Great British Railway Journeys: Series 13
Season 13 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Great British Railway Journeys Season 12.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 13 Progress Shield
Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest
May 17, 2021 · 30 min
Michael Portillo experiences a terrifying ‘victory roll’ in a World War II Spitfire, high above the most famous aerodrome of the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill. The 80-year-old air
Hassocks to Benenden
May 18, 2021 · 30 min
Starting in Hassocks, Michael makes his way to the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, where, between the wars, a Roman Catholic community of artists made their home. Michael fi
Rye to Dungeness
May 19, 2021 · 30 min
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 wa
Deal to Margate
May 20, 2021 · 30 min
From the Kent Cinque Port of Deal, Michael heads to the splendid Walmer Castle, home during the 1920s to a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Beauchamp. Michael’s guide, the fou
Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent
May 21, 2021 · 30 min
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 who began her wo
Chislehurst to Kennington
May 24, 2021 · 30 min
Michael continues his journeys in greater London. Beginning on its southeastern fringe in the leafy and historic village of Chislehurst, Michael finds surprising imperial connectio
Hackney Wick to Oxford Circus
May 25, 2021 · 30 min
Michael continues his travels through the capital in the heart of London’s East End. Michael explores Hackney Wick, today transformed from the time of his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, w
Hampstead to Islington
May 26, 2021 · 30 min
Michael’s Bradshaw’s-inspired rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, a groundbreaking Jewish doctor found refuge. Si
Dagenham to Battersea
May 27, 2021 · 30 min
Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael is in London, where he tracks the River Thames from east to west. Michael is drawn to the industrial eastern suburb by the unexpected
Park Royal to Westminster
May 29, 2021 · 30 min
Michael Portillo discovers the origins of Harry Beck's map of the London Underground, learns about a shocking surrealist show in 1930s Piccadilly and explores the headquarters of C