A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain, from The Sunday Times bestseller.

George Stephenson, the father of the railways, first began laying rails to connect the Darlington collieries with the river at Stockton-on-Tees in the 1820s, and it has since become a place of pilgrimage for railway historians. Michael Portillo’s journey from Newcastle to Melton Mowbray also takes in many contrasts between urban and rural life, with industries ranging from coal mining, shipping and cutlery-making to rhubarb-growing, Stilton-making and the production of the famous Melton Mowbray pork pies.

Places visited: Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Whitby, Harrogate, Batley, Woodlesford, Sheffield, Nottingham and Melton Mowbray.

This individual journey is one of a series taken from the bestselling books Great British Railway Journeys and Great Victorian Railway Journeys that accompany the highly successful BBC Two series. Michael Portillo follows the famous George Bradshaw railway guides in railway journeys across the length and breadth of the country, discovering spectacular scenery and stunning architecture and exploring local history and industry.