The BBC's Great British Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo
The BBC's Great British Railway Journeys television series sees its presenter, Michael Portillo, travel around Britain by train, re-discovering many of the sights and locations featured in George Bradshaw's book, the Victorian Railway Guidebook. The series is popular with many of our customers, who frequently get in touch to enquire whether our tours include any of the routes and railways featured on the programme. We have therefore compiled a list of all of the Great British Railway Journeys episodes shown to date which have a corresponding GRJ tour - and these are listed below.
Series 1
| Route | Description | GRJ tour |
| Manchester to Bury | Michael Portillo learns how the railways helped to create a national institution - fish and chips | Manchester Christmas Markets |
| Todmorden to York | Michael Portillo travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway | York, Dales & Moors Yorkshire in the 1940s |
| Settle to Garsdale | Michael Portillo revisits the Settle-Carlisle line and explores the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct | Yorkshire &
Northumberland The English Lake District |
| Windermere to Kendal | Michael Portillo takes a Lake Windermere steamboat tour and visits Wordsworth's home town, Grasmere | The English Lake District |
| Swindon to London | Michael Portillo finds out about free holidays for the GWR workers in Swindon | Somerset & the Torbay Express |
| Yatton to Weston Super Mare | Michael samples Cheddar strawberries and visits one of the country's oldest piers | Somerset & the Torbay Express |
| Torquay to Totnes | Michael Portillo finds out about Torquay's microclimate and spends some of Totnes's local currency | Devon & the Cornish Rivieras |
| Truro to Penzance | Michael Portillo searches for the church of St Piran and harvests oysters on the Helford River | Devon & the Cornish Rivieras |
| St Pancras to Westminster | Michael Portillo climbs up the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament to hear Big Ben chime | Most of GRJ's European tours depart St Pancras International |
Series 2
| Route | Description | GRJ tour |
| Waterloo to Canary Wharf | Michael explores the changing fortunes of London's docks | Thames Cruise |
| Dereham to Cromer | Michael gets the rare chance to drive a heritage diesel train | Norwich & the Norfolk Broads |
| Llanwrst to Porthmadog | Michael visits the Victorian slate capital of Blaenau Ffestiniog in the Conwy Valley | Railways & Castles of Wales |
| Llanberis to Holyhead | Michael takes the train to the top of Wales's highest peak, Mount Snowdon | Railways & Castles of Wales |
| Durham to Grosmont | Michael Portillo visits the historic Durham Cathedral and takes a Dracula tour in Whitby | Yorkshire &
Northumberland Yorkshire in the 1940s York Mystery Plays |
| York to Saltaire | Michael Portillo takes a Turkish Bath in the famous spa town of Harrogate |
Yorkshire &
Northumberland |
| London Bridge to Chatham | Michael takes a walk through the world's first underwater tunnel at Rotherhithe | Thames Cruise |
| Canterbury to Margate | Michael goes whelk fishing in Whitstable | Canterbury & the Railways of Kent |
| Dumbarton to Tyndrum | Michael explores the Dumbarton shipyards that built the Cutty Sark | Edinburgh, the
Highlands & Islands Western Highlands & the Hebrides Scottish Islands & Lochs Cruise Edinburgh Tattoo |
| Oban to Corrour | Michael discovers how trains spread the word about Oban Whisky | Edinburgh, the
Highlands & Islands Western Highlands & the Hebrides Scottish Islands & Lochs Cruise Edinburgh Tattoo |
| Roybridge to Glenfinnan | Michael investigates one of the great geological mysteries of the 19th century | Edinburgh, the
Highlands & Islands Western Highlands & the Hebrides Scottish Islands & Lochs Cruise Highland Adventure The Highlands & Inner Hebrides Cruise |
| Lochailort to Skye | Michael discovers how the railways helped train commandos at Lochailort in World War II | Edinburgh, the
Highlands & Islands Western Highlands & the Hebrides Highland Adventure The Highlands & Inner Hebrides Cruise Edinburgh & Scotland's West Coast Cruise |
Series 3
| Route | Description | GRJ tour |
| Windsor to Didcot | Michael Portillo visits a station fit for royalty in Windsor | Thames Cruise |
| Heysham to Snaefell | Michael Portillo sets sail from Heysham to the Isle of Man | Vintage Railways of the Isle of Man |
| Bray to Dublin | Michael Portillo explores a Victorian jail and finds out about the lions of Dublin Zoo | The Enchanting Emerald Isle |
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