Catch up TV

This episode is currently not available.

Series 13: 2. Hassocks to Benenden



Starting in Hassocks, Michael makes his way to the beautiful Sussex village of Ditchling, where, between the wars, a Roman Catholic community of artists made their home. Michael finds out how they made their mark on the village, the capital and the nation’s railways.\n\nIn the seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, Michael hears of the work of the wartime air raid precautions wardens, immortalised in the BBC series Dad’s Army. He discovers Bexhill was heavily bombed from the air and became a target of the Nazi invasion plan, Operation Sealion.\n\nMichael takes the train north to the village of Burwash, where he finds a magnificent Jacobean house called Bateman’s. Its occupant - until 1936, when Michael’s guidebook was published - was the most famous writer in the country, Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Book. Michael learns about his life and work.\n\nThe delightful Kent and East Sussex heritage railway conveys Michael from Bodiam Castle through the scenic Rother Valley to Tenterden. After a tasty on-board snack of Kentish cobnuts, Michael heads for Benenden and the imposing home between the wars of the Reverend Collingwood ‘Cherry’ Ingram. In the beautiful gardens of the Grange, Michael discovers how Ingram is credited today with introducing and preserving rare varieties of Japanese cherry trees in Britain and rescuing them for Japan.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 13. Dudley To West Bromwich

Series 16: 13. Dudley To West Bromwich

Michael Portillo boards a barge on the Dudley Canal, built in 1775 as a vital transport link for the town’s coal and limestone mines. Travelling through the second-longest ...

23-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 12. Ironbridge To Coseley

Series 16: 12. Ironbridge To Coseley

Michael Portillo is in Ironbridge Gorge on the River Severn, where he discovers the Silicon Valley of the 18th century. Exploring this hotbed of industrial innovation, he takes ...

22-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 11. Shrewsbury To Telford

Series 16: 11. Shrewsbury To Telford

Sharp as an arrow and armed with a longbow, Michael Portillo re-enacts the Battle of Shrewsbury, fought at the Shropshire village of Battlefield in 1403. He hears how the rebel ...

21-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 10. Dumfries To Auchinleck

Series 16: 10. Dumfries To Auchinleck

Michael concludes his journey from Cumbria to Dumfriesshire by crossing the Solway Firth into Scotland, where he visits the beautifully preserved last home of Scotland’s g ...

18-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 9. Aspatria To Carlisle

Series 16: 9. Aspatria To Carlisle

Michael Portillo’s railway journey through Cumbria and Dumfriesshire takes him to the rolling countryside around Aspatria to meet a couple who swapped their old life for o ...

17-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 8. Maryport To Penrith

Series 16: 8. Maryport To Penrith

Michael Portillo’s railway journey through Cumbria and Dumfriesshire heads to the hills as he follows in the footsteps of the Lakeland poets. In Keswick, he retraces the a ...

16-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 7. St Bees To Grange-over-sands

Series 16: 7. St Bees To Grange-over-sands

Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire continues as he travels along the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Just outside Egremont, he visits Florence Mine, ...

15-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 6. Windermere To Sellafield

Series 16: 6. Windermere To Sellafield

Michael Portillo begins a railway tour of the spectacular border counties of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire, starting in the stunning Lake District National Park, where he discovers ...

14-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley

Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley

Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the green and pleasant landscape between the North and South Downs, known as the Weald, nears its conclusion.\n\nNear Chichester, Michae ...

11-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 4. Gatwick Airport To Royal Tunbridge Wells

Series 16: 4. Gatwick Airport To Royal Tunbridge Wells

Michael Portillo’s rail exploration of the spectacular countryside of the Weald in Surrey, Sussex and Kent continues - this time, aboard the Gatwick Express train, which c ...

10-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Most popular episodes of Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 4. Gatwick Airport To Royal Tunbridge Wells

Series 16: 4. Gatwick Airport To Royal Tunbridge Wells

Michael Portillo’s rail exploration of the spectacular countryside of the Weald in Surrey, Sussex and Kent continues - this time, aboard the Gatwick Express train, which c ...

10-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 1. Paddock Wood To Frant

Series 16: 1. Paddock Wood To Frant

Michael Portillo takes to the rails to explore one of Britain’s oldest surviving landscapes, the woods and pasture of the Weald in south east England. Between the chalk hi ...

07-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 2. Hildenborough To Robertsbridge

Series 16: 2. Hildenborough To Robertsbridge

Michael Portillo’s rail exploration of the historic wooded region of south east England, known as the Weald, continues from Tonbridge, at the heart of the area's rail netw ...

08-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 3. Dorking To Lingfield

Series 16: 3. Dorking To Lingfield

Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the Weald reaches the spectacular Surrey countryside, where he finds a surprising connection to the darker reaches of the universe.\n\nI ...

09-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley

Series 16: 5. Chichester To Amberley

Michael Portillo’s railway tour of the green and pleasant landscape between the North and South Downs, known as the Weald, nears its conclusion.\n\nNear Chichester, Michae ...

11-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 7. St Bees To Grange-over-sands

Series 16: 7. St Bees To Grange-over-sands

Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire continues as he travels along the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Just outside Egremont, he visits Florence Mine, ...

15-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 8: 10. Stowmarket To Harwich

Series 8: 10. Stowmarket To Harwich

02-03-2018

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 6. Windermere To Sellafield

Series 16: 6. Windermere To Sellafield

Michael Portillo begins a railway tour of the spectacular border counties of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire, starting in the stunning Lake District National Park, where he discovers ...

14-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 9. Aspatria To Carlisle

Series 16: 9. Aspatria To Carlisle

Michael Portillo’s railway journey through Cumbria and Dumfriesshire takes him to the rolling countryside around Aspatria to meet a couple who swapped their old life for o ...

17-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 16: 10. Dumfries To Auchinleck

Series 16: 10. Dumfries To Auchinleck

Michael concludes his journey from Cumbria to Dumfriesshire by crossing the Solway Firth into Scotland, where he visits the beautifully preserved last home of Scotland’s g ...

18-04-2025

BBC 2

All episodes

BBC 2

© 2025 - Catchupplayer.co.uk