Catch up TV
Series 1 - Settle to Garsdale
Travel documentary. Michael Portillo revisits the Settle-Carlisle line, explores the Ribblehead viaduct and learns about the navvies who helped to build it.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 15. Tewkesbury To Filton
Michael Portillo is on the last leg of his railway journey from the train-building city of Derby to the aircraft manufacturing base of Filton. From Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, ...
19-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 14. Wolverhampton To Cheltenham
At the African and Caribbean Heritage Centre in Wolverhampton, Michael finds out about the impact of Enoch Powell's 1968 speech on immigration in Wolverhampton and across the na ...
18-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 13. Long Itchington To Moseley
Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the heart of the Warwickshire countryside, where work is underway on a section of the biggest project of new railway infrastruct ...
14-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 12. Coventry To Leamington Spa
In Coventry, Michael recalls the destruction by the German Luftwaffe of the city’s gothic cathedral in November 1940. He hears how architect Basil Spence won a competition ...
12-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 11. Derby To Hinckley
Michael Portillo explores the postwar Britain of his youth on a railway journey from the Midlands to the West Country.\n\nBeginning in Derby's famous 19th-century railway works, ...
11-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 10. Brandon To Cambridge
Michael Portillo completes his railway journey through the east of England during the post-war period. At RAF Lakenheath, he discovers a slice of America dropped into the Britis ...
10-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 9. Felixstowe To Norwich
Michael Portillo continues his rail exploration of the east of England, beginning with the seafront at Felixstowe, where in January 1953, the town was engulfed in the worst floo ...
05-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 8. Paddington To Ongar
Michael Portillo ventures deep underground onto London’s newest railway: the Elizabeth Line. Emerging into the sunshine in Bedford Square, he recalls the choking smogs whi ...
04-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 7. Waterloo To Regent's Park
Michael Portillo continues his railway exploration of the post-war Britain of his youth on a journey from London to Cambridge. \n\nHe begins on the capital’s South Bank, ...
03-02-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 14: 6. Tilbury To Barbican
Michael Portillo travels through the Britain of his youth from London’s Docklands and East End to the ‘city within a city’, the Barbican. \n\nAt Tilbury, he t ...
29-01-2026
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 5 - Brighton To Chichester
Michael Portillo discovers the history behind the Pavilion at Brighton and learns that Queen Victoria was not an admirer of the Prince Regent's taste.
24-09-2014
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 2 - Dumbarton To Tyndrum
Michael Portillo explores the historic Dumbarton shipyards that built the Cutty Sark, visits Loch Lomond, and goes hunting for gold in Scotland's mountains.
30-06-2014
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 2 - Durham To Grosmont
Michael Portillo visits Durham Cathedral and takes a Dracula tour in Whitby, before ending his journey on a steam train across the North Yorkshire Moors.
04-06-2014
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 2 - Newcastle To Chester-le-street
Michael Portillo visits the first locomotive factory in the world opened by George Stephenson and searches for the lost pit village of Marsden.
03-06-2014
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 5 - Preston To Rochdale
Michael Portillo continues his journey through the North West. He learns about the Preston Guild, and in Rochdale, discovers a pioneering movement for workers.
18-08-2014
BBC 2