
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 of Loch Long, Michael meets a legendary octogenarian munro-bagger. In Balloch, on the shores of Loch Lomond, he joins passionate volunteers working to restore an iconic 1950s paddle steamer.\n\nIn Glasgow, Michael rides the 'Clockwork Orange', the third oldest underground rail system in the world, to Govan and the shipyards of the River Clyde. And at Kelvinbridge, Michael hears how the chicken tikka masala was created for the Glaswegian palate by an immigrant chef from Lahore.
Source: BBC 2
Series 14: 3. Oldham To Wakefield
Greater Manchester’s Metrolink tram delivers Michael to the former cotton town of Oldham on the edge of the Peak District. In the stalls of the Oldham Coliseum, the town&r ...
22-01-2026
BBC 2
Series 14: 2. Urmston To New Islington
Michael Portillo’s railway journey through north west England from Preston to Hebden Bridge reaches Greater Manchester, where Michael celebrates new beginnings for the nat ...
21-01-2026
BBC 2
Series 14: 1. Preston To Rawtenstall
Michael Portillo strikes out to explore the Britain of his youth. He’s a 'boomer', born in the decade after the end of the Second World War, and he recalls the optimism an ...
20-01-2026
BBC 2
Series 16: 20. Colchester To Chappel And Wakes Colne
Michael's exploration of Essex is drawing to a close. He visits Colchester, which was first mentioned in AD 77 and proudly claims to be Britain’s oldest recorded town. He ...
11-10-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 19. Witham To Saffron Walden
Arriving in the Essex market town of Witham, Michael heads into the countryside to visit Terling Place, one of the county’s great country houses. He hears how in the late ...
04-10-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 18. Chelmsford To Tollesbury
Michael Portillo’s exploration of Essex reaches Chelmsford. At a huge construction site on the outskirts of the city he discovers Beaulieu Park, the first railway station ...
27-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 17. Romford To The Blackwater Estuary
Michael’s exploration of Essex continues in Romford. He arrives on the London Overground’s Liberty Line to visit a state-of-the-art rail operating centre responsible ...
20-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 16. Loughton To Audley End
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey across Essex. Beginning on the fringes of London, he takes the underground to the ancient woodland of Epping Forest, with its gnarled hornb ...
14-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 15. Solihull To Birmingham International
On the final leg of his Midlands tour, Michael Portillo travels to Solihull, the home of iconic British brand Land Rover. He discovers that their factory, now owned by Indian Ta ...
14-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 14. Birmingham New Street To Wednesbury
Arriving in Birmingham, Michael Portillo heads to Curzon Street for a tour of the HS2 terminus still under construction. He discovers that parts of the site’s 1838 station ...
06-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 1 - Liverpool To Eccles
Michael Portillo journeys around Britain by train. He learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool and finds out about the first railway fatality.
29-09-2014
BBC 2
Series 11: 1. Newcastle To County Durham
Michael Portillo begins a new series of railway journeys through 1930s Britain, armed with an interwar Bradshaw's guide. He explores an unmistakably modern era of glamorous loco ...
01-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 10: 6. Newry To Portadown
Steered by his Edwardian Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo navigates his way by rail – and ferry - across Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands from Newry to ...
11-06-2024
BBC 2
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 Olymp ...
22-05-2025
BBC 2
Series 5 - Cheltenham To Wolverhampton
On the final leg of his journey, Michael Portillo joins battle re-enactors in Tewkesbury before reaching his destination of Wolverhampton.
16-09-2014
BBC 2
Series 14: 3. Oldham To Wakefield
Greater Manchester’s Metrolink tram delivers Michael to the former cotton town of Oldham on the edge of the Peak District. In the stalls of the Oldham Coliseum, the town&r ...
22-01-2026
BBC 2
Series 16: 1. Paddock Wood To Frant
Michael Portillo takes to the rails to explore one of Britain’s oldest surviving landscapes, the woods and pasture of the Weald in south east England. Between the chalk hi ...
12-06-2025
BBC 2
Series 16: 17. Romford To The Blackwater Estuary
Michael’s exploration of Essex continues in Romford. He arrives on the London Overground’s Liberty Line to visit a state-of-the-art rail operating centre responsible ...
20-09-2025
BBC 2