Great British Railway Journeys

Joining the cracker packers of Carlisle on the factory floor, Michael really takes the biscuit as he investigates the Victorian appetite for the custard cream on his new journey through north-west Britain. Braving a perilous descent into the only operational slate mine in England, Michael discovers a miniature railway which once hauled slate to the surface. Following in the footsteps of Victorian miners on their way to work, he steps out gingerly on to what is now Britain's only Via Ferrata - a terrifying tightrope challenge 300 feet above the Borrowdale Valley.

Michael continues his journey through the Lake District where he discovers a magical world of talking rabbits, ducks, hedgehogs and mice, who have entertained children for more than 100 years. At the village home of author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, Michael learns about her legacy and her fears about the railways. Fuelled by a Victorian energy bar, Michael presses on to Brantwood, home of the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. He finishes with a brief encounter at Carnforth.

Michael reads the riot act in Preston, where he discovers four mill workers were shot dead by soldiers at a protest in 1842. In Darwen, he makes a splash in pink as he traces developments in 19th-century interior design from wallpaper to paint. Michael explores the Victorian industrial landscape of Salford, populated by little matchstick figures, as revealed in the paintings of LS Lowry. Michael finishes this leg of his journey on Kersal Moor, where he twists his tongue around the Lancashire dialect and discovers the poetry of Edwin Waugh.

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael begins this leg of his journey in Merseyside, where he feels the heat of modern glassmaking in St Helens. He discovers how the techniques invented in the Victorian era to construct buildings such as the Crystal Palace have evolved and are powering a new architectural revolution.

On the last leg of his journey through north west England, Michael makes a clean sweep in Ashley, where, in Victorian times, the new middle classes set up home in suburban villas with multiple chimneys, swept by children. In Macclesfield, Michael finds the end of the Silk Route and tries his hand at screen printing. After stoking the fire on the steam-powered Churnet Valley Railway, Michael alights at Froghall for Alton Towers, to trace the 19th-century origins of the modern theme park.

Michael embarks on a railway journey along the south coast of Britain. Beginning in the port of Dover, he is inspired by a brave Victorian sea captain to plunge into the English Channel. A spectacular miniature steam railway, one third the size of his customary mode of transport, conveys him from Romney Marsh to Dungeness. In elegant Eastbourne, he discovers how the refined Victorian upper crust was attracted to the town by design of the 7th Duke of Devonshire. He ends his journey in truly eccentric English style at the Glyndebourne opera festival on the South Downs.

Following his Bradshaw's handbook, Michael examines the nation's hidden defences against potential invaders, beginning in the port of Newhaven. Detouring north to Balcombe, he interrupts his journey to appreciate two magnificent engineering achievements - the Ouse Valley Viaduct and the Clayton Tunnel - and learns of a gruesome murder. High on top of a favourite Victorian beauty spot, Michael learns how trains once brought hordes of day trippers here to walk and fly kites. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Worthing, where he finds a novel way to pick tomatoes.

Michael arrives in Littlehampton, where he discovers how Victorian engineers dug deep to defend the town's residents from cholera and learns how their drills still access clean water around the world. At Gosport, he experiences first-hand the lethal firepower unleashed on the French and learns how the Victorians were engaged in a furious arms race against them. At the family home of Florence Nightingale in the New Forest, Michael finds out what motivated the Lady of the Lamp, before seizing the chance to drive the first motor car at Beaulieu.

Armed with his Bradshaw's Handbook, Michael arrives in the sailing haven of Lymington where he makes a lifesaving discovery. Exploring Dorchester's literary landscape, he finds out how the coming of the railways inspired the work of the region's greatest writer - Thomas Hardy. Weaving his way to Axminster, Michael tries his hand at carpet making. His last stop is Exmouth, home to Francis Danby, a forgotten Victorian landscape artist.

In Plymouth, Michael finds out about the Royal Navy's fighting spirit and mixes his own blend of ruin. Crossing into Cornwall, Michael learns about the last bridge to be built by one of his heroes, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. By Tre, Pol and Pen, he comes to know Cornishmen and how to prepare the perfect pasty. His journey ends in a small village which in Victorian times became a hub of global communications.

Every train ride begins with a whistle and Michael's new railway journey is no exception, blasting off from Birmingham's jewellery quarter to the sound of the Acme whistle, manufactured there since 1884. A visit to the city's town hall reveals a magnificent organ and the location for a celebrated music festival. Travelling south to Kidderminster, Michael reports for duty at the Post Office, where he sorts the letters and discovers more about the great postal innovator Sir Rowland Hill, before heading out to deliver the Royal Mail. 19th-century quack doctors and their bogus remedies are exposed in Worcester, where Michael discovers the origins of the British Medical Association.

Michael heads for the sharp end of the Victorian industrial revolution at a needle manufactory in Redditch. The Freemasons of Cheltenham invite Michael into their lodge to share the secrets of their society. In Gloucester, he learns how to make Gloucester cheese. Continuing on to Highnam, Michael is glad to discover the beautiful Victorian Gothic church of Thomas Parry and to join the Gloucester Choral Society in a rendition of Jerusalem composed by Thomas's son Hubert.

Michael takes pot luck on the snooker table as he investigates the Victorian origins of the game and finds out what it takes to produce the fine green cloth which smoothes the path of the balls. In Cirencester, he ploughs a crooked furrow at the Royal Agricultural College before taking tea with the ladies in Bath, where he also discovers a scandalous novel written by an eccentric recluse, once the wealthiest man in England.

Armed with his Bradshaw's guidebook, Michael enters the foul-smelling world of a Victorian tannery. In Nailsea, he discovers how mountains of bird droppings made one of the greatest fortunes of the era for a 19th-century entrepreneur, who spent his wealth building churches and chapels and one of the most luxurious country houses in Britain. Reaching Glastonbury, Michael heads for the mystical abbey, where Victorian tourists flocked to hear stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail.

Following his Bradshaw's Guidebook, Michael stands trial at the Bloody Assizes in Taunton and feels the full force of the law. He gets to grips with a miracle of Victorian engineering on the Somerset Levels at Westonzoyland and on Dartmoor he embarks on a mid-19th-century treasure hunt still popular today.

Michael begins a new journey through the home counties in Ashford, Kent, lending a hand at a state-of-the-art train maintenance plant, home to the High Speed 1 rolling stock - a modern railway hub in a Victorian railway town. A visit to a historic make-up brand reveals the foundations of the Victorian cosmetics industry. Taking the tracks east to Marden, Michael is moved by music played on Queen Victoria's personal piano before ending his journey in Sevenoaks at Knole House, seat of the Sackville-West family, where he learns of its colourful history.

At East Grinstead, Michael dons a boiler suit and takes to the footplate of a loco on the Bluebell Railway, Britain's first passenger carrying heritage line. Travelling north to Merstham, Surrey, Michael experiences an explosive encounter as he witnesses the power of dynamite first-hand. Moving east through Surrey countryside, he visits the stunningly situated Leith Hill Place to explore the compositions of the great British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The journey ends near Guildford with the story of a giant of Victorian art - GF Watts.

Michael's journey through the home counties continues at Woking, Surrey, where Michael uncovers the story of Britain's first purpose-built crematorium, a response to overcrowded cemeteries and London's ever-expanding population. A trip to world-famous Wisley Gardens sheds light on the work of the Royal Horticultural Society, as Michael gets green fingered. Swapping trees and tranquillity for the roar of a motor car, at Weybridge Michael visits Brooklands the birthplace of motor racing and gets behind the wheel of a vintage Bentley racing car. As this journey leg draws to a close, Portillo goes camping at Walton-on-Thames and learns about the unlikely origins of a leisure pursuit that is going strong today.

A royal residence beckons for Michael as he is treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the world's longest vine at Hampton Court Palace. Maintaining a royal theme, Michael is drawn to Esher to visit stately Claremont House, where tragic circumstances led directly to the birth of the Victorian era. Moving up the line to Wimbledon, Michael is challenged to a duel on the common, the site of a historic and memorable duelling event. This journey ends in Teddington, where the story of a Victorian reformer whose work revolutionised the care for those living with learning disabilities is uncovered.

Michael begins the final leg of this journey through the home counties at Egham, where a perfectly preserved, historic steam fair offers the original white-knuckle ride. Across town lies the palatial Royal Holloway College, now part of the University of London, where Michael discovers the institution's philanthropic roots. Moving on to Berkshire, Michael drops in at a factory that manufactures a famously sleep-inducing beverage with historic roots. This journey ends riverside at Henley-on-Thames, where Michael takes to the water and learns that rowing in an eight is a challenging business.