Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Great Coastal Railway Journeys is a TV show on SBS ONE. The program has been available since 2024. A total of 28 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in March 2025.
Last episode
29:02
29:02Great Coastal Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo is in the seaside resort of Scarborough to explore one of the greatest royal fortresses in England. It was the scene during the English Civil War of a 5-month siege between Royalists and Parliamentarians. Michael learns how the castle keep was cleaved in half by...
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28:57Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure on England's east coast at Whitby, where he explores the port's shipbuilding and seafaring heritage and learns how Captain James Cook prepared for his expedition to the Pacific aboard HMS Endeavour, a Whitby-built coal-hauling bark.
28:56Michael Portillo's coastal railway adventure propels him in search of the unknown universe in Boulby, North Yorkshire. Over a kilometre below the surface of the earth, in the deepest mine in Britain, Michael joins the hunt for dark matter. At Redcar, a racing legend tells Michael his incredible story. The champion jockey, ...
29:02Michael Portillo is on the last leg of his railway journey around the northwest coast of England. As his train passes Sellafield, he notes the covert nuclear reprocessing plant before making a beeline for Wainwright Country. At Kinniside Stone Circle, Michael joins a lifelong fan of Alfred Wainwright's famous guidebooks an...
28:57Michael Portillo is in Cumbria, enjoying one of the most spectacular coastal railway journeys in Britain, crossing the broad estuary of the River Leven by rail on a viaduct practically a third of a mile long. His first stop is Ulverston, gateway to the Lake District, where adventure is in store on the waters of Windermere....
29:02Michael Portillo continues his rail journey taking in the Isle of Man and the north-west coast of England. From Morecambe he looks out across the vast and beautiful Morecambe Bay, alive with cockles and brown shrimp. The Bay is famous for its potted shrimp and Michael joins one of the town's last shrimpers to learn how it'...
28:55From the Isle of Man, Michael Portillo crosses the Irish Sea bound for the mighty port of Liverpool and its historic waterfront. Deep underground, Michael discovers one of the most important and secret rooms of the war - the Royal Navy's Western Approaches Headquarters, from where the Battle of the Atlantic was monitored a...
29:02Michael Portillo embarks on a new railway adventure beyond the United Kingdom beginning on the self-governing Isle of Man - a paradise for rail lovers. His first stop on the wonderful Manx Electric Railway is the capital, Douglas, where he discovers the island's Parliament, the Tynwald, is older than Westminster. Michael h...
Season 3
29:01
29:01Michael Portillo's rail exploration of the eastern reaches of England is drawing to a close. He began on Canvey Island in Essex and will finish at the bay between Norfolk and Lincolnshire, known as The Wash. His travels today begin on the smallest public railway in the world, the Wells and Walsingham line.
28:51The oldest and largest mammoth ever found in Britain was discovered by walkers on the beach at West Runton in Norfolk. Michael Portillo examines a replica of the smallest bone in the creature’s leg, an enormous shin bone and imagines its size, twice that of a modern elephant.
29:02Michael Portillo's East Anglian coastal railway journey takes him to the treacherous waters off the Norfolk coast, which have sunk many ships and cost many lives. Searching for the wrecks of these unfortunate vessels is a passion for some and yields a treasure trove of information for historians.
29:01Michael Portillo reaches the Deben estuary on his coastal railway journey around eastern England. At Woodbridge, he is plunged in at the deep end on a rafting challenge with the sea scouts.
29:02Michael Portillo embarks on a new railway journey around the coast of the east of England. He begins in the Thames estuary, where creeks separate Canvey Island from the mainland.
29:00Michael Portillo's railway adventure zig-zagging the coasts of the English Channel and the Thames estuary nears its end on the north Kent coast. The pretty and historic town of Faversham is Michael's first stop and an opportunity to get out on to the water in the last sailing barge to work on the Thames.
29:01Michael Portillo's railway exploration of the Channel coastline and Thames estuary via Calais has reached the Isle of Thanet. Michael visits the largest greenhouse complex in Britain, Thanet Earth, where he finds tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are being grown on an industrial scale.
29:02Michael Portillo's railway adventure along the north and south coasts of the English Channel resumes in Dover, where Michael recalls the biggest evacuation in military history. He hears from a military historian how, in 1940, over 300,000 soldiers were rescued from German attack on the beaches of Dunkirk.
29:02Michael Portillo travels through the longest undersea tunnel in the world on the Eurotunnel shuttle rail service from Folkestone to Calais. Riding up front in the cab, he enjoys fantastic views of the tunnel snaking ahead and emerging into the bright light of northern France.
29:01Michael Portillo sets off on a new railway adventure to explore the twin shores of the English Channel and the estuaries of the Thames and Medway. At Cuckmere Haven, he enjoys astonishing views of the gleaming white Seven Sisters and meets residents of the 200-year-old former coastguard cottages, which today teeter on the ...
29:01Michael Portillo takes the train to the medieval walled town of Conwy on the last leg of his exploration of the shores of North Wales. On a coastal ridge overlooking the estuary of the River Conwy is the town's impressive 13th century castle, today a magnet for English tourists.
28:56Michael Portillo resumes his railway exploration of North Wales on the Isle of Anglesey, where the briny waters of the Menai Strait are being used to create a Welsh gastronomic delight. Michael meets the team producing salt favoured by royalty and a former US President.