Great British Railway Journeys - Season 2
Season 2
Network
Episodes25
DatesJan 3, 2011 - Feb 4, 2011
Episodes
Season 2Episode 130 min
Brighton to Crystal Palace
Michael Portillo finds out about Brighton's aquarium, explores the underground quarries of Godstone and discovers the wonders of the Crystal Palace.
Jan 3, 2011
Season 2Episode 230 min
Waterloo to Canary Wharf
Michael Portillo finds out about a funeral service running coffins from Waterloo to Brookwood Cemetery and explores the changing fortunes of London's docks.
Jan 4, 2011
Season 2Episode 330 min
Enfield to Cambridge
On a journey from Brighton to Cromer, Michael Portillo visits the government arms factory at Enfield and discovers how the trains transformed Newmarket's races.
Jan 5, 2011
Season 2Episode 430 min
Ely to King's Lynn
Michael Portillo goes fishing with the last eel trapper on the Fens at Ely and visits one of the great triumphs of 19th-century engineering, the Denver Sluice.
Jan 6, 2011
Season 2Episode 530 min
Dereham to Cromer
Michael Portillo drives a heritage diesel train, finds out why Norfolk black turkeys appeared on the Christmas menu in Bradshaw's day and samples some Cromer crab.
Jan 7, 2011
Season 2Episode 630 min
Ledbury to Shrewsbury
Michael Portillo tastes the Victorian drink perry, encounters a pedigree Hereford bull and visits the world's first iron-framed building in Shrewsbury.
Jan 10, 2011
Season 2Episode 730 min
Telford to Wrexham
Michael Portillo visits the world's first iron bridge at Coalbrookdale, explores the historic Chirk Castle and has a go at making traditional Cheshire cheese.
Jan 11, 2011
Season 2Episode 830 min
Chester to Conwy
Michael Portillo tours Chester's Roman remains, discovers a secret World War II chemical weapons plant at Rhydmwyn and goes mussel fishing on the Conwy estuary.
Jan 12, 2011
Season 2Episode 930 min
Llanrwst to Porthmadog
Michael Portillo explores the Conwy valley, stopping at Britain's first artists' colony at Betws-y-Coed, visiting the Victorian slate capital of Blaenau Ffestiniog and taking a steam train down to the harbour at Porthmadog.
Jan 13, 2011
Season 2Episode 1030 min
Llanberis to Holyhead
Michael Portillo takes the train to the top of Wales's highest peak, Mount Snowdon, witnesses the revival of Anglesey's sea salt industry and discovers how the railways transformed the tiny port of Holyhead.
Jan 14, 2011
Season 2Episode 1130 min
Newcastle to Chester-le-Street
Michael visits the first locomotive factory in the world, opened by George Stephenson. He also searches for the lost pit village of Marsden in South Shields and is entertained by a comic troupe of rapper sword dancers in Chester-le-Street.
Jan 17, 2011
Season 2Episode 1230 min
Durham to Grosmont
Michael visits the historic Durham Cathedral, sees one of the first locomotives in Darlington and takes a Dracula tour in Whitby, before ending his journey on a steam train across the North Yorkshire moors.
Jan 18, 2011
Season 2Episode 1330 min
York to Saltaire
Michael Portillo takes a Turkish bath in the famous spa town of Harrogate and explores the exemplary Victorian village of Saltaire.
Jan 19, 2011
Season 2Episode 1430 min
Batley to Sheffield
Michael Portillo finds out about shoddy, a successful 19th-century recycling industry in the textile town of Batley, and meets a descendant of George Bradshaw.
Jan 20, 2011
Season 2Episode 1530 min
Langley Mill to Melton Mowbray
Michael Portillo learns the secrets of stilton cheese and finds out how trains transformed the traditional British sport of fox hunting.
Jan 21, 2011
Season 2Episode 1630 min
London Bridge to Chatham
Michael Portillo visits the Royal Observatory at Greenwich to see how the railways standardised time and explores the historic dockyards at Chatham.
Jan 24, 2011
Season 2Episode 1730 min
Aylesford to Tunbridge Wells
Michael explores the life of Victorian hop pickers and finds out about Maidstone's revolutionary paper industry.
Jan 25, 2011
Season 2Episode 1830 min
Canterbury to Margate
Michael finds out how Canterbury Cathedral was saved during the Baedeker raids of World War II and explores the origins of a seaside swim in Margate.
Jan 26, 2011
Season 2Episode 1930 min
Sandwich to Folkestone
Michael explores a secret port that ran the first train ferries to France carrying vital supplies during World War I and visits Walmer Castle.
Jan 27, 2011
Season 2Episode 2030 min
Hythe to Hastings
Michael Portillo discovers how the railway has changed down the years. This episode finds him in Kent, rolling along the scenic south coast to Hastings.
Jan 28, 2011
Season 2Episode 2130 min
Ayr to Paisley
Michael visits the hometown of Robbie Burns, finds out how to make haggis, and discovers how the railways transformed the game of golf in Prestwick.
Jan 31, 2011
Season 2Episode 2230 min
Dumbarton to Tyndrum
Michael Portillo explores the historic Dumbarton shipyards that built the Cutty Sark, visits Loch Lomond, and goes hunting for gold in Scotland's mountains.
Feb 1, 2011
Season 2Episode 2330 min
Oban to Corrour
Michael Portillo discovers how trains spread the word about Oban whisky, hears about the struggle to build a railway across Rannoch Moor and visits Corrour.
Feb 2, 2011
Season 2Episode 2430 min
Roybridge to Glenfinnan
Michael investigates the mysterious parallel roads of Glenroy and finds out how the Victorians put a weather observatory on the top of Ben Nevis.
Feb 3, 2011
Season 2Episode 2530 min
Lochailort to Skye
Michael discovers how the railways helped train commandos at Lochailort in World War II and explores the history of the highland crofters in Skye.
Feb 4, 2011
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