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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 enjoys astonishing views of the gleaming white Seven Sisters. From Hastings, he takes the train to Battle to set foot on one of the most famous stretches of land in British history.\n\nThe Marshlink line conveys Michael through a watery world of small rivers and wetlands to Rye, which was once a seaport but now lies a mile inland. Heading east across the border to Kent, Michael reaches a small peninsula jutting out into the Channel and an airfield with an illustrious past: Lydd Airport.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
26-09-2025
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 ...
25-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
24-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
23-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
22-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
21-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
18-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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. ...
17-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
16-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
15-09-2025
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 2: 17. Kimmeridge To Brownsea Island
Michael alights at Wareham to visit Dorset’s internationally renowned Jurassic Coast. Exploring the geology, he discovers black gold locked into its rocks and visits one o ...
18-10-2023
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Series 2: 8. Scarborough To Bridlington
Michael Portillo is in the seaside resort of Scarborough to explore one of the greatest royal fortresses in England, before heading to the beautiful neoclassical Rotunda Museum, ...
04-08-2023
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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 ...
10-05-2024
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Series 2: 2. Liverpool To Blackpool
From the Isle of Man, Michael Portillo crosses the Irish Sea, bound for the mighty port of Liverpool and its historic waterfront. \n\nAt the International Slavery Museum in Roya ...
22-06-2023
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 ...
25-09-2025
BBC 2
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
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
Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Series 2: 9. Hornsea To Spurn Point
Michael Portillo continues his journey in the pretty seaside resort of Hornsea, famous for its distinctive pottery. In Hull, he discovers how one of Hull FC’s star players ...
02-08-2023
BBC 2