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Series 11: 2. Kielder Forest to Edinburgh



Steered by his 1936 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo is in Northumbria en route to the Highlands. \n\nOn this leg, he explores Kielder Forest, beginning at the County Show in Stocksfield. Michael discovers what lay behind a national initiative to plant one of the largest man-made woodlands in Europe. \n\nCrossing the border to Scotland, Michael arrives in the weaving town of Hawick to visit Lovat Mill, where, in the 1930s, tweed was big business. A brightly -coloured new design is being prepared.\n\nBoarding the recently-restored Scottish Borders Railway at Galashiels, crossing the Newbattle Viaduct, Michael travels to Edinburgh. In the Scottish capital, he investigates the formation of a new political party during the 1930s and visits the spectacular Scottish parliament building, opened in 1999.\n\nIn Morningside, Michael goes to the movies and in the front stalls at the Dominion cinema, he finds out about the father of documentary, John Grierson.

Source: BBC 2

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