Great British Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo begins a new series of railway journeys through 1930s Britain, armed with an interwar Bradshaw's guide. He explores an unmistakably modern era of glamorous locomotives, cinema and dance halls but also a time of high unemployment and widespread poverty, when storm clouds gathered across the Channel.

Beginning just outside Newcastle in Jarrow, Michael uncovers the desperation which led 200 men to march 300 miles to Westminster in order to petition the government for work.

In Newcastle, Michael admires the city's iconic railway bridge before heading to Byker, where he discovers a new innovation in greyhound racing. Tips for picking a winner lead to a photo finish.

There's a visit to Durham Cathedral to see the bones of the Father of English History and a chance to fire up the fryer at a coal-powered fish and chip shop frozen in time.

In Spennymoor, Michael meets the son of a Durham miner who became one of the most famous 20th-century artists of the North East.

Steered by his 1936 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo is in Northumbria en route to the Highlands.

On this leg, he explores Kielder Forest, beginning at the County Show in Stocksfield. Michael discovers what lay behind a national initiative to plant one of the largest man-made woodlands in Europe.

Crossing the border to Scotland, Michael arrives in the weaving town of Hawick to visit Lovat Mill, where, in the 1930s, tweed was big business. A brightly -coloured new design is being prepared.

Boarding the recently-restored Scottish Borders Railway at Galashiels, crossing the Newbattle Viaduct, Michael travels to Edinburgh. In the Scottish capital, he investigates the formation of a new political party during the 1930s and visits the spectacular Scottish parliament building, opened in 1999.

In Morningside, Michael goes to the movies and in the front stalls at the Dominion cinema, he finds out about the father of documentary, John Grierson.

Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Newcastle to Loch Ness reaches Falkirk in Scotland. Here he discovers the Westerglen Transmitting Station, from where they continue to broadcast analogue radio signal to the Scottish borders.

Following the route of the old Caledonian Railway Company, Michael discovers the 'Riviera of the Highlands'. With a daily direct train service to Kings Cross, Gleneagles remains a top destination and is also HQ for the British School of Falconry. Hamish the Harris hawk is ready to fly.

Berry Town, aka Blairgowrie, is Michael's next stop. At the home of the Scottish raspberry industry, which once sent fruit to London daily on board a raspberry special service from Cooper Angus station, Michael learns how to pick this most delicate of berries.

Last stop on this leg is the city of Dundee, home of the three Js: jute, jam and journalism. And waiting for Michael at publisher DC Thomson is a black and red striped comic hero beloved of 1930s children.

Michael Portillo continues his railway journey from Newcastle to Loch Ness, steered by his 1930s Bradshaw's Guide.

Stopping at Dundee, Michael heads for Glamis Castle, where Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother, grew up. Michael hears about her happy childhood and how she later found sanctuary there, when King Edward VIII abdicated and she and Prince Albert unexpectedly became king and queen of the United Kingdom.

Striking north along the east coast of Scotland, Michael's next stop is Montrose, from where he makes an excursion into the Eastern Highlands. Here he discovers a network of bothies: remote shelters used by hikers and mountaineers to escape the harsh weather in the hills, and indulges in a wee dram.

Continuing on the East Coast Line, Michael arrives in the Granite City of Aberdeen, where research at one of Britain's first institutes of nutrition led to a nationwide programme of free school milk.

On Aberdeen beach, once popular with Glaswegian holidaymakers, Michael investigates the city's art deco Beach Ballroom and learns to foxtrot.

Michael Portillo is in the Scottish Highlands on the last leg of his rail journey through 1930s Britain. He begins in Elgin's port, the coastal town of Lossiemouth, where James Ramsay MacDonald, the Labour Party's first prime minister was born. Michael meets his granddaughter to visit the family home and discovers what shaped his politics.

On the outskirts of Lossiemouth, Michael finds a remote boarding school established in the 1930s and famous today both for its unusual ideas and its royal former pupils. He hears how the school's founder fled Nazi Germany and joins its fully-working fire service, manned entirely by pupils, for training.

Michael's last stop is the city of Inverness, where first he uncovers the work of female photographer MEM Donaldson. She documented a Highland way of life that was rapidly disappearing at the time of his guide.

Michael's journey ends at one of the most notorious bodies of water in the world, Loch Ness. He joins the Deep Scan research team as they scour the deep for signs of the elusive monster.

Michael Portillo boards the Great Western Railway at the Cornish seaside resort of St Ives. Steered by his 1930s Bradshaw's Guide, this week he explores the West Country between the wars.

In Britain's first studio pottery, Michael attempts a decorative wax technique and feels the heat of the firing kiln. He discovers a Cornish fisherman, who, although he began painting only in his seventies, inspired established artists from the capital.

Along the Cornish Riviera at Hayle, Michael joins a family on holiday in a railway carriage called Harvey. From Redruth, Michael makes his way to the former mining village of St Day, where Feast Day celebrations are in full flow.

Michael Portillo is in Cornwall's county town, Truro, with his 1930s Bradshaw's Guide. In the surrounding countryside, he finds the historic estate of Trewithen, whose gardens were stocked from China by professional plant hunters commissioned by its owner.

The Atlantic Coast branch line carries Michael north to Newquay, where he discovers a pioneering surfer and braves the waves on a belly board.

In the nearby village of St Mawgan, Michael is introduced to the ancient Cornish sport of 'wrassling', which surged in popularity between the wars as part of a Cornish Celtic revival. Champion wrestler Johnny Platt is standing by to take Michael on.

At Newquay Airport, he hears about the beginnings of passenger air travel to Cornwall as tourism took off during the 1920s and 30s and finds that future flight could be even faster – in space.

Clutching his 1930s Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo reaches Bodmin en route to Totnes as he explores the West Country from St Ives to Salisbury Plain.

Out on the rugged moor, Michael hears how the celebrated author Daphne du Maurier captivated readers between the wars with her tales of smuggling at the Jamaica Inn.

In Devon, Michael takes the plunge at Plymouth's beautiful art deco Tinside Lido. At Ivybridge, he boards a vehicle like no other to cross the causeway to Burgh Island, where a 1930s playboy built a splendid art deco party palace.

One stop further on the line, Michael arrives in Totnes, at the medieval Dartington Hall, which at the time of his guidebook became a haven for artists seeking refuge from the dictatorships of Europe. Michael discovers the wealthy couple who owned the estate drew many musicians and controversial choreographers to it. The spirit of modern dance is hard to resist.

Michael Portillo's exploration of the West Country continues in south Devon. Guided by his 1930s Bradshaw's, Michael arrives in Paignton to investigate an extraordinarily high murder rate in the literature of the 1930s! The Dartmouth Steam Railway conveys him in style to the beautiful home of Agatha Christie, in the company of her great-grandson, James Prichard.

At Dawlish, Michael discovers violets were so prized between the wars they had their own train to London and that the flower trade continues to flourish at Whetman Pinks, established in the same year as Michael's Bradshaw's.

Exeter Station takes centre stage as Michael hears from the granddaughter of publisher Allen Lane how he was inspired to invent the Penguin paperback.

Striking north to Tiverton, in the pretty Culm Valley, Michael traces the origins of a national institution, the Young Farmers' Clubs, and sees how the organisation has evolved.

Michael Portillo crosses the county line from Devon into Somerset on his rail exploration of the West Country steered by his 1930s Bradshaw's guide.

He sees first-hand how willow farmers sought to overcome the challenge from the production of synthetic plastics during the 1930s. He hears how tourism for all budgets spread across the region, especially amongst the young, for whom youth hostels sprang up, with good wishes from none other than the prime minister of the day, Stanley Baldwin.

In the city of Bath, Michael visits the former home of a refugee emperor, whose country was invaded by the Italian dictator Mussolini, and in whose name a religious movement began, which now flourishes worldwide.

Travelling east into Wiltshire, Michael reaches the largest training area of the British Army, Salisbury Plain, where the Royal Tank Regiment, established in 1939, is on manoeuvres with its awesome Streetfighter tank.

Steered by his 1930s Bradshaw's guidebook, this week Michael Portillo explores the east of England in the interwar period. Beginning in Canterbury in Kent, Michael treads the boards as he uncovers the political message behind a play, published in 1936, inspired by the 12th-century murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket.

In Maidstone, Michael learns of the international origins of the most British symbol of remembrance, before paying his respects at a war memorial based on London's Cenotaph.

Outside Sevenoaks, Michael visits the country home of one of his political heroes, Sir Winston Churchill, and discovers how the 1930s were wilderness years at Chartwell, as Churchill warned against Nazi German appeasement.

As Michael enters the capital, there is a visit to the brand new London Bridge station before he heads to Alexandra Palace, the birthplace of television.

Following his 1936 Bradshaw's guidebook, Michael Portillo explores the east of England, in London and Essex, en route to Lincolnshire. On this leg, Michael alights at Limehouse in east London for Cable Street, which became the focus of Britain's fight against fascism in the 1930s.

Heading east, he arrives in Dagenham, the location of one of Henry Ford's first car factories in the UK. Michael discovers the story of the first £100 family vehicle and gets behind the wheel of a pioneering pick-up truck.

Leaving London, Michael crosses into Essex and in Southend gets the scoop on a seaside favourite, and heads to the world-famous pier with his ‘gelato' cart.

In Rochford in Essex, Michael learns how an unusual alliance between London's Crossrail railway project and conservation is helping thousands of birds.

Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Canterbury to Skegness reaches Witham in Essex. Here he visits the factory of the world's oldest supplier of metal framed windows which became popular in the 30s.

Crossing into Suffolk, Michael alights at Ipswich and discovers the story of a group of child refugees whose history is intertwined with that of Michael's family.

In the village of Newbourne, over a pint with the locals, Michael hears the story of the rural resettlement scheme that helped over a thousand unemployed industrial workers from the north.

Last stop on this leg is Felixstowe, where Michael boards a boat to reach an isolated country house, where secret research was underway in the 1930s. When war came, the experiments performed here saved Britain from defeat.

Michael Portillo continues his railway journey through eastern England from Canterbury to Skegness steered by his 1930s Bradshaw's guidebook. Stopping at Saxmundham in Suffolk, Michael heads for Snape Maltings, a concert and arts venue, and learns how the music and life of one of Britain's greatest composers was shaped by the sea and his Suffolk surroundings.

Striking north, Michael's next stop is the Norfolk seaside resort of Great Yarmouth, where he visits a recently restored 1930s water garden which evokes the city of the Rialto and the gondolier.

Heading inland, Michael arrives in the historic city of Norwich, which in the 1930s was the shoe making capital of Britain. He hears how a particular style of ladies shoe put Norwich on the front foot and he puts his heart and soul into slipper making at one of city's oldest cordwainers.

Michael completes his tour of Norwich with a visit to the magnificent Scandinavian inspired art-deco City Hall, unveiled at the time of his guidebook.

Michael Portillo is in East Anglia on the last leg of his rail journey through 1930s Britain. He begins in Attleborough in Norfolk, at the headquarters of an international horse welfare organization which was established in the late 1920s and learns about the charity's pioneering founder.

Crossing the Fens, Michael's next stop is the cathedral city of Peterborough, where he visits a tidal defence barrier built in the 1930s, which helped save the city from flooding.

Heading north into Lincolnshire, Michael crosses the point at which The Mallard broke the speed record for a steam powered locomotive in 1938. At the coastal resort of Skegness, he visits the first all-inclusive, self-contained holiday camp which became a household name in Britain. Here Michael swaps his green blazer for a red one!

Michael's journey culminates at RAF Coningsby – an aerodrome which was conceived as storm clouds gathered across the Channel. Michael explores iconic aircraft from the Second World War, before being treated to a dazzling display featuring the RAF's latest combat aircraft.