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Great British Railway Journeys S13 E01-E06 (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)
[Note: I did not see a new series had started until E06 aired. So here’s E01-E06 in one torrent. I’ll release the rest one by one and then a torrent of the whole season once it’s all broadcast.]
E01 Biggin Hill to Ashdown Forest
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 aircraft, in which so many young men risked their lives for the nation, is one of a fleet intensively maintained by a dedicated team of technicians, and Michael is privileged to be flown by an ex-Royal Navy pilot. Michael learns of the strategic importance of the sector airfield to the defence of the capital and the country.
Back on terra firma, Michael takes the train to East Grinstead on the trail of a bear with very little brain. In Ashdown Forest, he meets a biographer of A.A. Milne to find out about the author’s much-loved character, Winnie the Pooh. Michael plays a game of Pooh Sticks, then treats himself to a ‘little something’ at Pooh Corner.
Deeper into the forest, Michael discovers Plaw Hatch Farm, 200 acres of community-owned farmland that operates biodynamically according to principles first laid out in the 1920s. Michael helps to pick cabbages in the field and lends a hand with cheese production in the dairy.
E02 Hassocks to Benenden
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 finds out how they made their mark on the village, the capital and the nation’s railways.
In the seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, Michael hears of the work of the wartime air raid precautions wardens, immortalised in the BBC series Dad’s Army. He discovers Bexhill was heavily bombed from the air and became a target of the Nazi invasion plan, Operation Sealion.
Michael takes the train north to the village of Burwash, where he finds a magnificent Jacobean house called Bateman’s. Its occupant - until 1936, when Michael’s guidebook was published - was the most famous writer in the country, Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Book. Michael learns about his life and work.
The delightful Kent and East Sussex heritage railway conveys Michael from Bodiam Castle through the scenic Rother Valley to Tenterden. After a tasty on-board snack of Kentish cobnuts, Michael heads for Benenden and the imposing home between the wars of the Reverend Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram. In the beautiful gardens of the Grange, Michael discovers how Ingram is credited today with introducing and preserving rare varieties of Japanese cherry trees in Britain and rescuing them for Japan.
E03 Rye to Dungeness
Michael Portillo follows his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide to the unspoilt East Sussex Cinque Port of Rye. On the windswept harbour beach, he hears how, in 1928, a generation of lifeboatmen lost their lives in a tragic rescue attempt at sea. Michael visits the town’s modern day lifeboat station to see how the RNLI’s brave crews train today.
On the beaches at Rye, Michael explores one of 28,000 pillboxes constructed around the British coastline during World War II and hears from a military historian about how the nation prepared for an expected German invasion.
Train heaven beckons as Michael boards the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway to cross Romney Marsh en route to Dungeness.
Along the way, he hears about the eccentric inventor of the railway, Count Louis Zborowski.
From Dungeness, Michael heads to the former RAF base of Denge, where he discovers a cluster of giant concrete structures with an intriguing name, Sound Mirrors. The RSPB warden in whose nature reserve they stand explains their history to Michael.
E04 Deal to Margate
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 founder of the LGBTQ working group for English Heritage, tells Michael of the lavish homosexual parties Lord Beauchamp held at the castle and how his openly hedonistic lifestyle, at a time when homosexuality was illegal, resulted in his exile from the country.
Tracking the east Kent coast, Michael reaches the Royal Harbour of Ramsgate, where he remembers the courage of the little ships that evacuated men from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. Michael goes deep underground to see where the town’s residents sheltered from enemy bombs in a two-and-a-half mile long disused railway tunnel, some for up to five years.
Next stop is Margate, 'an exuberant resort' according to Bradshaw’s and the holiday destination of choice for Londoners drawn by the town’s pioneering amusement park, Dreamland. Michael helps to get the scenic railway in shape for the season.
On the seafront, Michael discovers that Margate was the choice for an American-born author’s convalescence from illness during the interwar years. TS Eliot found inspiration here for his poem The Wasteland.
E05 Herne Bay to Leeds Castle, Kent
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 working life as a typist in Hull but whose epic achievements made her an international celebrity.
Michael takes the train five miles west along the coast before heading offshore into the entrance to the Thames Estuary. He is amazed by seven enormous steel sea forts, which loom out of the water 90 feet above the seabed. The engineering involved in constructing these impressive structures is awe-inspiring, as is their role in protecting the nation from enemy bombing during the Second World War.
In the seaside town of Whitstable, Michael tucks into its famous staple, oysters. He then crosses the North Downs to Lenham, from which he visits Leeds Castle, the 'loveliest castle in the world' and home between the wars to the visionary Lady Olive Bailey.
E06 Chislehurst to Kennignton
Michael continues his journeys in greater London. Beginning on its southeastern fringe in the leafy and historic village of Chislehurst, Michael finds surprising imperial connections and a dark labyrinth beneath. Michael discovers that during the years between the wars, a mushroom farm thrived in the 22 miles of man-made passages and tunnels. Once war broke out, however, he finds that the caves became one of the largest public air raid shelters in the land, offering refuge to up to 15,000 people.
Next stop is Eltham, boyhood haunt of Henry VIII, who grew up in its grand royal palace. Michael investigates how, in the early 1930s, a wealthy couple rescued it from dereliction and created their own 'grand design' of the day. Stephen and Virginia Courtauld restored the magnificent great hall and added a vast new mansion, which embraced the art deco style and mod cons of the period. Michael marvels at the opulent design and the glamorous cocktail parties hosted by the pair.
Heading into the heart of London, Michael stops in Peckham, where he is keen to find out about the founder of Britain’s first civil rights movement, Jamaican-born doctor Harold Moody. At Theatre Peckham, Michael joins a cultural historian and campaigner and an artist to explore Dr Moody’s landmark fight against racial discrimination.
After a meat pie and eels with liquor at a Peckham pie and mash shop help to keep body and soul together, Michael takes the tube to Kennington to investigate the south London roots of a child born into poverty who became, after the First World War, the most famous man in the world. At the former grim Victorian workhouse that now houses the Cinema Museum, Michael discovers that Charlie Chaplin was once a resident. Michael learns about his extraordinary life and films, including his most enduring role as the Tramp.
First broadcast: 17-24 May 2021
Duration: 30 minutes per episode
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