Great British Railway Journeys - Series 2

Former Minister of State for Transport Michael Portillo takes to the tracks in the second series of the BBC TV Documentary Great British Railway Journeys.

Passionate about trains, Michael Portillo embarks on five epic rail journeys, each split into five legs, travelling the length and breadth of the UK as he retraces routes that were described in his original 1860’s copy of Bradshaw’s Railway Handbook.

This 5 DVD set features 25 episodes covering 5 different journeys:

• Brighton to Cromer
• Ledbury to Holyhead
• Newcastle to Melton Mowbray
• London Bridge to Hastings
• Ayr to Skye

Along the way he witnesses all the things that have changed since the early days of rail transport and what still remains of Bradshaw’s Britain, discovering the effect the railways had on the public and finding out how the British love of trains all began. 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.