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Great British Railway Journeys

14 Series ∙ 244 Episodes ∙ Travel

Documentary series in which Michael Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country by train.

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Series Selector for Great British Railway Journeys

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.

Canal Boat Diaries

Great Continental Railway Journeys

Man and Beast with Martin Clunes

Great Indian Railway Journeys

Great American Railroad Journeys

Our Guy In...

Extreme Fishing Challenge with Robson Green

Extreme Fishing

DIY SOS: Children in Need Special 2013

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

My Kind Of Town