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  • 2020-01-06T18:30:00Z on BBC Two
  • 30m
  • 7h 30m (15 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • English
  • Documentary
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.

15 episodes

Season Premiere

2020-01-06T18:30:00Z

11x01 Newcastle to County Durham

Season Premiere

11x01 Newcastle to County Durham

  • 2020-01-06T18:30:00Z30m

Beginning 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.

Steered by his 1936 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo is in Northumbria en route to the Highlands.

2020-01-08T18:30:00Z

11x03 Falkirk to Dundee

11x03 Falkirk to Dundee

  • 2020-01-08T18:30:00Z30m

Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Newcastle to Loch Ness reaches Falkirk in Scotland.

2020-01-09T18:30:00Z

11x04 Dundee to Aberdeen

11x04 Dundee to Aberdeen

  • 2020-01-09T18:30:00Z30m

Stopping at Dundee, Michael Portillo heads for Glamis Castle, where Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, grew up.

2020-01-10T18:30:00Z

11x05 Elgin to Loch Ness

11x05 Elgin to Loch Ness

  • 2020-01-10T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

2020-01-13T18:30:00Z

11x06 St Ives to St Day

11x06 St Ives to St Day

  • 2020-01-13T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

2020-01-14T18:30:00Z

11x07 Truro to St Mawgan

11x07 Truro to St Mawgan

  • 2020-01-14T18:30:00Z30m

In 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.

2020-01-15T18:30:00Z

11x08 Bodmin to Totnes

11x08 Bodmin to Totnes

  • 2020-01-15T18:30:00Z30m

Clutching 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.

2020-01-16T18:30:00Z

11x09 Paignton to Tiverton

11x09 Paignton to Tiverton

  • 2020-01-16T18:30:00Z30m

The Dartmouth Steam Railway takes Michael Portillo to the beautiful home of Agatha Christie, in the company of her great-grandson, James Prichard.

11x10 Taunton to Salisbury Plain

  • 2020-01-17T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

Beginning 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.

2020-01-21T18:30:00Z

11x12 Limehouse to Rochford

11x12 Limehouse to Rochford

  • 2020-01-21T18:30:00Z30m

On 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.

2020-01-22T18:30:00Z

11x13 Witham to Felixstowe

11x13 Witham to Felixstowe

  • 2020-01-22T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

2020-01-23T18:30:00Z

11x14 Saxmundham to Norwich

11x14 Saxmundham to Norwich

  • 2020-01-23T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

Season Finale

2020-01-24T18:30:00Z

11x15 Attleborough to Skegness

Season Finale

11x15 Attleborough to Skegness

  • 2020-01-24T18:30:00Z30m

Michael 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.

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