Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns about a Scottish hero, visits a Highland Games and discovers how an impressive piece of Victorian engineering ended in tragedy.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how Queen Victoria used to hide from her subjects, discovers how factory workers went deaf and goes out with a bang in Aberdeenshire.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers, travels along one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts and discovers that life is not always sweet on a shortbread production line.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook. He travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's world remains. In this programme, Michael explores the scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling to the beauty of the western lochs, ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael rides one of Scotland's most picturesque railways, visits Scotland's smallest station and learns what went into a Victorian-style spa break.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is exploring the stunning scenery of rural and coastal Scotland, travelling from Stirling, through the industrial east coast and dramatic Highland landscapes, to the beauty of the western lochs, finally ending his journey in John O'Groats. Michael learns how one man's vision helped bring train travel to the Highlands, discovers how farming has changed since Bradshaw's day and hears the remarkable tale of Scotland's Victorian gold rush.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode Michael samples nineteenth century foodie delicacies, explores a stunning landscape shot to fame by rails and royals and risks life and limb for the gift of the gab.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael learns the ancient art of butter making, attempts to learn the basics of Ireland's oldest game, and rides the Duke of Devonshire's Victorian Irish railway.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael tries his hand at cutting marble Victorian style, uncovers 19th century Ireland's surprising industrial heritage and learns how the railways helped bring motorsport to the masses.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael visits the Irish National Stud, discovers how harsh life was for the Irish poor and uncovers an astronomical feat of Victorian engineering.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks once again using his Bradshaw's 'Handbook for Tourists in Great Britain and Ireland' from the Victorian era. Portillo is on a railway journey through the Republic of Ireland travelling from the rugged beauty of County Kerry, across the rural Irish Midlands to end in the city of Galway on the Atlantic coast. In this episode, Michael is on the final leg of his Irish journey and discovers historic jewellery with royal connections in Galway, meets a people's king and finds his voice with a traditional Irish singing group.

On the last leg of his journey from a notorious slum in Manchester to the grandeur of a ducal seat in Derbyshire, Michael Portillo tunes in to the music of the mills and collieries of Victorian England, testing his puff with the brass band at Honley. In Holmfirth, Michael finds out about a nineteenth-century tragedy that struck the town and led to a tourist boom on the railways. At Chesterfield, Michael pays homage to the father of the railway, George Stephenson, before finishing his journey in style at one of the first stately homes to welcome visitors by rail - Chatsworth.

Michael Portillo continues his journey north on Robert Stephenson's first inter-city railway line from the capital. Along the line at Bletchley he meets one of the Second World War's most secret agents, discovers a poet in Olney whose words are still sung today and explores the first purpose-built railway town at Wolverton. Michael's last stop on this leg is Newport Pagnell, where he learns the ancient craft of vellum making.

Steered by his Bradshaw's Michael Portillo heads north on his journey from London to Leeds, stopping in Northampton, the land of shoemakers, where Victorian 'clickers' have been making shoes for more than 130 years. In Rugby, Michael discovers the legacy of Dr Thomas Arnold and trains with the school's 1st XV before heading to Coventry, where he finds out how the city's craftsmen learned to adapt to survive. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Nuneaton, birthplace of an author whose identity was once a closely guarded secret.

Guided by his Victorian Bradshaw's Michael Portillo continues his journey north along Robert Stephenson's London to Birmingham line. He begins this leg in Leicester, where he picks up the trail of 'the famous crook-backed King Richard III', who Bradshaw's informs him was buried at the Grey Priory. Michael finds out about the hunt for the king's remains and how scientists managed to prove that the skeleton found under a car park was him. From Rothley, Michael works his passage on the Great Central Railway to Loughborough, where the bells have been tolling since 1839.

On the final leg of his journey along the first inter-city line to be built from the capital, Michael Portillo rediscovers a once-famous poet in Nottingham. In Mansfield he travels on a railway line resurrected by popular demand after falling victim to Beeching's cuts, then heads to Worksop, where he learns about the burrowing activities of an eccentric Duke. Michael's next stop is 'railway city' Doncaster, where in the nineteenth century thousands laboured to build trains and where in the twentieth century, rail workers shaped British political history. His last stop on this journey is Leeds, where he auditions at the Venus and Venice of Variety on the stage at Britain's oldest continuously working music hall.

Michael Portillo embarks on a series of journeys through London.

He travels on the capital's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Line, from Amersham, where he discovers the foundations for modern-day suburbia. In Pinner, Michael finds out about a Victorian domestic goddess and whips up a pint of her fanciest ice cream. In Highgate, Michael investigates the terraced catacombs of one of London's vast 19th-century cemeteries. At Baker Street, he comes face to face with Isambard Kingdom Brunel before experiencing a hot wax at first hand. He ends this journey with a trip to the zoo at Regent's Park.

Michael Portillo is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail to travel under the Thames and to meet Mary, on whom the project depends. He travels on the capital's first railway, and admires the remarkable brick viaduct on which it was built. He takes a tour underneath its arches with a Victorian map showing the poverty of those who once lived there. The Docklands Light Railway takes him to Greenwich, home to Britain's most famous tea clipper. And in Woolwich, he discovers the firepower of the British Empire before coming to a sticky end at West Silverton.

Guided by his Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo takes the high-speed line to Stratford to explore the legacy of the Olympic Park. He hears how an Indian lawyer, who learnt his trade in Victorian London, went on to change the world and explores an area of the city which has been home to wave upon wave of immigrants, Spitalfields. He ends this journey at Victoria Underground Station, where he finds out about the massive makeover currently under way.

Guided by his Victorian Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo explores London's theatreland and discovers how 19th-century engineering made for spectacular theatricals. At Charing Cross, Michael learns about the ambitious building programme which saw Trafalgar Square replace streets of slums and comes face to face with George Bradshaw. At one of the busiest stops on the tube, Piccadilly Circus, Michael indulges in some retail therapy at a perfumery patronised by kings, queens and prime ministers. The Bakerloo to Oxford Circus line brings Michael to Soho and a grimmer side of Victorian London, where disease was rife.

On the last of his journeys in the capital, Michael Portillo explores Albertopolis and reaches dizzying heights inside a Victorian landmark. He meets some of Battersea's most famous residents and gives one of them a bath! At Vauxhall, Michael learns about the darker side of London's flower market in Bradshaw's day. He ends this journey at London Bridge, where two stations are becoming one, and a new concourse is being built.

he Flying Scotsman

A once-in-a-lifetime journey aboard the most famous train in history, the Flying Scotsman, begins for Michael before dawn at London's King's Cross. Excitement builds on the platform as the world's media, fans and 300 passengers await the arrival of railway royalty.

Michael continues his journeys in greater London. Beginning on its southeastern fringe in the leafy and historic village of Chislehurst, Michael finds surprising imperial connections and a dark labyrinth beneath. Michael discovers that during the years between the wars, a mushroom farm thrived in the 22 miles of man-made passages and tunnels. Once war broke out, however, he finds that the caves became one of the largest public air raid shelters in the land, offering refuge to up to 15,000 people.

Next stop is Eltham, boyhood haunt of Henry VIII, who grew up in its grand royal palace. Michael investigates how, in the early 1930s, a wealthy couple rescued it from dereliction and created their own 'grand design' of the day. Stephen and Virginia Courtauld restored the magnificent great hall and added a vast new mansion, which embraced the art deco style and mod cons of the period. Michael marvels at the opulent design and the glamorous cocktail parties hosted by the pair.

Michael continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London’s East End. Michael explores Hackney Wick, today transformed from the time of his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, when factories belched smoke and the Communist Party of Great Britain launched The Daily Worker. Michael hears about the newspaper’s origins and aims from the editor of its modern incarnation, The Morning Star.

A bout in the ring at Repton Boxing Club has Michael floating like a butterfly - if not stinging like a bee - as he discovers one of Britain’s greatest fighters, Ted 'Kid' Lewis. Michael is captivated by the story of the Jewish refugee from the Russian pogroms, who twice became welterweight champion of the world.

A night at one of the earliest railway hotels, the Great Northern, sets the scene for Michael to explore the railway revolution of the interwar years, when around 150 companies were rationalised into the 'big four', heralding a golden age of glamour, speed and style.

Michael’s Bradshaw’s-inspired rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, a groundbreaking Jewish doctor found refuge. Sigmund Freud fled the Austrian capital of Vienna by train to escape the Nazis, who branded his work degenerate. Michael hears how the father of psychoanalysis was warmly welcomed in London and sees the famous couch, upon which patients would lie to recount their dreams.

In St John’s Wood, Michael discovers how Britain went on record between the wars at the Abbey Road Studios. He is amazed by the cavernous space in which Sir Edward Elgar and the London Symphony Orchestra played at the grand opening ceremony in 1931, and he's awed by the list of famous names to follow their lead, topped by the Beatles, who immortalised Abbey Road on an album cover. A young violinist brings Studio 2 to life with a tribute to Elgar.

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Michael is drawn to the industrial eastern suburb by the unexpected sound of pipes. He finds their origins in a Sunday school band for girls begun by a cleric in the 1930s. Still going strong, the Dagenham Girl Pipers explain their history and success, as well as treating Michael to a performance of Tipperary.

Aboard a Thames Rocket boat, Michael finds out how the river is both the lifeblood of and an existential threat to the capital. He hears how a great flood claimed 14 lives in 1928 and investigates how London is protected today on a visit to the Thames Barrier.

Michael finishes this leg of his tour at one of London’s most iconic buildings, Battersea Power Station, built during the 1930s by Giles Gilbert Scott.