Michael Portillo begins a railway tour of the spectacular border counties of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire, starting in the stunning Lake District National Park.
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 the violent geological history of volcanoes and colliding continents that shaped this breathtaking landscape. For an aerial view, he takes to the skies in a gyroplane - part plane, part helicopter.
In Ambleside, at the National School of Forestry, Michael meets the trainees aspiring to become qualified foresters, and a visit to the heritage Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway charts the region’s transformation from mining to tourism.
Finally, Michael explores Sellafield, a key site in the UK’s nuclear history, and drives a train normally used to transport spent nuclear fuel across one of the largest private railway sidings in Europe.
