Book description
A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain,
from The Sunday Times bestseller.
Nicknamed the 'Holiday Line', the 300-mile stretch of railway from
Swindon to Penzance opened up the South West to a new breed of
holiday-makers in the Victorian age, laying the foundations of the
modern tourist industry. Michael Portillo visits Swindon, the powerhouse
behind the Great Western Railway's extraordinary feats of engineering,
travels through Brunel's famous Box Tunnel, encounters Bath's elegant
streets and spa and discovers one of Bradshaw's most significant
contributions to modern society - establishing a single time zone
throughout Britain.
Places visited: Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Yatton, Weston-super-Mare, Devon
, Exeter, Torquay, Totnes, Cornwall, St Germans, St Austell, Par,
Mevagissey, Penzance.
This individual journey is one of a series taken from the bestselling
books Great British Railway Journeys and Great Victorian Railway
Journeys that accompany the highly successful BBC Two series. Michael
Portillo follows the famous George Bradshaw railway guides in railway
journeys across the length and breadth of the country, discovering
spectacular scenery and stunning architecture and exploring local
history and industry. 'A colourful insight into Britain over the last
150 years' - National Geographic Traveller Charlie Bunce has spent his
working life in broadcasting producing many award-winning programmes. He
is now Editor of Factual Programmes at talkbackTHAMES, where he produced
Grand Designs and Great British Railway Journeys.
