Great British Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 11: 15. Attleborough to Skegness on BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 15. Attleborough to Skegness

Michael Portillo is in East Anglia on the last leg of his rail journey through 1930s Britain. He begins in Attleborough in Norfolk, at the headquarters of an international horse welfare organization which was established in the late 1920s and learns about the charity’s pioneering founder.\n\nCrossing the Fens, Michael’s next stop is the cathedral city of Peterborough, where he visits a tidal defence barrier built in the 1930s, which helped save the city from flooding.\n\nHeading north into Lincolnshire, Michael crosses the point at which The Mallard broke the speed record for a steam powered locomotive in 1938. At the coastal resort of Skegness, he visits the first all-inclusive, self-contained holiday camp which became a household name in Britain. Here Michael swaps his green blazer for a red one!\n\nMichael’s journey culminates at RAF Coningsby – an aerodrome which was conceived as storm clouds gathered across the Channel. Michael explores iconic aircraft from the Second World War, before being treated to a dazzling display featuring the RAF’s latest combat aircraft.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 15. Northallerton To Chester-le-street

Michael Portillo confronts a detachment of Gurkhas, produces a fine heritage cheese and discovers a monster cracker that is key to making plastic, before ending his postwar jour ...

05-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 14. York To Skipton

Michael Portillo’s postwar exploration of Merseyside to Teesside finds him in York, a paradise for rail enthusiasts. In the company of some of the most famous locomotives ...

04-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 13. Lincoln To York

Michael Portillo’s postwar journey from Merseyside to Teesside resumes at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, where England’s oldest canal, the Fossdyke, meets the city of Lin ...

03-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 12. Derby To Nottingham

Michael Portillo reaches the jet age in the Derby suburb of Peartree, where he tours the engineering colossus Rolls-Royce. In Derby city centre, Michael is on the trail of littl ...

02-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 11. Liverpool To Uttoxeter

Michael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, arriving in the city where the 60s burst into life to find the strikingly contemporary concrete and glass Liverpool ...

01-04-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 10. Dundee To Loch Of The Lowes

Michael’s rail journey through postwar Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.\n\nIn Pe ...

29-03-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 9. Edinburgh To Queensferry

At the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey. On ...

28-03-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 8. Shawlands To Livingston

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.\n\nAt Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Michael joins a women& ...

27-03-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 7. Glasgow To Cumbernauld

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there. ...

26-03-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 6. Loch Lomond To Kelvinbridge

Michael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes. \n\nAt the head ...

25-03-2024

BBC 2

All episodes