S1 E18 ∙ Walsall to Bournville ∙
Michael Portillo hits the tracks to see how the railways have shaped Britain. Michael meets the Queen's saddler and learns how to cook an authentic curry.
All episodes for series 1 of Great British Railway Journeys
S1 E1 · Liverpool to Eccles
Michael learns Scouse in Liverpool and finds out about the first railway fatality.
S1 E2 · Manchester to Bury
Michael learns how the railways helped to create a national institution - fish and chips.
S1 E3 · Todmorden to York
Michael travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.
S1 E4 · Pontefract to Bridlington
Michael searches for the last liquorice grower in Pontefract and fishes for sea bass.
S1 E5 · Filey to Scarborough
Michael goes birdwatching and learns to decipher traditional knitting patterns in Filey.
S1 E6 · Preston to Morecambe
Michael Portillo learns about the temperance movement in Preston and visits Blackpool.
S1 E7 · Settle to Garsdale
Michael Portillo revisits the Settle-Carlisle line and explores the Ribblehead viaduct.
S1 E8 · Windermere to Kendal
Michael Portillo takes a Lake Windermere steamboat tour and visits Wordsworth's home town.
S1 E9 · Carlisle to Glasgow
Michael meets the wild Border Reivers clansmen and witnesses a wedding in Gretna Green.
S1 E10 · Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy
Michael makes apple juice in the Clyde Valley and visits the top of the Forth Rail Bridge.
S1 E11 · Swindon to Bristol
Michael finds out about free holiday trains for the GWR workers in Swindon.
S1 E12 · Yatton to Weston-super-Mare
Michael samples Cheddar strawberries and visits one of the country's oldest piers.
S1 E13 · Torquay to Totnes
Michael finds out about Torquay's microclimate and spends some of Totnes's local currency.
S1 E14 · Bugle to Mevagissey
Michael visits the largest clay mine in the world and goes pilchard fishing.
S1 E15 · Truro to Penzance
Michael searches for the church of St Piran and harvests oysters on the Helford River.
S1 E16 · Buxton to Matlock
Michael helps to repair the ancient peat landscape of the Peak District.
S1 E17 · Cromford to Burton-on-Trent
Michael Portillo visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford.
S1 E18 · Walsall to Bournville
Michael Portillo learns how to cook an authentic Indian curry in Birmingham.
S1 E19 · Coventry to Watford
Michael Portillo meets the last pure-breed Aylesbury duck farmer in Buckinghamshire.
S1 E20 · St Pancras to Westminster
Michael Portillo climbs up the Houses of Parliament clock tower to hear Big Ben chime.
