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Series 12: 2. Stoke Mandeville to Beaconsfield
Michael Portillo continues his travels through England's Home Counties at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where he discovers the legacy of a German Jewish doctor who fled the Nazis to settle in Britain. Dr Ludwig Guttman’s pioneering treatment for spinal injuries sustained on the battlefields of World War II eventually led to what we know today as the Paralympics. European wheelchair basketball silver medallist Ella Beaumont invites Michael to train with her in a wheelchair.\n\nMichael heads through the Chiltern Hills to Princes Risborough, where an infamous motor sports event took place until it was banned in 1925. Michael joins local petrolheads who have recently revived the Kop Hill climb, now with 21st-century health and safety. Michael braves the ascent in a side car.\n\nIn one of the most densely wooded areas of England, Michael discovers a beautiful factory that has produced design classics since its foundation in 1920. The grandson of the company’s Italian founder tells Michael about the origins and success of the Ercol brand, and Michael finds out how the furniture is crafted today.\n\nBeaconsfield beckons to Michael’s delight, as he revisits his much-loved childhood haunt, Bekonscot Model Village. With this miniature world frozen in time in the 1930s, he could wish for no better guide than his 1936 Bradshaw’s.
Source: BBC 2
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