Great British Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 12: 8. Potters Bar to Cardington on BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 12: 8. Potters Bar to Cardington

Michael Portillo’s Bradshaw travels resume in leafy Hertfordshire, where he attempts a canoe slalom course at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, built for the London Olympics in 2012. Former competitive canoeist Sue Hornby tells Michael how British canoeists first competed at the politically-charged Berlin Games in 1936. Britain won a gold and a silver medal here at the London Olympics, and Michael’s hopes are high as he takes to the paddling lake.\n\nTravelling north, Michael reaches Hatfield and the country estate of the queen of romance and author of 723 books, Dame Barbara Cartland. The novelist’s eldest son welcomes Michael to Camfield Place with a gift for his onward journey, 'A Train to Love'.\n\nIn Stevenage, Michael learns how, in 1935, a new enterprise boosted production of the nation’s daily loaf with a factory in the town. Allied Bakeries now produces 1.8 million loaves a week, and Michael marvels at the scale of the operation while enjoying the smell of freshly baked bread.\n\nCrossing into Bedfordshire, Michael reaches Sandy, from which he heads for Cardington, where the level countryside is dominated by two breathtakingly vast sheds. In Hangar No 2, Michael hears the shocking story of the 'Titanic of the skies', the R101 airship, which crashed on its first long haul voyage, killing all aboard.

Source: BBC 2

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