Great British Railway Journeys Catch up, Series 13: 6. Chislehurst to Kennington on BBC 2

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 13: 6. Chislehurst to Kennington

Michael continues his journeys in greater London. Beginning on its southeastern fringe in the leafy and historic village of Chislehurst, Michael finds surprising imperial connections and a dark labyrinth beneath. Michael discovers that during the years between the wars, a mushroom farm thrived in the 22 miles of man-made passages and tunnels. Once war broke out, however, he finds that the caves became one of the largest public air raid shelters in the land, offering refuge to up to 15,000 people.\n\nNext stop is Eltham, boyhood haunt of Henry VIII, who grew up in its grand royal palace. Michael investigates how, in the early 1930s, a wealthy couple rescued it from dereliction and created their own 'grand design' of the day. Stephen and Virginia Courtauld restored the magnificent great hall and added a vast new mansion, which embraced the art deco style and mod cons of the period. Michael marvels at the opulent design and the glamorous cocktail parties hosted by the pair.\n\nHeading into the heart of London, Michael stops in Peckham, where he is keen to find out about the founder of Britain’s first civil rights movement, Jamaican-born doctor Harold Moody. At Theatre Peckham, Michael joins a cultural historian and campaigner and an artist to explore Dr Moody’s landmark fight against racial discrimination.\n\nAfter a meat pie and eels with liquor at a Peckham pie and mash shop help to keep body and soul together, Michael takes the tube to Kennington to investigate the south London roots of a child born into poverty who became, after the First World War, the most famous man in the world. At the former grim Victorian workhouse that now houses the Cinema Museum, Michael discovers that Charlie Chaplin was once a resident. Michael learns about his extraordinary life and films, including his most enduring role as the Tramp.

Source: BBC 2

Most recent episodes of Great British Railway Journeys

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 15. Attleborough To Skegness

Michael Portillo is in East Anglia on the last leg of his rail journey through 1930s Britain. He begins in Attleborough in Norfolk, at the headquarters of an international horse ...

30-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 14. Saxmundham To Norwich

Michael Portillo continues his railway journey through eastern England from Canterbury to Skegness steered by his 1930s Bradshaw’s guidebook. \n\nStopping at Saxmundham ...

26-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 13. Witham To Felixstowe

Michael Portillo's railway journey through 1930s Britain from Canterbury to Skegness reaches Witham in Essex. Here he visits the factory of the world's oldest supplier of metal ...

25-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 12. Limehouse To Rochford

Following his 1936 Bradshaw’s guidebook, Michael Portillo explores the east of England, in London and Essex, en route to Lincolnshire.\n\nOn this leg, Michael alights at L ...

24-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 11: 11. Canterbury To Alexandra Palace

Steered by his 1930s Bradshaw’s guidebook, this week Michael Portillo explores the east of England in the interwar period.\n\nBeginning in Canterbury in Kent, Michael trea ...

23-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 10. Dundee To Loch Of The Lowes

Michael’s rail journey through postwar Scotland takes him over the River Tay to Dundee on the trail of Joseph McKenzie, the father of modern Scottish photography.\n\nIn Pe ...

20-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 9. Edinburgh To Queensferry

At the former Midlothian mining village of Newtongrange, Michael meets the son of a miner whose name loomed large in the disputes of the 1970s and 1980s, 'Red' Mick McGahey. On ...

19-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 8. Shawlands To Livingston

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh.\n\nAt Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Michael joins a women& ...

18-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 7. Glasgow To Cumbernauld

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow’s Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the 'passing game' was born there. ...

17-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes

Great British Railway Journeys

Series 15: 6. Loch Lomond To Kelvinbridge

Michael Portillo boards the West Highland Line to begin a railway journey across Scotland’s central belt, from the Arrochar Alps to the Loch of the Lowes. \n\nAt the head ...

16-09-2024

BBC 2

All episodes