Great British Railway Journeys is a BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. It premiered in 2010 on BBC Two, and has returned every year for a total of ten series.
The series features Portillo travelling around the railway networks of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man, referring to an 1840s copy of Bradshaw's Guide, comparing how the various destinations have changed since Victorian times.
Portillo has also presented three related series, Great Continental Railway Journeys from 2012, Great American Railroad Journeys which was first broadcast in 2016, and Great Indian Railway Journeys which was broadcast in Spring 2018.
Video Great British Railway Journeys
Synopsis
The Bradshaw's Guide were a series of Victorian guidebooks written by George Bradshaw; it was the first comprehensive timetable and travel guide of the railway system in Great Britain, which at the time although extensive, still comprised a series of fragmented and competing railway companies and lines each publishing their own literature.
Classified by the BBC in both the travel and history genres, the series features Portillo using the guide to plan his journeys, in the process visiting points of interest picked out in the guide and comparing its content with the modern world, both the physical and cultural.
Maps Great British Railway Journeys
Format
Each series features Portillo travelling on a different route each week, with each daily episode being one short leg of the journey. The weekly journey is chosen to fit with a theme, either geographic, such as coast to coast, or historic. Filmed entirely on location, the series features a mix of Portillo delivering dialogue to camera, as well as performing ad-hoc interviews with members of the public or fellow travellers, in addition to pre-arranged interviews.
Broadcast
All episodes were originally broadcast on weekdays on BBC Two, in the 6:30pm timeslot. Some series were simulcast on BBC HD before the channel's demise. Repeats have been broadcast on BBC Four and BBC One, as well as the original channel of BBC Two. Edited versions of the episodes, reduced to about 23 minutes (excluding commercials), have been shown on the television channel Yesterday.
Episodes
Series 1 (2010)
Liverpool to Scarborough
The first journey takes Portillo from coast to coast, from Liverpool to Scarborough, beginning on the world's first passenger railway line.
Preston to Kirkcaldy
Portillo's second journey, from Preston to Scotland, is on one of the first railways to cross the border.
Swindon to Penzance
The third journey takes Portillo along the Great Western Railway from Swindon to Penzance, nicknamed 'the holiday line'.
Buxton to London
On this journey, Portillo travels from Buxton along one of the first railway routes south to the capital, London.
Series 2 (2011)
Brighton to Cromer
The first journey takes Portillo coast-to-coast from Brighton to Cromer
Ledbury to Holyhead
On this journey, Portillo follows the route of the Irish mail from Ledbury to Holyhead.
Newcastle to Melton Mowbray
This journey follows some of the earliest railways in the country from Newcastle to Melton Mowbray.
London Bridge to Hastings
This journey starts at London Bridge and goes through Kent and along its scenic coast to Hastings.
Ayr to Skye
On this journey, Portillo journeys up the west coast of Scotland from Ayr to Skye.
Series 3 (2012)
The third series featured four journeys in Great Britain, and a fifth journey which consisted of three legs in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland: for this latter journey, the programme was re-titled as Great British Railway Journeys Goes To Ireland.
Great Yarmouth to Embankment
In these episodes, Portillo travels along the route of the Great Eastern Line, which goes from the east coast of England to the centre of the country's financial capital, London.
Windsor to Portland
Following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, Portillo uses the railways she often rode from Windsor Castle to her country getaway on the Isle of Wight. His journey then continues west to Portland.
Oxford to Milford Haven
On this journey, Portillo travels west, from Oxford in the heart of England, through the Malvern Hills and into Wales, taking in the unique Victorian heritage of the South Wales coastline.
Berwick-Upon-Tweed to Snaefell
On this journey, Portillo takes in some of northern England's most dramatic scenery, from Berwick-upon-Tweed across the Pennines to the Lake District before completing the journey on the Isle of Man.
Goes to Ireland: Bray to Derry
On this journey, Portillo crosses the Irish Sea to discover the rich railway history of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, following the unfurling 19th-century expansion of the tracks from Dublin to Derry. For this journey, the programme was re-titled as Great British Railway Journeys Goes To Ireland.
Series 4 (2013)
The fourth series followed the same format as the third, with four journeys in Great Britain and the last in Ireland, the latter using the same title card as in series 3.
High Wycombe to Aberystwyth
Portillo follows the tracks that fuelled the industrial revolution, from the Chilterns to west Wales.
Portsmouth to Grimsby
The second journey sees Portillo go from port to port: from Portsmouth on the south coast to Grimsby on the east coast.
Stirling to John o' Groats
On this journey, Portillo enjoys 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.
London Paddington to Newton Abbot
The fourth part of the series sees Portillo follow in the footsteps of the master engineer of the Great Western Railway, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, beginning at the line's London gateway, Paddington Station, and ending in Newton Abbot, Devon -- the scene of one of Brunel's heroic failures.
Goes to Ireland: Killarney to Galway
All this week, Portillo visits 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. For this journey, the programme was re-titled as Great British Railway Journeys Goes To Ireland.
Series 5 (2014)
Manchester to Chesterfield
Michael Portillo starts the fifth series with a journey from Manchester to Chesterfield.
London Euston to Leeds
Southampton to Wolverhampton
Norwich to Chichester
Series 6 (2015)
Ayr to Edinburgh
Michael Portillo starts the sixth series with a journey from Ayr to Edinburgh, through southern Scotland from west to east.
Amersham to London Bridge
Portillo embarks on a series of journeys around London, from Amersham to London Bridge.
Derby to Lindisfarne
Portillo embarks on a new journey from the heart of the industrial East Midlands to the north-eastern island of Lindisfarne
Pembroke Dock to Cambridge
Portillo embarks on a journey from south-west Wales to Cambridge.
Series 7 (2016)
Carlisle to Alton
A journey through north west England.
Dover to Porthcurno
A journey along the south coast of England.
Birmingham to Dartmoor
Ashford to Henley-on-Thames
Series 8 (2017)
London King's Cross to Edinburgh
A journey from England's capital city to Scotland's capital city
Blackpool to Harwich
A journey from the Irish Sea to the North Sea
Goes to Ireland: Wexford to Westport
A journey through Ireland.
Series 9 (2018)
Cromer to Brownsea Island
A journey from Cromer on the coast in Norfolk to Brownsea Island in Dorset.
Whitland to The Lizard
Kingston upon Hull to Caernarfon
UK DVD Releases
As of 2018, the first ten series of Great British Railway Journeys have been released on DVD by Fremantle Media under licence from the BBC and the series 1-2 production company, Talkback Thames, and the series 3-5 Production company, Boundless.
Books
Great British Railway Journeys, written by Charlie Bunce and with a foreword by Michael Portillo, was published by Collins in January 2011.
Great Victorian Railway Journeys, written by Karen Farrington and with a foreword by Michael Portillo, was published by Collins in January 2012.
See also
- Great Railway Journeys
References
External links
- Great British Railway Journeys at BBC Programmes
- Great British Railway Journeys on IMDb
- Series 1 and 2 at Michael Portillo's website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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