Great British Railway Journeys Ep 10/20
Friday 15 January
On the last leg of his journey from Preston to Kirkcaldy, Michael Portillo leaves Glasgow and heads for Carluke in the Clyde Valley. In George Bradshaw’s day – the man who transformed travel in Britain – the area was famous for its orchards and, although most are long gone, Michael meets grower Tom Clelland, who is trying to revive his family’s fruit-growing business.
Heading on to the capital city of Edinburgh, Michael stops in at the station’s lost-property office to find out about the weird and wonderful things left on trains. He then heads towards the centre of town, where Bradshaw leads him to a very famous cellar, rumoured to be the place where the Treaty of Union was signed. Michael finds out from historian Dr John Young what happened when the treaty was signed.
After spending the night in Edinburgh’s famous railway hotel, The Balmoral, Michael heads to the Forth Rail Bridge to fulfil a childhood dream. Having passed over the bridge many times on the way to his grandparents’ house in Kirkcaldy, he gets the chance to climb up it and enjoy the view from the top. He meets project manager Ian Heigh, who explains that the seemingly unending task of painting the Forth Rail Bridge is, in fact, about to stop. The bridge is being repainted with new, long-life paint so that it won’t need as much maintenance in the future.
Michael’s journey ends at his mother’s home town of Kirkcaldy. His grandfather made his wealth here, through the linen business, and bought a large house next to the railway line. Many years spent watching the steam trains with his brothers at the bottom of the road inspired Michael’s lifelong love of trains. He returns to the art gallery in Kirkcaldy, to see the collection of paintings donated to the city by his grandfather, John Blyth.
3 Responses to “Great British Railway Journeys Ep 10/20”
Comment from judith foord
Time January 19, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Can you tell me if I can bye ‘Great Little Train Journye’s’ by Michael Portillo on DVD please.
Thank you
Judy Foord
Comment from Sandra
Time February 6, 2010 at 9:20 pm
What a wonderful series, will there be DVD soon.
Thanks
Sandra
Comment from Thomas Cook
Time January 18, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I enjoyed the part in Carluke about the orchards, given that whenever i work on a Lanark service i go through carluke, i never knew this existed.
A great part of historical interest