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BBC Two7.4(14)

Great British Railway Journeys

Documentary
2010
16 Seasons
290 Episodes
EN
Returning Series

About

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.

#railroad

Cast

Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo

as Self - Presenter

Episodes

Series 1

See all 20episodes →
Liverpool to Eccles
E1

Liverpool to Eccles

Jan 4, 201030m

Ep1: Liverpool to Eccles. Michael begins his journey on the world's first passenger railway line, learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles cake.

Manchester to Bury
E2

Manchester to Bury

Jan 5, 201030m

Michael is in 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 a national institution - fish and chips.

Todmorden to York
E3

Todmorden to York

Jan 6, 201030m

Michael travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, finds out about the latest Roman discoveries in York and takes to the air in the Network Rail helicopter.

Pontefract to Bridlington
E4

Pontefract to Bridlington

Jan 7, 201030m

Michael 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.

Filey to Scarborough
E5

Filey to Scarborough

Jan 8, 201030m

Michael goes bird-watching 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 4000-year-old skeleton called Gristhorpe Man.

Preston to Morecambe
E6

Preston to Morecambe

Jan 11, 201030m

Michael explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool, a resort made by the railways, and takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with the official Keeper of the Sands.

Settle to Garsdale
E7

Settle to Garsdale

Jan 12, 201030m

Michael 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 magnificent Ribblehead viaduct, finds out about the navvies who helped to build it and catches a steam train along the line.

Windermere to Kendal
E8

Windermere to Kendal

Jan 13, 201030m

Michael takes a steamboat tour of Lake Windermere, visits Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere and makes sausages with a local Herdwick sheep farmer.

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