Great British Railway Journeys

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Documentary series in which Michael Portillo travels the country by train.

All aboard! Armed with his trusty Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo explores the UK the railways made. Uncover hidden gems and fascinating communities from across the nation.

Series 12

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Michael Portillo

Anthony Holland

Alison Kreps

John Comerford

Fremantle

Great British Railway Journeys: Series 12: Saxmundham to Dedham

Saxmundham to Dedham

BBC Two - Great British Railway Journeys, Series 12, Saxmundham to Dedham

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s, Michael Portillo explores East Anglia between the wars.

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s, Michael Portillo explores interwar East Anglia. Starting at Sutton Hoo, he visits the experimental Summerhill School and learns about the Kindertransport refugees.

Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo explores East Anglia between the wars. His railway journey begins at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, where archaeologists made a staggering discovery. Laura Howarth from the National Trust walks Michael to the top of a mound in a field, where in 1939 a 27-metre-long Anglo-Saxon ship was found buried in the earth. Buried along with the ship were precious objects from across the world.

At Leiston, Michael visits the oldest children’s democracy in the world, Summerhill School, founded in 1921 by a forward-thinking Scottish educator called A.S. Neill. Today, his daughter Zoe Readhead is school principal, and she introduces Michael to the school’s ethos and some of its pupils.

In the Essex village of Dedham, Michael unearths a nasty brush between painters. East Anglian art experts explain the antipathy between traditional artist Sir Alfred Munnings and the modern art school established in the village by Cedric Morris.

Michael takes the harbour ferry from Felixstowe to Harwich to find out about the young Jewish passengers who arrived in Harwich in 1938, having fled Nazi Germany as part of the Kindertransport. Siblings Ruth Jacobs and Harry Heber, now in their 80s, were among them, and Michael is moved to hear their story.

Great British Railway Journeys: Series 12

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Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys through Britain.

Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys, this time through Britain between the world wars, armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide.

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Great British Railway Journeys

Series 12

Saxmundham to Dedham

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