North East to feature on Great British Railway Journeys

The East Coast Main Line between Darlington and Dunbar is to feature on BBC's Great British Railway Journeys.
Michael Portillo is travelling along the east coast main line in Great British Railway Journeys.Michael Portillo is travelling along the east coast main line in Great British Railway Journeys.
Michael Portillo is travelling along the east coast main line in Great British Railway Journeys.

The episode will be broadcast on BBC2 on Thursday at 6.30pm.

Presenter Michael Portillo stops off at Newton Aycliffe where he tests a state-of-the-art passenger train on tracks which follow the route taken by George Stephenson’s steam engine on its historic journey in 1825.

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Through the looking glass at Croft-on-Tees he discovers a curious potion at the childhood home of Victorian writer Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, and finds the author was also a fan of Bradshaw.

In the coastal village of Craster, Michael discovers the Victorian smokehouses of a family firm still active today and learns how to smoke a kipper.

Crossing the Scottish border he reaches Dunbar, birthplace of a visionary Scot who made his mark on the landscape of America. Michael ends this leg rocking the boat on the River Tyne in a coracle.