscovers a once-famous poet in Nottingham and travels on a railway line resurrected by popular demand after falling victim to the Beeching cuts. He finds out how Doncaster rail workers shaped British political history, before reaching his final destination of Leeds, where he auditions at Britain's oldest continuously working music hall. (en)
Portillo takes a white-knuckle walk on the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, follows in the footsteps of the Victorians to experience the delights of the Giant's Causeway, and explores the rich history of Derry. (en)
Portillo discovers the Victorian coal heritage that turned Cardiff into the city it is today, explores the 19th-century reason why Barry Island isn't an island, and takes a steam ride through the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park. (en)
Portillo finds out how Canterbury Cathedral was saved during the Baedeker raids of World War II, goes whelk fishing in Whitstable and explores the origins of a seaside swim in Margate. (en)
Portillo enters the foul-smelling world of a Victorian tannery and hears how a 19th-century entrepreneur made his fortune thanks to mountains of bird droppings and then used his wealth to build churches and one of the most luxurious country houses in Britain. Portillo then heads for the mystical Glastonbury Abbey, where Victorian tourists flocked to hear tales of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. (en)
Portillo learns how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers, travels along one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts and discovers that life is not always sweet on a shortbread production line. (en)
Portillo visits the Royal Observatory, Greenwich to see how the railways standardised time, takes a walk through the Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, between Wapping and Rotherhithe and explores the historic dockyards at Chatham. (en)
Portillo travels to Farnborough where he learns more about the airfield's long association with aeronautical research and development when he visits the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum. Alighting at Basingstoke, Portillo visits Highclere Castle – the main location for the historical drama series Downton Abbey, before visiting the Mid-Hants Railway to discover more about Thomas the Tank Engine author The Reverend Wilbert Awdry. (en)
From Ayr, Portillo admires the granite island of Ailsa Craig before getting to grips with the ancient sport of curling, with help from a Scottish world champion. The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers invites him to take part in the oldest archery competition in the world. At Barassie, he rides the footplate of a freight train hauling coal on Scotland's oldest railway line. He caps off this leg of his journey in Stewarton. (en)
Portillo discovers the history behind the Brighton Pavilion and learns that Queen Victoria was not an admirer of the Prince Regent's flamboyant taste. He learns that while the railways brought day-trippers to frolic in fashionable Brighton, Victorian engineers built a magnificent underground network of sewers more than 40 miles long, which is still functioning today. At Bramber, he discovers that at the time of his guide tourists flocked to the town in huge numbers to see a Victorian museum of taxidermy. Portillo's next stop is Arundel Castle, and he's pleased to find that the Duke of Norfolk was a great supporter of the railways. His rail journey ends in Chichester, from where he heads up into the South Downs for a taste of life in the fast lane at the Goodwood Circuit. (en)
Portillo learns about a Scottish hero, visits a Highland Games and discovers how an impressive piece of Victorian engineering ended in tragedy. (en)
Portillo alights at Betws-y-Coed, the gateway to Snowdonia, later he rides the Ffestiniog Heritage Railway to Minffordd and then onto Criccieth to visit Llanystumdwy, home town of David Lloyd George – to date the only Welsh-born British Prime Minister. Portillo travels to Penrhyn Slate quarry, once one of the biggest of its kind in the world. After travelling along the Welsh Highland Railway, he ends his journey in Caernarfon and its famous castle. (en)
After visiting the seaside resort of Rhyl, Portillo travels to Colwyn Bay to learn about the important role the Ministry of Food played during World War II. After overnighting in Llandudno, Portillo travels to Bangor before crossing the Britannia Bridge to Anglesey, where he visits Plas Newydd. (en)
Portillo samples local Cheddar and strawberries, explores Cheddar Gorge and the famous caves, and visits Birnbeck Pier, one of the oldest piers in the country, at Weston-super-Mare. (en)
Portillo takes the High Speed 1 line to Stratford to explore the legacy of the Olympic Park. He hears how an Indian lawyer, who learnt his trade in Victorian London, went on to change the world, and then explores an area of the city which has been home to wave upon wave of immigrants, Spitalfields. He ends this journey at Victoria tube station, where he finds out about the massive makeover currently under way. (en)
Portillo learns of the Victorian fascination with antiquity by visiting the amazing Cromlech stones of Dundalk. He reaches for the stars at the Armagh Observatory and travels in style along the steam railway of Downpatrick. (en)
Portillo travels to the port city of Kingston upon Hull, then takes the train to Cottingham to visit Tranby Croft – location of the late 19th century Royal baccarat scandal. After visiting the seaside town of Scarborough, he alights at Malton to visit Castle Howard. (en)
Portillo finds out about shoddy in the Heavy Woollen District, a successful 19th-century recycling industry in the textile town of Batley, discovers how the railways boosted Yorkshire's forced rhubarb trade, and meets the great-great-granddaughter of George Bradshaw himself. (en)
Portillo begins in Ashford in Kent, where he lends a hand at a state-of-the-art train maintenance plant that is home to High Speed 1 rolling stock. Then a visit to the home of a historic make-up brand reveals the foundations of the Victorian cosmetics industry, before he ends his journey at Knole House in Sevenoaks, seat of the Sackville-West family. (en)
Portillo searches for the last liquorice grower in Pontefract, discovers how the railways turned Hull into one of the largest white fish ports in the world and goes fishing for sea bass in Bridlington. (en)
Portillo travels through Hampshire and Berkshire, stopping-off at Stratfield Saye House, the stately home bequeathed by the nation to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, in 1817. He then heads to Aldershot Garrison, where he is put through his paces under military instruction. At St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, he visits the tomb of French emperor Napoleon III and his family, and ends in Crowthorne, Berkshire, the home of Broadmoor Hospital. (en)
Portillo visits the Buxton Opera House and the Duke of Devonshire's stables in Buxton, helps to repair the ancient peat landscape of the Peak District, goes to Matlock Bath, and travels on a steam train on the heritage Peak Rail to Rowsley, where he visits the local stone quarry. (en)
Portillo observes the amazing engineering feat involved in building the railway along Dublin's treacherous East coast, explores 19th-century crime and punishment in a Victorian jail, and finds out how the lions of Dublin Zoo changed the fortunes of the railways. (en)
Portillo travels to the coastal town of Cromer, visits the Norfolk Broads, after spending the night in Norwich, he shots Clay pigeon at Quidenham Hall before ending his journey at his old Alma mater in Cambridge. (en)
Portillo visits the Irish National Stud, discovers how harsh life was for the Irish poor and uncovers an astronomical feat of Victorian engineering. (en)
On the first leg, Portillo is led to a special view of the city of Oxford by his 19th-century guidebook, samples a Victorian navvies' brew made by steam power and discovers a unique and colourful crop in the heart of the Cotswolds. (en)
Portillo starts in Middlesbrough, visiting one of the last iron foundries in the town and helping cast a carrot valve for a steam engine. His next stop is Darlington, where he meets the editor of the Northern Echo and finds out about the colourful history of WT Stead, one of his predecessors. He then heads to St Paul's monastery in Jarrow to learn about 8th century monk the Venerable Bede, known as 'the father of English history', before finishing in Hexham, where he visits a historic ginger beer emporium. (en)
Beginning in the port of Dover, Portillo takes a plunge into the English Channel, inspired by the example of the first person to swim the Channel. A miniature steam train, one third the size of a conventional locomotive, conveys him from Romney Marsh to Dungeness. In Eastbourne, he learns how the 7th Duke of Devonshire managed to market the town's attractions to the refined upper-crust of Victorian London. Finally, Portillo attends the Glyndebourne opera festival on the South Downs. (en)
Portillo explores the Battle of Cable Street, the Ford factory at Dagenham, the seaside delights of Southend, and the Essex birds of Wallasea Island. (en)
Portillo explores a secret port that ran the first train ferries to France carrying vital supplies during World War I, visits Walmer Castle, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and enters the Channel Tunnel. (en)
Portillo goes underground at Big Pit coal mine in Blaenavon, where he discovers how Victorians toiled night and day to power the Industrial Revolution. On the River Usk, he learns about 19th-century developments in angling before heading to Ascott-under-Wychwood – once the scene of a farm labourers' dispute that ended in rioting. He concludes at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. (en)
Starting again from London on a more leisurely journey, Portillo begins with a visit to a Swiss garden in Bedfordshire, then goes back to school in Haileybury, and finishes at the Rothamsted Research facility. (en)
Portillo visits the world's first iron bridge at Coalbrookdale, explores the historic Chirk Castle and has a go at making traditional Cheshire cheese. (en)
Portillo crosses into West Yorkshire, visiting the Worth Valley and the home of the three Brontë sisters, who were early investors in the railway industry. He then heads to Oakworth to find out how its station and tracks were used in one of the most popular films ever made, and in Bradford he discovers the ways in which 19th-century workers saved to buy a home. He finishes in Halifax, where he learns how the railways contributed to the town's success. (en)
In West Croydon, Portillo learn more about the English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, then travels to the rapidly developing town of Three Bridges. Alighting at Lewes, Portillo visits Charleston, the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. (en)
Armed with a 1936 copy of Bradshaw's Railway Guide, Portillo visits Oxford where he learns about the important contribution the University's female students have made. After visiting the 17th century country house – Garsington Manor, Portillo travels to Abingdon where he visits the MG Car Club. (en)
Portillo discovers how derelict Victorian London is being rejuvenated, puts in a shift at a Cambridgeshire brick factory, and meets the immigrant community built from its bricks. (en)
Portillo gets a rare chance to drive a heritage diesel train, finds out why Norfolk black turkeys appeared on the Christmas menu in Bradshaw's day, and samples some classic Cromer crab. (en)
Portillo alights at Pontyclun to visit the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, before travelling to the Welsh capital, Cardiff – to learn about Welsh Rugby. At Ebbw Vale, Portillo rides the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. (en)
Portillo discovers Britain's hidden micro-mines within the Forest of Dean, sees why the Victorians fell for the romantic ruins of Tintern Abbey and uncovers the railway engineering behind the industrial icon that is Newport Transporter Bridge. (en)
Portillo arrives in Littlehampton, where he discovers how Victorian engineers dug deep to defend the town's residents from cholera and learns how their drills still access clean water around the world. At Gosport, he experiences first-hand the lethal firepower unleashed on the French and learns how the Victorians were engaged in a furious arms race against them. At the family home of Florence Nightingale in the New Forest, he finds out what motivated the Lady of the Lamp, before seizing the chance to drive the first motor car at Beaulieu. (en)
Portillo samples 19th-century foodie delicacies, explores a stunning landscape shot to fame by rails and royals, and risks life and limb for the gift of the gab. (en)
Portillo visits Herne Bay to learn more about pioneering English pilot Amy Johnson. Travelling on to the seaside town of Whitstable, Portillo first takes a boat into the Thames Estuary to see the World War II armed forts. Upon returning to Whitstable, he samples its famous oysters. Reboarding the train, he travels on to Lenham, from where he visits nearby Leeds Castle. (en)
Portillo explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool such as the Blackpool Tower where town crier and tower guide Barry McQueen sang the old music hall song "The Bradshaw Guide" to the accompaniment of the Wurlitzer organ played by Phil Kelsall in the Tower Ballroom. Blackpool was a resort made by the railways. Portillo takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with Cedric Robinson the official keeper of the sands. (en)
Michael Portillo gets up to speed with modern archaeology in County Meath and uncovers a controversial Victorian dig at the sacred Hill of Tara. (en)
Portillo is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail to travel under the River Thames and to meet the impressive Mary, vital to the project. He then travels on the capital's first railway, and admires the remarkable brick viaduct on which it was built. He takes a tour underneath its arches with a Victorian map showing the poverty of those who once lived there. The Docklands Light Railway takes him to Greenwich, home to the Cutty Sark and in Woolwich, he discovers the firepower of the British Empire, before coming to a sticky end at West Silvertown. (en)
Portillo visits a station fit for royalty in Windsor, views the Maidenhead Railway Bridge an engineering triumph built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to span the River Thames at Maidenhead, and tries his hand at collecting the mail 'Victorian style' on a steam-powered travelling post office. (en)
Alighting at Finchley Road, Portillo heads to Hampstead to visit the Freud Museum, and then goes to the Abbey Road Studios and crosses the zebra crossing made famous by the Beatles. After learning about the origins of darts during a visit to a London pub, Portillo travels to Finsbury Health Centre, which was designed by Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton architecture practice. (en)
Portillo starts at Hampton Court Palace, where he is treated to a private tour of the Great Vine – the world's longest grapevine – before moving on to stately Claremont House, where tragic circumstances led directly to the birth of the Victorian era. He then travels on to Wimbledon and the site of a historic duelling event, and ends his journey in Teddington, where he hears the story of a reformer whose work revolutionised the care for those with living disabilities. (en)
Portillo tunes into the music of the mills and collieries of Victorian England by joining a brass band in Honley, before stopping off in Holmfirth to learn about a tragedy that led to a tourist boom in the town. He then crosses into Derbyshire to pay homage to railway engineer George Stephenson at his resting place in Chesterfield, before concluding his journey at Chatsworth House, one of the first stately homes to welcome visitors by rail. (en)
Portillo visits Manchester to find out more about George Bradshaw himself. He also gets fitted for a trilby in Denton and learns how the railways helped to create fish and chips. (en)
Portillo feeds the crew of Britain's newest warship, discovers how the Victorians planned to repel a possible French invasion, and learns that there is well-established industry where one might least expect to find it. (en)
In Plymouth, Portillo finds out about the Royal Navy's fighting spirit and mixes his own blend of ruin. Crossing into Cornwall, he learns about the last bridge to be built by one of his heroes, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. By Tre Pol and Pen, he comes to know Cornishmen and how to prepare the perfect pasty. His journey ends in a small village which in Victorian times became a hub of global communications. (en)
Portillo begins his journey in Letchworth Garden City, visits The Ritz Hotel in London, and cycles around the track at Herne Hill Velodrome. (en)
Portillo travels to the London suburb of Pinner to see the Heath Robinson Museum, before visiting Slough's Mars factory. After exploring Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens, Portillo travels to Windsor Castle where he learns more about the Abdication of Edward VIII. (en)
Portillo travels on the capital's first underground railway, the Metropolitan line, from Amersham, where first he discovers the foundations for modern day suburbia. In Pinner, he finds out about a Victorian domestic goddess and whips up a pint of her fanciest ice cream. In Highgate, he investigates the terraced catacombs of one of London's vast 19th-century cemeteries. At Madame Tussauds he comes face to face with Isambard Kingdom Brunel before experiencing hot wax at first hand. He ends with a trip to the London Zoo at Regent's Park. (en)
In Newton Aycliffe, Portillo visits the Hitachi Newton Aycliffe factory; he then learns about Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, in Croft-on-Tees; next, he travels to a smokehouse in Craster; he ends with a visit to Dunbar. (en)
Portillo is taught to set tables aboard the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth, finds the remains of a military hospital built in the village of Netley by order of Queen Victoria, and learns about a battle in Basingstoke between townspeople and the Salvation Army. (en)
Portillo takes to the sea with the heroes of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, visits a stormy coastal railway, and has a close personal encounter with his boyhood hero. (en)
Portillo travels from Ipswich to Chelmsford, starting at an agricultural implements works with its own railway sidings. Continuing his journey south-west into Essex, he helps to dredge for oysters off Mersea Island before taking the train to Witham, where he discovers a model farming establishment at Tiptree. He ends this leg at Chelmsford, home to the world's first purpose-built radio equipment factory, established by Guglielmo Marconi. (en)
Portillo arrives in the Surrey town of Guildford to explore its Anglican Cathedral, before travelling to Chilworth to learn more of Agatha Christie's disappearance from Newlands Corner. In Farnham, Portillo delves into the history of artist W. H. Allen, he then visits the Army garrison town of Aldershot. (en)
On the last leg of Portillo's journey, a fashionable Victorian seaweed bath is followed by a steamy scene in Ballina. (en)
In the heart of academia in Oxford, Portillo visits the Bodleian Library to see some Victorian treasures, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manuscript and a pocket-sized edition of Bradshaw's Companion. He investigates two new rail projects at Bicester, finds out about Victorian philanthropy in Bedford, and finishes in Luton, where he explores the dark arts of the hat-maker. (en)
Portillo explores London's theatreland and discovers how 19th-century engineering made for spectacular theatricals. At Charing Cross, he learns about the ambitious building programme which saw Trafalgar Square replace streets of slums, and comes almost face to face with George Bradshaw. At one of the busiest stops on the tube, Piccadilly Circus, he indulges in some retail therapy at a perfumery patronised by kings, queens and prime ministers. The Bakerloo to Oxford Circus line takes him to Soho and a grimmer side of Victorian London, where disease was rife. (en)
Portillo joins an assembly line in a Carlisle biscuit factory and discovers the popularity of the custard cream in Victorian times. He descends into Honister Slate Mine and sees the miniature railway previously used to carry the slate to the surface. Portillo follows the route Victorian miners took to work, focusing on the tightrope bridge above the Borrowdale Valley which is now Britain's only Via Ferrata. (en)
Portillo travels all the way from London King's Cross to Edinburgh on a special train pulled by the Flying Scotsman. (en)
Portillo meets the wild clansmen of Carlisle, the Border Reivers, witnesses a wedding in Gretna Green and visits a secret World War I munitions factory. He also meets comedian Janey Godley in Calton, Glasgow and Glasgow Green to discuss the contrasting poverty and grandeur of those respective places. (en)
In Taunton, Somerset, Portillo stands trial at the Bloody Assizes and feels the full force of the law. He then gets to grips with a miracle of Victorian engineering on the Somerset Levels at Westonzoyland, and on Dartmoor embarks on a mid-19th century treasure hunt still popular today. (en)
Portillo comes face-to-face with a medieval politician, takes a rail tour of Victorian freak show hotspots, and visits Southend to ride one of the world's first electric railways. (en)
Portillo explores the extensive railway network within the Bog of Allen, discovers the Victorian secrets behind the amazing Boyne Viaduct, and travels underground into the vast Irish zinc mines. (en)
Portillo learns how Victorian blacksmithing was not for the faint-hearted, rides one of Britain's most modern trains and traverses the Victoria Bridge. (en)
Portillo investigates the Victorian origins of snooker, before ploughing a crooked furrow at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. In Bath, he takes tea with the ladies, and also discovers a scandalous novel written by an eccentric recluse, who was once the wealthiest man in England. (en)
Portillo learns about the Victorian fascination with Britain's own Atlantis to the lost city of Dunwich, meets some gentle giants who were crucial to the smooth running of the railways and discovers how the Port of Felixstowe grew into the biggest container port in the country. (en)
Portillo explores one of the greatest locomotive factories in railway history, discovers the dark side of the industrial revolution and learns how, in Victorian times, the potteries brought their products to the masses. (en)
Portillo searches for the lost church of Saint Piran, explores the last working tin mine in Cornwall at South Crofty, enjoys the sun and sands at St Ives, harvests oysters on the Helford River, and reaches the end of the line at Penzance. (en)
Portillo learns the secrets of stilton cheese, finds out how trains transformed the traditional British sport of fox hunting and attempts to make an authentic Melton Mowbray pork pie. (en)
Portillo visits Newmarket's famous racing stables to learn more about the town's long history of Horse racing. Later, he travels to Ickworth House, the former residence of the Marquess of Bristol. Alighting at Downham Market, Portillo visits the nearby British Sugar Wissington sugar refinery before riding the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway to Walsingham where he explores the remains of Walsingham Priory. (en)
Every train ride begins with a whistle and Portillo's journey this time starts in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter to the sound of the Acme whistle, manufactured there since 1884. A visit to the city's town hall reveals a magnificent organ and the location for a celebrated music festival. Travelling south to Kidderminster, he visits the Royal Mail sorting office and finds out about the great postal innovator Sir Rowland Hill. Arriving in Worcester, he discovers the origins of the British Medical Association. (en)
Portillo visits Gainsborough, and then heads to Lincoln. He explores the Cambridgeshire Fens and finally arrives at Ely. (en)
After visiting the Rolls-Royce's Goodwood factory, Portillo travels to the Kings Theatre in Southsea. On the Isle of Wight, Portillo visits Osborne House, the former holiday home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. (en)
Portillo begins in Northampton, where Victorian methods have been used to make shoes for more than 130 years. He then heads to Warwickshire, learning about the legacy of Thomas Arnold at Rugby School and finding out how Coventry's craftsmen learned to adapt to survive, before ending this leg of his trip in Nuneaton. (en)
Portillo first stop is the coastal town of Aberystwyth, where he explores the National Library of Wales, he then rides the heritage Vale of Rheidol Railway to Devil's Bridge in Ceredigion. Portillo's final stop is Newtown, where he visits Gregynog Hall, the former home of Welsh philanthropist sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies. (en)
Portillo begins in Manchester, where he finds out how the world's first industrialised city produced a revolutionary political movement, and learns about the railway workers who founded one of the most successful football clubs of all time. Along the way, he does the washing in Port Sunlight—a model village on the Wirral—and hears stories about the aptly named George Francis Train's time in Birkenhead, Merseyside. (en)
Portillo discovers how trains spread the word about Oban whisky, hears about the heroic struggle to build a railway across the desolate Rannoch Moor and visits Corrour, one of the favourite shooting estates of the Victorian political elite. (en)
Portillo begins in the ruinous gardens at Aberglasney House near Llandeilo, before riding shotgun in the driver's cab on one of the most scenic routes in Britain. Over the border in Leominster, he steps out onto the dance floor at the Lion Hotel Ballroom, where a grand ball was held to celebrate the opening of the Ludlow to Hereford railway, and finishes this leg of his journey at a traditional cider house in Hereford. (en)
Portillo travels to Ditchling, East Sussex, home to the late Dame Vera Lynn and several prominent artists, including Sir Frank Brangwyn and Raymond Briggs. He travels on to the seaside town of Bexhill and then to Burwash to visit nearby Bateman's, home to The Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling, who lived there from 1902 until his death in 1936. Portillo ends his journey at The Grange in Benenden, where he learns about the work done in preserving Japanese heritage by British plant collector Collingwood Ingram. (en)
Portillo begins his journey in Bangor, learning about 'Operation Pied Piper', the evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II. Alighting at Tal-y-Cafn he visits nearby Bodnant Garden. After travelling to Dolgarrog to learn about its 1925 dam disaster, Portillo's last stop is Betws-y-Coed – gateway to Snowdonia, where he tries some rock climbing. (en)
In Oakham in Rutland, Portillo learns about a noble tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and decides to take part. Heading east to Stamford, he discovers why the town is such an attractive location for period dramas, while a ghoulish scene greets him in Peterborough when he visits a Victorian operating theatre where railwaymen were treated. His last stop is Christ's College at Cambridge University, where he finds out about the student days of Charles Darwin. (en)
In Preston, where four mill workers had been shot dead by soldiers during a protest in 1842, Portillo reads the Riot Act. In Darwen, he follows 19th-century developments in interior design from wallpaper to paint. He explores the Victorian industrial landscape of Salford depicted in L. S. Lowry's paintings – most recognisably with matchstick figures. He finishes on Kersal Moor, experiencing the tongue twisting Lancashire dialect and the poetry of Edwin Waugh. (en)
Portillo visits the historic Durham Cathedral, sees one of the first locomotives in Darlington and takes a Dracula tour in Whitby, before ending his journey on a North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam train across the North York Moors. (en)
Portillo gets close to some precious Victorian botany at Kew Gardens, tries his hand at croquet, and discovers a very surprising 19th-century place of worship. (en)
Portillo starts in the elegant spa town of Cheltenham, where he discovers a very early locomotive carriage which ran on the road and is allowed to get behind the wheel. Next stop is the medieval town of Tewkesbury, scene of a grisly battle during the Wars of the Roses, where he joins a group of re-enactors for a taste of the action. In Droitwich, he learns of the origins of the local salt industry, and then ends his journey in Wolverhampton, scene of Queen Victoria's first public appearance after the death of Prince Albert. (en)
Portillo travels to the Welsh port city of Newport, where he discovers the city's rich maritime history. Alighting at Filton Abbey Wood, he visits Airbus' Landing Gear Test Facility. After overnighting in Bristol, Portillo arrives in Bath where he learns about the importance that the city played in the suffragette movement, before travelling to the Somerset seaside town of Clevedon, where he visits an Edwardian era cinema. (en)
Portillo starts in Chapeltown, before heading to Sheffield University & Conisbrough, ending in Doncaster. (en)
Portillo takes a tour of Chester's Roman remains and discovers a secret World War II chemical weapons plant at Rhydymwyn. After spending the night in Llandudno, he goes mussel fishing on the beautiful Conwy estuary. (en)
Portillo meets the remarkable craftsmen behind the Victorian furniture trade, discovers how George Bradshaw helped save Britain's canal heritage, and sees Shakespeare through the eyes of a 19th-century railway tourist. (en)
Portillo explores the former Midland Grand Hotel during the final stages of its redevelopment. He rides London Underground's first line – the Metropolitan line – to Smithfield Market Hall, and climbs the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament to hear the Big Ben bell chime. (en)
Portillo tries his hand at traditional Irish cuisine, sees the landscape which inspired one of the 20th century's greatest poets, W B Yates, and steps in time Sligo-style. (en)
Portillo drinks a Victorian brew drawn from the pure waters of Cockermouth, steps inside the hidden world of nuclear reprocessing at Sellafield, and travels into the wonders of a Japanese-inspired 19th-century garden. (en)
Portillo uncovers the amazing oil fields hidden underneath England's quiet seaside resorts, discovers the crucial role Weymouth played in the D-day landings, and heads to the cradle of Victorian Britain's most prestigious building rock, Portland. (en)
Portillo experiences the magnificent Victorian organ at Winchester Cathedral, goes behind the scenes at a 19th-century rail works still running in Eastleigh today and travels to Queen Victoria's favourite holiday destination, the Isle of Wight. (en)
Portillo uncovers the story of Britain's first purpose-built crematorium, and visits Brooklands, the birthplace of motor racing. He goes camping and finds out about the unlikely origins of a leisure pursuit that is still going strong today. (en)
Portillo visits Plymouth to learn more of its long maritime history before travelling onwards to the harbour town of Fowey. Passing St Michael's Mount, Portillo alights at Penzance and makes his way to the fishing port of Newlyn. He ends his journey in Poldhu, on The Lizard peninsula, where he discovers how Marconi sent the world's first radio transmission across the Atlantic ocean. (en)
Portillo explores the Chislehurst Caves and learns about their use during World War II as an air raid shelter. He then travels to Eltham Palace, where Henry VIII grew up. After visiting Peckham to learn about the work done by Jamaican-born physician Harold Moody who started the League of Coloured Peoples, Portillo travels to Kennington and delves into the rags to riches career of one of its most famous residents, Charlie Chaplin. (en)
Portillo visits Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire where the pioneering rehabilitation work carried out there by Sir Ludwig Guttmann led to the development of the Paralympic Games. Just outside the town of Princes Risborough, Portillo experiences the notorious Kop Hill Climb in a Sidecar. Later, he visits the Ercol furniture factory, before making a nostalgic visit to Bekonscot Model Village. (en)
Portillo visits the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, the Long Shop Museum in Leiston, and Ipswich, ending this journey in Harwich. (en)
Portillo travels to Colchester's Abberton Reservoir, before heading to Witham, to visit the nearby Tiptree jam factory. Portillo travels to the Essex parish of Writtle where the UK's first regular radio broadcasts were made. Alighting at Chadwell Heath, he visits Becontree which was the largest public housing estate in world. (en)
Portillo gets his hands dirty following the example of Victorian archaeologists at Hadrian's Wall, discovers how the invention of the ticket machine made a big difference to 19th-century rail users, and sees how the Victorian railways first fuelled invention in Wigton. (en)
Portillo visits the famous wartime airfield of Biggin Hill to learn about its important role during World War II defending London and South East England, and takes to the skies in a Spitfire. After overnighting in East Grinstead, Portillo makes his way to Ashdown Forest, the setting for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and later visits Hartfield, the village where author A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin lived. (en)
Portillo visits the government arms factory at Enfield , discovers how the trains transformed Newmarket's races and finds out why Cambridge could be considered as the birthplace of modern football. (en)
Portillo explores the Victorian railway legacy behind the steel works of Port Talbot, follows the trail of 19th-century waterfall hunters in Neath and uncovers the fascinating whaling past of Milford Haven. (en)
Portillo makes apple juice in the Clyde Valley orchards, pays a thrilling visit to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge and relives his childhood memories in his grandparents' home town of Kirkcaldy. (en)
Portillo takes a ride on a secret miniature railway hidden beneath London's streets, rings the bells of Bow Church, and tries his hand at station announcing at Fenchurch Street station. (en)
Alighting at Taunton railway station, Portillo visits the Grade II* listed building, Hestercombe House. He then travels along the West Somerset Railway to Stogumber to visit Halsway Manor. After visiting Exeter Cathedral, Portillo travels to Bovey Castle on Dartmoor National Park. (en)
Portillo continues his journey in Chippenham, where at Lacock Abbey he discovers how the world's first photographic negative was made and learns how to make a print. He travels on to Bristol to visit the Victorian Clifton Zoo, where he learns that tigers and polar bears also arrived there by train. Next stop is Severn Tunnel Junction in Wales, where he explores an extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering with its own pump house pumping out millions of gallons a day to keep the Severn Tunnel dry. Finally, in Gloucester, he finds out why the station became infamous for lost luggage, and meets a stonemason who invites him to have a go at Gloucester Cathedral. (en)
Portillo arrives in the sailing haven of Lymington where he makes a lifesaving discovery. Exploring Dorchester's literary landscape, he finds out how the coming of the railways inspired the work of the region's greatest writer – Thomas Hardy. Weaving his way to Axminster, he tries his hand at carpet-making. His last stop is Exmouth, home to Francis Danby, a forgotten Victorian landscape artist. (en)
Portillo visits Brighton's Victorian aquarium – the largest in the world at the time – and explores the underground quarries of Godstone, before discovering the wonders of Crystal Palace in suburban south London. (en)
In Retford, Portillo learns about the Victorian rubber technology in Thirsk. He goes to a wildlife centre, and ends in Stockton-on-Tees. (en)
Portillo is in York, looking into the city's long history of chocolate making. After travelling to Harrogate, he visits a bespoke tailor in Leeds. At Bradford Grammar School, Portillo learns about one of its famous students – composer, Frederick Delius. (en)
Portillo concludes his tour of Manchester, and then heads to Standedge, Britain's longest canal tunnel. Finally, he travels to Silkstone Common near Barnsley. (en)
Portillo meets the Dagenham Girl Pipers who were founded by the Reverend Joseph Waddington Graves in 1930. Moving on to North Greenwich, Portillo visits the Thames Barrier and then makes his way to Battersea Power Station to be shown the progress in its redevelopment. (en)
Portillo begins in the industrial town of Greenock from where he sets sail on the PS Waverley, the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world. In Glasgow, he investigates 'Mackintosh style' in an iconic city tea room, before seeing the devastating effects of the 2014 fire at the Glasgow School of Art. In Blantyre, he discovers the humble beginnings of Britain's most famous missionary and explorer, and learns to bake sour dough in Scotland's oldest bakery in Strathaven. (en)
Portillo returns to the historic Settle-Carlisle line to find out what has happened to it since he helped save it in the 1980s. Along the way, he explores the Ribblehead Viaduct, finds out about the navvies who helped to build it and catches a steam train along the line. (en)
Portillo gets up close to a piece of natural history, visits a garden that was used as a viewing platform for public hangings and experiences a timepiece like no other. (en)
Portillo heads along the Essex bank of the River Thames before crossing the river into Kent. He begins in Barkingside, where Victorian philanthropist Thomas Barnardo made it his mission to transform the lives of destitute children, tries his hand at loading a container onto a pocket wagon at Tilbury Docks, and ends his trip in Rochester, where he encounters a host of familiar characters and explores a town that was an inspiration for many of Charles Dickens' works. (en)
Portillo finds out about Torquay's micro-climate, takes a ride on a steam-hauled train to Dartmouth, goes salmon fishing on the Dart estuary and spends some of Totnes's local currency, the Totnes pound. (en)
Portillo alights at Saxmundham to visit Summerhill School, founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill, and afterwards he travels to the historic market town of Woodbridge, Suffolk. After exploring nearby Sutton Hoo, Portillo heads to Harwich where he learns about the Kindertransport – the evacuation of Jewish children from Germany to England during World War II. His final stop is Manningtree, gateway to the Stour Valley – an area made famous by painter Constable. (en)
Portillo learns about the secrets behind Kirkby's famous blue slate, submerges himself into a secret world of nuclear submarines in Barrow-in-Furness, and sees why the executions at Lancaster Castle drew the Victorians in their droves. (en)
Beginning in Boston in the flatlands of Lincolnshire, Portillo explores the connection between the city and its American namesake. At Southwell, he discovers the origins of the Bramley apple and learns how to make apple pie. In Menston, he visits an imposing institution built to provide asylum for those suffering from mental illness and learns how volunteers care for its once derelict chapel and graveyard. At Wakefield, he manages to board one of Britain's least frequent services and finds out what led to the birth of the parliamentary train. Along the way, he meets a former locomotive engineer who offers him the chance to drive a steam engine. (en)
Portillo travels to Hackney Wick and visits the offices of the Morning Star. He then continues across East London to Repton Boxing Club in Bethnal Green and learns about the successful career of boxer Ted "Kid" Lewis. After overnighting in Kings Cross, Portillo visits Veeraswamy, the UK's oldest Indian restaurant where he tries his hand at making Indian food. (en)
Portillo explores the Conwy valley, stopping at Britain's first artists' colony at Betws-y-Coed, visiting the Victorian slate capital of Blaenau Ffestiniog and taking a steam train down to the harbour at Porthmadog. (en)
Portillo takes a Turkish bath in the famous spa town of Harrogate, explores the exemplary Victorian village of Saltaire, and rubs noses with some friendly alpacas, whose fleeces made fortunes in Bradshaw's day. (en)
Portillo begins his journey in Deal with a visit to Walmer Castle, and then travels on to the seaside town of Ramsgate where he explores its World War II tunnels. Continuing along the coast, Portillo visits Margate to look into the town's post-war development and visit its amusement park Dreamland. (en)
Portillo visits Sheffield's Kelham Island Museum to learn more about the city's industrial heritage. Alighting at Langley Mill, he travels to Eastwood, birthplace of the writer D. H. Lawrence. After visiting the Raleigh Bicycle Company headquarters, Portillo travels to the market town of Nantwich, which was once one of the biggest salt producers in England. (en)
Portillo is in Blaenau Ffestiniog where he learns how valuable paintings from the National Gallery in London were secretly hidden in Wales during World War II, before riding the Ffestiniog Railway from Tan-y-Bwlch to the harbour town of Porthmadog. After visiting T. E. Lawrence's birthplace in Tremadog, Portillo travels to the tourist village of Portmeirion and ends his journey in Barmouth. (en)
Portillo finds out about the Stiffs' Express, a funeral service running coffins from Waterloo to Brookwood Cemetery. He also discovers how London's West End became a great 19th-century shopping destination, and explores the changing fortunes of London's docks. (en)
Portillo visits Fleetwood, and then travels to Manchester to visit Manchester Piccadilly station, before ending up at Manchester Victoria. (en)
Portillo explores a church that moves in mysterious ways, finds out just what it takes to run a 19th-century signal box and summons all his strength to move a one-hundred-and-ten-tonne steam locomotive. (en)
Alighting at Park Royal, Portillo travels to nearby Ealing and the Brentham Lawn Tennis Club to learn about former World No. 1 tennis player Fred Perry. He then visits the London Transport Museum Acton Depot, before overnighting at The Dorchester in London's Mayfair. At the Royal Academy of Arts, Portillo recounts the rise of arts in London during the late 18th century, and then ends his journey at the Churchill War Rooms. (en)
Portillo finds out about free holiday trains for the Great Western Railway workers at the Swindon Works, samples the Roman Baths in Bath and tries his hand at glass blowing in Bristol. (en)
Portillo begins in Egham, Surrey, where a historic steam fair offers the original "white-knuckle ride". Across town lies the Royal Holloway College, now part of the University of London, where Portillo discovers the institution's philanthropic roots. Moving into Berkshire, he drops in at a factory manufacturing a famous sleep-inducing beverage with historic roots. His journey ends at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, where he learns that rowing in an eight is a challenging business. (en)
Portillo discovers how the railways helped train the first generation of commandos at Lochailort in World War II, finds out why langoustines have replaced herrings as the top catch in the fishing port of Mallaig and sails across the sea to Skye to explore the history of the highland crofters. (en)
Portillo travels on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, finds out about the latest Roman discoveries in York of the York Archaeological Trust and takes to the air in the Network Rail helicopter. (en)
Portillo enjoys the fun of the fair beside the sea in Southport, explores the origins of business in Wigan and of the Industrial Revolution in Bolton, and then visits Leyland where he gets the chance to drive a 100-year-old vehicle. (en)
Portillo gives an old engine a fresh start in the railway hub of Derby. In Nottingham, he discovers the Victorian origins of a well-known high-street chemist He then travels to Newstead Abbey, where he learns about its former owner, the young Lord Byron. A baking lesson in Grantham yields a batch of the oldest commercially traded biscuits in the country, and no visit to Grantham would be complete for him without calling at a historic grocer's shop. (en)
On the last leg, Portillo pays homage to the birthplace of golf at St Andrews. He visits a factory where they make traditional hickory-shafted clubs and ventures out on to the green. In Dunfermline, he discovers the poor beginnings of one of the world's wealthiest men, a remarkable philanthropist who worked on the railroads before making his fortune in steel. Crossing the Firth of Forth via the Forth Bridge, he arrives in Edinburgh in the middle of the world's largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he treads the boards in an unconventional adaptation of a play by Oscar Wilde. (en)
Portillo views the Book of Kells, a 1,200-year-old illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Trinity College. He samples Guinness in a Dublin pub, before discovering that Victorian royals were sent to Ireland in the hope of easing relations between the island and Britain. Next, he visits the spectacular house and gardens of Powerscourt in County Wicklow, and then finds out how Ireland was put on the map. (en)
Portillo starts in Faversham, where he visits the Shepherd Neame Brewery, one of the oldest in Britain. He then heads to Dover to explore a sunken fortress known as the Western Heights, before crossing into Surrey where he blow-dries a hen in Dorking. (en)
Portillo goes birdwatching on the wild cliffs of Flamborough Head, learns to decipher traditional knitting patterns in Filey and meets one of the oldest residents of the Victorian seaside resort of Scarborough – a 4,000-year-old skeleton called Gristhorpe Man. (en)
Portillo travels to Liverpool, where he visits the city's Anglican Cathedral, later, he visits the Merseyside town of Maghull, home of Frank Hornby, inventor of Meccano and Hornby Railways. Alighting at Abergele & Pensarn railway station in north Wales, Portillo delves into past of nearby Gwrych Castle. In the Welsh village of Dolgarrog, he learns more of its history of Aluminium smelting. (en)
On the trail of a Victorian snake catcher, Portillo visits the New Forest seeking out venomous adders, uncovers a secret library in Wimborne containing some very rare books and visits the Poole potteries founded in the 19th century, which are still working today. (en)
Portillo visits Crewe to learn more of its history as an important rail hub, later he travels to Chester Zoo. Alighting at Wrexham, Portillo travels to the former Gresford Colliery, site of the 1934 Gresford disaster which claimed 266 lives. He ends this leg in Shotton with a visit to the Tata steelworks. (en)
Portillo celebrates Victorian trade with the Preston Guild, and then heads to Rochdale to learn about a pioneering movement to improve the lives of working families. He also follows in the tracks of many 19th-century industrial employees who made day trips to Hebden Bridge to walk in the Calder Valley. (en)
Portillo sets sail from Heysham to the Isle of Man, where he discovers the horse trams of Douglas, the 19th-century secrets of the giant Laxey Wheel, and the Victorian history of the delightful Snaefell Mountain Railway. (en)
Portillo discovers the grave robbing history of Great Yarmouth, tries his hand at working a Victorian swing bridge in Reedham and takes to the air to discover how a Victorian railway guidebook helped aviators in World War II. (en)
Portillo tries his hand at cutting marble Victorian style, uncovers 19th-century Ireland's surprising industrial heritage and learns how the railways helped bring motorsport to the masses. (en)
Portillo investigates one of the great geological mysteries of the 19th century – the parallel roads of Glenroy, finds out how the Victorians put a weather observatory on the top of Ben Nevis, and takes a steam train across one of the most spectacular viaducts in Britain at Glenfinnan. (en)
Portillo explores the life of Victorian hop pickers, finds out about Maidstone's paper industry exemplified by James Whatman and discovers how the railways turned cricket into a national sport at Linden Park Cricket Club based at Higher Common Ground in Tunbridge Wells. (en)
Portillo meets the Queen's saddler in Walsall, visits the Balti Triangle, learns how to cook an authentic Indian curry at the Itihaas restaurant in Birmingham, and visits Bournville – the home of Cadbury and rumoured to be the best place to live in Britain. (en)
Portillo explores Albertopolis and reaches dizzying heights inside a Victorian landmark. He meets some of Battersea's most famous residents and gives one of them a bath! At Vauxhall, he learns about the darker side of London's flower market in Bradshaw's day. He ends this journey at London Bridge, where two stations are becoming one, and a new concourse is being built. (en)
First stop is Rye in East Sussex, where Portillo delves into the events of the 1928 Mary Stanford Lifeboat Disaster. After visiting a nearby World War II coastal Pillbox, he travels along the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch light railway from New Romney to Dungeness, where he visits the former RAF base at Denge. (en)
Alighting at Swanwick Station, Portillo visits Warsash Maritime Academy. After overnighting in Bournemouth, Portillo visits Brownsea Island, where Robert Baden Powell began the Scout Movement. (en)
After visiting Whitland, Portillo travels to Llanelli to learn more of its industrial history. Travelling to Gowerton near Swansea, Portillo delves into the history of Evan Roberts, who was an evangelist and a leading figure of the 1904–1905 Welsh revival. Alighting at Swansea railway station, Portillo visits the home of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. (en)
Portillo alights at Sawbridgeworth to visit Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, before travelling to Cambridge, to learn more of the Cambridge Spy Ring. After touring the Cavendish Laboratory, Portillo visits Impington Village College which was designed by Maxwell Fry and Bauhaus founder – Walter Gropius. (en)
Portillo travels to the Victorian seaside resort of Aberystwyth. He experiences Victorian entertainment, hears how the railways took Welsh textiles into even the most exclusive households and unleashes the power of a 19th-century engineering triumph. (en)
Portillo sees how Lincolnshire farmers used rails to improve their harvests, visits Lincoln Cathedral, and looks to the future of rail freight. (en)
Portillo leaves the train to visit Lee Valley White Water Centre for a ride in a canoe, and later alights at Hatfield to visit Camfield Place, the residence of the late Dame Barbara Cartland. After touring Allied Bakeries in Stevenage, he heads to Cardington Airfield where he learns about airship development at the site. (en)
Portillo discovers how the new middle-class homes of Victorian Ashley had many chimneys which needed to be kept clean and were swept by young children, as depicted in Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies. In Macclesfield, he finds the end of the Silk Route and tries screen printing. A steam-powered engine on the Churnet Valley Railway takes him to Froghall for Alton Towers where he learns about the 19th-century origins of this modern theme park. (en)
Portillo explores the first locomotive factory in the world, opened by George Stephenson. He also searches for the lost pit village of Marsden in South Shields and is entertained by a comic troupe of rapper sword dancers in Chester-le-Street. (en)
Portillo visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford, explores the country's first public park in Derby and finds out why Burton's beer is said to be the best. (en)
Portillo learns how volunteer Victorian fire fighters liked a tipple, discovers how even 19th-century sewage pumps were a celebration of design, and puts in a shift at the oldest fish market in Britain. (en)
Portillo rides one of Scotland's most picturesque railways, visits Scotland's smallest station and learns what went into a Victorian-style spa break. (en)
At Norwich Castle, Portillo uncovers the Victorian public's gory fascination with crime and punishment and finds out how campaigners such as Elizabeth Fry worked to improve conditions for prisoners. Heading west to Thetford, he explores how the Victorian appetite for rabbits and their fur led to special train services to London, and ends in the Suffolk town of Brandon, where he tries his hand at flint-knapping. (en)

dbp:title

Abergavenny to Hanborough (en)
Aberystwyth to Newtown (en)
Amersham to Regent's Park (en)
Ashford to Sevenoaks (en)
Ashley to Alton (en)
Athlone to Galway (en)
Attleborough to Skegness (en)
Aylesford to Tunbridge Wells (en)
Ayr to Paisley (en)
Ayr to Stewarton (en)
Ballina to Westport (en)
Ballymoney to Londonderry (en)
Bangor to Betws y Coed (en)
Bardon Mill to Wigton (en)
Batley to Sheffield (en)
Belfast to Portrush Town (en)
Belfast to Whitehead (en)
Berwick-Upon-Tweed to Morpeth (en)
Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest (en)
Birmingham to Stafford (en)
Birmingham to Worcester (en)
Birmingham to the Potteries (en)
Blackburn to Manchester (en)
Blackpool to Manchester Victoria (en)
Blaenau Ffestiniog to Barmouth (en)
Bletchley to Newport Pagnell (en)
Bodmin to Totnes (en)
Boston to Hensall (en)
Bray to Dublin (en)
Bridgwater to Dartmoor (en)
Brighton to Chichester (en)
Brighton to Crystal Palace (en)
Bristol to Glastonbury (en)
Brockenhurst to Poole (en)
Bugle to Mevagissey (en)
Buxton to Matlock (en)
Canterbury to Alexandra Palace (en)
Canterbury to Margate (en)
Cardiff to Brecon (en)
Carlisle to Glasgow (en)
Carlisle to Penrith (en)
Chapeltown to Doncaster (en)
Charleville to Waterford (en)
Cheltenham to Wolverhampton (en)
Chester to Conwy (en)
Chichester to Cowes (en)
Chippenham to Gloucester (en)
Chislehurst to Kennington (en)
Cockermouth to Eskdale (en)
Colchester to Chadwell Heath (en)
Covent Garden to Soho (en)
Coventry to Watford (en)
Crewe to Shotton (en)
Criccieth to Caernarfon (en)
Cromer to Cambridge (en)
Cromford to Burton upon Trent (en)
Croydon to Shoreham-by-Sea (en)
Dagenham to Battersea (en)
Darlington to Dunbar (en)
Darsham to Felixstowe (en)
Deal to Margate (en)
Deptford to West Silvertown (en)
Derby to Grantham (en)
Dereham to Cromer (en)
Dover to Lewes (en)
Dromod to Sligo (en)
Dudley to Bridgnorth (en)
Dufftown to Aviemore (en)
Dumbarton to Tyndrum (en)
Dundalk to Portadown (en)
Dundee to Aberdeen (en)
Durham to Grosmont (en)
Ealing Broadway to South Kensington (en)
East Grinstead to Guildford (en)
East Malling to Rye (en)
Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy (en)
Egham to Henley-on-Thames (en)
Elgin to Loch Ness (en)
Ely to King's Lynn (en)
Enfield to Cambridge (en)
Enfield to Drogheda (en)
Epping to Hackney (en)
Exmouth to Newton Abbot (en)
Falkirk to Dundee (en)
Farnborough to Winchester (en)
Faversham to Dorking (en)
Fenchurch to Embankment (en)
Filey to Scarborough (en)
Gainsborough to Ely (en)
Glasgow to Connel Ferry (en)
Glasgow to Cumbrae (en)
Great Yarmouth to Beccles (en)
Greenock to Larkhall (en)
Greystones to Dublin (en)
Guildford to Aldershot (en)
Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus (en)
Hampstead to Islington (en)
Hampton Court to Teddington (en)
Hartlebury to Great Malvern (en)
Hassocks to Benenden (en)
Haworth to Huddersfield (en)
Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent (en)
Hessle to York (en)
Heysham to Snaefell (en)
High Street Kensington to London Bridge (en)
High Wycombe to Stratford-upon-Avon (en)
Honley to Chesterfield (en)
Hythe to Hastings (en)
Ilford to Rochester (en)
Invergordon to John o' Groats (en)
Inverness to Plockton (en)
Ipswich to Chelmsford (en)
Kielder Forest to Edinburgh (en)
Kilkenny to Athy (en)
Killarney to Cobh (en)
Kingston upon Hull to Malton, North Yorkshire (en)
Kirkby-in-Furness to Lancaster (en)
Langley Mill to Melton Mowbray (en)
Larne to Dumfries (en)
Ledbury to Shrewsbury (en)
Leicester to Loughborough (en)
Letchworth Garden City to Herne Hill (en)
Limehouse to Rochford (en)
Littlehampton to Beaulieu (en)
Liverpool to Dolgarrog (en)
Liverpool to Eccles (en)
Llanberis to Holyhead (en)
Llanrwst to Porthmadog (en)
Lochailort to Skye (en)
London Bridge to Chatham (en)
London Euston to Cheddington (en)
London King's Cross to Peterborough (en)
London Paddington to Warminster (en)
London Victoria to Abbey Wood (en)
Longniddry to Edinburgh (en)
Lydney to Newport (en)
Lymington Town to Exmouth (en)
Lynton and Lynmouth to Exeter (en)
Maltby to Hinckley (en)
Manchester Piccadilly to Silkstone Common (en)
Manchester to Birkenhead (en)
Manchester to Bury (en)
Manchester to Elsecar (en)
Middlesbrough to Hexham (en)
Motherwell to Linlithgow (en)
Navan to Mullingar (en)
Newark-on-Trent to Stockton (en)
Newbridge to Roscrea (en)
Newcastle to Chester-le-Street (en)
Newcastle to County Durham (en)
Newcastle to Lindisfarne (en)
Newhaven to Worthing (en)
Newmarket to Walsingham (en)
Newport to Yatton (en)
Newry to Portadown (en)
Northampton to Nuneaton (en)
Norwich to Brandon (en)
Nottingham to Leeds (en)
Oakham to Cambridge (en)
Oban to Corrour (en)
Oxford to Abingdon (en)
Oxford to Luton (en)
Oxford to Pershore (en)
Paignton to Tiverton (en)
Park Royal to Westminster (en)
Pembroke Dock to Swansea (en)
Piccadilly Circus to Gravesend (en)
Plymouth to Porthcurno (en)
Plymouth to The Lizard (en)
Pontefract to Bridlington (en)
Pontyclun to Ebbw Vale Town (en)
Port Talbot to Milford Haven (en)
Portsmouth to Gomshall (en)
Potters Bar to Cardington (en)
Preston to Morecambe (en)
Preston to Rochdale (en)
Preston to Swinton (en)
Reading to Alton (en)
Reading to Taplow (en)
Redditch to Gloucester (en)
Rhyl to Anglesey (en)
Roybridge to Glenfinnan (en)
Rye to Dungeness (en)
Salisbury to Castle Cary (en)
Sandwich to Folkestone (en)
Sawbridgeworth to Cambridge (en)
Saxmundham to Dedham (en)
Saxmundham to Norwich (en)
Settle to Garsdale (en)
Sheffield to Nantwich (en)
Southampton to Basingstoke (en)
Southport to Leyland (en)
Spalding to Grimsby (en)
St Andrews to Edinburgh (en)
St Helens to Knutsford (en)
St Ives to St Day (en)
St Pancras to Westminster (en)
Stirling to Invergowrie (en)
Stirling to Pitlochry (en)
Stoke Mandeville to Beaconsfield (en)
Stoke-on-Trent to Winsford (en)
Stowmarket to Harwich (en)
Stratford to London Victoria (en)
Stroud to Bath (en)
Sudbury to Southend (en)
Swansea to Hereford (en)
Swanwick to Brownsea Island (en)
Swindon to Bristol (en)
Taunton to Minehead (en)
Taunton to Newton Abbot (en)
Taunton to Salisbury Plain (en)
Telford to Wrexham (en)
Todmorden to York (en)
Torquay to Totnes (en)
Truro to Penzance (en)
Truro to St Mawgan (en)
Walsall to Bournville (en)
Wareham to Portland (en)
Warrington to Preston (en)
Warwick to Radley (en)
Waterloo to Canary Wharf (en)
Welshpool to Aberystwyth (en)
Welwyn Garden City to Peterborough (en)
West Ruislip to Windsor (en)
Wexford to Wicklow (en)
Whitland to Swansea (en)
Winchester to Isle of Wight (en)
Winchfield to Crowthorne (en)
Windermere to Carnforth (en)
Windermere to Kendal (en)
Windsor to Didcot (en)
Witham to Felixstowe (en)
Woking to Clapham Junction (en)
Woking to Walton-on-Thames (en)
Wokingham to Bradford on Avon (en)
Yatton to Weston-super-Mare (en)
York to Frizinghall (en)
York to Saltaire (en)
London King's Cross to York – The Flying Scotsman (en)

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Great British Railway Journeys is a BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The documentary was first broadcast in 2010 on BBC Two and has returned annually. The series features Portillo travelling around the railway networks of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man, referring to Bradshaw's Guide and comparing how the various destinations have changed since; initially, he used an 1840s copy, but in later series he used other editions. (en)

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