Michael Portillo continues his south Wales coastal railway journey in Barry Island, where he investigates 'what’s occurring' at the busy docks. The waters upstream of the Barry Island Peninsula are tricky to navigate, and the tides are the second highest in the world. Michael joins a Bristol pilot on his way to help guide a feeder container ship into port, watching with trepidation as the pilot transfers from the cutter to shin up a ladder to the ship’s bridge.\n\nOn the Jurassic shoreline, Michael meets a young girl with a big claim to fame and hears how her internationally significant discovery on the beach at Barry shook the palaeontology community.\n\nSkirting the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Michael alights at Llantwit Major to visit St Donat’s Castle. Continuously occupied since the 12th century, it’s now home to a school whose students have made an important nautical mark. Michael joins their lifeboat crew for a 'man overboard' drill.\n\nFrom Pyle, Michael reaches the pretty seaside resort of Porthcawl, where he finds an unexpected transatlantic alliance between a black American polymath, famous for his deep baritone voice, and a choir of Welsh miners. At the town’s Grand Pavilion, Michael hears the story of Paul Robeson’s friendship with the Treorchy Male Choir and listens to them sing.
Source: BBC 2
Series 1: 2. Leith To Culross
Michael Portillo continues his 300-mile Scottish coastal journey along the Firth of Forth at the railway engineering icon for which it is famous throughout the world – the ...
05-02-2024
BBC 2
Series 1: 1. Dunbar To Edinburgh
An epic stretch of Scottish coastline is the first stop for Michael Portillo as he begins a series of coastal railway journeys around the British Isles.\n\nSiccar Point, close t ...
25-01-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: 20. Fishbourne To Seaford
The final leg of Michael's journey begins in Fishbourne, the location of one of the most significant Roman sites in Britain. Heading into East Sussex, he makes for a British res ...
08-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 19. Lee-on-the-solent To Bosham
Michael’s journey has brought him to Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, the coastguard's training centre. He finds out about their role in search and rescue and helps in one ...
30-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 18. Southampton To Isle Of Wight
Michael is in Southampton, one of the busiest ports on the south coast of England and home to the National Oceanography Centre. From the port, Michael takes a ferry to the Isle ...
25-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 17. Kimmeridge To Brownsea Island
Michael alights at Wareham to visit Dorset’s internationally renowned Jurassic Coast. Exploring the geology, he discovers black gold locked into its rocks and visits one o ...
18-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 16. Weymouth To Lulworth
Michael is on a rail journey across the southern coast of England, beginning in Dorset. In Portland Harbour, Michael takes to the water with four-time Paralympian Hannah Stodel. ...
11-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 15. Dun Laoghaire To Rosslare
Michael Portillo begins the final leg of his railway journey, beginning in the harbour town of Dun Laoghaire. He joins a crew of geological surveyors to discover what lies benea ...
04-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 14. Carlingford To Dublin
Michael Portillo continues his railway journey along the Atlantic and Irish Sea coasts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.\n\nFrom Newry, he sets off to cross the b ...
27-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 25. Milford Haven To Fishguard
On the final leg of his rail journey along Wales's southern coastline, Michael Portillo reaches the country's most westerly station. At Milford Haven, Michael learns from the ha ...
21-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 23. Port Talbot To Pembrey Burry Port
Michael Portillo’s rail adventure along the south coast of Wales reaches the town of Port Talbot, known across the world for its steel production. He marvels as tons of mo ...
19-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 13. Morpeth To Amble
Michael Portillo explores the wild and rugged coastline of Northumberland by rail. He begins today in Morpeth, where he finds a historic collection of Northumbrian bagpipes and ...
30-08-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 20. Fishbourne To Seaford
The final leg of Michael's journey begins in Fishbourne, the location of one of the most significant Roman sites in Britain. Heading into East Sussex, he makes for a British res ...
08-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 6. Middlesbrough To Boulby
Michael Portillo’s coastal railway adventure propels him in search of the unknown universe in Boulby, North Yorkshire. Over a kilometre below the surface of the earth, in ...
18-07-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 6. Inverness To The Cairngorms
Michael Portillo crosses the Culloden Viaduct aboard the Caledonian Sleeper to arrive bright and early in the coastal city of Inverness, from where he heads north on a magnifice ...
01-08-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 7. Whitby To Robin Hood's Bay
Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure at Whitby, where he explores the port’s shipbuilding and seafaring heritage.\n\nIn Grosmont, Michael boards the first stea ...
27-07-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 2. Liverpool To Blackpool
From the Isle of Man, Michael Portillo crosses the Irish Sea, bound for the mighty port of Liverpool and its historic waterfront. \n\nAt the International Slavery Museum in Roya ...
22-06-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 12. Ballymena To Carrickfergus
Michael Portillo is in the glens of Antrim, where Ireland’s folklore and magical myths flourish and he is transfixed by tales of fairies and legends of the sea. \n\nAt th ...
13-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 2: 17. Kimmeridge To Brownsea Island
Michael alights at Wareham to visit Dorset’s internationally renowned Jurassic Coast. Exploring the geology, he discovers black gold locked into its rocks and visits one o ...
18-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 22. Barry Island To Pyle
Michael Portillo continues his south Wales coastal railway journey in Barry Island, where he investigates 'what’s occurring' at the busy docks. The waters upstream of the ...
18-09-2023
BBC 2