Great British Railway Journeys - Series 10 (2019)

Using an early 20th century Bradshaw’s travel handbook of Edwardian Britain, Michael Portillo navigates Britain’s railway network in Great British Railway Journeys, following its recommendations for places to visit and things to do while investigating the characters, industries and hotels suggested in handbook that take his interest. Series 10 embarks on three new rail itineraries through England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Following in the footsteps of King George V and Queen Mary on a royal tour of Britain’s industrial heartland, Michael travels from Warrington to the Potteries in Stoke on Trent. He encounters socialists, suffragettes and statesmen, visits castles, collieries and countryside, spins clay, and goes whippet racing. Michael also navigates his way by rail and ferry across Northern Ireland and over to Scotland from Newry to Argyll and Bute. Peter Pan, Winston Churchill, the Home Rule for Ireland, soda bread and wild eels all feature in his journey. Crossing Central England and the Home Counties is the route for Michael’s final journey from Warwick to Rye in East Sussex. A champagne socialist and the first woman to take her seat in Parliament are among the Edwardians he discovers on this route.