Great Coastal Railway Journeys 

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Michael Portillo embarks on railway adventures around the coasts of the British Isles.

All aboard! Weaving through charming seaside towns, historic landmarks and natural wonders, Michael Portillo explores the coastal communities the railways made.

Series 1

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Michael Portillo

Ben Rowland

Alison Kreps

John Comerford

Fremantle

Great Coastal Railway Journeys: Series 1: St Andrews to Stonehaven

St Andrews to Stonehaven

BBC Two - Great Coastal Railway Journeys, Series 1, St Andrews to Stonehaven

Michael Portillo visits St Andrews in eastern Fife, home to Scotland’s oldest university.

Michael Portillo visits St Andrews, home to Scotland’s oldest university, in eastern Fife, before heading to the vibrant city of Dundee and the harbour town of Stonehaven.

Michael Portillo reaches Leuchars, known today on the railways as Leuchars for St Andrews. Scotland’s oldest university, St Andrews is located on a beautiful beachfront. Michael joins scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit on the sandbanks to see how tagging technology allows them to track seals when they are out at sea. Surprising results reveal how seals are learning that rich pickings can be found at the base of wind turbines. And next-generation gadgets are being developed that will monitor a seal’s vital signs much like a smart watch.

Heading north to Dundee, Michael crosses the Firth of Tay on the spectacular Tay Railway Bridge. He finds a city buzzing with enterprise, where the new industry transforming Dundee is video games. At a former jute transit shed, Michael discovers one of the best-selling video games of all time was developed here, and more are in the pipeline.

Fifty miles north, Michael stops next at the harbour town of Stonehaven, which has found a place on the culinary map. Michael meets the owner of a fish and chip shop which has earned around 80 awards and finds he has encountered the former naval engineer once before.

A mile from Stonehaven Bay, Michael braves the windswept coastline by the Dunnicaer Sea Stack to find out about the Picts, or painted people, of north and east Scotland, whose kingdom was the largest in Scotland during the Dark Ages.

Great Coastal Railway Journeys: Series 1

BBC Two

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Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 1

St Andrews to Stonehaven

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