Catch up TV
Series 6 - Reversions: 4. Batumi to Baku Part 2
Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide Michael Portillo resumes his rail journey through the former Russian empire from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, taking in present-day Georgia and Azerbaijan. From Tbilisi Michael takes a trip along the 120-mile Georgian Military Road, built by the colonising Russian army in the early nineteenth century.\n\nSkirting disputed Georgian territory occupied by Russians today, Michael discovers that a Briton was the first to conquer the highest mountain in the Caucasus range. To capture his own view of the mighty Mount Kazbek Michael boards a helicopter to soar above the 5,000 metre peak first climbed in 1868. Coming back down to earth, Michael samples the amber wine of Georgia and learns about its role in Georgian national culture. The overnight service from Tbilisi to Baku delivers Michael to Azerbaijan, the so-called 'land of fire' because of the natural gas which seeps from the ground and ignites the hills. In Baku, Michael explores the thousand-year-old walled quarter and is treated to a thrilling display of Chovgan, the national horseback game of Azerbaijan. He finishes his journey at the vast Sangachal oil and gas terminal, one of the world's largest, and discovers how the oil industry began here during the nineteenth century.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 10
Michael Portillo continues his scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle, steered by his 1936 ...
22-07-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 9
Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle, steered by his 1936 ...
18-07-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 8
Michael continues his railway journey from Sicily’s capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa to Europe’s largest volcano, Mou ...
16-07-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 7
Michael Portillo’s 1936 Bradshaw’s Continental Railways Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the great ...
15-07-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 4
Arriving in Paris at the Champs de Mars station, Michael takes in an epic view of the city from the top of the Arc de Triomphe before heading for Montparnasse, where wildly crea ...
28-06-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 3
Michael Portillo travels from the chateaux of the Loire Valley to the heart of the Champagne region at Reims.\n\nBeginning in historic Orleans, Michael follows his Bradshaw&rsqu ...
27-06-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 2
Michael continues his rail journey through Spain with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide. At the Museo Reina Sofia, Michael hears how the bombing of a small town in the Basque reg ...
24-06-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 1
Michael Portillo sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Sp ...
24-06-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7: 6. Stockholm To The Arctic Circle
Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic, thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. Steered by his 1936 ...
19-03-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7: 5. Linz To Bratislava
Michael Portillo travels by train through Austria and the Czech Republic, following his Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, published in 1936. Michael’s journey ta ...
18-03-2024
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 2
Michael continues his rail journey through Spain with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide. At the Museo Reina Sofia, Michael hears how the bombing of a small town in the Basque reg ...
24-06-2024
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 1 - Reversions - Amsterdam To Northern France Part 1
Michael Portillo experiences the cities of the pre-war Low Countries and tastes the delicacies of Brussels, he then travels to the Western Front.
15-08-2014
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 2 - Madrid To Gibraltar
Michael Portillo returns to his native Spain as he follows the railway lines travelled by the intrepid tourists of the Belle Epoque.
18-08-2014
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 2 - Turin To Venice
Michael Portillo takes the train from Turin to Venice. Along the way, he recreates the Italian Job, follows fashion in Milan and visits Shakespearean Verona.
19-08-2014
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 1 - Reversions - Amsterdam To Northern France Part 2
Michael Portillo visits the forest of Compiegne to hear how, after four years of conflict, the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage.
17-08-2014
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 5 - Reversions: 1. Transylvania To The Black Sea Part 1
05-06-2017
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 1 - Switzerland
Michael Portillo explores Switzerland, taking in Basel, Zurich and Lake Lucerne before making a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station.
14-08-2014
BBC 2
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Series 3 - Reversions: 7. La Coruna To Lisbon - Part 1
15-03-2019
BBC 2