Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo embarks on another railway adventure across and beyond the United Kingdom, beginning on the self-governing Isle of Man – a paradise for rail lovers.

He visits the Isle's ancient parliament, the Tynwald, which is older than Westminster, is taken down the east coast on the Isle of Man Steam Railway to the Norse castle of Rushen, test-drives the smallest production car ever made in Peel, joins a working fishing boat at Port St Mary, and meets two passionate advocates of the Manx language.

From the Isle of Man, Michael Portillo crosses the Irish Sea, bound for the mighty port of Liverpool and its historic waterfront.

At the International Slavery Museum in Royal Albert Dock, he reflects on the city's part in the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. He takes Merseyrail to Birkenhead, where he inspects a German U-boat before seeing the underground room where the Battle of the Atlantic was monitored and controlled.

In Crosby, he encounters dozens of west-facing iron men before heading off to Blackpool, where he learns about the city's wartime experiences.

Michael Portillo continues his rail journey. He looks out across the vast and beautiful Morecambe Bay and joins one of the town's last shrimpers to learn how potted shrimp is made. At Arnside, he visits a quirky 17th-century garden at Levens Hall, helping to clip its vast topiaries into shape.

Across the Arnside viaduct, Michael reaches Cartmel, with its 12th-century priory and Michelin-starred restaurant.

Michael Portillo is in Cumbria, enjoying one of the most spectacular coastal railway journeys in Britain.

In Ulverston, he sets sail in a small craft with a lifelong devotee of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons. At Barrow-in-Furness, Michael investigates the mountains of scrap left behind as iron ore was turned into ships, trains and railway tracks.

From Silecroft, Michael hikes up Black Combe to join a champion endurance athlete as she navigates and runs across the fells. Pressing north, he reaches the delightful Ravenglass and Eskdale heritage railway.

On the last leg of his railway journey around the north west coast of England, Michael meets a lifelong fan of Alfred Wainwright's famous guidebooks and takes the first steps along his coast-to-coast path.

In Whitehaven, once the third-busiest port in Britain, Michael visits a family butcher that has made traditional Cumberland sausages for a century. Heading inland to Cockermouth, he learns about William Wordsworth's great love for the River Derwent, which flows alongside the garden of Wordsworth House.

Michael finishes his journey in Maryport, where the Solway Firth marks the border between England and Scotland and where the tidal surge sweeps in big fish for those fishermen still using traditional haaf nets to catch them.

Michael's journey propels him in search of the unknown universe in Boulby, North Yorkshire, as he joins the hunt for dark matter in the deepest mine in Britain.

Michael Portillo continues his railway adventure at Whitby, where he explores the port's shipbuilding and seafaring heritage. 

In Grosmont, Michael boards the first steam locomotive built in Britain since the 1960s. In the vast open landscape of the North York Moors, Michael discovers one of the most powerful military radars in the world - where tension rises as the team suspect a missile launch. 

Robin Hood's Bay's murky past as a smuggling haven leads Michael down a dark tunnel to discover how contraband gin, brandy and tea was landed and why the illicit trade flourished in the 18th century

Michael Portillo is in the seaside resort of Scarborough to explore one of the greatest royal fortresses in England, before heading to the beautiful neoclassical Rotunda Museum, one of the world's first purpose-built museums.

At Bempton Cliffs in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Michael join forces with Humberside Police in an unusual patrol vehicle. And in the lobster capital of Europe, Bridlington, he visits the Yorkshire Marine Research Centre to find out how they aim to keep stocks of the crustaceans healthy.

Michael Portillo continues his journey in the pretty seaside resort of Hornsea, famous for its distinctive pottery. In Hull, he discovers how one of Hull FC's star players made history as Britain's first black rugby captain.

From Hull, Michael hitches a ride on a fine-looking barge heading to Goole on a network of canals. At Spurn Point, Michael hears how along this coast an ingenious 19th-century RNLI invention saved many lives. And aboard the Pride of the Humber, the biggest all-weather lifeboat in the fleet, Michael is permitted to take the helm.

Michael Portillo has reached Lincolnshire, where his coastal railway journey from Middlesbrough ends. In Grimsby, he investigates an important new stage in the town's history - as a maintenance base for some of the largest wind farms in the world.

In neighbouring Cleethorpes, Michael is excited to ride on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, pulled by a miniature steam locomotive, and on the shores of the mighty Humber estuary, Michael meets the Humber King, who holds the record for swimming across the Humber.

From Cleethorpes, Michael makes for a curious and wild stretch of coastline at Humberston. At Young's, he learns how half of all scampi produced in the UK is made – and tries it himself.

Michael Portillo is on Northern Ireland's spectacular Causeway Coast to begin a railway journey that takes him along the north and east coasts of Ireland through the provinces of Ulster and Leinster.

Beginning on the windswept shores of Loch Foyle, he investigates the 17th-century origins of Ireland's sectarian divide, braves choppy seas to join an archaeological expedition, meets local teenagers learning about their costal home, and surveys the spectacular basalt landscape of the Giant's Causeway.

Michael Portillo is in the glens of Antrim, where Ireland's folklore and magical myths flourish and he is transfixed by tales of fairies and legends of the sea.

At the entrance to Belfast Lough, in Whitehead, he discovers a glorious museum, which tells the story of Ireland's railway heritage. Meanwhile, on the seafront, Michael joins a crew belonging to the Whitehead Coastal Rowing Club as they prepare to race.

At the medieval Carrickfergus Castle, Michael learns of the town's important role in the history of Ireland, when William of Orange landed at its harbour and went on to fight the Battle of the Boyne.

Michael Portillo is in Bangor, County Down, en route to the Northern Irish capital, Belfast. Admiring the handsome waterfront houses, he recalls the resort's prosperity after the railways arrived and learns how local groups are launching a cultural revival.

He learns about the history of Stormont and the Good Friday Agreement, explores the regenerated waterfront on the Maritime Mile, visits the largest coastal inlet in the British Isles, and discovers a scheme to generate power with a tidal kite.

Michael Portillo continues his railway journey along the Atlantic and Irish Sea coasts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

From Newry, he sets off to cross the border into the Republic. On the Carlingford Peninsula, he helps turn and shake 70,000 bags of Pacific oysters. At Newgrange, Michael is blown away by the ancient, acre-sized cairn and his guide's explanation of what happens inside.

Michael visits Dublin Castle, from where Ireland was once ruled by Britain, and meets the grandson of Irish revolutionary Eamon De Valera. At Dublin's docks, he finds out about how investment in the tech sector has transformed the Irish economy.

Michael Portillo begins the final leg of his railway journey, beginning in the harbour town of Dun Laoghaire. He joins a crew of geological surveyors to discover what lies beneath Dublin Bay.

In Sandycove, he meets James Joyce devotees in the town where he found inspiration. At New Ross, he sees a replica of a ship that toook emigrants to America during and after the Irish Famine.

At the Kennedy Homestead in Dunganstown, Michael meets JFK's great-great-great nephew, and at Rosslare, Michael discovers how business is booming in Ireland's closest ferry port to France.

Michael is on a rail journey across the southern coast of England, beginning in Dorset. In Portland Harbour, Michael takes to the water with four-time Paralympian Hannah Stodel. After a quick stop on the distinctive 18-mile-long Chesil Beach, Michael makes his way to Abbotsbury Swannery to take in the amazing sight of their 800-strong colony of mute swans.

In the county town of Dorchester, Michael hears the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who paved the way for today's trade unions. Finally, he visits the ghostly village of Tyneham, whose residents were ordered by the British Army to evacuate temporarily just days before Christmas in 1943 but never returned.

Michael alights at Wareham to visit Dorset's internationally renowned Jurassic Coast. Exploring the geology, he discovers black gold locked into its rocks and visits one of the county's oldest oil fields.

In Swanage, Michael visits the pretty Victorian harbour before riding the magnificent Swanage heritage railway to Corfe Castle, the location for one of the most dramatic hilltop castle ruins in the country.

In Poole, at one of Dorset's biggest employers, handmade cosmetics maker Lush, Michael is introduced to a phenomenon entirely new to him, the bath bomb. Heading back to the sea, Michael takes a stroll along the beach at Sandbanks, reputedly the home of the nation's most expensive coastal real estate, with local resident Harry Redknapp.

Michael ends his journey on Brownsea Island. He learns of Mary Bonham-Christie, a controversial conservationist who rid the island of almost all its human residents to create a protected habitat for wildlife - which today includes the red squirrel.

Michael is in Southampton, one of the busiest ports on the south coast of England and home to the National Oceanography Centre. From the port, Michael takes a ferry to the Isle of Wight, where he rides the island's railway, made up of recycled London Underground trains.

In the island's hinterland, he discovers a highly specialised farm which produces up to 15 different types of garlic and hears of a daring wartime mission behind enemy lines to procure this pungent plant.

Finally, Michael reaches the Needles, the islands iconic chalk stacks where a top-secret Cold War operation took place to develop and test British space rockets.

Michael's journey has brought him to Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, the coastguard's training centre. He finds out about their role in search and rescue and helps in one of their highly skilled operations: a mud rescue.

Michael's next stop on his coastal travels is the great maritime city of Portsmouth to meet the harbour master, whose office oversees more than 200,000 maritime movements through the port each year.

From Portsmouth, Michael travels eastwards to Chichester's vast natural harbour and learns about a conservation project reversing coastal erosion and providing yummy treats for both local and not-so-local wildlife.

The final leg of Michael's journey begins in Fishbourne, the location of one of the most significant Roman sites in Britain. Heading into East Sussex, he makes for a British resort synonymous with seaside jaunts, Brighton.

He celebrates the burgeoning winemaking industry of the South Downs, visiting one of the area's largest vineyards to toast the future of British winemaking and the end of his coastal travels.