Great British Railway Journeys

A once-in-a-lifetime journey aboard the most famous train in history, the Flying Scotsman, begins for Michael Portillo before dawn at London's King's Cross station. Excitement builds as the world's media, railway fans and 300 passengers await the arrival of railway royalty. Boarding a vintage carriage, Michael recaptures the glamour of the 1930s. But his journey soon comes to a grinding halt.

Michael begins a new journey north from London, but he’s forced to expend more effort than usual as he pumps a track inspection trolley, then gets the chance to drive a 'locomobile'. He then goes back to school at Haileybury, where the master is unimpressed by Portillo's exam performance. Finally, Michael discovers a treasure trove of Victorian plant and soil samples.

Michael starts the latest leg of his journey in the 'Key of the North', Newark-on-Trent. He rallies the choristers of a Tudor song school and admires the art of the railways before travelling to Retford, where he discovers a high-tech application for Victorian rubber technology. A scandalous novel written in Thirsk leads Michael to a wildlife center, where he feeds a hungry young hedgehog.

Michael steps back in time as he follows the route taken by George Stephenson's steam engine on its historic journey in 1825. Through the looking glass at Croft-on-Tees, he discovers a curious potion at the childhood home of Victorian writer Charles Dodgson, better known as Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll. And in the coastal village of Craster, Michael learns how to smoke a kipper.

Michael Portillo concludes his journey from London to Edinburgh. He helps himself to a ukulele lesson in Haddington, in Musselburgh he gets a taste of life as a fishwife before exploring the Scottish capital Edinburgh, where a 19th-century mode of transport is making a comeback. He then discovers the macabre history of body snatchers and murderers who contributed to the science of anatomy.

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey across Bradshaw's Britain with his Victorian guidebook, starting in Blackpool. He heads towards Manchester, where George Stephenson built the world's first modern railway line. At a moving ceremony in Manchester Piccadilly station, Michael unveils a new monument to workers of the London and North Western Railway, who lost their lives in the Great War.