Dave Minchin

Led by his late 19th-century Appleton’s guidebook, Michael Portillo sets off on a 1,000-mile American adventure to discover how the railroad conquered the wild landscapes of the West and transformed…

Continuing his epic Californian rail journey, Michael Portillo begins this leg at the very spot that triggered the 1848 gold rush. He finds out how California’s mineral treasures and population…

Armed with his trusty Appleton’s Guide, Michael Portillo’s rail journey through California takes him to the commercial metropolis of San Francisco. Riding through the vibrant streets by cable car, Michael…

Michael Portillo resumes his exhilarating tour of San Francisco to find that diversity has been at the heart of the city since the days of the gold rush, though not…

Michael hitches a ride with the Amish in a horse-drawn buggy through rich countryside settled in the 18th century by religiously oppressed Europeans. Charmed by their modest way of life,…

Michael reaches a milestone on his American journey: the boundary between the northern and southern states, known as the Mason-Dixon line. He discovers the origins of what became for black…

In Baltimore, home of the first railroad in the United States, the Baltimore and Ohio, he discovers how the first American steam engine, the Tom Thumb, owed much to pioneering…

Michael arrives in the nation’s capital, Washington DC. He admires its fine public buildings, including the largest library in the world, and discovers how the capital was built from scratch…

On this leg, Michael soaks up some old-school jazz in Washington’s U Street neighbourhood, where the big band jazz king, Duke Ellington, was born and began his career. He also…

Michael Portillo arrives in Manassas, scene of two crucial battles during the American Civil War – the first railroad battles in US history. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, he tries his hand…

In Petersburg, Virginia, the choir of the First Baptist Church is in fine voice as Michael discovers how, during the 19th century, coded messages were delivered to slaves who hoped…

Michael Portillo begins a new journey from Minnesota’s Twin Cities in the north of the US to Memphis, Tennessee, in the Deep South. In this leg, Michael discovers how Minneapolis,…

Michael Portillo continues his journey from Norwich to Chichester beginning in Faversham in Kent, at one of the country’s oldest surviving breweries, Shepherd Neame. Michael discovers how the brewery invested…

Steered by his Bradshaw’s, Michael Portillo heads along the Essex bank of the Thames before crossing the river into the Garden of England, Kent. He begins this leg at Barkingside,…

On the final leg of his journey between the cathedral cities of Norwich and Chichester, Michael Portillo discovers the history behind the extraordinary Pavilion at Brighton and learns that Queen…

Guided by his 19th century Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Norwich to Chichester. On this first leg he explores Norwich’s medieval heart. In the city’s…

Guided by his 19th century Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Norwich to Chichester. On this first leg he explores Norwich’s medieval heart. In the city’s…

Michael gets to grips with the old grey matter at a Victorian asylum, gives an historic horse a facelift and makes malt the 19th century way.

Michael visits a world famous tourist hotspot that’s been captivating visitors since the Victorian era, takes to the air in Yeovil and tries his hand at cloth making, the 19th…

Michael gets up close to a piece of natural history, visits a garden used as a viewing platform for public hangings and experiences a timepiece like no other.

Michael explores a church that moves in mysterious ways, finds out just what it takes to run a 19th century signal box and summons all his strength, to move a…

Michael takes to sea with the heroes of the RNLI, visits a stormy coastal railway and has a close personal encounter with his boyhood hero.

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey following his Bradshaw’s handbook from the heart of the industrial east Midlands to the north eastern island of Lindisfarne. On this leg, he…

Armed with his Bradshaw’s, Michael Portillo continues his journey from Derby to Lindisfarne. Beginning in Boston in the flatlands of Lincolnshire, Michael explores the connection between the town and its…

Steered by his Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey from the heart of the east Midlands to Northumberland’s Holy Island. He begins in Hessle, on the north bank of…

Following his Bradshaw’s Handbook, Michael Portillo begins this leg of his journey from Derby to Lindisfarne in the Victorian ironopolis of Middlesbrough. He visits one of the last cast iron…

Michael Portillo journeys from Newcastle up the north east coast to Lindisfarne. He finds out about the world’s earliest swing bridge and its inventor, Newcastle engineer Sir William Armstrong, and…

Armed with his trusty 1913 Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels east through the Balkans along the most exotic section of the route taken by the Orient Express. His…

In Vienna, Michael Portillo encounters a pre-Cold War spy and learns about the concert that caused a riot in 1913. He then travels the Habsburg imperial line across the Semmering…

Michael embarks on a new railroad journey from the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, south to the first permanent English colonial settlement in North America, Jamestown. He feasts on a…