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 13

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Michael Portillo

Tom Richardson

Alison Kreps

John Comerford

Fremantle

Great British Railway Journeys: Series 13: Hampstead to Islington

Hampstead to Islington

BBC Two - Great British Railway Journeys, Series 13, Hampstead to Islington

Michael’s Bradshaw’s-inspired rail tour of London continues in Hampstead.

Michael’s rail tour of London continues in Hampstead, where Sigmund Freud found refuge from the Nazis. He ends up in Finsbury to learn about the influence of Russian emigre Berthold Lubetkin.

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. Sigmund Freud fled the Austrian capital of Vienna by train to escape the Nazis, who branded his work degenerate. Michael hears how the father of psychoanalysis was warmly welcomed in London and sees the famous couch, upon which patients would lie to recount their dreams.

In St John’s Wood, Michael discovers how Britain went on record between the wars at the Abbey Road Studios. He is amazed by the cavernous space in which Sir Edward Elgar and the London Symphony Orchestra played at the grand opening ceremony in 1931, and he's awed by the list of famous names to follow their lead, topped by the Beatles, who immortalised Abbey Road on an album cover. A young violinist brings Studio 2 to life with a tribute to Elgar.

At the Boot pub in Bloomsbury, Michael hears that, during the late 1920s, the National Darts Association set up its headquarters here. The popularity of the game was soaring, and Michael is surprised to hear who delivered a royal boost.

And in Finsbury, Michael learns how a Russian emigre, Berthold Lubetkin, shaped the architecture of the area with bold ideas and socialist principles. Michael visits the extraordinary Finsbury Health Centre, built a decade before the NHS, and tours the innovative and sculptural housing development Bevin Court.

Great British Railway Journeys: Series 13

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Documentary series in which Michael Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country by train.

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Great British Railway Journeys

Series 13

Hampstead to Islington

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