TV series
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
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Checked Jul 22, 2026
Great British Railway Journeys is available to stream on Britbox, The Roku Channel, and Tubi in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Warrington to Preston 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.
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Episode 2
Blackburn to Manchester Michael Portillo continues his journey through Britain’s industrial northwest, visiting Blackburn, Nelson and the renovated 19th-century Manchester Victoria station.
Where to watch Great British Railway Journeys
Episode 3
Manchester to Elsecar 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.
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Episode 4
Maltby to Hinckley Armed with his Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo continues his tour of Britain’s industrial heartlands, heading for Maltby, Derby and on to Hinckley.
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Episode 5
Birmingham to the Potteries 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.
Where to watch Great British Railway JourneysEpisode 6
Newry to Portadown 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.
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Episode 7
Belfast to Portrush 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.
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Episode 8
Larne to Dumfries 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.
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Episode 9
Glasgow to Cumbrae 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.
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Episode 10
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.
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Episode 11
Warwick to Radley 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.
Directed by Cassie Farrell
Episode 12
Reading to Cookham 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.
Directed by Cassie Farrell
Episode 13
Ealing Broadway to South Kensington 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.
Directed by Cassie Farrell
Episode 14
Piccadilly Circus to Gravesend At Covent Garden’s Royal Ballet School, Michael Portillo hears how in 1909 a Russian ballet company took London by storm.
Directed by Cassie Farrell
Episode 15
East Malling to Rye 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.
Directed by Cassie Farrell
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
Michael PortilloSelf - Presenter
BBC TwoUnited Kingdom
Talkback ThamesUnited Kingdom
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