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Series 9: 5. Swanwick to Brownsea Island
Steered by his Edwardian Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo promises to do his best on the island where Robert Baden Powell began the Scout movement in the early 20th century. Joining a group of modern Scouts he learns to build a bivouac and finds out what it is about Scouting that still appeals to boys - and girls - today. In the New Forest, Michael searches out some unsung heroes of the First World War, the ponies who became war horses, and hears their story from a commoner who runs a stable and riding school. Plus, in Bournemouth, he investigates a very British institution: the beach hut.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 15: 4. Havant To Guildford
Michael Portillo reaches Havant, a town that rapidly expanded after the Second World War and attracted new manufacturing, including a factory making a new and exciting toy &ndas ...
14-07-2026
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Series 15: 1. Denham To Swindon
Beginning at London Marylebone, the last great Victorian railway terminus to be built in the capital, Michael Portillo embarks on a postwar exploration of Britain’s southe ...
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Series 15: 3. Swanage To Portchester
Michael Portillo reaches England’s south coast to continue his exploration of postwar Britain. He begins in Dorset on the Swanage Railway, riding a glorious 1940s steam lo ...
09-07-2026
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 15: 2. Chippenham To Yeovil
Michael Portillo joins Navy Wings pilots for a spectacular close formation flight in the skies over Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. He also visits the magnificent Elizabethan ...
08-07-2026
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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, ...
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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 ...
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BBC 2
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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
Most popular episodes of Great British Railway Journeys
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 1 - Cromford To Burton-on-trent
Michael Portillo visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford and explores the country's first public park in Derby.
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BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 1 - Swindon To Bristol
Michael Portillo finds out about free holiday trains for the GWR workers in Swindon, samples the spa in Bath and tries his hand at glass blowing in Bristol.
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Series 16: 20. Colchester To Chappel And Wakes Colne
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Series 15: 5. Wokingham To Heathrow
Michael begins the final leg of his journey at the Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham, where they have been keeping Britain’s roads safe for 90 years. From Reading ...
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BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 9: 10. Plymouth To The Lizard
Steered by his early 20th-century Bradshaw's railway guide, Michael Portillo boldly goes to the moon by way of the Cornish Riviera Express! On the trail of an historic achieveme ...
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Series 2 - Lochailort To Skye
Michael discovers how the railways helped train commandos at Lochailort in World War II, and explores the history of the highland crofters in Skye.
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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 10: Episode 2
Michael Portillo continues his rail tour of Britain’s industrial northwest, steered by his early nineteenth century Bradshaw’s guide. \nIn Blackburn, he catches a r ...
03-06-2024
BBC 2
Great British Railway Journeys
Series 9: 5. Swanwick To Brownsea Island
Steered by his Edwardian Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo promises to do his best on the island where Robert Baden Powell began the Scout movement in the early 20th century. J ...
14-02-2023
BBC 2