Great British Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 16: 19. Witham to Saffron Walden on BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 16: 19. Witham to Saffron Walden

Arriving in the Essex market town of Witham, Michael heads into the countryside to visit Terling Place, one of the county’s great country houses. He hears how in the late 19th century, Victorian scientist the 3rd Baron Rayleigh discovered the atmospheric gas argon here.\n\nMichael joins the Braintree branch line - aka the Flitch line - and alights at Cressing to visit two huge medieval barns that are thought to be the oldest timber-framed structures in England.\n\nAt Braintree, Michael learns about the town's wool and silk industries before heading to the Warner and Sons archive, where he discovers a depository of thousands of silk patterns, including two pieces with a royal connection. \n\nAt Great Bardfield, Michael traces a group of artists including Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, who settled in the pretty Essex village from the 1930s onwards. He meets the author of a book on the artists, who now lives in their former home.

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes

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

All episodes