Great Railway Journeys

The first traveller in this seven-part series of adventures is comedian Victoria Wood who makes a round trip to the north of Britain by train from Crewe, taking in both the east and west coasts and fuelled by endless cups of tea. 

In the second of the new series of adventures, comedian Alexei Sayle travels along what is left of the Hejaz line in Syria. Arriving in Jordan, he catches an excursion train out of Amman and heads into the desert to discover the truth about Lawrence of Arabia.

Celebrated African American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr explores his roots in a 2,000-mile trip to the Tanzanian bush village where he did voluntary work as an idealistic teenager. His wife and daughters accompany him, but they miss the trappings of their life back home.

In search of a new plot idea, Hollywood screenwriter and actor Buck Henry goes to Argentina. Using the country's rail network he travels to Patagonia, discovering the ranch of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Travelling along a British-built railway line connecting Kenya to Uganda, explorer Benedict Allen searches for the source of the White Nile.

Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri leaves hectic London to find peace and tranquillity in Arcadia, the remote corner of Greece that has inspired writers and painters since the time of Virgil.

Mountaineer and photographer Chris Bonington takes his camera, lap-top computer and climbing boots to Canada for a cross-country rail trip through some of the world's most spectacular scenery.