Michael helps out at a coastguard training centre, visits the harbour master at the great maritime city of Portsmouth and learns about conservation projects in Chichester.
Michael alights at Wareham to visit Dorset’s internationally renowned Jurassic Coast. He heads through Swanage, Poole and Sandbanks before ending his journey on Brownsea Island.
Michael is on a rail journey across the southern coast of England, beginning in Dorset. He takes to the water in Portland Harbour and hears the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
Michael Portillo continues his railway journey along the Atlantic and Irish Sea coasts of Ireland, travelling from Newry into the Republic. He helps shake bags of oysters and visits an ancient cairn.
Michael Portillo is in the glens of Antrim, where Ireland’s folklore and magical myths flourish and he is transfixed by tales of fairies and legends of the sea.
Michael Portillo is on Northern Ireland’s spectacular Causeway Coast to begin a railway journey that takes him along the north and east coasts of Ireland through the provinces of Ulster and Leinster.
Michael Portillo has reached Lincolnshire, where his coastal railway journey from Middlesbrough ends. In Grimsby, he investigates an important new stage in the town’s history.
Michael Portillo travels from the pretty seaside resort of Hornsea, famous for its distinctive pottery, to Spurn Point, where Michael learns about a life-saving 19th-century invention.
Michael's journey propels him in search of the unknown universe in Boulby, North Yorkshire, as he joins the hunt for dark matter in the deepest mine in Britain.
Michael Portillo is in Cumbria, enjoying one of the most spectacular coastal railway journeys in Britain. He takes to the lake in Ulverston and hikes up Black Combe.
Michael Portillo continues his rail journey, learning to make potted shrimp at Morecambe Bay, helping clip the topiaries at Levens Hall and visiting Cartmel's 12th-century priory.