Great British Railway Journeys: Lydney to Newport

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed the nation, and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain. Michael travels west from Oxford in the heart of England, through the Malvern Hills and into Wales to take in the unique Victorian heritage of the South Wales coastline. In this programme, Michael discovers Britain's hidden micro-mines within the Forest of Dean, sees why the Victorians fell for the romantic ruins of Tintern Abbey and uncovers the railway engineering behind the industrial icon that is Newport Transporter Bridge.