In the last leg of Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys, he reaches London, as he continues to discover what remains of George Bradshaw’s Britain.

In Bradshaw’s time, London was the heart of the Empire. Arriving at St Pancras, Michael finds out about the station’s troubled history and the recent £800m makeover that has transformed it into an international terminus. He also gains a sneak preview of the St Pancras Hotel with former security guard Roydon Stock. Roydon looked after the building for over 30 years before it began to be renovated and knows all its secrets.

Michael continues his journey along the world’s first underground line from King’s Cross to Farringdon. The early hours of the morning find him at Smithfield Market, which had its own underground station in Bradshaw’s day. Talking to trader Alan Eland, Michael discovers how the market’s success was linked to the railways and how it has changed over the years.

Following Bradshaw’s recommended route past St Paul’s and along the Thames, Michael takes a walk through London back to a place he knows well, the Houses of Parliament. Here he climbs the famous clock tower to meet the men responsible for keeping the timepiece in order – Ian Westworth and Paul Roberson – and has a go at winding up the clock. Big Ben is now in its 150th anniversary year and Michael gets right up close to the famous bell as he discover the secrets of accurate time keeping and the origins of standard London time.

Michael Portillo begins his final railway journey, which takes him from Buxton to London, as he continues to discover what remains of George Bradshaw’s – the man who transformed travel in the UK back in 1840 – Britain.

Michael’s first stop in Buxton is to find out how the railways inspired a building craze and boosted tourism. He also visits one of Bradshaw’s recommended attractions: the Duke of Devonshire’s stables in Buxton, which has one of the largest domes in the world. There he meets Adrian Brown who tells Michael about how the dome was built.

In the Peak District, Michael goes out onto the moors with park ranger Chris Dean and joins a team of local volunteers on a conservation project trying to repair damage done to the ancient peat landscapes during the industrial revolution.

His final stop is Matlock Bath. After spending the night in one of Bradshaw’s recommended hotels, he explores the town to find out why Bradshaw described it as a “little Switzerland”. After speaking to the locals on the origins of the comparison with Switzerland, Michael travels on the historic steam railway line to Rowsley. Near the quarries of Stanton Moor, he meets local stonemason Mark Eaton to find out what’s so special about Derbyshire’s famous sandstone and how the railways transported it all over England.

Michael Portillo’s first stop on the second leg of his final journey, from Buxton to London, is Cromford. Bradshaw, the man whose railway guides changed the face of travel in the UK, mentions that Arkwright built his first cotton mill here, and Arkwright went on to develop the modern factory system in his Cromford mills which were copied all over the country.

Michael meets Ian Maclean, the Managing Director of knitwear manufacturer John Smedley’s and a descendant of the original Smedley family. John Smedley went into business with Arkwright’s finance director, and Smedley’s is now the oldest working factory in the world. The foundations of the factory’s success were laid in the mid 19th century when the local railways reached Derbyshire.

Travelling on to Derby, Michael takes a walk through Britain’s first public park, the Derby Arboretum, with tree specialist Jonathan Oakes. The park was built by a local wealthy benefactor, Joseph Strutt, who made his fortune in Derby’s silk mills. Michael spends the night in one of the first luxury hotels built by the railways, the Midland Hotel in Derby, noteworthy because Bradshaw spends several paragraphs praising the lady manager, a Mrs Chatfield.

His final stop is in Burton-on-Trent, the home of Britain’s brewing industry. Here Michael goes to Burton Bridge Breweries, the largest independent brewers in town. In the 19th century, the railways transformed Burton into the brewing capital of the world; the town even had its own rail network connecting up the breweries. As he makes beer, Michael discovers why Burton’s ale is said to be some of the best-tasting in the world.

Michael Portillo’s third leg of his final journey, from Buxton to London, starts in Walsall, the centre of the saddle industry in Bradshaw’s (the man who transformed travel in the UK) time, when the smell of curing leather was thought to cure sickly children. Michael meets Cliff Kirby, whose leather business still supplies HM The Queen with saddles, though he has had to diversify into footballs and golf bags to survive.

His next stop is the centre of Birmingham. Michael explores how the city has changed since Bradshaw’s time, with modern developments springing up among the few remaining Victorian buildings. Walking along Ladypool Road, Michael sees how the Asian community have made this part of Birmingham their home, and pays a visit to Raj Rana, owner of one of the best Indian restaurants in Britain, who teaches him how to cook an authentic Indian curry.

Heading south, Michael stops off in Bournville to meet Alan Shrimpton, a member of the Bournville Village Trust. As he shows Michael around, Alan explains how the railways transformed the fortunes of the Cadbury brothers, enabling them to build one of the most successful model villages in Britain.

Michael Portillo’s first stop today on his final journey – from Buxton to London – is Coventry, a place that has changed radically since Victorian times. Bradshaw, the man who transformed travel back in the 1840s with his railway guides, describes a beautiful city, rich in medieval timber buildings. But all that changed one November night in 1940 when Coventry suffered one of the worst bombardments in the Second World War. Michael talks to Jude Durant, a survivor of the Coventry Blitz, to find out what happened to her family on that terrible night. He goes on to explore how Coventry has been rebuilt since, including a visit to the new cathedral.

Travelling south, Michael reaches Aylesbury and has an overnight stay at the historic Hartwell House, home of the exiled French King Louise XVIII for six years. The next day he visits Richard Waller, the last pure-breed Aylesbury duck farmer in the country, whose family have been farming ducks for hundreds of years. In Bradshaw’s time more than 750,000 ducks were sent to Smithfield market on the train each year. Now Richard’s farm has just 10,000.

After a lunch of Aylesbury duck, Michael arrives at Watford. Here he meets evacuee Brian Russell who talks about the critical role played by Watford Junction station in Operation Pied Piper – the plan to evacuate thousands of children from London during the Second World War.

Michael Portillo begins his third journey, which takes him along Brunel’s Great Western Railway (GWR) from Swindon to Penzance, as he continues to discover what remains of George Bradshaw’s – the man who transformed travel in the UK – Britain.

In Bradshaw’s time, Swindon was the headquarters of the GWR and had one of the largest railway works in Britain. Michael visits the railway village in Swindon to meet Ron Glass and Mary Starley who both used to work for GWR. They tell Michael about TRIP – the annual railway worker’s holidays – during which they were given free travel on the trains to the seaside. It was the beginning of mass tourism and kick-started the development of seaside resorts in Devon and Cornwall.

Michael then travels on to Bath where he meets Dr Roger Rolls and finds out how the railways transformed this town. Once a preserve of the rich, the famous hot baths became accessible to everyone when the railways arrived. Michael finds out about the spa’s history and takes a dip himself before spending the night in the Royal Crescent, in the former home of the Duke of York.

His last stop is Bristol, where Michael tries his hand at blowing blue glass, with James Adlington. Bristol’s blue glass was world-famous in Bradshaw’s time and is one of the local industries mentioned in the guide. Although most of the industry is long gone, James has revived one small workshop to make the glass in the traditional way.

Finally, Michael travels by boat through the Bristol docks with ferryman Tom Axon to hear about Brunel’s plans for the first passenger steamship service to America. Their journey ends at the SS Great Britain, still in the docks at Bristol.

Michael Portillo continues on his Great British Railway Journeys

In the second leg of his third journey in the series, from Swindon to Penzance, Michael Portillo starts in Yatton and visits the Strawberry line – so named because it was once used to transport fresh seasonal strawberries from Cheddar across the country.

Former signalman Mike Lyle shares his memories of working on the line with Michael. It was closed by Dr Beeching in the Sixties and is now a walking and cycling path. At the other end of the line Michael visits Andrew Seagers, one of the few remaining strawberry farmers in Cheddar, to find out why they were such a delicacy and what’s happened to the industry since George Bradshaw’s – the man who transformed travel in Britain – time.

Next, Michael explores the famous Cheddar Gorge. When the railways reached Cheddar, it became a popular destination for day trippers, especially when a Victorian entrepreneur discovered the caves and lit them with electric lights. Archaeologist Hugh Cornwell takes Michael around the caves and shows him where Cheddar Man – 9,000 years old and the oldest complete skeleton in Britain – was found.

Through DNA testing, scientists found one of his direct descendants still living in the village so Michael pays him a visit. Retired local schoolteacher Adrian Target also happens to be a collector of Bradshaw timetables.

This leg of Michael’s journey ends in Weston Super Mare, a resort that flourished when the railway came to town. Here, he hitches a lift with the RNLI to see the now-derelict Birnbeck pier. Mentioned in Bradshaw’s Guide, it is one of the oldest piers in Britain and Michael meets pier historian Stan Terrell and learns that it was once popular with day trippers arriving by steamship from Wales, and that it was also a secret research centre during the Second World War for scientists working on the bouncing bomb.

Before leaving Weston, Michael enjoys a very British seaside tradition, a walk along the beach with Kevin Mager and his donkeys.

Michael’s first stop of the day on the third leg of his journey from Swindon to Penzance is Torquay, a resort that was especially recommended by George Bradshaw – the man who transformed travel in Britain – for its warm climate.

He meets meteorologist David Braine to find out if it’s true that Torquay is Britain’s warmest spot. He then takes a trip back in time on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam railway along the English Riviera, one of the most scenic railway journeys in Britain.

Arriving at his next stop, Dartmouth, Michael spends the night at The Royal Castle, a very old hotel mentioned in Bradshaw’s Guide, where the owner tells him about the town’s naval past. The next morning, Bradshaw recommends a mini excursion up the River Dart so Michael heads out on a boat with salmon fisherman Nick Prust. The Dart used to be full of salmon but, these days, Nick is one of the few people allowed to fish the river and still uses traditional methods.

Nick takes Michael all the way up the Dart to Totnes, which is Michael’s last stop of the day. Totnes has changed hugely since Bradshaw’s time, and is in the midst of a campaign to become more green. Michael takes a rickshaw taxi running on recycled chip fat to explore the town and meets Rob Hopkins, founder of Transition Town Totnes, a campaign for sustainability that started here and is now a global movement. Rob shows Michael some Totnes pounds, the new local currency, and, after changing some of his own Bank of England pounds into Totnes pounds, Michael sets off around the town to spend them.

Perhaps, as expected, Michael Portillo begins today’s leg of his journey from Swindon to Penzance in a railway carriage, but this one’s not moving. He’s just spent the night in a converted travelling post office railway carriage owned by Lizzie and David Stroud at St Germans.

After finding out about the history of the post office trains, Michael heads for Par, the centre of Cornwall’s clay mining industry. This was a thriving industry in George Bradshaw’s – the man who transformed travel in Britain – time and still is today.

Clay miner Ivor Bowditch shows Michael around the largest clay mine in the world and lets him try his hand at flushing clay out of the ground using a powerful water cannon. Together, they take the single gauge clay train to the port of Fowey through some of the most scenic countryside in Cornwall.

Next, Michael makes his way to Mevagissey via St Austell. Mevagissey was a busy pilchard-fishing village in Bradshaw’s time and there are still pilchard fishermen there today. In the evening, Andrew Lakeman takes Michael out on his boat to see how methods have changed since Bradshaw’s day, and tells Michael about the recent renaissance in the fortunes of pilchard fisherman. For a while, pilchards were unpopular but, having been remarketed as Cornish sardines, sales are taking off again.

Just outside Mevagissey, Michael stops off at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The estate of Heligan is mentioned in Bradshaw’s guide but it was a private house in those days. Today, it’s one of Cornwall’s top visitor attractions. He meets horticulturalist Philip Macmillan Browse who explains how, in Victorian times, estates like Heligan sponsored plant hunters to collect exotic seeds from around the world. Many of these plants spread throughout the country, finding their way via the railways into many a suburban garden.

Michael Portillo is now on the last leg of his journey from Swindon to Penzance, as the series in which he makes four epic journeys across the length and breadth of the country to see what remains of George Bradshaw’s Britain – the man who transformed travel in the UK in 1840 with his railway guides – continues.

Michael passes through Truro on the way to Perran Sands to find out about a mysterious church mentioned in Bradshaw’s Guide. Meeting up with Angela Penrose, Michael heads into the sand dunes in search of the lost church of St Piran. St Piran was the patron saint of Cornish tin miners and his original church is thought to be one of the earliest Christian sites in England. It was gradually buried by the shifting sands and lay buried for centuries until the sands parted again in Bradshaw’s time, quickly becoming a site of pilgrimage for many.

Redruth is the next stop, to see what remains of the Cornish tin industry, which was in full production during Bradshaw’s time. Michael meets mine manager John Webster, who takes him down the tunnels in South Crofty mine. Although South Crofty closed in the Nineties, John is trying to reopen it again, after a resurgence in the demand for tin.

Leaving Redruth, Michael heads for St Ives to spend the night in Treganna Castle. Mentioned in Bradshaw’s Guide as a private house, it was taken over by the Great Western Railway and turned into a hotel. The next morning he journeys on to the Helford River estuary to meet oyster farmer Ben Wright. Ben takes Michael out to the oyster beds to harvest and sample some fresh oysters, and explains what’s happened to the oyster industry since Bradshaw’s time. Finally, Michael heads to the end of the line at Penzance to find out how the railways linked even the remotest Cornish villages to the rest of the country.