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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 archipelago. From Penzance railway station, he makes his way to the town’s heliport to board a helicopter to the island of Tresco, two-and-a-half miles long and with a population of 150.\n\nCrossing the channel to Hugh Town on St Mary’s, the largest and most populated of the Isles of Scilly, Michael meets a former councillor to learn what makes life on the islands unique. Venturing to the north of the island with an archaeologist to guide him, he discovers the rich prehistory of the islands.\n\nBack on Tresco, Michael finds preparations underway for an important weekly event of the summer months: gig racing.

Source: BBC 2

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