Great British Railway Journeys
Season 13 Episode 3 - Rye to Dungeness
Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex port of Rye, where he learns about the loss of a generation of lifeboatmen in 1928 and explores a wartime pillbox. On the beaches at Rye, Michael explores one of 28,000 pillboxes constructed around the British coastline during World War II and hears from a military historian about how the nation prepared for an expected German invasion. Train heaven beckons as Michael boards the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway to cross Romney Marsh en route to Dungeness. Along the way, he hears about the eccentric inventor of the railway, Count Louis Zborowski. From Dungeness, Michael heads to the former RAF base of Denge, where he discovers a cluster of giant concrete structures with an intriguing name, Sound Mirrors. The RSPB warden in whose nature reserve they stand explains their history to Michael.
Episodes in Season 13
Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest
30 min
Hassocks to Benenden
30 min
Rye to Dungeness
30 min
Deal to Margate
30 min
Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent
30 min
Chislehurst to Kennington
30 min
Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus
30 min
Hampstead to Islington
30 min
Dagenham to Battersea
30 min
Park Royal to Westminster
30 min
