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 molten iron are poured into railway wagons for transport to the steel plant and investigates how the industry is planning to decarbonise. At Swansea University, he finds scientists are working to capture energy which would otherwise be wasted, starting with heat.\n\nAcross the bay, Michael arrives in the Mumbles, site of the world’s first passenger railway in 1807 and today home to new research into sea walls. Michael discovers groundbreaking work to design a new generation of sea defences, which takes into account not just engineering properties but also biodiversity. Researchers are monitoring a range of patterned hexagonal tiles to see which ones coastal creatures and seaweeds prefer.\n\nFrom Swansea, Michael heads west to Gowerton, to the salt marsh along the Burry Inlet, where a young sheepdog called Toby shows off his skills. Michael learns what it takes to raise saltmarsh lamb before tucking in at a local pub.\n\nMichael’s train hugs the coast from Gowerton to Burry Port, where he heads for the wild and blustery Pembrey Sands, an eight-mile stretch of beach which is three miles wide when the tide is out. It’s the perfect place for him to learn sand-yachting.
Source: BBC 2
Series 3: 10. Conwy To Colwyn Bay
Michael Portillo takes the train to the medieval walled town of Conwy on the last leg of his exploration of the shores of north Wales.\n\nOn a coastal ridge overlooking the estu ...
19-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 9. The Isle Of Anglesey
Michael Portillo resumes his railway exploration of north Wales on the Isle of Anglesey, where the briny waters of the Menai Strait are being used to create a Welsh gastronomic ...
18-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 8. Porthmadog To Anglesey
Michael Portillo steams through the glorious scenery of the Snowdonia National Park on one of Britain’s greatest heritage lines, the Welsh Highland Railway. Stopping off a ...
17-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 7. Harlech To Abedaron
Michael Portillo continues his railway journey in north Wales, tracking the coastline north from Harlech to skirt the Llyn Peninsula. \n\nBeginning on the shifting sands of Morf ...
16-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 6. Cardigan Bay To Abergynolwyn
Michael Portillo embarks on a railway journey around the ragged rocks of the western coast of Wales. He begins on the Victorian Cliff Railway at Aberystwyth, rising above the hi ...
15-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 5. Isles Of Scilly
Michael Portillo nears the end of his railway adventure tracking the rugged coast of south west England. He finishes in the westernmost reaches of England, in the Scillonian arc ...
12-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 4. St Mawes To Porthcurno
Michael reaches the pretty Cornish fishing village of St Mawes, today an exclusive holiday destination for connoisseurs of yachts, fine food and luxury hotels. Michael takes to ...
11-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 3. Tintagel To St Austell
Crossing the River Tamar via Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s magnificent Royal Albert Bridge, Michael leaves Devon for Cornwall and the rugged Atlantic coast of its northern sho ...
10-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 2. Exeter To Plymouth
Michael Portillo reaches Devon’s county town, Exeter, dominated since the Middle Ages by its magnificent gothic cathedral. Michael joins the stonemasons charged with conse ...
09-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 1. Axminster To Budleigh Salterton
Michael Portillo embarks on another journey exploring the shores of Britain. His first journey takes him from the magnificent Jurassic Coast to the rugged tip of the Lizard Peni ...
08-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 3. Tintagel To St Austell
Crossing the River Tamar via Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s magnificent Royal Albert Bridge, Michael leaves Devon for Cornwall and the rugged Atlantic coast of its northern sho ...
10-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 9. The Isle Of Anglesey
Michael Portillo resumes his railway exploration of north Wales on the Isle of Anglesey, where the briny waters of the Menai Strait are being used to create a Welsh gastronomic ...
18-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 5. Isles Of Scilly
Michael Portillo nears the end of his railway adventure tracking the rugged coast of south west England. He finishes in the westernmost reaches of England, in the Scillonian arc ...
12-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 1. Axminster To Budleigh Salterton
Michael Portillo embarks on another journey exploring the shores of Britain. His first journey takes him from the magnificent Jurassic Coast to the rugged tip of the Lizard Peni ...
08-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 1: 16. Fairlie To Port Glasgow
Michael Portillo explores the magnificent western coast of Scotland by rail and ferry, from the Firth of Clyde to the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis and Harris. Travelling aboa ...
05-09-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 7. Cullen To Cawdor
Beginning today on the Moray Firth, Michael admires the impressive Cullen viaduct before enjoying a bowl of Cullen skink at a family-run fishmonger of 150 years’ standing. ...
02-08-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 5. Forvie To Peterhead
Michael Portillo’s Scottish railway journey reaches Aberdeen. From the Granite City, Michael heads straight out to a dramatic piece of coastline 18 miles to its north. For ...
31-07-2023
BBC 2
Series 1: 18. Oban To Staffa
From the fishing port and ferry terminal of Oban, Michael heads to the Hebridean archipelago. En route to the Isle of Mull, he watches eagerly for sea mammals in a stretch of wa ...
07-09-2023
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