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Great British Railway Journeys season 15: release date, destinations, exclusive interview and everything we know

Great British Railway Journeys season 15 on BBC2 sees politician-turned-presenter Michael Portillo explore Britain’s post-war history by train.

Great British Railway Journeys season 15 on BBC2 sees dapper dresser Michael Portillo taking a train ride through Britain’s fascinating post-war history. That means exploring the Britain of his youth, criss-crossing the country by rail and taking a nostalgic look back at everything from the birth of space exploration, to the invention of the lava lamp, and all the highs and lows of British Rail through the post-war decades!

"I’m afraid train travel has got so much worse recently, and I’m astonished by the reduction in the number of services and the increase in journey times," says former Conservative cabinet minister Michael Portillo. 

"Having said that, when I was a child railway carriages used to be pretty grubby, and the British Rail sandwich was famously grim – always stale and curly at the edges!"

So here’s everything you need to know about the 15th outing of Great British Railway Journeys on BBC2…

Great British Railway Journeys season 15 release date

Great British Railway Journeys is a 15-part historical travelogue that will start on BBC2 from Monday March 18 2024 at 6.30pm, running daily from Monday to Friday across the week for three weeks. 

Episodes will also become available on BBCiPlayer . 

Is there a trailer for Great British Railway Journeys?

Not yet, but we’ll update here as soon as one lands, so watch this space – and look out for Michael wearing some particularly colourful jackets and trousers!

What happens and destinations in series 15 of Great British Railway Journeys?

The first five episodes take in the Southern Counties, from London Marylebone to Heathrow, via Swindon, Chippenham, Yeovil, Swanage, Portchester, Havant and Guilford. Along the way, Michael discovers the birthplace of the plastic recorder, learns about the origins of Oxfam and discovers the secrets of the hovercraft.

His second five-episode journey takes place in Scotland, from Loch Lomond to Dundee, taking in the West Highland Line, Glasgow’s Hampden Park and the Forth Road Bridge, which was constructed during the 50s and 60s. Meanwhile, Michael also rocks out with the Bay City Rollers and learns how chicken tikka masala was created for the Glaswegian palate by a chef from Lahore.

Finally, Michael travels from Merseyside to Teesside, with a five-episode leg that sees him discover the excitement of post-war space exploration at Jodrell Bank, ride a vintage Raleigh Chopper and check out the headquarters of Yorkshire Tea, before finishing his journey in a recreated 1950s street at the Beamish open air museum.

Exclusive interview: Michael Portillo talks us through Great British Railway Journeys

What can you tell us about Great British Railway Journeys season 15? Michael Portillo told us: "Well, it’s about exploring post-war Britain and the Britain of my youth, and it involves some fascinating adventures, including possibly the most dramatic and ambitious scene we’ve ever shot! In episode two I go up in a 1954 Harvard aircraft at Yeovilton air base with two other vintage planes flying either side – and I swear the wings were virtually touching. It was extraordinarily skillful flying but pretty alarming, too!"

Was there anything you particularly enjoyed reminiscing about? Michael says: "We went to Haslemere, Surrey, the birthplace of the plastic recorder. I had a wooden one, but it brought back memories of making dreadful noises on a recorder as a child! We also went to Beamish, the open air museum, and I’m a sucker for old buses and cars. But one has to be wary of nostalgia because the immediate post-war period was actually characterised by a lot of poverty and inequality. Even I remember what it was like to live in a house that didn't have central heating – it was freezing! 

What was it like rocking out with Stuart ‘Woody’ Wood from the Bay City Rollers? Michael says: "I think there will be danger of heart attacks across Britain when that episode goes out. You may remember their emblem was a tartan yellow scarf, well I did a lot of scarf waving because I got so carried away by the music! I was rather a stuck up kid in many of ways and I didn’t get into much of the youth rebellion stuff. I used to wear my shirts buttoned up to the top button, so I was literally ‘buttoned up.’ You have to understand that I was quite repressed. So I’m just delighted that these experiences somehow come around!"

Do you have a personal highlight from the series? Michael says: "It was very fascinating for me to speak to Mick McGahey Jr, whose father was the leader of the Scottish miners’ union at the time of the miners’ strike 40 years ago. Of course, I was a Conservative politician in those days, so I think each of us was so completely astonished to be in each other's company. I hope that makes good television."

Were there any filming challenges? Michael says: "I'd love to answer your question in the spirit that it’s made, but we always have extraordinary luck. We call it Portillo’s luck. For some reason when we're filming it always rains at night, but not during the day. And our trains are never canceled, which they are when I’m not filming!"

Do you have fond memories of train travel growing up? Michael says: "Yes, because I’m so old my earliest train travel was by steam train. We used to take our holidays on the Isle of Wight and there was a steam train that ran from Ryde down to Ventnor and it made the most extraordinary panting sound, and if I ever heard it again I’d be taken straight back to my childhood. But although people get very nostalgic about steam trains, they were very dirty and you’d always arrive at your destination covered in smuts!"

As a politician, you dressed quite somberly. So what changed? Michael says: "There's been this marvelous psychological flowering, which has occurred since I left my political career. The colorful inner man has burst forth spectacularly! Now my criteria for my outfits is simply to see whether there are any more colours on the spectrum I can get hold of. One of the things I enjoy while filming is watching the crew’s looks of horror at the combinations I put together. We’ve even got to the stage where some of our directors will actually request certain jackets and trousers. They’ll say things like, we’re filming in a brownish landscape, so your green and red outfit would be fantastic!"

Apart from your colorful clothes, do you have any packing must-haves? Michael says: "Yes, a very new and very eccentric packing must-have is that I now take an apron with me. The reason is I found myself taking a break from filming for lunch and then all afternoon I’d have spaghetti over my shirt. I thought, this won’t do. So I now sit down to lunch with an apron on in order to have a pristine shirt for the afternoon!"

Finally, what do fans like to talk to you about when they recognize you? Michael reveals: "Well, in the modern world nothing happens unless it’s recorded on a smartphone, so most people just want a selfie! The other day I was on a train and one of the train crew produced an autograph book, and I was astonished. I hadn't seen one of those for a while! Other than that, some people get very confused and think that I’m a railway expert when, in fact, the train is literally a vehicle to get me from one lovely history story to another!"

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I'm a huge fan of television so I really have found the perfect job, as I've been writing about TV shows, films and interviewing major television, film and sports stars for over 25 years. I'm currently TV Content Director on What's On TV, TV Times, TV and Satellite Week magazines plus Whattowatch.com. I previously worked on Woman and Woman's Own in the 1990s. Outside of work I swim every morning, support Charlton Athletic football club and get nostalgic about TV shows Cagney & Lacey, I Claudius, Dallas and Tenko. I'm totally on top of everything good coming up too.

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Great British Railway Journeys

Presenter Michael Portillo, a British journalist, travels the railways throughout England using George Bradshaw's maps to compare 1840s-era Britain to modern-day Britain.

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Episode list

Great british railway journeys.

S9.E1 ∙ Cromer to Cambridge

S9.E2 ∙ Letchworth Garden City to Herne Hill

S9.E3 ∙ Croydon to Shoreham-by-Sea

S9.E4 ∙ Chichester to Cowes

S9.E5 ∙ Swanwick to Brownsea Island

S9.E6 ∙ Whitland to Swansea

S9.E7 ∙ Pontyclun to Ebbw Vale Town

S9.E8 ∙ Newport to Clevedon/Yatton/Bristol Channel

S9.E9 ∙ Taunton to Newton Abbot

S9.E10 ∙ Plymouth to The Lizard

S9.E11 ∙ Hull to Malton

S9.E12 ∙ York to Frizinghall

S9.E13 ∙ Sheffield to Nantwich

S9.E14 ∙ Liverpool to Dolgarrog

S9.E15 ∙ Criccieth to Caernarfon

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Great British Railway Journeys

Michael travels from Liverpool to Scarborough by train, and is taught to speak Scouse by Liverpool locals. He also meets with author Peter Grant to talk about the area.

Michael learns about George Bradshaw, fish and chips, and trilby hats in Manchester. He also learns more about how the British railways have influenced culture since they began.

Michael investigates the Roman remains found in York on his way from Liverpool to Scarborough. He also takes a high-flying trip in the Network Rail helicopter.

Michael tries to find the very last licorice grower in Pontefract, to see their harvesting methods. He also learns the history of how Hull became one of the largest white fish ports in the world.

Michael heads to Scarborough to explore the area, and see what's on offer in Filey and Flamborough. He goes bird-watching at Flamborough head, and examines a 4000 year old skeleton.

Michael discovers what Blackpool has to offer tourists, learns about the temperance movement that began in Preston, and takes a stroll across Morecambe Bay.

Cast & Crew

Michael Portillo

Tom Richardson

John Comerford

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All Seasons

S01e01 liverpool to eccles.

• January 4, 2010

Michael learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles cake.

S01E02 Manchester to Bury

• January 5, 2010

Michael is in Manchester to find out more about George Bradshaw himself. He also gets fitted for a trilby in Denton and learns how the railways helped to create a national institution - fish and chips.

S01E03 Todmorden to York

• January 6, 2010

Michael travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, finds out about the latest Roman discoveries in York and takes to the air in the Network Rail helicopter.

S01E04 Pontefract to Bridlington

• January 7, 2010

Michael searches for the last liquorice grower in Pontefract, discovers how the railways turned Hull into one of the largest white fish ports in the world and goes fishing for sea bass in Bridlington.

S01E05 Filey to Scarborough

• January 8, 2010

Michael goes bird-watching on the wild cliffs of Flamborough Head, learns to decipher traditional knitting patterns in Filey and meets one of the oldest residents of the Victorian seaside resort of Scarborough - a 4000-year-old skeleton called Gristhorpe Man.

S01E06 Preston to Morecambe

• January 11, 2010

Michael explores the origins of the temperance movement in Preston, samples the attractions of Blackpool, a resort made by the railways, and takes a walk across Morecambe Bay with the official Keeper of the Sands.

S01E07 Settle to Garsdale

• January 12, 2010

Michael returns to the historic Settle-Carlisle line to find out what has happened to it since he helped save it in the 1980s. Along the way, he explores the magnificent Ribblehead viaduct, finds out about the navvies who helped to build it and catches a steam train along the line.

S01E08 Windermere to Kendal

• January 13, 2010

Michael takes a steamboat tour of Lake Windermere, visits Wordsworth's home village of Grasmere and makes sausages with a local Herdwick sheep farmer.

S01E09 Carlisle to Glasgow

• January 14, 2010

Michael meets the wild clansmen of Carlisle, the Border Reivers, witnesses a wedding in Gretna Green and visits a secret World War One munitions factory.

S01E10 Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy

• January 15, 2010

Michael makes apple juice in the Clyde valley orchards, pays a thrilling visit to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge and relives his childhood memories in his grandparents' home town of Kirkcaldy.

S01E11 Swindon to Bristol

• January 18, 2010

Michael 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.

S01E12 Yatton to Weston Super Mare

• January 19, 2010

Michael samples local Cheddar strawberries, explores Cheddar Gorge and the famous caves, and visits one of the oldest piers in the country at Weston Super Mare.

S01E13 Torquay to Totnes

• January 20, 2010

Michael finds out about Torquay's micro climate, goes salmon fishing on the Dart estuary and spends some of Totnes' new local currency.

S01E14 Bugle to Mevagissey

• January 21, 2010

Michael visits the largest clay mine in the world near St Austell, goes pilchard fishing in Mevagissey and finds out how the estate of Heligan shaped British gardens.

S01E15 Truro to Penzance

• January 22, 2010

Michael searches for the lost church of St Piran, explores the last working tin mine in Cornwall and harvests oysters on the Helford River.

S01E16 Buxton to Matlock

• January 25, 2010

Michael visits an architectural wonder, the Duke of Devonshire's stables in Buxton, helps to repair the ancient peat landscape of the Peak District and travels on the historic steam railway to Rowsley.

S01E17 Cromford to Burton-on-Trent

• January 26, 2010

Michael visits the oldest working factory in the world at Cromford, explores the country's first public park in Derby and finds out why Burton's beer is said to be the best.

S01E18 Walsall to Bournville

• January 27, 2010

Michael meets the queen's saddler in Walsall, learns how to cook an authentic Indian curry in Birmingham and visits Bournville, rumoured to be the best place to live in Britain.

S01E19 Coventry to Watford

• January 28, 2010

Michael relives the Coventry Blitz, meets the last pure breed Aylesbury duck farmer in Buckinghamshire and finds out how the trains helped to evacuate millions of children during World War II.

S01E20 St Pancras to Westminster

• January 29, 2010

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, he travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains. His journey takes him from Buxton along one of the first railway routes south to the capital, London. This time, Michael explores one of the grandest railway stations and hotels in the country: St Pancras. He rides the world's first tube line to Smithfield market and climbs up the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament to hear Big Ben chime.

S02E01 Brighton to Crystal Palace

• January 3, 2011

Michael finds out about Brighton's Victorian aquarium

S02E02 Waterloo to Canary Wharf

• January 4, 2011

2/25. Michael explores the changing fortunes of London's docks.

S02E03 Enfield to Cambridge

• January 5, 2011

Michael Portillo visits the Government Arms Factory at Enfield, the largest machine shop in Europe in George Bradshaw's day; discovers how the trains transformed Newmarket's races and finds out why Cambridge could be considered the birthplace of modern football.

S02E04 Ely to King's Lynn

• January 6, 2011

Michael goes fishing with the last eel trapper on the Fens at Ely.

S02E05 Dereham to Cromer

• January 7, 2011

Michael gets the rare chance to drive a heritage diesel train.

S02E06 Ledbury to Shrewsbury

• January 10, 2011

Michael visits the world's first iron-framed building in Shrewsbury.

S02E07 Telford to Wrexham

• January 11, 2011

Michael explores historic Chirk castle and has a go at making traditional Cheshire cheese.

S02E08 Chester to Conwy

• January 12, 2011

Michael visits Chester's Roman remains and goes mussel fishing on the Conwy estuary.

S02E09 Llanrwst to Porthmadog

• January 13, 2011

Michael visits the Victorian slate capital of Blaenau Ffestiniog in the Conwy valley.

S02E10 Llanberis to Holyhead

• January 14, 2011

Michael takes the train to the top of Wales's highest peak, Mount Snowdon.

S02E11 Newcastle to Chester-le-Street

• January 17, 2011

Michael Portillo visits the first locomotive factory in the world.

S02E12 Durham to Grosmont

• January 18, 2011

Michael Portillo visits the historic Durham Cathedral and takes a Dracula tour in Whitby.

S02E13 York to Saltaire

• January 19, 2011

Michael Portillo takes a Turkish bath in the famous spa town of Harrogate.

S02E14 Batley to Sheffield

• January 20, 2011

Michael Portillo finds out about shoddy, a successful 19th-century recycling industry.

S02E15 Langley Mill to Melton Mowbray

• January 21, 2011

Michael finds out how trains transformed the traditional British sport of fox hunting.

S02E16 London Bridge to Chatham

• January 24, 2011

Michael visits the Royal Observatory at Greenwich to see how the railways standardised time, takes a walk through the world's first underwater tunnel at Rotherhithe and explores the historic Dockyards at Chatham

S02E17 Aylesford to Tunbridge Wells

• January 25, 2011

Michael explores the life of Victorian hop pickers, finds out about Maidstone's revolutionary paper industry and discovers how the railways turned cricket into a national sport

S02E18 Canterbury to Margate

• January 26, 2011

Michael finds out how Canterbury Cathedral was saved during the Baedecker raids of World War II, goes whelk fishing in Whitstable and explores the origins of a seaside swim in Margate.

S02E19 Sandwich to Folkestone

• January 27, 2011

Michael explores a secret port that ran the first train ferries to France carrying vital supplies during World War I, visits Walmer castle, the home of the Duke of Wellington and discovers how the Victorians initiated the building of the Channel tunnel

S02E20 Hythe to Hastings

• January 28, 2011

Michael discovers a hardy breed of sheep on the atmospheric Romney Marsh, explores Kent's new sparkling wine industry and finds out why the Victorians went mad for ferns in Hastings

S02E21 Ayr to Paisley

• January 31, 2011

Michael visits the hometown of Robbie Burns and finds out how to make haggis, discovers how the railways transformed the game of golf in Prestwick, and uncovers the story of the great Victorian tartan hoax in Paisley

S02E22 Dumbarton to Tyndrum

• February 1, 2011

Michael explores the historic Dumbarton shipyards that built the Cutty Sark, visits one of Queen Victoria's favourite haunts, Loch Lomond, and goes hunting for gold in Scotland's mountains

S02E23 Oban to Corrour

• February 2, 2011

Michael discovers how trains spread the word about Oban whisky, hears about the heroic struggle to build a railway across the desolate Rannoch Moor, and visits Corrour, one of the favourite shooting estates of the Victorian political elite

S02E24 Roybridge to Glenfinnan

• February 3, 2011

Michael investigates one of the great geological mysteries of the 19th Century, the parallel roads of Glenroy. Plus, he finds out how the Victorians put a weather observatory on the top of Ben Nevis and takes a steam train across one of the most spectacular viaducts in Britain at Glenfinnan

S02E25 Lochailort to Skye

• February 4, 2011

Michael discovers how the railways helped train the first generation of commandos at Lochailort in World War II, finds out why langoustines have replaced herrings as the top catch in the fishing port of Mallaig, and sails across the sea to Skye to explore the history of the highland crofters

S03E01 Great Yarmouth to Beccles

• January 2, 2012

Michael Portillo discovers the grave robbing history of Great Yarmouth and tries his hand at working a Victorian swing bridge in Reedham.

S03E02 Darsham to Felixstowe

• January 3, 2012

Michael Portillo follows the Victorians' fascination with Britain's own Atlantis to Dunwich and discovers the history of the Port of Felixstowe.

S03E03 Sudbury to Southend

• January 4, 2012

Michael Portillo comes face to face with a medieval politician, takes a rail tour of Victorian freak show hot spots, and rides an early electric railway.

S03E04 Epping to Hackney

• January 5, 2012

Michael Portillo sees how gunpowder made in Waltham Cross fuelled an empire, and heads to Hackney to uncover the gruesome details of the first murder on a train.

S03E05 Fenchurch to Embankment

• January 6, 2012

Michael Portillo takes a ride on a secret miniature railway hidden beneath London's streets, and rings the bells of the famous church of Bow.

S03E06 Windsor to Didcot

• January 9, 2012

Michael Portillo visits a station fit for royalty in Windsor and views an engineering triumph built by Brunel to span the Thames at Maidenhead.

S03E07 Reading to Alton

• January 10, 2012

Michael Portillo tastes a Victorian superfood in Alton and tries his hand at driving a steam train on the challenging Watercress Line.

S03E08 Winchester to Isle of Wight

• January 11, 2012

Michael Portillo experiences the magnificent Victorian organ at Winchester Cathedral and visits a 19th-century rail works still running in Eastleigh.

S03E09 Brockenhurst to Poole

• January 12, 2012

On the trail of a Victorian snake catcher, Michael visits the New Forest seeking out venomous adders, uncovers a secret library in Wimborne containing some very rare books, and visits the Poole potteries founded in the 19th century, which are still working today.

S03E10 Wareham to Portland

• January 13, 2012

Michael uncovers the amazing oil fields hidden underneath England's quiet seaside resorts, discovers the crucial role Weymouth played in the D-day landings, and heads to the cradle of Victorian Britain's most prestigious building rock, Portland.

S03E11 Oxford to Pershore

• January 16, 2012

Michael is lead to a special view of the city of Oxford by his 19th century guidebook, samples a Victorian navvies' brew made by steam power, and discovers a unique and colourful crop in the heart of the Cotswolds.

S03E12 Hartlebury to Great Malvern

• January 17, 2012

Michael Portillo visits the Worcestershire village of Hartlebury, which was once home to a bishop who captured Queen Victoria's attention, on the second leg of his journey from Oxford to the south Wales coast. He also investigates the secrets of Worcestershire sauce and learns why the Malvern hills were popular with 19th-century health enthusiasts.

S03E13 Lydney to Newport

• January 18, 2012

Michael discovers Britain's hidden micro-mines within the Forest of Dean, sees why the Victorians fell for the romantic ruins of Tintern Abbey and uncovers the railway engineering behind the industrial icon that is Newport Transporter Bridge.

S03E14 Cardiff to Brecon

• January 19, 2012

Michael discovers the Victorian coal heritage that turned Cardiff into the city it is today, explores the 19th-century reason why Barry Island isn't an island, and takes a steam ride through the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park.

S03E15 Port Talbot to Milford Haven

• January 20, 2012

Michael explores the Victorian railway legacy behind the steel works of Port Talbot, follows the trail of 19th-century waterfall hunters in Neath, and uncovers the fascinating whaling past of Milford Haven.

S03E16 Berwick-Upon-Tweed to Morpeth

• January 23, 2012

Michael discovers the unique cross-border history of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, hears the unique story of the Pitman Painters of Ashington and sees first-hand the perils of working on the rails in Victorian times.

S03E17 Bardon Mill to Wigton

• January 24, 2012

Michael gets his hands dirty following the example of Victorian archaeologists at Hadrian's Wall, discovers how the invention of the ticket machine made a big difference to 19th century rail users, and sees how the Victorian railways first fuelled invention in Wigton.

S03E18 Cockermouth to Eskdale

• January 25, 2012

Michael drinks a Victorian brew drawn from the pure waters of Cockermouth, steps inside the hidden world of nuclear reprocessing at Sellafield, and travels into the wonders of a Japanese inspired, 19th century garden.

S03E19 Kirkby-in-Furness to Lancaster

• January 26, 2012

Michael finds out the secrets behind Kirkby's famous blue slate, submerges himself into a secret world of nuclear submarines in Barrow, and sees why the executions at Lancaster castle drew the Victorians in their droves.

S03E20 Heysham to Snaefell

• January 27, 2012

Michael sets sail from Heysham to the Isle of Man, where he discovers the horse trams of Douglas, the 19th century secrets of the giant Laxy Waterwheel, and the Victorian history of the delightful Snaefell mountain railway.

S03E21 Bray to Dublin

• January 30, 2012

Today Michael observes the amazing engineering feat involved in building the railway along Dublin's treacherous East coast, explores 19th century crime and punishment in a Victorian jail, and finds out how the lions of Dublin Zoo changed the fortunes of the railways.

S03E22 Enfield to Drogheda

• January 31, 2012

Today Michael explores the extensive railway network within the Bog of Allen, discovers the Victorian secrets behind the amazing Boyne Viaduct, and travels underground, into the vast Irish Zinc mines.

S03E23 Dundalk to Portadown

• February 1, 2012

Today Michael explores the Victorians' fascination with antiquity, by visiting the amazing Cromlech stones of Dundalk. He reaches for the stars at the Portadown Observatory and travels in style along the steam railway of Downpatrick.

S03E24 Belfast to Whitehead

• February 2, 2012

Today Michael explores the fascinating history of Belfast's Victorian docks, discovers the Irish spade making traditions untouched for over 150 years and takes a walk on the wild side with Whitehead's Victorian coastal paths.

S03E25 Ballymoney to Londonderry

• February 3, 2012

Today Michael takes a white knuckle walk over the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, follows in the footsteps of the Victorians to experience the delights of the Giant's Causeway and explores the rich history of Londonderry.

S04E01 High Wycombe to Stratford-upon-Avon

• January 7, 2013

Michael Portillo embarks on another journey around the nation with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook to discover how the railways have affected people and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain. He begins by travelling from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, finding out about the remarkable craftsmen behind the Victorian furniture trade, discovering how George Bradshaw helped save Britain's canal heritage and seeing Shakespeare through the eyes of a 19th-century rail tourist.

S04E02 Birmingham to Stafford

• January 8, 2013

Michael Portillo learns how the railways helped to make Birmingham the pen-making capital of the world, hears the chilling tale of one of 19th-century Britain's most notorious murderers and samples delicacies concocted in a Victorian kitchen at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire.

S04E03 Stoke-on-Trent to Winsford

• January 9, 2013

Michael Portillo travels from Stoke-on-Trent to Winsford, Cheshire, finding out about one of the greatest locomotive factories in railway history along the way. He also discovers the dark side of the Industrial Revolution and learns how Victorian potteries brought their products to the masses.

S04E04 Dudley to Bridgnorth

• January 10, 2013

Michael Portillo travels from Dudley in the West Midlands to Bridgnorth, Shropshire. He learns how Victorian blacksmithing was not for the faint-hearted, rides on one of Britain's most modern trains and traverses the Victoria Bridge at Bewdley in Worcestershire.

S04E05 Welshpool to Aberystwyth

• January 11, 2013

Michael Portillo travels from Welshpool, Powys, to Aberystwyth in Ceredigion. He experiences Victorian entertainment in one of Wales's best-loved resorts, hears how the railways took the country's textiles into the most exclusive households and unleashes the power of a 19th-century engineering triumph.

S04E06 Portsmouth to Gomshall

• January 14, 2013

Michael Portillo embarks on the next stage of his journey in which he travels from the naval hub of Portsmouth to Grimsby docks. On the first leg, he helps feed the crew of Britain's newest battleship, discovers how the Victorians planned to repel a possible French invasion and learns there is a well-established industry in an unlikely location.

S04E07 Woking to Clapham Junction

• January 15, 2013

Michael Portillo travels from Woking in Surrey to Clapham Junction in south London. Along the way he gets close to some precious Victorian botany at Kew Gardens, tries his hand at croquet and discovers a very surprising 19th-century place of worship.

S04E08 London Victoria to Abbey Wood

• January 16, 2013

Michael learns how volunteer Victorian firefighters liked a tipple, discovers that 19th-century sewage pumps were a marvel of design and puts in a shift at the oldest fish market in Britain.

S04E09 London King's Cross to Peterborough

• January 17, 2013

Michael Portillo discovers how derelict Victorian London is being rejuvenated. Furthermore he works in a shift at a Cambridgeshire brick factory and meets members of an immigrant community linked to it.

S04E10 Spalding to Grimsby

• January 18, 2013

Michael learns about how Lincolnshire farmers utilised rails to improve their harvests, visiting the impressive cathedral in Lincoln and looking to the future of rail freight.

S04E11 Stirling to Invergowrie

• January 21, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns about a Scottish hero, visits a Highland Games and discovers how an impressive piece of Victorian engineering ended in tragedy.

S04E12 Dundee to Aberdeen

• January 22, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how Queen Victoria used to hide from her subjects, discovers how factory workers went deaf and goes out with a bang in Aberdeenshire.

S04E13 Dufftown to Aviemore

• January 23, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers, travels along one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts and discovers that life is not always sweet on a shortbread production line.

S04E14 Inverness to Plockton

• January 24, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook. He travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's world remains. In this programme, Michael explores the scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling to the beauty of the western lochs, ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael rides one of Scotland's most picturesque railways, visits Scotland's smallest station and learns what went into a Victorian-style spa break.

S04E15 Invergordon to John O'Groats

• January 25, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how one man's vision helped bring train travel to the Highlands, discovers how farming has changed since Bradshaw's day and hears the remarkable tale of Scotland's Victorian gold rush.

S04E16 London Paddington to Warminster

• January 28, 2013

Michael gets to grips with the old grey matter at a Victorian asylum, gives an historic horse a facelift and makes malt the 19th century way.

S04E17 Salisbury to Castle Cary

• January 29, 2013

Michael visits a world famous tourist hotspot that's been captivating visitors since the Victorian era, takes to the air in Yeovil and tries his hand at cloth making, the 19th century way.

S04E18 Taunton to Minehead

• January 30, 2013

Michael explores a church that moves in mysterious ways, finds out just what it takes to run a 19th century signal box and summons all his strength, to move a one hundred and ten tonne steam locomotive.

S04E19 Lynton and Lynmouth to Exeter

• January 31, 2013

Michael gets up close to a piece of natural history, visits a garden used as a viewing platform for public hangings and experiences a timepiece like no other.

S04E20 Exmouth to Newton Abbot

• February 1, 2013

Michael takes to sea with the heroes of the RNLI, visits a stormy coastal railway and has a close personal encounter with his boyhood hero.

S04E21 Killarney to Cobh

• February 4, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode Michael samples nineteenth century foodie delicacies, explores a stunning landscape shot to fame by rails and royals and risks life and limb for the gift of the gab.

S04E22 Charleville to Waterford

• February 5, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael learns the ancient art of butter making, attempts to learn the basics of Ireland's oldest game, and rides the Duke of Devonshire's Victorian Irish railway.

S04E23 Kilkenny to Athy

• February 6, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael tries his hand at cutting marble Victorian style, uncovers 19th century Ireland's surprising industrial heritage and learns how the railways helped bring motorsport to the masses.

S04E24 Newbridge to Roscrea

• February 7, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael visits the Irish National Stud, discovers how harsh life was for the Irish poor and uncovers an astronomical feat of Victorian engineering.

S04E25 Athlone to Galway

• February 8, 2013

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael is on the final leg of his Irish journey and discovers historic jewellery with royal connections in Galway, meets a people's king and finds his voice with a traditional Irish singing group.

S05E01 Manchester to Birkenhead

• January 6, 2014

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Manchester, birthplace of George Bradshaw, the publisher of his trusted guide, to Chesterfield, burial place of George Stephenson, the father of the railway. In the first leg of the journey, Michael finds out how the world's first industrialised city also gave birth to a revolutionary political movement and hears how railway workers founded one of the most successful football clubs in the world. Along the way, Michael does the washing in Port Sunlight and discovers the legacy of an American named George Francis Train in Birkenhead.

S05E02 Southport to Leyland

• January 7, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey through the North West of England. He begins in the elegant Lancashire resort of Southport, where the railways brought thousands of visitors to enjoy the pier and all the fun of the fair. Michael discovers Victorian entrepreneurship in Wigan, traces the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in Bolton and drives a hundred-year-old commercial vehicle in Leyland.

S05E03 Preston to Rochdale

• January 8, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey through the North West of England. He celebrates Victorian trade with the Preston Guild then heads to Rochdale where he discovers a pioneering movement that helped improve the lot of working families. Michael follows in the tracks of swathes of nineteenth-century working people who made day trips from the industrial towns to Hebden Bridge to walk in the beautiful Calder Valley.

S05E04 Haworth to Huddersfield

• January 9, 2014

Michael Portillo begins this leg of his journey from Manchester to Chesterfield at the home of the three Bronte sisters in Worth Valley, Yorkshire. He then moves on to Oakworth where he learns how the station and its heritage railway line secured a starring role in one of the most popular films ever made. In Bradford, Michael finds out how nineteenth-century workers could save to buy a home of their own, and in Halifax discovers how the railway contributed to the town's sweet success.

S05E05 Honley to Chesterfield

• January 10, 2014

On the last leg of his journey from a notorious slum in Manchester to the grandeur of a ducal seat in Derbyshire, Michael Portillo tunes in to the music of the mills and collieries of Victorian England, testing his puff with the brass band at Honley. In Holmfirth, Michael finds out about a nineteenth-century tragedy that struck the town and led to a tourist boom on the railways. At Chesterfield, Michael pays homage to the father of the railway, George Stephenson, before finishing his journey in style at one of the first stately homes to welcome visitors by rail - Chatsworth.

S05E06 London Euston to Cheddington

• January 13, 2014

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey guided by his Bradshaw's Handbook from London's Euston station to Leeds. In this first leg, he finds out what happened to the once proud Euston Arch then braves the watery depths under Camden Town to see how goods were transported by rail, road and canal. Clad in his old school blazer, Michael heads north to explore the Harrow of his childhood and remembers the tragic rail disaster of 1952. At the country estate of one of the world's wealthiest banking families in Tring, he discovers an exotic collection in need of special attention before alighting at Cheddington, scene of the Great Train Robbery.

S05E07 Bletchley to Newport Pagnell

• January 14, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey north on Robert Stephenson's first inter-city railway line from the capital. Along the line at Bletchley he meets one of the Second World War's most secret agents, discovers a poet in Olney whose words are still sung today and explores the first purpose-built railway town at Wolverton. Michael's last stop on this leg is Newport Pagnell, where he learns the ancient craft of vellum making.

S05E08 Northampton to Nuneaton

• January 15, 2014

Steered by his Bradshaw's Michael Portillo heads north on his journey from London to Leeds, stopping in Northampton, the land of shoemakers, where Victorian 'clickers' have been making shoes for more than 130 years. In Rugby, Michael discovers the legacy of Dr Thomas Arnold and trains with the school's 1st XV before heading to Coventry, where he finds out how the city's craftsmen learned to adapt to survive. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Nuneaton, birthplace of an author whose identity was once a closely guarded secret.

S05E09 Leicester to Loughborough

• January 16, 2014

Guided by his Victorian Bradshaw's Michael Portillo continues his journey north along Robert Stephenson's London to Birmingham line. He begins this leg in Leicester, where he picks up the trail of 'the famous crook-backed King Richard III', who Bradshaw's informs him was buried at the Grey Priory. Michael finds out about the hunt for the king's remains and how scientists managed to prove that the skeleton found under a car park was him. From Rothley, Michael works his passage on the Great Central Railway to Loughborough, where the bells have been tolling since 1839.

S05E10 Nottingham to Leeds

• January 17, 2014

On the final leg of his journey along the first inter-city line to be built from the capital, Michael Portillo rediscovers a once-famous poet in Nottingham. In Mansfield he travels on a railway line resurrected by popular demand after falling victim to Beeching's cuts, then heads to Worksop, where he learns about the burrowing activities of an eccentric Duke. Michael's next stop is 'railway city' Doncaster, where in the nineteenth century thousands laboured to build trains and where in the twentieth century, rail workers shaped British political history. His last stop on this journey is Leeds, where he auditions at the Venus and Venice of Variety on the stage at Britain's oldest continuously working music hall.

S05E11 Southampton to Basingstoke

• January 20, 2014

Assisted by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton. On this first leg he learns to set table aboard the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth before she sets sail and discovers how Cunard steamers began by transporting post across the Atlantic. He then heads to Netley, where he discovers the remains of an extensive military hospital built by order of Queen Victoria and from there to Basingstoke, where he finds out about a pitched battle between townspeople and the Salvation Army.

S05E12 Winchfield to Crowthorne

• January 21, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the Hampshire coast to the West Midlands in a distinctly military vein. At Winchfield, he discovers the vast carriage which carried the Duke of Wellington's coffin to his state funeral at St Paul's Cathedral in 1852 and hears how the Duke's chestnut stallion also received full military honours when he was buried at the Duke's seat, Stratfield Saye. Michael then heads for Farnborough and the army camp at Aldershot, where, after the Crimean War, greater physical fitness among rank and file Victorian soldiers became a priority. Private Portillo joins the regulars to be put through his paces under military instruction. Sanctuary is not far away in Farnborough North at the Benedictine Monastery of St Michael, where Michael visits the tomb of the French Emperor Napoleon III and his family. He ends this second leg of his journey in Crowthorne, where in the year his Bradshaw's was published, there opened a notorious new institution: England's first Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Broadmoor.

S05E13 Wokingham to Bradford-on-Avon

• January 22, 2014

Steered by his Victorian guidebook, Michael Portillo heads north from the south coast towards the West Midlands. The third leg begins in Wokingham, where Bradshaw's reports the proprietor of The Times newspaper resided and where he was a great benefactor. Michael finds out how demand from a growing number of rail commuters fuelled the development of the modern printing press and learns how to print on an iron press. He then heads to Newbury, where he encounters a Tudor captain of industry, who manufactured cloth in enormous volumes. Michael's next destination is Trowbridge, where Sir Isaac Pitman invented his famous shorthand. He ends this leg of the journey in Bradford on Avon, where he hears from a local manufacturer how his Victorian forebears were the first in Britain to be licensed to vulcanise rubber. They supplied springs, buffers and hoses for the locomotive industry and now make rubber suspensions systems for bicycles.

S05E14 Chippenham to Gloucester

• January 23, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton beginning today in Chippenham, where at Lacock Abbey he discovers how the world's first photographic negative was made and learns how to make a print. He travels on to Bristol to visit the Victorian Clifton Zoo, where he finds tigers and polar bears before him also arrived by train. Next stop is Severn Tunnel Junction in Wales, where he explores an extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering with its own pump house pumping out millions of gallons a day to keep it dry. Michael then heads for Gloucester to find out why the station became infamous for lost luggage. At the city's cathedral, Michael meets a stonemason who bravely invites him to chip away.

S05E15 Cheltenham to Wolverhampton

• January 24, 2014

On the final leg of his journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton, Michael Portillo's first destination is the elegant spa town of Cheltenham, where he discovers a very early locomotive carriage which ran not on rails but on the road and is lucky enough to get behind the wheel. His next stop is the medieval town of Tewkesbury, scene of a grisly battle during the Wars of the Roses. Armour-plated and sword at the ready, Michael joins a group of re-enactors for a taste of the action. Mercifully unscathed, he makes tracks for Droitwich to find out about how a lowly boatman became the King of Salt and lived in a beautiful chateau, an unexpected sight in the Midlands countryside. Michael's journey ends in Wolverhampton, where he hears Queen Victoria made an emotional visit which signalled the end of her exile from public life after mourning her husband, Prince Albert. He learns how the townspeople showed off their talents to the Queen, among them the lost art of Japanning, a speciality of Wolverhampton.

S05E16 Norwich to Brandon

• January 27, 2014

Guided by his 19th century Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Norwich to Chichester. On this first leg he explores Norwich's medieval heart. In the city's Norman castle he uncovers the Victorian public's gory fascination with crime and punishment and finds out how campaigners such as Elizabeth Fry, who was born in Norwich, worked to improve conditions for prisoners. At the city's livestock market, Michael learns how to buy a calf at auction with a subtle twitch of his guidebook. He then heads west to Thetford to explore the rabbit warrens of the Brecks. He discovers how the Victorian appetite for rabbits and their fur led to special train services to London, known as Bunny Trains. After a painful encounter with a polecat, Michael heads northwest to Brandon, home of some of the best quality flint in Britain and tries his hand at flint-knapping.

S05E17 Ipswich to Chelmsford

• January 28, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the east coast to the south coast beginning in the port of Ipswich, capital of the farming county of Suffolk. His first port of call is an agricultural implement works with its own railway sidings. Michael investigates what could have earned the Victorian manufacturer a special mention in his Bradshaw's. Continuing his journey south west into Essex Michael dredges oysters off Mersea Island before taking the train to Witham, where he discovers a model farming establishment at Tiptree. His final destination is Chelmsford and the world's first purpose-built radio equipment factory, established by Guglielmo Marconi.

S05E18 Ilford to Rochester

• January 29, 2014

Steered by his Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo heads along the Essex bank of the Thames before crossing the river into the Garden of England, Kent. He begins this leg at Barkingside, where a Victorian philanthropist called Dr Thomas Barnardo made it his life's work to transform the lives of destitute children. From Upminster Michael takes the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway to Tilbury and finds out how the line and the old station transformed the town into one of the country's most important ports. At the docks, Michael tries his hand at loading a container on to a pocket wagon. Over the river at Gravesend Michael discovers how one of Queen Victoria's favourite army officers, General Gordon, left his mark on the town. Michael's last destination on this leg is Rochester, where he encounters a host of familiar characters and explores the city which was home to one of the Victorian era's greatest writers, Charles Dickens.

S05E19 Faversham to Dorking

• January 30, 2014

Michael Portillo continues his journey from Norwich to Chichester beginning in Faversham in Kent, at one of the country's oldest surviving breweries, Shepherd Neame. Michael discovers how the brewery invested heavily in the railways and even ran rolling stock with its own smart livery taking beer to London. After making his own delivery to the Railway Tavern in one of the brewery's oldest vehicles, Michael heads for the south coast to the defensive town of Dover, little more than 25 miles from the historic enemy, the French. Here he uncovers one of Dover's best kept secrets, the sunken fortress known as the Western Heights. In the Weald of Kent, Michael finds out how the railways helped to put Tonbridge School on track for cricketing glory before heading into Surrey where he blow-dries a hen in Dorking!

S05E20 Brighton to Chichester

• January 31, 2014

On the final leg of his journey between the cathedral cities of Norwich and Chichester, Michael Portillo discovers the history behind the extraordinary Pavilion at Brighton and learns that Queen Victoria was not an admirer of the Prince Regent's flamboyant taste. Michael finds that while above ground the railways brought day trippers to frolic in fashionable Brighton, underground, Victorian engineers built a magnificent network of sewers more than 40 miles in length, which are still functioning today. At Bramber, he discovers at the time of his guide tourists flocked to the town in huge numbers due to a Victorian museum of taxidermy. Michael's next stop is the impressive castle at Arundel and he's pleased to find that the Duke of Norfolk was a great supporter of the railways. His rail journey ends in Chichester from where he heads up into the South Downs for a taste of life in the fast lane at Goodwood.

S06E01 Ayr to Stewarton

• January 5, 2015

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey through southern Scotland from west to east. From Ayr, he admires the granite island of Ailsa Craig before getting to grips with the ancient sport of curling, with help from a Scottish world champion. The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers invites Michael to take part in the oldest archery competition in the world. At Barassie, he rides the footplate of a freight train hauling coal on Scotland's oldest railway line. He caps off this leg of his journey in Stewarton.

S06E02 Greenock to Larkhall

• January 6, 2015

Michael Portillo continues his journey through the Scottish lowlands with his Bradshaw's guide. He begins in the industrial town of Greenock from where he sets sail in the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world. In Glasgow, Michael investigates 'Mackintosh style' in an iconic city tea room, before seeing the devastating effects of the 2014 fire at the Glasgow School of Art. In Blantyre, Michael discovers the humble beginnings of Britain's most famous missionary and explorer, and learns to bake sour dough in Scotland's oldest bakery in Strathaven.

S06E03 Motherwell to Linlithgow

• January 7, 2015

Armed with his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey through southern Scotland. He celebrates Victorian iron and steel in Motherwell and admires one of its crowning achievements - the Forth Rail Bridge. Michael journeys through picturesque countryside to admire the raw power of nature at the magnificent and romantic Clyde Falls, which inspired Wordsworth and Coleridge, and where Victorian ladies swooned. In Cumbernauld, Michael learns of the birth of one of Scotland's best-selling soft drinks. In Linlithgow, he marvels at the ingenuity of the engineers who built the Union Canal and experiences a 21st century technological refinement at Falkirk.

S06E04 Stirling to Pitlochry

• January 8, 2015

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo begins this leg of his journey in Stirling, where he visits the scene of a bloody battle at Bannockburn. Following in the footsteps of Victorian holidaymakers, he travels north to Crieff to experience the popular Hydro. In the ancient capital of Scotland, Perth, Michael learns what it takes to make a sporran before catching the highland mainline to Pitlochry and one of Queen Victoria's favourite haunts. He finishes for the day with a wee dram in Scotland's smallest distillery.

S06E05 St Andrew's to Edinburgh

• January 9, 2015

On the last leg of his journey across Scotland from west to east, Michael Portillo pays homage to the birthplace of golf at St Andrews. He visits a factory where they make traditional hickory-shafted clubs and ventures out on to the green. In Dunfermline, Michael discovers the poor beginnings of one of the world's wealthiest men, a remarkable philanthropist who worked on the railroads before making his fortune in steel. Crossing the Firth of Forth via the legendary red bridge, Michael arrives in Edinburgh in the middle of the world's largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, where he treads the boards in an unconventional adaptation of a play by Oscar Wilde.

S06E06 Amersham to Regent's Park

• January 12, 2015

Michael Portillo embarks on a series of journeys through London. He travels on the capital's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Line, from Amersham, where he discovers the foundations for modern day suburbia

S06E07 Deptford to West Silverton

• January 13, 2015

Michael Portillo is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail to travel under the Thames and to meet Mary, on whom the project depends. He travels on the capital's first railway, and admires the remarkable brick viaduct on which it was built. He takes a tour underneath its arches with a Victorian map showing the poverty of those who once lived there. The Docklands Light Railway takes him to Greenwich, home to Britain's most famous tea clipper. And in Woolwich, he discovers the firepower of the British Empire before coming to a sticky end at West Silverton.

S06E08 Stratford to London Victoria

• January 14, 2015

Guided by his Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo takes the high-speed line to Stratford to explore the legacy of the Olympic Park. He hears how an Indian lawyer, who learnt his trade in Victorian London, went on to change the world and explores an area of the city which has been home to wave upon wave of immigrants, Spitalfields. He ends this journey at Victoria Underground Station, where he finds out about the massive makeover currently under way.

S06E09 Covent Garden to Soho

• January 15, 2015

Guided by his Victorian Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo explores London's theatreland and discovers how 19th-century engineering made for spectacular theatricals. At Charing Cross, Michael learns about the ambitious building programme which saw Trafalgar Square replace streets of slums and comes face to face with George Bradshaw. At one of the busiest stops on the tube, Piccadilly Circus, Michael indulges in some retail therapy at a perfumery patronised by kings, queens and prime ministers. The Bakerloo to Oxford Circus line brings Michael to Soho and a grimmer side of Victorian London, where disease was rife.

S06E10 High Street Kensington to London Bridge

• January 16, 2015

On the last of his journeys in the capital, Michael Portillo explores Albertopolis and reaches dizzying heights inside a Victorian landmark. He meets some of Battersea's most famous residents and gives one of them a bath! At Vauxhall, Michael learns about the darker side of London's flower market in Bradshaw's day. He ends this journey at London Bridge, where two stations are becoming one, and a new concourse is being built.

S06E11 Derby to Grantham

• January 19, 2015

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey following his Bradshaw's handbook from the heart of the industrial East Midlands to the north-eastern island of Lindisfarne

S06E12 Boston to Hensall

• January 20, 2015

Armed with his Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo continues his journey from Derby to Lindisfarne. Beginning in Boston in the flatlands of Lincolnshire, Michael explores the connection between the city and its American namesake.

S06E13 Hessle to York

• January 21, 2015

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey from the heart of the East Midlands to Northumberland's Holy Island. He begins in Hessle, on the north bank of the River Humber, in the shadow of the magnificent Humber Bridge, where he learns about the technology that made it possible. In Kingston upon Hull, Michael meets his friend and sparring partner, local MP Alan Johnson, who tells him about another famous son of his city, William Wilberforce. In Scarborough, Michael's handbook directs him to the castle, where the founder of the Quaker movement was once imprisoned. His last stop of the day is York, where Michael learns what made the ancient capital a centre for the sweet-making industry.

S06E14 Middlesbrough to Hexham

• January 22, 2015

Following his Bradshaw's Handbook, Michael Portillo begins this leg of his journey from Derby to Lindisfarne in the Victorian ironopolis of Middlesbrough. He visits one of the last cast iron foundries in the city and helps cast a carrot valve for a steam engine. His next stop is Darlington, spiritual home of the railways, where he learns how the city profited from its fast connections to the capitals of England and Scotland by developing a newspaper industry. Michael meets the editor of the Northern Echo and finds out about the colourful history of one of his predecessors, WT Stead. At Jarrow, Michael visits the monastery to learn about its famous monk, the father of English history, Bede. His last stop on this leg of his journey is Hexham, where he visits a historic ginger beer emporium.

S06E15 Newcastle to Lindisfarne

• January 23, 2015

With his Bradshaw's guidebook in hand, Michael Portillo journeys from Newcastle up the north east coast to Lindisfarne. He finds out about the world's earliest swing bridge and its inventor, Newcastle engineer Sir William Armstrong, and discovers how the city's Victorian industrial heritage has found a new cultural purpose. From Seahouses by boat, amid puffins and cormorants, Michael goes in search of a darling of the Victorian press, who with her father rescued nine people from tumultuous seas. On the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Michael explores the lime kilns and finds out how, in the 7th century, Christianity spread from here across northern England.

S06E16 Pembroke Dock to Swansea

• January 26, 2015

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey following his Bradshaw's handbook from south-west Wales to Cambridge, beginning in Pembroke Dock, where Queen Victoria's royal yachts were built. In the little market town of Naberth he investigates what caused rebels to dress up as women, later spending the night at an inn in Carmarthen where Horatio Nelson once met Emma Hamilton. Next day, the former politician pitches in with the volunteers who look after the Gwili Heritage line and ends his leg in Swansea, where he learns how to pose for a photograph in Victorian style.

S06E17 Swansea to Hereford

• January 27, 2015

Michael Portillo begins in the ruinous gardens at Aberglasney House near Llandeilo before riding shotgun in the driver's cab on one of the most scenic routes in Britain. Over the border in Leominster, Herefordshire, he steps out onto the dance floor at the Lion Hotel Ballroom, where a grand ball was held to celebrate the opening of the Ludlow to Hereford railway, and finishes this leg of his journey at a traditional cider house in Hereford.

S06E18 Abergavenny to Hanborough

• January 28, 2015

Michael Portillo begins underground at Big Pit coal mine in Blaenavon, where he discovers how Victorians toiled night and day to power the Industrial Revolution. On the River Usk, he learns about 19th-century developments in angling before heading to Ascott-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire - once the scene of a farm labourers' dispute that ended in rioting. Michael concludes this leg of his journey at Blenheim Palace.

S06E19 Oxford to Luton

• January 29, 2015

Beginning in the heart of academia in Oxford, Michael Portillo visits the Bodleian library to see some Victorian treasures, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manuscript and a pocket-sized edition of Bradshaw's Companion. At Bicester, he investigates two new rail projects, finds out about Victorian philanthropy in Bedford and finishes in Luton, where he explores the dark arts of the hat-maker.

S06E20 Oakham to Cambridge

• January 30, 2015

Michael Portillo sets off from Oakham in Rutland, where he learns about a noble tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and decides to take part. Heading east to Stamford, Lincolnshire, he discovers why the town is such an attractive location for period dramas, while a ghoulish scene awaits in Peterborough when he visits a Victorian operating theatre where railwaymen were treated. Michael's last stop on his journey is Christ's College at Cambridge University, where he finds out about about the student days of Charles Darwin.

S07E01 Carlisle to Penrith

• January 4, 2016

Joining the cracker packers of Carlisle on the factory floor, Michael really takes the biscuit as he investigates the Victorian appetite for the custard cream on his new journey through north-west Britain. Braving a perilous descent into the only operational slate mine in England, Michael discovers a miniature railway which once hauled slate to the surface. Following in the footsteps of Victorian miners on their way to work, he steps out gingerly on to what is now Britain's only Via Ferrata - a terrifying tightrope challenge 300 feet above the Borrowdale Valley.

S07E02 Windermere to Carnforth

• January 5, 2016

Michael continues his journey through the Lake District where he discovers a magical world of talking rabbits, ducks, hedgehogs and mice, who have entertained children for more than 100 years. At the village home of author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, Michael learns about her legacy and her fears about the railways. Fuelled by a Victorian energy bar, Michael presses on to Brantwood, home of the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. He finishes with a brief encounter at Carnforth.

S07E03 Preston to Swinton

• January 6, 2016

Michael reads the riot act in Preston, where he discovers four mill workers were shot dead by soldiers at a protest in 1842. In Darwen, he makes a splash in pink as he traces developments in 19th-century interior design from wallpaper to paint. Michael explores the Victorian industrial landscape of Salford, populated by little matchstick figures, as revealed in the paintings of LS Lowry. Michael finishes this leg of his journey on Kersal Moor, where he twists his tongue around the Lancashire dialect and discovers the poetry of Edwin Waugh.

S07E04 St Helens to Knutsford

• January 7, 2016

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael begins this leg of his journey in Merseyside, where he feels the heat of modern glassmaking in St Helens. He discovers how the techniques invented in the Victorian era to construct buildings such as the Crystal Palace have evolved and are powering a new architectural revolution.

S07E05 Ashley to Alton

• January 8, 2016

On the last leg of his journey through north west England, Michael makes a clean sweep in Ashley, where, in Victorian times, the new middle classes set up home in suburban villas with multiple chimneys, swept by children. In Macclesfield, Michael finds the end of the Silk Route and tries his hand at screen printing. After stoking the fire on the steam-powered Churnet Valley Railway, Michael alights at Froghall for Alton Towers, to trace the 19th-century origins of the modern theme park.

S07E06 Dover to Lewes

• January 11, 2016

Michael embarks on a railway journey along the south coast of Britain. Beginning in the port of Dover, he is inspired by a brave Victorian sea captain to plunge into the English Channel. A spectacular miniature steam railway, one third the size of his customary mode of transport, conveys him from Romney Marsh to Dungeness. In elegant Eastbourne, he discovers how the refined Victorian upper crust was attracted to the town by design of the 7th Duke of Devonshire. He ends his journey in truly eccentric English style at the Glyndebourne opera festival on the South Downs.

S07E07 Newhaven to Worthing

• January 12, 2016

Following his Bradshaw's handbook, Michael examines the nation's hidden defences against potential invaders, beginning in the port of Newhaven. Detouring north to Balcombe, he interrupts his journey to appreciate two magnificent engineering achievements - the Ouse Valley Viaduct and the Clayton Tunnel - and learns of a gruesome murder. High on top of a favourite Victorian beauty spot, Michael learns how trains once brought hordes of day trippers here to walk and fly kites. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Worthing, where he finds a novel way to pick tomatoes.

S07E08 Littlehampton to Beaulieu

• January 13, 2016

Michael arrives in Littlehampton, where he discovers how Victorian engineers dug deep to defend the town's residents from cholera and learns how their drills still access clean water around the world. At Gosport, he experiences first-hand the lethal firepower unleashed on the French and learns how the Victorians were engaged in a furious arms race against them. At the family home of Florence Nightingale in the New Forest, Michael finds out what motivated the Lady of the Lamp, before seizing the chance to drive the first motor car at Beaulieu.

S07E09 Lymington Town to Exmouth

• January 14, 2016

Armed with his Bradshaw's Handbook, Michael arrives in the sailing haven of Lymington where he makes a lifesaving discovery. Exploring Dorchester's literary landscape, he finds out how the coming of the railways inspired the work of the region's greatest writer - Thomas Hardy. Weaving his way to Axminster, Michael tries his hand at carpet making. His last stop is Exmouth, home to Francis Danby, a forgotten Victorian landscape artist.

S07E10 Plymouth to Porthcurno

• January 15, 2016

In Plymouth, Michael finds out about the Royal Navy's fighting spirit and mixes his own blend of ruin. Crossing into Cornwall, Michael learns about the last bridge to be built by one of his heroes, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. By Tre, Pol and Pen, he comes to know Cornishmen and how to prepare the perfect pasty. His journey ends in a small village which in Victorian times became a hub of global communications.

S07E11 Birmingham to Worcester

• January 18, 2016

Every train ride begins with a whistle and Michael's new railway journey is no exception, blasting off from Birmingham's jewellery quarter to the sound of the Acme whistle, manufactured there since 1884. A visit to the city's town hall reveals a magnificent organ and the location for a celebrated music festival. Travelling south to Kidderminster, Michael reports for duty at the Post Office, where he sorts the letters and discovers more about the great postal innovator Sir Rowland Hill, before heading out to deliver the Royal Mail. 19th-century quack doctors and their bogus remedies are exposed in Worcester, where Michael discovers the origins of the British Medical Association.

S07E12 Redditch to Gloucester

• January 19, 2016

Michael heads for the sharp end of the Victorian industrial revolution at a needle manufactory in Redditch. The Freemasons of Cheltenham invite Michael into their lodge to share the secrets of their society. In Gloucester, he learns how to make Gloucester cheese. Continuing on to Highnam, Michael is glad to discover the beautiful Victorian Gothic church of Thomas Parry and to join the Gloucester Choral Society in a rendition of Jerusalem composed by Thomas's son Hubert.

S07E13 Stroud to Bath

• January 20, 2016

Michael takes pot luck on the snooker table as he investigates the Victorian origins of the game and finds out what it takes to produce the fine green cloth which smoothes the path of the balls. In Cirencester, he ploughs a crooked furrow at the Royal Agricultural College before taking tea with the ladies in Bath, where he also discovers a scandalous novel written by an eccentric recluse, once the wealthiest man in England.

S07E14 Bristol to Glastonbury

• January 21, 2016

Armed with his Bradshaw's guidebook, Michael enters the foul-smelling world of a Victorian tannery. In Nailsea, he discovers how mountains of bird droppings made one of the greatest fortunes of the era for a 19th-century entrepreneur, who spent his wealth building churches and chapels and one of the most luxurious country houses in Britain. Reaching Glastonbury, Michael heads for the mystical abbey, where Victorian tourists flocked to hear stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail.

S07E15 Bridgwater to Dartmoor

• January 22, 2016

Following his Bradshaw's Guidebook, Michael stands trial at the Bloody Assizes in Taunton and feels the full force of the law. He gets to grips with a miracle of Victorian engineering on the Somerset Levels at Westonzoyland and on Dartmoor he embarks on a mid-19th-century treasure hunt still popular today.

S07E16 Ashford to Sevenoaks

• January 25, 2016

Michael begins a new journey through the home counties in Ashford, Kent, lending a hand at a state-of-the-art train maintenance plant, home to the High Speed 1 rolling stock - a modern railway hub in a Victorian railway town. A visit to a historic make-up brand reveals the foundations of the Victorian cosmetics industry. Taking the tracks east to Marden, Michael is moved by music played on Queen Victoria's personal piano before ending his journey in Sevenoaks at Knole House, seat of the Sackville-West family, where he learns of its colourful history.

S07E17 East Grinstead to Guildford

• January 26, 2016

At East Grinstead, Michael dons a boiler suit and takes to the footplate of a loco on the Bluebell Railway, Britain's first passenger carrying heritage line. Travelling north to Merstham, Surrey, Michael experiences an explosive encounter as he witnesses the power of dynamite first-hand. Moving east through Surrey countryside, he visits the stunningly situated Leith Hill Place to explore the compositions of the great British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The journey ends near Guildford with the story of a giant of Victorian art - GF Watts.

S07E18 Woking to Walton-on-Thames

• January 28, 2016

Michael's journey through the home counties continues at Woking, Surrey, where Michael uncovers the story of Britain's first purpose-built crematorium, a response to overcrowded cemeteries and London's ever-expanding population. A trip to world-famous Wisley Gardens sheds light on the work of the Royal Horticultural Society, as Michael gets green fingered. Swapping trees and tranquillity for the roar of a motor car, at Weybridge Michael visits Brooklands the birthplace of motor racing and gets behind the wheel of a vintage Bentley racing car. As this journey leg draws to a close, Portillo goes camping at Walton-on-Thames and learns about the unlikely origins of a leisure pursuit that is going strong today.

S07E19 Hampton Court to Teddington

• January 29, 2016

A royal residence beckons for Michael as he is treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the world's longest vine at Hampton Court Palace. Maintaining a royal theme, Michael is drawn to Esher to visit stately Claremont House, where tragic circumstances led directly to the birth of the Victorian era. Moving up the line to Wimbledon, Michael is challenged to a duel on the common, the site of a historic and memorable duelling event. This journey ends in Teddington, where the story of a Victorian reformer whose work revolutionised the care for those living with learning disabilities is uncovered.

S07E20 Egham to Henley-on-Thames

Michael begins the final leg of this journey through the home counties at Egham, where a perfectly preserved, historic steam fair offers the original white-knuckle ride. Across town lies the palatial Royal Holloway College, now part of the University of London, where Michael discovers the institution's philanthropic roots. Moving on to Berkshire, Michael drops in at a factory that manufactures a famously sleep-inducing beverage with historic roots. This journey ends riverside at Henley-on-Thames, where Michael takes to the water and learns that rowing in an eight is a challenging business.

S08E01 The Flying Scotsman

• January 2, 2017

A once-in-a-lifetime journey aboard the most famous train in history, the Flying Scotsman, begins for Michael before dawn at London's King's Cross. Excitement builds on the platform as the world's media, fans and 300 passengers await the arrival of railway royalty.

S08E02 Welwyn Garden City to Peterborough

• January 3, 2017

After the excitement of his ride on the Flying Scotsman, Michael begins a new journey with his Bradshaw's guide book north from London, following the historic service's path at a more leisurely pace. Along the way he is forced to expend more effort than usual on the rails as he pumps a track inspection trolley.

S08E03 Newark-on-Trent to Stockton

• January 4, 2017

Following his trip from London to York on board the Flying Scotsman, Michael uses his Bradshaw's to trace the path of the famous service, beginning in the 'Key of the North' Newark-on-Trent and finishing in the cradle of the railways, Stockton-on-Tees.

S08E04 Darlington to Dunbar

• January 5, 2017

In Newton Aycliffe, he tests a state-of-the-art passenger train on tracks which follow the route taken by George Stephenson's steam engine on its historic journey in 1825. Through the looking glass at Croft-on-Tees he discovers a curious potion at the childhood home of Victorian writer Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, and finds the author was also a fan of Bradshaw.

S08E05 Longniddry to Edinburgh

• January 6, 2017

Michael helps himself to a ukulele lesson in Haddington, birthplace of Victorian self-improvement guru Samuel Smiles. In Musselburgh, he gets a taste of life as a fishwife before exploring the Scottish capital Edinburgh, where a popular 19th-century mode of transport is making a comeback. The city's proud medical heritage, highlighted in his guide book, takes Michael to the Royal College of Surgeons, where he discovers the macabre history of body snatchers and murderers who contributed to the science of anatomy.

S08E06 Blackpool to Manchester Victoria

• January 9, 2017

On a new journey across Bradshaw's Britain with his Victorian guidebook. He makes potent new friends in Fleetwood then heads to Manchester, where George Stephenson built the world's first modern railway line. This epoch-defining achievement is being incorporated into a new multi-million pound rail link between Manchester's Victoria and Piccadilly stations and Michael lends a hand with the welding. At a moving ceremony in Manchester Piccadilly station, Michael unveils a new monument to 87 railwaymen of the London and North Western Railway, who lost their lives in the Great War.

S08E07 Manchester Piccadilly to Silkstone Common

• January 10, 2017

Michael Portillo's journey from the Irish Sea to the North Sea continues by tram from Manchester. At the imposing town hall of the world's first industrial city, Michael comes face to face with the Victorian scientist who invented modern atomic theory. He then heads to the city's National Graphene Institute, where he learns to make the groundbreaking material invented there by two Nobel prize-winning scientists. His Bradshaw's leads him to an 18th-century settlement built by refugees from Europe.

S08E08 Chapeltown to Doncaster

• January 11, 2017

From Chapeltown, Michael heads to Wharncliffe Crags, where he plucks up courage to follow in the terrifying footholds of the Victorian daredevil who made rock climbing a sport. The relative calm of academia beckons at Sheffield University but, face to face with a hagfish, Michael's visit to the Alfred Denny Collection proves an eye-opener.

S08E09 Gainsborough to Ely

• January 12, 2017

Steered by his Bradshaw's railway handbook to Gainsborough, Michael Portillo wraps his head around an ingenious Victorian machine which changed shopping forever. In Lincoln, he discovers the verse and popularity of 19th-century Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and finds poetry thrives today in a city pub.

S08E10 Stowmarket to Harwich

• January 13, 2017

Michael Portillo is on the final leg of his journey following the route of the North Country Continental service to Harwich. Along the way, he meets volunteers on the Mid-Suffolk Light railway and is allowed to drive The Middy. In Leiston, Michael uncovers an intriguing industrial pioneer - the world's first purpose-built assembly line.

S08E11 Wexford to Wicklow

• January 16, 2017

Armed with his Bradshaw's Handbook, Michael Portillo begins a journey across Ireland. In the port of Wexford, he takes to the seas in a 100-year-old lifeboat and discovers a hero of the American navy. He tunes in to the Meeting of the Waters at the Vale of Avoca, then heads for Wicklow, where he learns of a Victorian project to combat sickness and disease in the capital, Dublin. Embracing the gentler pace of life of a traditional Irish traveller in Victorian times, he ends this leg in a beautiful horse-drawn, barrel-top caravan.

S08E12 Greystones to Dublin

• January 17, 2017

At Trinity College, Dublin, Michael Portillo discovers one of Ireland's greatest treasures and learns how it became the symbol of the nation. There is a chance to sample the black stuff in a Dublin pub before Michael learns how Victorian royals were deployed to calm rocky relations between Britain and Ireland. He explores the magnificent house and gardens of Powerscourt in County Wicklow. Finding an angle on triangulation helps Michael to understand how Ireland was put on the map - and why.

S08E13 Navan to Mullingar

• January 18, 2017

Michael gets up to speed with modern archaeology in County Meath and uncovers a controversial Victorian dig at the sacred Hill of Tara. He investigates leaping salmon in Leixslip and discovers an electrifying breakthrough at an historic seminary. At Mullingar, Michael bangs the drum for the town's marching band.

S08E14 Dromod to Sligo

• January 19, 2017

With his Victorian Bradshaw's guidebook in hand, Michael Portillo crosses the Emerald Isle uncovering Irish identity, forged at a time of political strife. Travelling through the beautiful landscape, Michael learns how it inspired one of the 20th century's greatest poets, WB Yeats.

S08E15 Ballina to Westport

• January 20, 2017

On the last leg of Michael Portillo's long journey from Wexford to Westport, a fashionable Victorian seaweed bath is followed by a steamy scene in Ballina. On tenterhooks in Foxford, Michael discovers the visionary charity of an entrepreneurial nun. He learns of a double tragedy at Clew Bay and begins a pilgrimage to the summit of Ireland's holy mountain, Croagh Patrick.

S09E01 Cromer to Cambridge

• January 1, 2018

Michael Portillo takes a pot shot at the sport of kings at a country estate.

S09E02 Letchworth Garden City to Herne Hill

• January 2, 2018

Michael Portillo discovers a favoured haunt of King Edward VII.

S09E03 Croydon to Shoreham-By-Sea

• January 3, 2018

Michael Portillo uncovers a once-celebrated, now forgotten composer with an uncannily familiar name.

S09E04 Chichester to Cowes

• January 4, 2018

Michael Portillo encounteres an Edwardian motoring due patronised by King Edward VII.

S09E05 Swanwick to Brownsea Island

• January 5, 2018

Michael Portillo builds a bivouac with a group of scouts and learns about war horses.

S09E06 Whitland to Swansea

• January 8, 2018

Michael Portillo discovers the restored home of Dylan Thomas.

S09E07 Pontyclun to Ebbw Vale Town

• January 9, 2018

Michael Portillo strikes gold at the Royal Mint in Llantisant.

S09E08 Newport to Clevedon/Yatton/Bristol Channel

• January 10, 2018

Michael Portillo prepares the Airbus 380 for a smooth landing at Fliton.

S09E09 Taunton to Newton Abbot

• January 11, 2018

Michael Portillo is led a merry dance at Stogumber - all in the name of fertility.

S09E10 Plymouth to The Lizard

• January 12, 2018

Michael Portillo boldly goes to the moon by the way of the Cornish Rivera Express!

S09E11 Kingston upon Hull to Malton, North Yorkshire

• January 15, 2018

S09E12 York to Frizinghall

• January 16, 2018

S09E13 Sheffield to Nantwich

• January 17, 2018

S09E14 Liverpool to Dolgarrog

• January 18, 2018

S09E15 Criccieth to Caernarfon

• January 19, 2018

With his Edwardian Bradshaw's railway guide tucked under his arm, Michael Portillo begins the last leg of his journey from Hull to Caernarfon. In picturesque Snowdonia, he braves the fastest zip line in the world - stretching 1,500 feet across a vast slate quarry. He uncovers a bitter industrial dispute between quarrymen and the owner of the pit, Lord Penrhyn, which divided the community at the beginning of the 20th century.Riding north Wales's splendid heritage railways, Michael visits the home of British mountaineering, Pen y Gwryd, to hear how an Edwardian journalist and poet created a climbing community, which grew to include men who would conquer Everest in the 1950s. Michael meets the grandson of one of his political heroes, the Edwardian Prime Minister David Lloyd George, at his birthplace in Criccieth. At the impressive 13th-century fortress of Caernarfon, built by English King Edward I, Michael discovers the early 20th-century history behind the ceremony now traditional at the royal investiture of a Prince of Wales.

S10E01 Warrington to Preston

• February 4, 2019

Armed with his Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey through Britain’s industrial heartland. Starting at Warrington, Michael then heads to Huyton and Preston.

S10E02 Blackburn to Manchester

• February 5, 2019

Michael Portillo continues his journey through Britain’s industrial northwest, visiting Blackburn, Nelson and the renovated 19th-century Manchester Victoria station.

S10E03 Manchester to Elsecar

• February 6, 2019

Armed with Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey through Britain's industrial heartlands, leaving Manchester for Oldham, Edale and a private family railway line.

S10E04 Maltby to Hinckley

• February 7, 2019

Armed with his Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo continues his tour of Britain’s industrial heartlands, heading for Maltby, Derby and on to Hinckley.

S10E05 Birmingham to the Potteries

• February 8, 2019

Armed with his Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo visits Birmingham, then travels on to Cradley Heath and Landywood, before reaching the Potteries at Stoke-on-Trent.

S10E06 Newry to Portadown

• February 11, 2019

Beginning in Newry, Michael Portillo finds a specially chartered train that would deliver demonstrators campaigning for Irish Home Rule to a rally in the town.

S10E07 Belfast to Portrush

• February 12, 2019

Michael Portillo continues his rail journey through Northern Ireland. In Belfast’s grand Edwardian City Hall, Michael investigates the scene of a watershed moment in Irish history.

S10E08 Larne to Dumfries

• February 13, 2019

Leaving from the seaport of Larne, Michael Portillo reaches Stranraer and the Mull of Galloway, where in a lighthouse built by Robert Stevenson, he discovers a magnificent machine.

S10E09 Glasgow to Cumbrae

• February 14, 2019

Michael Portillo explores the industrial heartland of Glasgow and its mighty River Clyde before taking the ferry to the island of Cumbrae. With his early 20th-century Bradshaw's guide in hand, he is put to work behind the scenes at Glasgow's circular subway, explores the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde and hears how one woman led a successful mass protest against high rents in the city's notorious tenements. On the island of Cumbrae, Michael investigates a forgotten Scottish expedition to the Antarctic and discovers the beauties of intertidal marine life

S10E10 Glasgow to Connel Ferry

• February 15, 2019

Michael Portillo falls into line with the University of Glasgow’s Officer Training Corps. Founded in the early 20th century, the Corps flourishes today and Michaels joins students for drill. From Glasgow, Michael heads west along the Firth of Clyde to Helensburgh, where he discovers a pioneering group of artists known as the Glasgow Boys. The idyllic West Highland Line takes Michael deep into the Highlands to Inveraray and the ancestral home of the Clan Campbell and the Dukes of Argyll. Here, he discovers an unconventional royal marriage between Queen Victoria’s spirited daughter, Princess Louise, and a commoner, the Marquess of Lorne, later the 9th Duke of Argyll. Michael’s final stop is Connel Ferry, near Oban, where, on the Achnacloich Estate, he discovers Lily, a pedigree Highland calf. Michael learns how Lily’s herd has been owned continuously by the Nelson family since 1901 and hears how the breed has become an icon of the Highlands.

S10E11 Warwick to Radley

• February 18, 2019

In Warwick’s medieval castle, Michael Portillo uncovers the scene of an extravagant and scandalous ball, which changed the life of its hostess, Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick.

S10E12 Reading to Cookham

• February 19, 2019

Messing about in boats is the name of the game in Henley on Thames, where Michael Portillo slips into a launch to hear about the world-famous regatta.

S10E13 Ealing Broadway to South Kensington

• February 20, 2019

In the Queen of the Suburbs, Ealing, Michael Portillo finds comedy at the home of British cinema and is transformed for the silver screen by expert hair and make-up.

S10E14 Piccadilly Circus to Gravesend

• February 21, 2019

At Covent Garden’s Royal Ballet School, Michael Portillo hears how in 1909 a Russian ballet company took London by storm.

S10E15 East Malling to Rye

• February 22, 2019

In Folkestone, Michael Portillo hears how the town coped with an influx of more than 100,000 refugees from Belgium fleeing the German invasion in 1914.

S11E01 Newcastle to County Durham

• January 6, 2020

Beginning just outside Newcastle in Jarrow, Michael uncovers the desperation which led 200 men to march 300 miles to Westminster in order to petition the Government for work. In Newcastle, Michael admires the city's iconic railway bridge.

S11E02 Kielder Forest to Edinburgh

• January 7, 2020

Steered by his 1936 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo is in Northumbria en route to the Highlands.

S11E03 Falkirk to Dundee

• January 8, 2020

Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Newcastle to Loch Ness reaches Falkirk in Scotland.

S11E04 Dundee to Aberdeen

• January 9, 2020

Stopping at Dundee, Michael Portillo heads for Glamis Castle, where Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, grew up.

S11E05 Elgin to Loch Ness

• January 10, 2020

Michael Portillo's journey ends at Loch Ness, where he joins the Deep Scan research team as they scour the deep for signs of the elusive monster.

S11E06 St Ives to St Day

• January 13, 2020

Michael Portillo explores the West Country between the wars and discovers a Cornish fisherman, who, although he began painting only in his seventies, inspired established artists from the capital.

S11E07 Truro to St Mawgan

• January 14, 2020

In the countryside surrounding Truro, Michael finds the historic estate of Trewithen, whose gardens were stocked from China by professional plant hunters commissioned by its owner.

S11E08 Bodmin to Totnes

• January 15, 2020

Clutching his 1930s Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo reaches Bodmin en route to Totnes as he explores the West Country from St Ives to Salisbury Plain.

S11E09 Paignton to Tiverton

• January 16, 2020

The Dartmouth Steam Railway takes Michael Portillo to the beautiful home of Agatha Christie, in the company of her great-grandson, James Prichard.

S11E10 Taunton to Salisbury Plain

• January 17, 2020

Michael Portillo crosses the county line from Devon into Somerset. He sees first-hand how willow farmers sought to overcome the challenge from the production of synthetic plastics during the 1930s.

S11E11 Canterbury to Alexandra Palace

• January 20, 2020

Beginning in Canterbury in Kent, Michael treads the boards as he uncovers the political message behind a play, published in 1936, inspired by the 12th-century murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket.

S11E12 Limehouse to Rochford

• January 21, 2020

On this leg, Michael alights at Limehouse in east London for Cable Street, which became the focus of Britain's fight against fascism in the 1930s.

S11E13 Witham to Felixstowe

• January 22, 2020

Michael Portillo's railway journey reaches Witham in Essex. Here he visits the factory of the world's oldest supplier of metal framed windows which became popular in the 30s.

S11E14 Saxmundham to Norwich

• January 23, 2020

Michael Portillo heads for Snape Maltings, a concert and arts venue, and learns how the music and life of one of Britain’s greatest composers was shaped by the sea and his Suffolk surroundings.

S11E15 Attleborough to Skegness

• January 24, 2020

Michael Portillo is in Attleborough, at the headquarters of an international horse welfare organization which was established in the late 1920s, where he learns about the charity's pioneering founder.

S12E01 Oxford to Abingdon

• April 26, 2021

Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys, starting with a tour of the Home Counties and beyond in the city of dreaming spires, Oxford.

S12E02 Stoke Mandeville to Beaconsfield

• April 27, 2021

Michael Portillo continues his travels through England's Home Counties at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where he discovers the legacy of a German Jewish doctor who fled the Nazis.

S12E03 West Ruislip to Windsor

• April 28, 2021

Michael Portillo heads for leafy Hatch End, where he investigates an illustrator whose work was so popular in the 1920s and 30s that his name entered the English dictionary.

S12E04 Guildford to Aldershot

• April 29, 2021

Michael Portillo resumes his tour of the Home Counties in the picturesque and historic county town of Guildford.

S12E05 Farnborough to Winchester

• April 30, 2021

Michael is heading for Farnborough, Hampshire, famous today for its airshow and home to what was then the Royal Aircraft Establishment.

S12E06 Saxmundham to Dedham

• May 3, 2021

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo explores interwar East Anglia. Starting at Sutton Hoo, he visits the experimental Summerhill School and learns about the Kindertransport refugees.

S12E07 Colchester to Chadwell Heath

• May 4, 2021

Michael Portillo continues his Bradshaw's-inspired journey through East Anglia, where he discovers the Essex origins of the BBC and joins the Women's Land Army to pick damsons at Tiptree.

S12E08 Potters Bar to Cardington

• May 5, 2021

Michael's Bradshaw travels resume in leafy Hertfordshire, where he attempts a canoe slalom course, visits the estate of Dame Barbara Cartland and hears the shocking story of the R101 airship.

S12E09 Sawbridgeworth to Cambridge

• May 6, 2021

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo heads for the Hertfordshire village of Perry Green to learn about Henry Moore became one of the defining artists of British modernism.

S12E10 Newmarket to Walsingham

• May 7, 2021

Michael Portillo is in Suffolk on the last leg of his 1930s Bradshaw's inspired tour of East Anglia, visiting the racecourse at Newmarket and the Roman Catholic shrine at Walsingham.

S12E11 Crewe to Shotton

• May 10, 2021

Oh, Mr Porter, what could he do? Michael Portillo is in Crewe, a town steeped in railway history and immortalised in Victorian music hall, to investigate the making of the iconic cinema classic, The Night Mail during the 1930s.

S12E12 Rhyl to Anglesey

• May 11, 2021

Michael Portillo's 1930s Bradshaw's-inspired railway tour of North Wales takes him to a coast lined by magnificent castles and sweeping bays.

S12E13 Bangor to Betws y Coed

• May 12, 2021

Michael Portillo continues his 1936 Bradshaw's-inspired railway tour of North Wales in the coastal city of Bangor before turning south from Llandudno Junction to travel the Conwy Valley Line to Betws y Coed, the gateway to Snowdonia.

S12E14 Blaenau Ffestiniog to Barmouth

• May 13, 2021

In the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia, Michael Portillo reaches an abandoned mine, where in 1940 the wartime government sought sanctuary for the National Gallery's priceless art collection.

S12E15 Aberystwyth to Newtown

• May 14, 2021

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo travels from Aberystwyth into the Cambrian Mountains at Devil's Bridge and finishes in Newtown, Powys. Michael's 250-mile tour of North Wales draws to a close in style at the birthplace of the nation's first classical music festival, Gregynog Hall, near Newtown. Michael is intrigued to discover that its founders, sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, used the fortune they inherited from their grandfather, a noted Welsh railway builder, to establish the country estate as a centre for art and music from 1933. In the glorious music room, a Welsh harpist helps to evoke the spirit of festivals past and present.

S13E01 Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest

• May 17, 2021

Michael Portillo experiences a terrifying ‘victory roll’ in a World War II Spitfire, meets a biographer of A.A. Milne and lends a hand at the community-owned Plaw Hatch Farm.

S13E02 Hassocks to Benenden

• May 18, 2021

Michael visits the village of Ditchling, once the home of a community of Catholic artists, before heading to Bexhill-on-Sea to learn about the role of ARP wardens during the war.

S13E03 Rye to Dungeness

• May 19, 2021

Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex port of Rye, where he learns about the loss of a generation of lifeboatmen in 1928 and explores a wartime pillbox.

S13E04 Deal to Margate

• May 20, 2021

Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp, whose openly homosexual lifestyle led to his exile from the country.

S13E05 Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent

• May 21, 2021

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.

S13E06 Chislehurst to Kennington

• May 24, 2021

Michael continues his journeys in greater London, beginning on its southeastern fringe in the village of Chislehurst and ending up in Kennington to learn about the childhood of Charlie Chaplin.

S13E07 Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus

• May 25, 2021

Michael continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London’s East End. He begings in Hackney Wick, which today is transformed from the time of his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide.

S13E08 Hampstead to Islington

• May 26, 2021

Michael’s rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where Sigmund Freud found refuge from the Nazis. He ends up in Finsbury to learn about the influence of Russian emigre Berthold Lubetkin.

S13E09 Dagenham to Battersea

• May 27, 2021

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Starting in Dagenham, he ends up at the iconic Battersea Power Station.

S13E10 Park Royal to Westminster

• May 28, 2021

S14E01 Preston to Rawtenstall

• June 19, 2023

Michael Portillo explores the Britain of his youth, starting at Preston's Fulwood Barracks and heading to Bury Bolton Street Station in Greater Manchester.

S14E02 Urmston to New Islington

• June 20, 2023

Michael Portillo's railway journey reaches Greater Manchester, where he celebrates new beginnings for the nation in the years after the Second World War. At Trafford General Hospital, he investigates the birth of the National Health Service. A retired physiotherapist recalls her part in the historic event of July 5, 1948. Coronation Star tells Michael about the first episode of the soap, broadcast live in 1960. And at the city's Science and Industry Museum, the presenter encounters a replica of the Baby, which was created in 1948 - the first machine in the world to run a stored program and the forerunner of all modern computers.

S14E03 Oldham to Wakefield

• June 21, 2023

Michael Portillo travels by tram to the former cotton town of Oldham on the edge of the Peak District. Here he visits Oldham Coliseum, the town's Victorian repertory theatre, and hears about the lifting of censorship by the Lord Chamberlain's Office in the late 1960s. He then goes hiking before a visit to Sheffield, where he attends a knife-making workshop. He ends this part of his journey admiring the striking post-war sculptures of Barbara Hepworth at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.

S14E04 Wakefield to Leeds

• June 22, 2023

In Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Michael Portillo visits the National Coal Mining Museum for England at Caphouse Colliery. In Leeds, he heads for the Chapeltown area to investigate the origins of the Leeds West Indian carnival in 1967 and tries his hand on the steel drums.

S14E05 Bradford to Hebden Bridge

• June 23, 2023

Michael Portillo continues his post-war exploration of northwest England in Bradford, Shipley and Hebden Bridge. In Bradford's Centenary Square, he encounters local literary giant, JB Priestley. At Shipley station, Michael discovers a nature reserve in the middle of the car park. Finally the Calder Valley Line delivers the presenter to the photogenic station at Hebden Bridge.

S14E06 Tilbury to Barbican

• June 26, 2023

Michael Portillo travels from London's Docklands to the Barbican, examining the story of the arrival at Tilbury in 1948 of the Empire Windrush, which brought more than a thousand passengers from the Caribbean to work in Britain. In Limehouse, Michael reflects on the Labour Party's landslide victory at the post-war general election of 1945 and hears what drove new prime minister Clement Attlee to strive for social change.

S14E07 Waterloo to Regent's Park

• June 27, 2023

Michael Portillo visits several of London's most famous locations, beginning on the South Bank, where the 1951 Festival of Britain drew more than eight and a half million visitors to admire fantastical buildings designed to inspire and celebrate the best of British in art, science and industry. After a spin on the London Eye, built to celebrate the millennium, Michael takes the London Underground to Chelsea to find out about Elizabeth David, one of the most influential cookery writers of the 20th century, and also heads to Covent Garden and Regent's Park.

S14E08 Paddington to Ongar

• June 28, 2023

Michael Portillo ventures deep underground onto London's newest railway - the Elizabeth Line - enjoying a smooth ride from Paddington to Tottenham Court Road. Emerging into the sunshine in Bedford Square, Michael recalls the choking smogs which plagued the capital during the 1950s. He learns how smoke-free zones were introduced to tackle the problem and, high above the capital at the top of the BT Tower, discovers how the capital's air quality is monitored today.

S14E09 Felixstowe to Norwich

• June 29, 2023

Michael Portillo begins the latest leg on the seafront at Felixstowe, where in January 1953 the town was engulfed in the worst flooding to hit England in the 20th century. In Norwich, he admires the Norman Cathedral, then traces the history of the postcode.

S14E10 Brandon to Cambridge

• June 30, 2023

At RAF Lakenheath, Michael Portillo discovers a slice of America dropped into the British countryside. In the market town of Brandon on the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, he visits Quorn Foods to find how a seemingly modern meat substitute emerged out of a post-war food crisis. Michael ends his journey in Cambridge, where he studied during the 1970s.

S14E11 Derby to Hinckley

• July 17, 2023

Michael Portillo explores the postwar Britain of his youth on a railway journey from the Midlands to the West Country, beginning in the city of Derby.

S14E12 Coventry to Leamington Spa

• July 18, 2023

In Coventry, Michael recalls the destruction by the Luftwaffe of the city’s Gothic cathedral in November 1940, before heading to Leamington Spa to visit the Guide Dogs for the Blind National Centre.

S14E13 Long Itchington to Moseley

• July 19, 2023

Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the heart of the Warwickshire countryside, where work is underway the biggest project of new railway infrastructure in Britain for a hundred years: HS2.

S14E14 Wolverhampton to Cheltenham

• July 20, 2023

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 nation.

S14E15 Tewkesbury to Filton

• July 21, 2023

Michael visits the fairytale castle of Eastnor, at the foot of the Malvern Hills, before heading to the Severn Estuary and Filton, the centre of Britain's postwar aviation industry.

S15E01 Denham to Swindon

• March 18, 2024

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 southern counties.

S15E02 Chippenham to Yeovil

• March 19, 2024

Michael Portillo joins Navy Wings pilots for a spectacular close formation flight in the skies over Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton and visits the magnificent Elizabethan mansion of Longleat.

S15E03 Swanage to Portchester

• March 20, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches England’s south coast to continue his exploration of postwar Britain, beginning on the steam-powered Swanage Railway in Dorset.

S15E04 Havant to Guildford

• March 21, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches Havant, where the Scalextric factory was located, and Haslemere, the surprise birthplace of a musical phenomenon – the plastic recorder.

S15E05 Wokingham to Heathrow

• March 22, 2024

Michael goes on a tour around Heathrow Airport, taking an eerie walk around the mothballed Terminal 1 building and ending up atop the iconic 87.5 metre control tower.

S15E06 Loch Lomond to Kelvinbridge

• March 25, 2024

Michael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes.

S15E07 Glasgow to Cumbernauld

• March 26, 2024

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there.

S15E08 Shawlands to Livingston

• March 27, 2024

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.

S15E09 Edinburgh to Queensferry

• March 28, 2024

At the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey.

S15E10 Dundee to Loch of the Lowes

• March 29, 2024

Michael’s rail journey through post-war Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.

S15E11 Liverpool to Uttoxeter

• April 1, 2024

Michael Portillo twists and shouts through postwar Liverpool, visiting the strikingly contemporary Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and visits the former home of artist and poet Adrian Henri.

S15E12 Derby to Nottingham

• April 2, 2024

Michael Portillo reaches the jet age in the Derby suburb of Peartree, where he tours the engineering colossus Rolls-Royce.

S15E13 Lincoln to York

• April 3, 2024

Michael Portillo’s postwar journey from Merseyside to Teesside resumes at Brayford Pool in Lincoln, where England’s oldest canal, the Fossdyke, meets the city of Lincoln.

S15E14 York to Skipton

• April 4, 2024

Michael Portillo’s journey finds him in York, a paradise for rail enthusiasts. He discovers the gardens at Harlow Carr in Harrogate and checks into the headquarters of Yorkshire Tea.

S15E15 Northallerton to Chester-Le-Street

• April 5, 2024

Michael Portillo confronts a detachment of Gurkhas, produces a fine heritage cheese and discovers a monster cracker, which is key to making plastic.

Additional Specials

Special 0x1 great british railway journeys goes to ireland.

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Great British Railway Journeys – Season 12, Episode 14

Blaenau ffestiniog to barmouth, more like this, cast & crew.

Michael Portillo

Cassie Farrell

Alison Kreps

Film Editor

John Comerford

Executive Producer

Great British Railway Journeys — Season 12, Episode 14

Episode info.

• International edition
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• Europe edition

Labour’s plans for Great British Railways all but set up by Tory government

Renationalisation announced by shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, comes as most network contracts near expiry

This is one renationalisation that even an ultra-cautious Labour had to embrace: voters like it, there is no upfront outlay, and the Conservative government has already done most of the work to get there.

The rail plans announced by shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, will confirm the longstanding Labour policy of taking national rail operations back into public ownership as contracts expire. Now, though, that appears to be an imminent reality, as all contracts are expected to lapse within four years of the coming election.

The industry is largely already in public hands; Network Rail has been on the state’s books since 2014 , and four major English networks are being run by the Department for Transport’s own operator of last resort.

The success of the likes of LNER – run by the same management as the collapsed Virgin East Coast, but on behalf of the taxpayer – suggests there will be little for passengers to fear.

Ownership aside, Labour’s plans for a separate arm’s-length body to run the railway are very much on the track laid out by the Conservatives – underlined by the endorsement of Keith Williams, who drew up essentially the same scheme for Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps.

Notably, it is the first time Labour has publicly embraced their Great British Railways by the same name. The echoes of British Rail appeared to make the Tories alarmed at their own plans, and subsequent ministerial refettling to ensure a prime role for private operators ran, Labour argues, against its logic.

The problems identified by Williams included the fragmentation, waste and bureaucracy that beset privatised rail. Teams from track and train and government vied over roles, and legions of lawyers tried to establish which part of the railway bore responsibility for delays and compensation.

The Tories claimed GBR would save £1.5bn annually, and removing the additional “friction costs” of private sector involvement could cut another £700m, Haigh claims.

Full renationalisation might arguably include the rolling stock companies , or roscos, to ensure that Britain owns the trains rather than simply leases them – especially given the dividends that have exceeded the “profits leaking out to private operators” cited by Labour.

But that comes with expenditure that the party could not countenance in an election campaign. Instead, Labour have made clear that the roscos are onside.

It will also allow private “open access” train services, such as Lumo or Hull Trains, to continue, illustrating again that this renationalisation remains more pragmatic than dogmatic.

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Beyond addressing rail’s ownership and structure, Labour’s plan contains one or two eye-catching proposals that give substance to the rhetorical flourish beloved of industry leaders and politicians of every stripe, to “put the passenger first”.

Guaranteeing a best-priced fare looks a solid principle to hasten the end of the confusing, multiple ticketing options that still trip passengers up. And a new Passenger Standards Authority, combining and streamlining the functions of the Office of Rail and Road and the Transport Focus watchdog, should have more teeth with which to hold the industry to account.

Labour will still have to deal with rail’s immediate crises, of falling commuter revenues and toxic industrial relations. If Aslef’s enthusiasm can translate into a deal to end strikes that the government admits have cost billions, it could give Labour a flying start.

For most who work on or use the trains, six years since reform was announced, arriving at a Great British Railways of any hue can’t come soon enough.

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May train strikes: How will the next rail drivers’ walk-out affect passengers?

N ational rail strikes by train drivers will enter a third summer with a series of “rolling” walk-outs, one region at a time, during May .

Members of the Aslef union aim to halt thousands of trains on 7, 8 and 9 May 2024 – with commuters who normally go to the office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday among the targets.

The aim is to disrupt services on the 14 rail firms in England that are controlled by the UK government and represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Rolling strikes cause maximum disruption for minimum loss of pay.

In addition, six days of overtime bans will cause further cancellations from 6 to 11 May. The first day is the early May bank holiday, while the last coincides with Take That performing in Manchester .

The previous national industrial action by train drivers, comprising an overtime ban and rolling regional walk-outs, hit passengers in April .

Industrial action by Aslef train drivers in their dispute over pay and working arrangements began in July 2022. The union is demanding a no-strings pay award, but rail firms – directed by ministers – say any increase is contingent on radical reforms to working practices in order to reduce public subsidies.

During the dispute, hundreds of millions of journeys have been cancelled. Billions of pounds have been lost to the UK economy – particularly hospitality businesses.

Taxpayers are pumping cash into an increasingly decrepit and unreliable railway to the tune of £90 per second on top of the normal subsidy. Over the course of a year, that amounts to £2.8bn in addtional public cash.

The quarrel has become increasingly bitter, with no sign of any progress towards a settlement.

Caught in the middle of a seemingly intractable dispute: the passenger. In a snap social media poll for The Independent that garnered 2,142 responses, one in three passengers say they will permanently travel less after the industrial action finally ends.

For passengers, these are the key questions and answers.

Which rail firms are involved?

Aslef is in dispute with the 14 train operating companies (TOCs) that are contracted by the UK government to provide rail services. They are:

Intercity operators:

CrossCountry

East Midlands Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR)

TransPennine Express

Southeast England commuter operators:

Greater Anglia

GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)

Southeastern

South Western Railway (including the Island Line on the Isle of Wight)

Operators focusing on the north of England, the Midlands and links from London

Chiltern Railways

Northern Trains

West Midlands Railway (including London Northwestern Railway)

When are the train drivers walking out?

Drivers belonging to the Aslef union will strike in the following pattern:

Tuesday 7 May

C2C, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway. Commuters around London comprise the main target.

Wednesday 8 May

Avanti West Coast , Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry. The aim is to cause maximum disruption on key intercity lines as well as Midland commuter services.

Thursday 9 May

LNER , Northern and TransPennine Express. This is aimed at users of the East Coast main line and passengers in the North of England and southern Scotland.

What are the predicted effects at each operator?

The Night Riviera sleeper train from London to Penzance and the Gatwick Express from London to the Sussex airport will be cancelled throughout the industrial action period.

For other operators, these are the probable service patterns – though travellers should check shortly before their planned journeys. Where trains are running, the normal hours of operation are likely to be curtailed.

Disruption is also likely on days before and after strike days. TransPennine Express says: “Plan carefully for any rail journeys as services may start later and finish earlier than usual.”

Greater Anglia will run to and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted airport, Southend, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Southern will run a shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick airport.

Thameslink will run a shuttle service between London St Pancras and Luton (town and airport stations).

Great Northern will run a shuttle service between London King’s Cross and Cambridge.

South Western Railway will run between London Waterloo, Woking and Guildford, with some other suburban services likely.

Southeastern will passengers not to travel, but is likely to run services between London St Pancras and Ashford on the high-speed line; Charing Cross and Orpington; and London Bridge and Dartford.

C2C will cancel all services.

Five train operators – Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry – are likely to cancel all train services.

GWR will run no long-distance trains, but will connect Reading with Oxford and Basingstoke, as well as a link from Bristol to Cardiff and some branch routes in Devon and Cornwall. The company says: “Many parts of the GWR network will have no service at all and trains that are running will only be operating for a limited period during the day.”

Northern and TransPennine Express will cancel all services. LNER will run a skeleton service on core lines between around 7am and 7pm. Its main Edinburgh-Newcastle-York-London line will have at least one train an hour, with some additional trains on the southern part of the network.

What about the overtime ban?

Members are also refusing to work their rest days from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 May, inclusive. As many rail firms depend on drivers working overtime, hundreds – possibly thousands – of trains will be cancelled.

Greater Anglia, Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Railway will run a reduced timetable on each day of the overtime ban.

GWR typically says the overtime ban will cause “some short-notice alterations and cancellations, especially at weekends or late at night”.

But Southeastern says: “We expect to run our full service during this time, except for Tuesday 7 May, which is the strike day on our network.”

Which rail firms are not involved?

Some publicly funded train operators will run normally: ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (including the Elizabeth line) and Merseyrail.

“Open-access” operators on the East Coast main line – Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo – are unaffected. But many of their services will be crowded on days of industrial action. They duplicate journeys of strike-hit companies, including LNER, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry and Northern.

What is at stake in the dispute?

The train drivers demand a pay rise to reflect high levels of inflation since they last won a pay award; Aslef says some members have not had an increase for five years.

But the government insists that even a modest pay increase is contingent on radical changes to long-standing working arrangements in order to reduce costs – and the huge subsidies the railway is currently receiving from the taxpayer.

Since the pandemic, travel patterns have changed. Ticket revenue is about one-fifth down on pre-Covid levels. As taxpayers will foot the eventual bill for the train drivers’ pay rise, the Treasury as well as the Department for Transport will sign off any deal.

Ministers believe train drivers’ terms and conditions are part of the problem. To keep costs down, they must accept changes to how they work, such as making Sunday part of the working week everywhere.

On 27 April 2023 the Rail Delivery Group offered a pay increase of 4 plus 4 per cent over two years covering the 2022 and 2023 pay awards – subject to a host of changes on terms and conditions, covering a wide range of issues including driver training, Sunday working, sick pay and new technology.

The union say this is completely unacceptable. The train drivers will negotiate on changes, but only after they get a decent no-strings pay offer on top of their current pay.

They believe the money will be found to meet their demands, as it always has been in the past. Aslef has also always “sold” reforms to working arrangements for an extra few per cent on their pay and does intend to change that process.

Meanwhile, the corrosion in confidence among travellers continues, with no rail passenger able to plan journeys more than two weeks ahead – that being the minimum notice the union must give for industrial action.

What do the employers and government say?

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “This wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership will sadly disrupt customers and businesses once again, while further damaging the railway at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week just to keep services running.

“We continue to seek a fair agreement with the Aslef leadership which both rewards our people, gives our customers more reliable services and makes sure the railway isn’t taking more than its fair share from taxpayers.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Aslef’s leadership are acting like a broken record – calling for strike action time and time again while remaining the only rail union continuing to strike, as well as the only union refusing to put a fair and reasonable pay offer to its members for over a year.

“The transport secretary and rail minister have done their part to facilitate this pay offer- one which would take train drivers’ salaries up to an average of £65,000 which is almost twice the average salary in the UK.

“Aslef bosses should take the lead of the other rail unions, put this offer to their members and stop their campaign of contempt for passengers.”

What does the union say?

The general secretary of Aslef, Mick Whelan, said: “It is now a year since we sat in a room with the train companies – and a year since we rejected the risible offer they made and which they admitted, privately, was designed to be rejected.”

He said that negotiations were last held on 26 April 2024.

“Since then train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise. That’s why Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members. Drivers would not vote to strike if they thought an offer was acceptable. They don’t. And that offer – now a year old – is dead in the water.

“Our pay deals at these companies ran out in 2019. Train drivers at these TOCs have not had an increase in salary for five years. That is completely wrong. The employers – and the government – think we are going to give up and run away. They’re wrong. In the words of Tom Petty, we won’t back down …”

When will the strikes finally be over?

The working assumption is now that it will take a change of government. No prime minister since Margaret Thatcher has demonstrated such contempt for Britain’s railway as Rishi Sunak. On the eve of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow , he announced the halving of Air Passenger Duty on domestic routes – encouraging travellers to switch from rail to air.

Tearing up years of cross-party agreement, the prime minister scrapped plans for HS2 north of Birmingham and demanded a swift sell-off of protected land to ensure the project could not be resurrected. And Mr Sunak has tolerated 18 months of intermittent strikes by train drivers with no apparent appetite for a settlement.

What does the Labour Party say?

Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “It is a staggering dereliction of duty that the transport secretary hasn’t got around the table with the unions to try to resolve it since the Christmas before last.

“Labour will take an unashamedly different approach to the Tories, and will work with both sides to reach a deal in the interests of passengers and workers. If the transport secretary took this sensible approach then perhaps we wouldn’t still be having strikes on our railways.”

How much has all the disruption cost?

According to the RDG, industrial action from June 2022 up until mid-January 2024 cost the rail sector around £775m in lost revenue. That does not include the impact of the most recent strikes and overtime bans, which probably add a further £200m to the losses.

UKHospitality estimates the lost business for places to eat, drink and stay amounts to almost £5 billion. Kate Nicholls, the organisation’s chief executive, says: “Ongoing strike action hurts businesses, prevents people from getting to work and significantly erodes confidence in the rail network.”

In addition, there is an unknowable loss of revenue from passengers who have adjusted their lifestyles or found alternative forms of transport; businesses that have stopped making trips and are using online communication instead; and people trimming back on travel because of the lack of certainty.

What about the new minimum service levels law?

Legislation now allows the transport secretary to stipulate minimum service levels (MSLs) on strike days amounting to 40 per cent of the normal service. The government says the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 aims “to ensure that the public can continue to access services that they rely on, during strike action”.

No train operator is seeking to impose the new law on the train drivers’ union. LNER said it might do so earlier this year, and opened consultations. Aslef immediately called a separate five-day strike on LNER alone. Then the train operator said it would not require drivers to work, and the strike was called off.

The Transport Select Committee has previously warned of potential unintended consequences of the legislation. The Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, said: “There is a risk of MSLs worsening worker-employer relations and that, as a result, MSLs could end up making services less reliable.”

The minimum service level rules do not apply to union bans on non-contractual rest-day working – so there would be no benefit in imposing the law when an overtime ban is in force.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.