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 Peninsula and beyond to the spectacular Isles of Scilly.\n\nIn the seaside town of Lyme Regis, Michael traces the remarkable discoveries of pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning. He braves the chill below ground to explore the 40-acre Beer Quarry Caves, which have been active for two millennia. \n\nOn the eastern edge of Exeter, at the headquarters of the Meteorological Office, Michael steps into the TV studio to present the weather forecast. And he visits a 1,000-year-old water mill in Otterton that still grinds flour.
Source: BBC 2
Series 3: 20. Wells-next-the-sea To The Wash
Michael Portillo’s rail exploration of the eastern reaches of England is drawing to a close. His travels today begin on the smallest public railway in the world, the Wells ...
13-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 19. West Runton To Burnham Market
The oldest and largest mammoth ever found in Britain was discovered by walkers on the beach at West Runton in Norfolk. Michael Portillo examines a replica of the smallest bone i ...
08-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 18. Lowestoft To Great Yarmouth
Michael Portillo’s East Anglian coastal railway journey takes him to the treacherous waters off the Norfolk coast, which have sunk many ships and cost many lives. Michael ...
07-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 17. Woodbridge To Southwold
Michael Portillo reaches the Deben estuary on his coastal railway journey around eastern England. At Woodbridge, he is plunged in at the deep end on a rafting challenge with the ...
07-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 16. Canvey Island To Wrabness
Michael Portillo embarks on a new railway journey around the coast of the east of England. He begins in the Thames estuary, where creeks separate Canvey Island from the mainland ...
02-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 15. Faversham To Chatham
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure zig-zagging the coasts of the English Channel and the Thames estuary nears its end on the north Kent coast. The pretty and historic to ...
01-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 14. Birchington-on-sea To Whitstable
Michael Portillo’s railway exploration of the Channel coastline and Thames estuary via Calais has reached the Isle of Thanet. Flat and temperate, it is excellent terrain f ...
29-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 13. Dover To Margate
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure along the north and south coasts of the English Channel resumes in Dover, where he recalls the biggest evacuation in military history. ...
25-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 11. Eastbourne To Rye
Michael Portillo sets off on a new railway adventure to explore the twin shores of the English Channel and the estuaries of the Thames and Medway.\n\nAt Cuckmere Haven, he enjoy ...
24-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 12. Folkestone To Le Touquet
Michael Portillo travels through the longest undersea tunnel in the world on the Eurotunnel shuttle rail service from Folkestone to Calais.\n\nIn Calais, Michael is reminded tha ...
24-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: 13. Bangor To Belfast
Michael Portillo is in Bangor, County Down, en route to the Northern Irish capital, Belfast. Admiring the handsome waterfront houses, he recalls the resort’s prosperity af ...
20-09-2023
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. ...
14-05-2024
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 ...
18-07-2024
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 ...
05-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: 5. St Bees To Maryport
On the last leg of his railway journey around the north west coast of England, Michael meets a lifelong fan of Alfred Wainwright’s famous guidebooks and takes the first st ...
10-07-2023
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 ...
08-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: 10. Grimsby To Humberston Fitties
Michael Portillo has reached Lincolnshire, where his coastal railway journey from Middlesbrough ends. In Grimsby, he investigates an important new stage in the town’s hist ...
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 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 ...
13-05-2024
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