Great British Railway Journeys

Sharp as an arrow and armed with a longbow, Michael Portillo reenacts the Battle of Shrewsbury, fought at the Shropshire village of Battlefield in 1403. He hears how the rebel Harry Hotspur challenged King Henry IV for the throne of England and is impressed by the decisive role of the longbowmen. In the picturesque Shropshire county town of Shrewsbury, Michael explores the beautiful gothic cathedral. He marvels at the youth of its designers: a teenage architect and a 20-something artist of stained-glass windows. From one of the prettiest stations in Britain at Horsehay and Dawlish near Telford, Michael rides the Telford Steam Railway's flagship locomotive along the revived Wellington to Craven Arms line and meets a grandfather, father and son dedicated to restoring a 1959 diesel locomotive.