Great British Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo experiences a terrifying ‘victory roll' in a World War II Spitfire, meets a biographer of A.A. Milne and lends a hand at the community-owned Plaw Hatch Farm.

Michael visits the village of Ditchling, once the home of a community of Catholic artists, before heading to Bexhill-on-Sea to learn about the role of ARP wardens during the war.

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.

Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp, whose openly homosexual lifestyle led to his exile from the country.

Armed with his interwar copy of Bradshaw's Guide to the Railways, Michael reaches the Kent seaside resort of Herne Bay, where he learns about a pioneering aviatrix.

Michael continues his journeys in greater London, beginning on its southeastern fringe in the village of Chislehurst and ending up in Kennington to learn about the childhood of Charlie Chaplin.

Michael continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London's East End. He begins in Hackney Wick, which today is transformed from the time of his 1930s Bradshaw's guide

Michael's rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where Sigmund Freud found refuge from the Nazis. He ends up in Finsbury to learn about the influence of Russian emigre Berthold Lubetkin.

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw's guide, Michael is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Starting in Dagenham, he ends up at the iconic Battersea Power Station.

Michael discovers the origins of Harry Beck's iconic map of the Underground, learns about a shocking surrealist show in 1930s Piccadilly and explores the headquarters of Churchill's war cabinet.