Great British Railway Journeys Ep 3/20
The first stop in today’s leg of Michael Portillo’s journey from Liverpool to Scarborough is the West Yorkshire town of Todmorden, as he continues to find out what remains of George Bradshaw’s Britain.
In Bradshaw’s day, the railways made it possible for food to travel quickly and cheaply all over the country, transforming the UK’s eating habits. Today, things are changing and, in Todmorden, the aim is to become self-sufficient and cut down on food miles. Michael meets Pam Warhurst, who is showing people how to grow vegetables and source their food locally.
Travelling on to Skipton, Michael meets railway carriage restorer Stephen Middleton and samples first-class travel Victorian style on the Embsay And Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. He visits the nearby ruins at Bolton Abbey, a great favourite with Victorian tourists, and spends the night at the Devonshire Arms, a 350-year-old coaching inn mentioned in Bradshaw’s guide.
For the next part of the journey, Michael and his Bradshaw guide take to the skies with a trip on the Network Rail helicopter to survey the tracks and monitor coastal erosion. In Bradshaw’s time, this kind of work would have been done by linesmen walking the tracks but, these days, the lines are checked with infrared cameras.
Back on the ground, Michael finds out what makes train spotters tick, before exploring York’s Roman remains with archaeologist Andy Jones. Bradshaw wrote a great deal about Roman York but what has been discovered since then?
Great British Railway Journeys Ep 4/20
Michael Portillo continues his journeys to find out what remains of George Bradshaw’s – the man transformed travel in 1840 – Britain.
Michael meets Tom Dixon, the last liquorice grower in Pontefract, as part of the fourth leg of his journey from Liverpool to Scarborough. Pontefract was covered in liquorice fields in Bradshaw’s time and it was here that the Pontefract, or Pomfret cake, was invented. Michael finds out what’s happened to the liquorice industry since Bradshaw’s time and visits a new sweet factory.
His next stop is Hull, once the destination for “monster excursions” involving massive trains carrying thousands of early tourists to the coast. In Hull, Michael investigates why Bradshaw compared the city to Venice, before meeting maritime historian Robb Robinson to find out how the railways transformed Hull into one of the world’s largest white-fish ports.
On the train to Bridlington, Michael shares his journey with climate expert John Pinnegar, who explains what’s really happening to North Sea cod stocks and how global warming is changing the kinds of fish found around Britain’s coast.
In Bradshaw’s time, Bridlington was transformed by the railways from a sleepy fishing village into a bustling seaside resort. Today, it’s changing again. Travelling with Frank Powell, Michael learns the sustainable way to fish for sea bass from a new wave of fishermen.
Great British Railway Journeys Ep 5/20
In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain. His name was George Bradshaw and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks. Michael Portillo continues his journeys to find out what remains of Bradshaw’s Britain.
On the last leg of his journey from Liverpool to Scarborough, Michael’s first stop is Flamborough Head. There he meets RSPB site manager Ian Kendall to find out what’s happened to the sea-bird populations in the area since Bradshaw’s time. Back then it was a popular destination for bird watchers and “climmers”, who scrambled down the cliffs to steal bird’s eggs. These days, it is home to Britain’s largest mainland colony of gannets. The cliffs are also home to England’s oldest chalk lighthouse, as well as a more “modern” one built in Bradshaw’s time which pioneered a new signalling system.
Along the coast in Filey, Michael meets local fisherman Jeremy Smith to discover why they still use traditional “coble” boats. These boats are unique to the area and were built to cope with the challenges of the coastline. Calling on expert knitter Margaret Taylor, Michael learns to decipher the traditional knitting patterns on Filey fishermen’s jumpers.
Finally, Michael arrives in Scarborough, the end of his journey. Scarborough became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Victorian times when the railways arrived. He pays a visit to field archaeologists Dr Nigel Melton and Janet Montgomery to hear about the latest research into “Gristhorpe man”. This 4,000-year-old skeleton was discovered in Bradshaw’s time and caused an immediate sensation, attracting crowds of Victorian visitors to Scarborough. Today, Michael finds out what kind of person Gristhorpe man was and what it was that killed him.
Michael also goes on a tour of one of the oldest and largest purpose-built hotels in Europe, the Scarborough Grand, a traditional Victorian hotel.