Great British Railway Journeys: Series 1+2

Passionate about trains, Michael Portillo charts the great British romance with the railways as he retraces journeys that were first documented in the monthly railway guide, Bradshaw's Handbook. He sees what's changed and discovers how our love of the railways all began.
Series 1
Covering 4 different journeys:
Liverpool to Scarborough
Preston to Kirkcaldy
Swindon to Penzance
Buxton to London
Portillo makes stops en route to visit some of Britain's most beautiful cities and hidden-away villages, meeting extraordinary people and hearing stories of how their lives have been shaped in some way by the railways.
He explores the secret ammunition factory at Gretna, sails the last steam boat on Lake Windermere, learns to talk 'scouse' in Liverpool, takes a dip in Bath Spa, cooks a traditional curry in Birmingham, tries his hand at oyster fishing in Cornwall and meets survivors of the Coventry Blitz.
Series 2
Covering 5 different journeys
Brighton to Cromer
Ledbury to Holyhead
Newcastle to Melton Mowbray
London Bridge to Hastings
Ayr to Skye
Michael samples some classic Cromer crab, gets a rare chance to drive a heritage diesel and gets up close and personal with a pedigree Hereford bull. He also discovers a secret World War II chemical weapons plant at Rhydmwyn, takes a steam train across the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors, attempts to make an authentic Melton Mowbray pork pie, discovers how the railways turned cricket into a national sport and hunts for gold in Scotland's mountains.