Great British Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 12: 1. Oxford to Abingdon on BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 12: 1. Oxford to Abingdon

Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys, this time through Britain between the world wars, armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide.\n\nHe begins with a tour of the Home Counties and beyond, starting in the city of dreaming spires, Oxford, where in 1921 women were awarded degrees for the first time. At Somerville College, Michael finds out about a pioneering crystallographer, Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to win a Nobel prize for chemistry.\n\nSoaking up the glorious sights of the city, Michael is tempted by a fashion trend that reached its height during the interwar period: Oxford bags. At Walters & Co, founded in 1925, he finds just the ticket. \n\nAt Garsington Manor, on the outskirts of the city, Michael discovers the risqué activities of a social set centred on the house's owner, Lady Ottoline Morrell, and famous artists and writers of the Bloomsbury Group. Tales of bohemian behaviour, nude frolicking and revelry in the beautiful manorial gardens turned heads as Britain buckled down in the face of impending war with Germany.\n\nNext stop is Culham, en route for Abingdon, where from 1929 the iconic British sports car, the MG, was built. Michael hears about the origins of one of the nation’s best-loved marques and joins the proud owner of a 1938 MG VA for a spin.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 15. Tewkesbury To Filton

Michael Portillo is on the last leg of his railway journey from the train-building city of Derby to the aircraft manufacturing base of Filton. From Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, ...

19-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 14. Wolverhampton To Cheltenham

At the African and Caribbean Heritage Centre in Wolverhampton, Michael finds out about the impact of Enoch Powell's 1968 speech on immigration in Wolverhampton and across the na ...

18-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 13. Long Itchington To Moseley

Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the heart of the Warwickshire countryside, where work is underway on a section of the biggest project of new railway infrastruct ...

14-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 12. Coventry To Leamington Spa

In Coventry, Michael recalls the destruction by the German Luftwaffe of the city’s gothic cathedral in November 1940. He hears how architect Basil Spence won a competition ...

12-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 11. Derby To Hinckley

Michael Portillo explores the postwar Britain of his youth on a railway journey from the Midlands to the West Country.\n\nBeginning in Derby's famous 19th-century railway works, ...

11-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 10. Brandon To Cambridge

Michael Portillo completes his railway journey through the east of England during the post-war period. At RAF Lakenheath, he discovers a slice of America dropped into the Britis ...

10-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 9. Felixstowe To Norwich

Michael Portillo continues his rail exploration of the east of England, beginning with the seafront at Felixstowe, where in January 1953, the town was engulfed in the worst floo ...

05-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 8. Paddington To Ongar

Michael Portillo ventures deep underground onto London’s newest railway: the Elizabeth Line. Emerging into the sunshine in Bedford Square, he recalls the choking smogs whi ...

04-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 7. Waterloo To Regent's Park

Michael Portillo continues his railway exploration of the post-war Britain of his youth on a journey from London to Cambridge. \n\nHe begins on the capital’s South Bank, ...

03-02-2026

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 14: 6. Tilbury To Barbican

Michael Portillo travels through the Britain of his youth from London’s Docklands and East End to the ‘city within a city’, the Barbican. \n\nAt Tilbury, he t ...

29-01-2026

BBC 2

All episodes