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Seasons & Episodes

EP1 Denham to Swindon Mar 18, 2024

Beginning at London Marylebone, the last great Victorian railway terminus to be built in the capital, Michael Portillo embarks on a postwar exploration of Britain’s southern counties.

EP2 Chippenham to Yeovil Mar 19, 2024

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.

EP3 Swanage to Portchester Mar 20, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches England’s south coast to continue his exploration of postwar Britain, beginning on the steam-powered Swanage Railway in Dorset.

EP4 Havant to Guildford Mar 21, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches Havant, where the Scalextric factory was located, and Haslemere, the surprise birthplace of a musical phenomenon: the plastic recorder.

EP5 Wokingham to Heathrow Mar 22, 2024

Michael goes on a tour around Heathrow Airport, taking an eerie walk around the mothballed Terminal 1 building and ending up atop the iconic 87.5 metre control tower.

EP6 Loch Lomond to Kelvinbridge Mar 25, 2024

Michael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes.

EP7 Glasgow to Cumbernauld Mar 26, 2024

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there.

EP8 Shawlands to Livingston Mar 27, 2024

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.

EP9 Edinburgh to Queensferry Mar 28, 2024

At the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey.

EP10 Dundee to Loch of the Lowes Mar 29, 2024

Michael’s rail journey through post-war Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.

EP11 Liverpool to Uttoxeter Apr 01, 2024

Michael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, visiting the strikingly contemporary Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and visits the former home of artist and poet Adrian Henri.

EP12 Derby to Nottingham Apr 02, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches the jet age in the Derby suburb of Peartree, where he tours the engineering colossus Rolls-Royce.

EP13 Lincoln to York Apr 03, 2024

Michael Portillo’s postwar journey from Merseyside to Teesside resumes at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, where England’s oldest canal, the Fossdyke, meets the city of Lincoln.

EP14 York to Skipton Apr 04, 2024

Michael Portillo’s journey finds him in York, a paradise for rail enthusiasts. He discovers the gardens at Harlow Carr in Harrogate and checks into the headquarters of Yorkshire Tea.

EP15 Northallerton to Chester-Le-Street Apr 05, 2024

Michael Portillo confronts a detachment of Gurkhas, produces a fine heritage cheese and discovers a monster cracker, which is key to making plastic.

8.1| 0h30m| en| More Info

Released: 04 January 2010 Returning Series

Producted By: Talkback Thames

Country: United Kingdom

Budget: 0

Revenue: 0

Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xgqxy

Synopsis

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.

Stream Online

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Cast

Michael Portillo

Director

Producted By

Talkback Thames