Great Coastal Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 3: 18. Lowestoft to Great Yarmouth on 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 meets a diving duo who set out to find the wreck of a ship carrying a future king, which sank 340 years ago.\n\nMichael visits the most easterly town in Britain, Lowestoft. It’s the southern gateway to the network of lakes and rivers known as the Broads and home to the International Boat Building Training College. At Lound Lakes, Michael joins the warden of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s 280-acre nature reserve, which is teeming with wildlife, including kingfishers, otters, breeding warblers and 28 species of butterfly.\n\nFrom the holiday resort of Great Yarmouth, built on a sandbank which in Roman times lay under the sea, Michael makes his way to the enormous and impressive Burgh Castle Roman Fort.

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes