Coastal Railways with Julie Walters

The East Coast Line (1x2)

Air date: Dec 03, 2017

Julie starts in Newcastle, famed for its ‘Brown Ale’, which brings back some difficult memories for her so she quickly hops aboard the mainline high-speed train bound for Edinburgh. First stop is the beautiful coastal town of Alnmouth and its neighbour Alnwick where she discovers the disused station still in use but now as one of the biggest and most beautiful second hand bookshops in Britain. Its enthusiastic owners first discovered the original “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster that sparked the whole craze. Julie joins local enthusiasts determined to privately reopen the railway line back to Alnmouth. The track is being laid and Julie is roped in to help out. She hitches a ride in the driver’s cabin of the 125 train speeding north to North Berwick where she meets Jane McMinn, IT consultant turned master mariner and lobster breeder, who takes her out to sea to the spectacular Bass Rock and the biggest gannet colony on Earth. The last leg finds Julie in Edinburgh where she discovers the intriguing connections between the railway and the famous Balmoral Hotel’s Palm Court and Clock Tower.