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Series 16: 7. St Bees to Grange-over-Sands
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire continues as he travels along the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Just outside Egremont, he visits Florence Mine, an old iron ore mine now transformed into an arts centre that produces vibrant pigments from its haematite.\n\nIn Ulverston, he discovers the cradle of Quakerism at Swarthmoor Hall, where secret meetings were once held by Quaker founder George Fox. Michael is invited to join a Quaker meeting. The journey wraps up in the Lyth Valley, where damsons are the local delicacy. Michael whips up a damson clafoutis.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 7. St Bees To Grange-over-sands
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire continues as he travels along the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Just outside Egremont, he visits Florence Mine, ...
13-10-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 6. Windermere To Sellafield
Michael Portillo begins a railway tour of the spectacular border counties of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire, starting in the stunning Lake District National Park, where he discovers ...
12-10-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 5. Herne Bay To Leeds Castle, Kent
Armed with his interwar copy of Bradshaw’s Guide to the Railways, Michael reaches the Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay, where he learns about a pioneering aviatrix who beg ...
18-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 4. Deal To Margate
From the Kent Cinque Port of Deal, Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp. Michael’s guide ...
17-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 3. Rye To Dungeness
Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex Cinque Port of Rye. On the windswept harbour beach, he hears how, in 1928, a generation of ...
16-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 2. Hassocks To Benenden
Starting in Hassocks, Michael makes his way to the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, where, between the wars, a Roman Catholic community of artists made their home. Michael ...
15-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 1. Biggin Hill To Ashdown Forest
Michael Portillo experiences a terrifying ‘victory roll’ in a World War II Spitfire, high above the most famous aerodrome of the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill. The ...
14-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the green and pleasant landscape between the North and South Downs, known as the Weald, nears its conclusion.\n\nNear Chichester, Michae ...
04-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 4. Gatwick Airport To Royal Tunbridge Wells
Michael Portillo’s rail exploration of the spectacular countryside of the Weald in Surrey, Sussex and Kent continues - this time, aboard the Gatwick Express train, which c ...
03-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 3. Dorking To Lingfield
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the Weald reaches the spectacular Surrey countryside, where he finds a surprising connection to the darker reaches of the universe.\n\nI ...
02-09-2026
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the green and pleasant landscape between the North and South Downs, known as the Weald, nears its conclusion.\n\nNear Chichester, Michae ...
04-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 3. Dorking To Lingfield
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the Weald reaches the spectacular Surrey countryside, where he finds a surprising connection to the darker reaches of the universe.\n\nI ...
02-09-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 1. Paddock Wood To Frant
Michael Portillo takes to the rails to explore one of Britain’s oldest surviving landscapes, the woods and pasture of the Weald in south east England. Between the chalk hi ...
31-08-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 12: 12. Rhyl To Anglesey
Michael Portillo’s 1930s Bradshaw’s-inspired railway tour of north Wales takes him to a coast lined by magnificent castles and sweeping bays.\n\nIn Colwyn Bay, he he ...
02-06-2025
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 12: 15. Aberystwyth To Newtown
Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael travels from Aberystwyth into the Cambrian Mountains at Devil’s Bridge and finishes in Newtown, Powys.\n\nIn the elega ...
09-06-2025
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 16: 10. Dumfries To Auchinleck
Michael concludes his journey from Cumbria to Dumfriesshire by crossing the Solway Firth into Scotland, where he visits the beautifully preserved last home of Scotland’s g ...
12-08-2025
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 13: 4. Deal To Margate
From the Kent Cinque Port of Deal, Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp. Michael’s guide ...
17-09-2026
BBC 2