Great British Railway Journeys Ep 2/20
In the second leg of his first journey from Liverpool to Scarborough, Michael Portillo visits “cottonpolis” – George Bradshaw’s home town of Manchester – as the series that explores how the railways changed the nation continues.
Meeting up with tour guide Jonathan Schofield, Michael finds out how the world’s first railway helped to turn Manchester’s cotton industry into a global success.
Michael then takes the train out to Denton in the suburbs of Manchester. This was once the centre of the hat-making world, turning out thousands of hats which were transported all over the country on the railways. Here, Michael meets Karen Turner from Failsworth Hats, the last remaining hat factory in the area. Karen fits Michael for his own custom-made trilby which, some say, was invented here, and he finds out where the phrase “mad as a hatter” came from.
Back in the centre of Manchester, historian Trefor Thomas tells Michael more about Bradshaw and how he came to produce the world’s first pocket railway timetables.
Leaving Manchester for Bury, Michael meets businessman Tony Rogers to find out how the railways helped to create the national institution of fish and chips. The railways allowed fish to travel quickly inland and it soon became available everywhere, allowing fish and chip shops to flourish all over Britain. Tony runs a fish and chip shop supply business and takes Michael to one of the best shops in the area for a fish supper.
13 Responses to “Great British Railway Journeys Ep 2/20”
Comment from David
Time January 7, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Having previously lived in the Bury area, we also were surprised that Michael did not take the tram to the town. In fact, did he visit Bury at all?? Or was Heywood the nearest location he reached as the fish distributor is based there. However, we are intrigued to know the location of the fish and chip establishment. A road sign outside the shop pointed to Parsons Lane, which we recall was in Bury. Can anyone solve the mystery????
Comment from fred
Time January 7, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Thompson’s chippy is now located on the Rock according to th’internet – it used to be opposite th’Odeon, but was demolished to make way for the new development
Comment from David
Time January 8, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for that, Fred. In that case he must have travelled by road to Bury from Castleton, via Heywood and then back to Castleton to pick up the train again. Possibily due to editing etc, no mention of Bury in programme. However, considering he said in pre-amble that he was going to Bury, it was all rather misleading. Still, it’s been a good watch!
Comment from fred
Time January 8, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Yes – a better map would be helpful, showing the exact rail route! The episode was called Manchester to Bury, but it was really Manchester to Castleton, with brief diversions to Denton and a Bury chippy! Then it was back to Castleton the get to Todmorden. I am enjoying the programme and the quirky One Show type cameos, but wish there was more railway content. Can’t wait for the Settle-Carlisle episode. BTW The railway forums are buzzing with continuity errors, misinformation (about the Rainhill trials for example), wrong trains being shown from the air etc, but I’m not that nerdy!
Comment from Martin F Peagam
Time January 10, 2010 at 11:06 am
And I feel sorry for Karen Walker.
She makes Michael a trilby that anu man would be proud to wear – and he dos not even manage to make it to the station with the hat. Did he leave it at the factory?
To add insult to injury, he then interviews someone on the train about why people do not wear hats – and he does not even have his hat with him!
Comment from fred
Time January 10, 2010 at 4:32 pm
It did look a bit small on him! he’d suit a fedora better! but he could have been a bit more grateful 
Comment from fred
Time January 10, 2010 at 4:37 pm
David: if the fish distributer was in Heywood, he could have travelled to Bury on the East Lancs Railway, which would have been timely as they have been running free emergency trains (a DMU) from Bury to Ramsbottom during the snowy weather…
Comment from Daryl
Time January 15, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Love this series, Hope they produce a book of the series. I’d Love a Bradshaws guidebook.
Comment from fred
Time January 15, 2010 at 4:50 pm
It’d be nice if they produced a Portillo Rover ticket so we could follow the routes! Have the Bradshaw guides ever been re-printed? They must’ve been…
Comment from Mad Chatter
Time January 20, 2010 at 10:06 am
More annoying to the hat maker might be that, as its name suggests, Failsworth Hats is in FAILSWORTH, not Denton.
It has a rail station of its own, though not the doffing hat recipient statue which IS in Denton.
And yes, chiding others for not wearing hats – and instantly being contradicted by a more informed, if less tanned passenger….therein the reason? – when he fails to sport his own gift, highlights the Tory hypocrisy Miguel has always easily worn.
The programme is full of inaccuracies, half-truths and deceptive editing BUT have watched every one as the scenery is captured well in all weathers.
Comment from alan smith
Time January 23, 2010 at 11:56 am
super series enjoyed every minute of it, yes some there is mistakes in the programmes but still very enjoyable.
Comment from m wiggin
Time January 23, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I LOVE THE PROGRAMME BUT WHY DID YOU MISS OUT ONE OF THE MOST INPORTANT BRIDGES FROM DEVON TO CORNWALL THE TAMAR BRIDGE
Comment from fred
Time January 6, 2010 at 12:04 pm
While I quite enjoyed the first episode in Liverpool and Eccles, I was rather disappointed with this one. Instead of spending time at Liverpool Road Station – the world’s oldest railway station (now part of MOSI) and travelling direct to Bury on one of the world’s oldest electric railways, now part of the Metro tram network, and perhaps travelling to Rawtenstall on the East Lancs railway, he diverted south to Denton on one of the UK’s least frequent train services (he could have travelled to Stockport’s Hat Museum by rail?)! Thence back to Manchester and on to Bury, via Castleton (and there is no train link between Castleton and Bury!). I’ll be intrigued to see how he gets across the Pennines from Bury to Todmorden! Maybe this series should have been called Travelling Coast to Coast by a Circuitous Route with the Odd Railway Journey Thrown In?