Great British Railway Journeys - Michael Portillo's television series

[whole diary]

[bobm]

The latest series of Great British Railway Journeys starts on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Two on Monday 7th January 2013 at 18:30 and runs every night Monday to Friday as before.

7th Jan High Wycombe to Stratford Upon Avon
8th Jan Birmingham to Stafford
9th Jan Stoke on Trent to Winsford
10th Jan Dudley to Bridgnorth
11th Jan Welshpool to Aberystwyth

It continues the following week but episode details are not available yet as far as I know.

Meanwhile a link from Michael Portillo's website gives details of a digital version of Bradshaws
http://lacithedog.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/michael-portillo-bradshaws-guide-and-great-british-railway-journeys/

[BerkshireBugsy]

Thanks for posting this. I normally enjoy these programmes but as the first one goes through my home town of Banbury I will be paying particular interest.

[JayMac]

Looking forward to seeing MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) on the Severn Valley Railway. He was there just a few days after my most recent visit. I believe he followed in my footsteps as well - visiting the Bridgenorth Cliff Railway.

I also got the chance to fire a locomotive at Bridgenorth SVR, albeit briefly and only whilst stationary. If MP doesn't do that then I can rest happy in the knowledge that I've gone one better than him. 

[bobm]

Is it Bridgnorth or Bridgenorth?

The media handout I have includes an e - but I thought it was wrong and left it out.  If you go to SVR on Google the preamble includes an e but the actual website doesn't.

Having upset someone in Bridgwater by giving them an extra e once I'd be keen not to repeat the faux pas.

[grahame]

Is it Bridgnorth or Bridgenorth?

Bridgnorth ...

http://www.wellsteedphotography.co.uk/portfolio/railways/attachment/3/

[swrural]

My old favourites also include 'Oakhampton' and Barnstable'.  Perhaps a competition for citing wrongly-spelled GW^▸ (Great Western) station names could be started - it's Christmas and I only got one (that's 1 ) of the BNM quiz photos.     

[grahame]

My old favourites also include 'Oakhampton' and Barnstable'.  Perhaps a competition for citing wrongly-spelled GW^▸ (Great Western) station names could be started - it's Christmas and I only got one (that's 1 ) of the BNM quiz photos.     

Thanks for that reminder about BNM's prize quiz - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=11647 - and it really is worthwhile putting in an answer, even if you're only certain on one or two and have had to guess many of the others 

I'm a very bad smpeller as member here know very well ... and I tend not to notice the most horrifabulous corruptions as long as the sense is there.  What really "gets my goat" is being asked to spell the name of the station I'm at when I press the button on the help point to ask a question.   You get a feeling that (a) caller ID should tell the person you're speaking to where you are calling from and (b) the person you're speaking to really should know the stations that he / she is providing customer service for well enough to recognise their names.

"M-E-L-K-S-H-A-M (and I don't suppose you've been there by train yourself to help you provide customer suppot from first hand experience!  ) "

[swrural]

I am so ignorant, I did not know the river that flows through Taunton is the Tone.  How noble of those people to name their river after our ex prime minister.

[JayMac]

Many a day, when I were nobbut a lad, was spent messing about on, in or near the Tone. Some good stretches for chub and pike fishing. Happy days.

Another misspelling you often see is Newton Abbott.

My apologies to the good folk of Bridgnorth for giving them a spurious 'e'. I should know better, having lived in Bridgwater for a few years* - the locals there can get very animated when you insert that extra vowel.



*Don't worry. I managed to escape. 

[swrural]

It's the Earl of Bridgewater and his canal wot dun it.

[bobm]

Details for the second week of the latest series are now available

14th Jan Portsmouth to Gomshall
15th Jan Woking to Clapham Junction
16th Jan London Victoria to Abbey Wood
17th Jan London Kings Cross to Peterborough
18th Jan Spalding to Grimsby

[eightf48544]

Be interesting to see if doing Dudley to Kidderminster he changes at Smethwick Galton Bridge and has a look at Telford's fine Galton bridge over the BCN New Line. Which unfortunately is now blocked in by the railaway bridge and  newish sewer pipe road tunnel.

[JayMac]

A reminder that this weeks' series of five episodes feature, in large part, the area covered by this forum.

Michael is travelling from Paddington to the West via Hungerford, Westbury, Salisbury, Yeovil, Taunton, Minehead, Barnstaple, Exeter, Exmouth and finishing in Newton Abbot.

Broadcast on BBC2 6:30pm Mon-Fri and on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) iPlayer shortly after.

[BerkshireBugsy]

I enjoyed it - but then I suspect like a lot of others here I am biased! I am surprised by the jump from Hanwell to Hungerford but then I seem to remember did the reading bit a few series ago.

What with this program, the program about railways in Wales and the Dan Snow series I need a bigger ipad !

[Wilf19]

The household authority has gone out this evening so have been working my way through several episodes of "Great British Railway Journeys". The children gave up and went to bed early in disgust (or was it despair?).

I've just watched Monday evening's Paddington - Warminster episode, I was intrigued by the editing/continuity  that allowed MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) to get on a Turbo at Hungerford, then showed him sat on an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on his way to Westbury. Heading west from Hungerford I didn't think you could do that?

On to the next episode....