Great British Railway Journeys S14 E06-E10 (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)
All aboard! Armed with his trusty Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo explores the UK the railways made. Uncover hidden gems and fascinating communities from across the nation.
E06 Tilbury to Barbican
Michael Portillo travels through the Britain of his youth from London’s Docklands and East End to the ‘city within a city’, the Barbican. At Tilbury, he traces the arrival in 1948 of the Empire Windrush, bringing over a thousand passengers from the Caribbean to work in Britain. Taking the Docklands Light Railway to the Royal Docks, he visit one of the capital’s oldest industrial sites: Tate and Lyle’s huge sugar refinery. In Limehouse, Michael recalls the Labour Party’s landslide victory at the post-war general election of 1945 and hears what drove prime minister Clement Attlee to strive for social change. Michael heads next to what was one of the largest bomb sites in London. The 40-acre mound of rubble was transformed during the 1960s and 1970s into the Barbican, a huge residential estate with schools, shops and an arts centre.
E07 Waterloo to Regent’s Park
Michael Portillo continues his railway exploration of the post-war Britain of his youth on a journey from London to Cambridge. He begins on the capital’s South Bank, where during 1951 a Festival of Britain drew more than eight and a half million visitors to admire fantastical buildings designed to inspire and celebrate the best of British in art, science and industry. After a spin on the London Eye, built to celebrate the millennium, Michael takes the London Underground to Chelsea to find out about one of the most influential cookery writers of the 20th century, Elizabeth David. In Covent Garden, he learns how Vidal Sassoon’s classic bob hairstyle took the fashion world by storm. Finally, in Regent’s Park, Michael visits a long-awaited mosque, first mooted in 1900 and completed in 1977 to a modernist design by architect Frederick Gibberd.
E08 Paddington to Ongar
Michael Portillo ventures deep underground onto London’s newest railway: the Elizabeth Line. Emerging into the sunshine in Bedford Square, he recalls the choking smogs which plagued the capital during the 1950s. Back on the Elizabeth Line, Michael travels east to Stratford to visit the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, where pioneering director Joan Littlewood produced groundbreaking plays such as Oh! What a Lovely War. At Shenfield, Michael transfers to the Epping Ongar Heritage Railway. His destination is a nondescript 1950s bungalow, which hides the entrance to an underground bunker designed for use in the event of nuclear war
E09 Felixstowe to Norwich
Michael Portillo continues his rail exploration of the east of England, beginning with the seafront at Felixstowe, where in January 1953, the town was engulfed in the worst flooding to hit England in the 20th century. In Ipswich, Michael inspects new flood defences and is invited to operate the barrier which protects the town centre. From Orford, Michael makes tracks for what was Britain’s most secret military complex during World War II, Orford Ness. He hears how researchers stress tested nuclear bombs during the Cold War. In Norwich, Michael admires the Norman cathedral before heading to the city’s mail centre, where he traces the history of the postcode. At the city’s plate glass University of East Anglia, Michael investigates a master's degree course which launched many creative writers to stardom.
E10 Brandon to Cambridge
Michael Portillo completes his railway journey through the east of England during the post-war period. At RAF Lakenheath, he discovers a slice of America dropped into the British countryside, watching the US Air Force's Strike Eagles as they climb 10,000 feet per minute in an almost vertical trajectory. In the market town of Brandon, Michael visits Quorn Foods to find how a seemingly modern meat substitute emerged out of a post-war food crisis. Meanwhile, at Wild Ken Hill, Michael meets a visionary farmer committed to regenerating his land. Michael ends his journey in Cambridge to learn about how, just after World War II, James Watson and Francis Crick made the most important discovery in biology since Darwin.
First broadcast: July 2023
Duration: 30 minutes per episode
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