Catch up TV
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 at Beddgelert, Michael takes in the awesome geology, which inspired Charles Darwin.\n\nBack aboard the Welsh Highland Railway, Michael heads for Caernarfon, in whose 13th-century castle King Charles III was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969. Michael heads for the coast, where the Menai Strait separates mainland Wales from Ynys Môn, or Anglesey, to find the heart of the United Kingdom’s mussel industry.\n\nContinuing along the Menai Strait, Michael reaches its earliest road crossing, an elegant suspension bridge designed by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford and opened in 1826. And from Bangor, Michael takes the train across the Britannia Bridge to the first station on Anglesey, known as LlanfairPG, to visit the island’s sea zoo.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
10-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
09-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
08-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
05-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
04-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
03-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
02-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
01-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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
Most popular episodes of Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
03-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
08-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
02-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
09-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
04-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
05-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
10-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
01-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
22-05-2024
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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