Great european railway journeys michael portillo biography

Great Continental Railway Journeysis now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe, using George Bradshaw's1913 Continental Railway Guide. Now coming up for its fourth instalment this autumn, Portillo guides the train-travelling fan across Europe arriving at a myriad of magical and historically fascinating cities we all dream of travelling to by train. From London, to Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Copenhagen, Oslo, Lisbon, Madrid, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Prague, Munich, Zurich, Rome, Budapest, St Petersburg; all the way down to Constantinople, Haifa and Jerusalem - Portillo describes the great feats of engineering that built the various railway lines connecting Europe and further afield and the men and women who made these journeys famous through their deeds and words.

The new series (6x1-hour) will transmit in early November 2015, and this book will be the official, lavishly illustrated tie-in covering every single journey Portillo has undertaken across Europe. Capturing all the colour, beauty, excitement and fervour of journeying across this historic continent can muster. A must-have purchase for any armchair fan of unique and award-winning travel programming.

Television series

Great Continental Railway Journeys is a British television documentary series presented by Michael Portillo. In the early series, Portillo explores the railway networks of continental Europe, but in later series he also ventured further afield. He refers to a 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, as he describes how the places he visits have changed since Edwardian times. The first series was originally broadcast on BBC Two in 2012, and the seventh and final series was first aired in 2020.

After a five year hiatus it was revealed that a new series was made for Great Continental Railway Journeys as part of Railway 200 celebration.

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2012)

The first series was originally broadcast on BBC Two in 2012. Portillo made five separate journeys across France, Germany, the Low Countries, Switzerland, and the countries whose land made up the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Series 2 (2013)

Production of a second series included filming in Spain and Gibraltar in May and June 2013, following the Ronda–Algeciras railway line, built in the 1890s by British interests under the Algeciras Gibraltar Railway Company, for the benefit of British officers stationed in Gibraltar wanting to travel to Spain and the rest of Europe. To avoid offending Spanish sensitivities, the line was built concluding in Algeciras, a town in Spain on the opposite side of the Bay of Gibraltar, rather than at the Gibraltar border. Despite it having no direct connection to the European railway network, a chapter was devoted to Gibraltar in the 1913 guidebook.

Series 3 (2014)

The third series had six journeys, in one of which Portillo went further afield to travel on the railways in modern-day Israel.

Series 4 (2015)

The fourth series aired in 2015. It took Portillo to Bulgaria, Turkey, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, G

Michael Portillo sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Spain and land of his father, recommended in Michael’s guidebook for its exceptional climate and glorious history.

1936 was a turbulent time in Spain, with political upheaval descending into a brutal civil war. Michael begins an emotional rail journey, which takes him deep into his family’s past and reveals the tentacles of the regime which forced his father into exile.

Michael begins in the beautiful golden city of Salamanca, where his father was happy as a young, left-wing professor. He visits the university to hear of opposition to the fascist takeover of Spain by General Francisco Franco and gains access to the general’s archive of enemies of the state.

In the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Michael hears how the bombing of a small town in the Basque region in 1937 inspired one of the 20th century’s most shocking works of art.

Zaragoza’s modern tram network takes Michael to a factory, where he is invited to test-drive new rolling stock destined for Britain. In the shadow of the city’s splendid cathedral, Michael learns to dance the jota.

In the northern town of Huesca, Michael meets the son of author George Orwell, who fought against Franco on what was the front line during the Civil War between Nationalist and Republican forces. Together, they visit the preserved trenches, and Michael finds out how Orwell’s experiences shaped his novels.

Michael’s final stop is on the border with France at Canfranc station. At the time of his guidebook, it was a magnificent terminus, yet today it is ruined and derelict. Michael learns of the role it played in the evacuation of Jews during the Second World War and hears about its forthcoming new lease of life.