Great British Railway Journeys
Season 5 Episode 17 - Ipswich to Chelmsford
Guided by his 19th century Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Norwich to Chichester. On this first leg he explores Norwich's medieval heart. In the city's Norman castle he uncovers the Victorian public's gory fascination with crime and punishment and finds out how campaigners such as Elizabeth Fry, who was born in Norwich, worked to improve conditions for prisoners. At the city's livestock market, Michael learns how to buy a calf at auction with a subtle twitch of his guidebook. He then heads west to Thetford to explore the rabbit warrens of the Brecks. He discovers how the Victorian appetite for rabbits and their fur led to special train services to London, known as Bunny Trains. After a painful encounter with a polecat, Michael heads northwest to Brandon, home of some of the best quality flint in Britain and tries his hand at flint-knapping.
Episodes in Season 5
Manchester to Birkenhead
30 min
Southport to Leyland
30 min
Preston to Rochdale
30 min
Haworth to Huddersfield
30 min
Honley to Chesterfield
30 min
London Euston to Cheddington
30 min
Bletchley to Newport Pagnell
30 min
Northampton to Nuneaton
30 min
Leicester to Loughborough
30 min
Nottingham to Leeds
30 min
Southampton to Basingstoke
30 min
Winchfield to Crowthorne
30 min
Wokingham to Bradford-on-Avon
30 min
Chippenham to Gloucester
30 min
Cheltenham to Wolverhampton
30 min
Norwich to Brandon
30 min
Ipswich to Chelmsford
30 min
Ilford to Rochester
30 min
Faversham to Dorking
30 min
Brighton to Chichester
30 min
