Great British Railway Journeys brings Michael Portillo to Suffolk and Essex
- Credit: BBC/Naked West/Fremantle
BBC s Great Railway Journeys have highlighted the vitality of cultural life in Suffolk and north Essex in its latest series.
The railway history show sees Michael Portillo travel from Saxmundham down to Dedham, through rail and ferry, brandishing his 1930s copy of Bradshaw’s Guide, a Victorian travel book.
Mr Portillo takes this opportunity, after visiting Ipswich in 2017, to delve into the cultural history of East Anglia in the 1930s between the two great wars.
He comes to Saxmundham by rail so he can visit Leiston - which used to be accessible by train through the old Alderburgh branch - for what he claims is the oldest children’s democracy in the world, Summerhill School, also covered in a recent TV series, and founded in 1921.
Journalist and presenter Michael Portillo visited the county as part of his Great British Railway Journeys show. The documentary series, which airs tonight on BBC2 at 6.30pm, sees Mr Portillo travel the length and breadth of the country by train. Mr Portillo begins his journey in Colchester before finishing in Chadwell Heath in east London. His journey takes him to Abberton Reservoir which began being built the year his Bradshaw’s guidebook was published, 1936. He discovers how it was protected during the Second World War by hundreds of mines. It’s now an important wetland habitat for ducks, swans and water birds, and in the episode Mr Portillo spots a marsh harrier.
Great British Railway Journeys brings Michael Portillo to Suffolk and Essex
- Credit: BBC/Naked West/Fremantle
BBC s Great Railway Journeys have highlighted the vitality of cultural life in Suffolk and north Essex in its latest series.
The railway history show sees Michael Portillo travel from Saxmundham down to Dedham, through rail and ferry, brandishing his 1930s copy of Bradshaw’s Guide, a Victorian travel book.
Mr Portillo takes this opportunity, after visiting Ipswich in 2017, to delve into the cultural history of East Anglia in the 1930s between the two great wars.
He comes to Saxmundham by rail so he can visit Leiston - which used to be accessible by train through the old Alderburgh branch - for what he claims is the oldest children’s democracy in the world, Summerhill School, also covered in a recent TV series, and founded in 1921.
Journalist and presenter Michael Portillo visited the county as part of his Great British Railway Journeys show. The documentary series, which airs tonight on BBC2 at 6.30pm, sees Mr Portillo travel the length and breadth of the country by train. Mr Portillo begins his journey in Colchester before finishing in Chadwell Heath in east London. His journey takes him to Abberton Reservoir which began being built the year his Bradshaw’s guidebook was published, 1936. He discovers how it was protected during the Second World War by hundreds of mines. It’s now an important wetland habitat for ducks, swans and water birds, and in the episode Mr Portillo spots a marsh harrier.
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