Great British Railway Journeys

This week's journey sees Michael travel coast to coast from Liverpool to Scarborough. His first stop is at the great port of Liverpool where he meets local author Peter Grant. Peter gives Michael a lesson in how to speak Scouse as they explore the impact of immigration on the city and its famous accent. He then visits Birkenhead Park, one of the inspirations for Central Park in New York, where he meets Mervyn Kingston. Mervyn's family fled from Russia in the 1880s when the Jews were being persecuted in the pogroms. He tells Michael how many of the Jewish refugees ended up in Liverpool after catching the train from Hull, to begin their journey to America. Leaving Liverpool, Michael travels along the world's first passenger railway line to Manchester. Stopping off at Rainhill, he talks to rail expert Christian Wolmar about the Rainhill Trials, the first locomotive race won by Stephenson's rocket, and the first railway fatality when Liverpool MP William Huskisson was mown down by the Rocket on the day the railway opened. After spending the night in Worsley, Michael explores the nearby underground canals, part of the world's first canal system built by the Duke of Bridgwater. At his last stop, he meets Ian Edmonds for a tour of his family's cake factory, the last remaining Eccles cake business in the area. Inside, Michael has a go at folding an Eccles cake and finds out why these sweet pastries were exported all over the world.

Michael explores 'cottonpolis' - George Bradshaw's home town of Manchester. Meeting up with tour guide Jonathan Schofield, he finds out how the world's first railway helped to turn Manchester's cotton industry into a global success. Jonathan takes him to the Royal Exchange and Manchester Town Hall to hear about the local cotton barons. Michael then takes the train out to the suburbs of Manchester to Denton. This was once the centre of the hat making world turning out 1000s of hats which were transported all over the country on the railways. Here he meets Karen Turner, the manager of 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. He also finds out where the phrase 'mad as a hatter' came from: it was the mercury used in the processing of rabbit fur into felt. Back in the centre of Manchester Michael spends the night in an old cotton warehouse styled like a Venetian palazzo. The next day, Historian Trefor Thomas tells Michael more about George Bradshaw the man 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 a national institution - 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 he takes Michael to one of the best fish and chip shops in the area to for a fish supper.

Michael's first stop is the West Yorkshire town of Todmorden . Here he meets Pam Warhurst who is persuading the people here how to grow vegetables and source their food locally. In Bradshaw's day, the railways made it possible for food to travel quickly and cheaply all over the country transforming our eating habits. But these days, things are changing again. In Todmorden, the aim is to become self sufficient and cut down on food miles. Pam takes Michael on an egg hunt in her friend Lynne's back garden. 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 leg of his 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 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 write a great deal about Roman York but what's been discovered since then?

On today's journey, Michael meets Tom Dixon, the last liquorice grower in Pontefract. 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 the new Haribo factory. His next stop is Hull, once the destination for 'monster excursions' - 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 our coast. His final destination today is Bridlington. 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 out onto the beach with Frank Powell, Michael learns how to fish for sea bass the sustainable way from a new wave of fishermen.

On today's journey, 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 around here 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's 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 North East and were built to cope with the challenges of the coastline around here. Calling on expert knitter, Margaret Taylor, he learns to decipher the patterns on Filey fishermen's jumpers . The traditional designs reflect the fishing life and the unique patterns to help identify sailors lost at sea. Michael's last stop of the day is Scarborough, which 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 4000 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 killed him. Lastly Paul Hallam takes Michael on a tour of one of the oldest and largest purpose built hotels in Europe, the Scarborough Grand, a traditional Victorian hotel of the most luxurious kind.

This week's journey takes Michael from Preston all the way to Kirkcaldy in Scotland. At his first stop, he meets Anne Hindley, a member of the Temperance Society, to hear how the hard working, hard boozing mill town of Preston gave birth to the Temperance Movement. Continuing north to Blackpool on the 'Passion Express', Michael meets Norma and Norman Watkins. In the 1950s, many a romance was started on the 'passion express' which carried youngsters to Blackpool to dance the night away. Norma and Norman met on the train and have been together ever since. In Blackpool Michael heads for the Tower Ballroom, to find town crier Barry McQueen. Accompanied by the tower organist, Barry gives a special performance of a Victorian music hall hit all about Bradshaw's Railway Guide. As Michael takes in the sights of Blackpool, including the famous tower, he discovers how the town's birth as a resort was a direct result of the railways. Soon, day trippers and holidaymakers from all over the country were heading to this entertainment Mecca. Michael spends the night in very familiar hotel, the Imperial, which has hosted many party conferences and even a few prime ministers in its time. After a stroll along the pier with local Blackpool comedian, Joey Blower, he travels on to his final destination Kent's Bank on Morecambe Bay. Here he meets Cedric Robinson, the 'the keeper of the sands', an official guide appointed by the government and mentioned in Bradshaw. Cedric protects walkers venturing out onto the shifting tidal reaches of Morecambe Bay.