Walking Britain's Lost Railways
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Short description|UK television series}}
{{Infobox television
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| genre = Documentary
| creator =
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| screenplay =
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| director =
| creative_director =
| presenter = Rob Bell
| narrated =
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| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| num_series = 4
| num_episodes = 20
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer = Melanie Darlaston
Fintan Maguire
| producer = Christopher Bruce
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| runtime = 48 minutes
| company = Rumpus Media and Motion Content Group
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| network = Channel 5
| first_aired = {{Start date|2018|09|21|df=y}}
| last_aired =
{{End date|2021|11|19|df=y}}
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Walking Britain's Lost Railways is a British documentary television series presented by Rob Bell that first aired on Channel 5 on 21 September 2018. A second series premiered on Channel 5 on 9 February 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tv-and-radio-picks-of-the-week-the-end-toy-story-4-monty-pythons-flying-circus-the-verb-x3wgzlgrv|title=TV and Radio Picks of the Week - The Times|date=8 February 2020|access-date=10 February 2020|last1=Segal |first1=Victoria }} A third series premiered on Channel 5 on 27 November 2020. A fourth series premiered on Channel 5 on 15 October 2021.
History
Presenter Rob Bell walks sections of British railways that were closed during the Beeching cuts of the early 1960s,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/walking-britain-lost-railways/|title=On the trail of Britain's lost railways - The Telegraph Horsford.S p.21 September 2018|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=21 September 2018 |access-date=19 November 2018|last1=Horsford |first1=Simon }}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/tv-preview-guide-bbc-bodyguard-montague-press-killing-eve-the-circle-a8533106.html|title=TV preview: From the brilliantly addictive Bodyguard to excruciatingly awkward Wanderlust - The Independent O'Grady.S p.14 September 2018|website=Independent.co.uk |date=14 September 2018 }} telling the history and current stories{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/whats-on/out-and-about/walking-the-lost-rail-line-from-sheffield-to-manchester-with-tv-s-rob-bell-1-9366704|title=Walking the lost rail line from Sheffield to Manchester with TV's Rob Bell - The Star Blackledge.R p.26 September 2018|access-date=19 November 2018}} associated with the lost routes.{{cite web|url=https://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/railway-tv-show-19-10-18/|title=Burnham-On-Sea railway history to be featured on national TV show - Burnham-On-Sea.com p.19 October 2018|date=19 October 2018 }}
Episodes
| color1 = #3D9FCD
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| episodes1 = 6
| start1 = {{Start date|2018|09|21|df=y}}
| end1 = {{End date|2018|10|26|df=y}}
| color2 = #03548C
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| episodes2 = 6
| start2 = {{Start date|2020|02|9|df=y}}
| end2 = {{End date|2020|04|24|df=y}}
| color3 = #699DD2
| link3 =
| episodes3 = 4
| start3 = {{Start date|2020|11|27|df=y}}
| end3 = {{End date|2020|12|18|df=y}}
| color4 = #2C5F6E
| link4 =
| episodes4 = 4
| start4 = {{Start date|2021|10|15|df=y}}
| end4 = {{End date|2021|11|19|df=y}}
}}
=Series 1 (2018)=
{{Episode table |background=#3D9FCD |overall= |series= |title= |director= |airdate= |viewers= |viewersR={{cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/|title= BARB Four-screen dashboard|access-date=23 November 2018}} |country=U.K. |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Scotland
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|21|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.22
|ShortSummary = Rob walks the former line from Elgin to Portsoy, the Moray line which had originally served both the fishing and whisky industries. The line was decommissioned in the 1960s and he visits the former station at Elgin which was built in 1858{{cite news|url=http://www.yellowad.co.uk/article.cfm?id=135350&headline=TV%20highlights%20from%20Saturday,%20September%2015§ionIs=news&searchyear=2018|title=TV highlights from Saturday, September 15 - The Yellow Advertiser p.14 September 2018|newspaper=Yellow Advertiser |date=8 March 2016 |access-date=22 November 2018|last1=Thomson |first1=Charles }} and visits Lossiemouth on the Scottish Riviera and discovers about its former history as a whisky and fishing port.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/gzp4nj/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e1-scotland/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Series 1 Episode 1 Scotland - Radio Times|access-date=22 November 2018}} Rob goes onto kayak through Bow Fiddle Rock near Portknockie; wonder at the Spey Bridge in Newtonmore and the several glorious viaducts in Cullen; visit the Glenglassaugh distillery and view a boat race in Portsoy.
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{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Sheffield
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|09|28|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.12
|ShortSummary = Rob starts his journey at the site of the former Sheffield Victoria station, travelling via the Woodhead line to Manchester Piccadilly station.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g2f5wf/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e2-sheffield/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Episode 2 Series 1 - Radio Times|access-date=30 November 2018}} He travels along a remaining stretch of the line that serves Stocksbridge steelworks, visits a miniature railway at Wortley and explores the Woodhead tunnel now home to National Grid power cables.{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph/20180928/282480004725125|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways - Daily Telegraph p.28 September 2018|access-date=30 November 2018}} He visits Thurgoland Tunnel where the sound effect of the tunnels shape is demonstrated by a saxophone playing scientist, and then rejoins another remaining section of the line at Hadfield and travels by rail to Manchester.
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{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Dartmoor
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|10|5|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.28
|ShortSummary = Rob starts his journey along the closed Dartmoor line by visiting a model maker who has recreated the Plymouth to Exeter line.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g28n2y/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e3-dartmoor/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Episode 3 Series 1 - Radio Times|access-date=30 November 2018}} He visits Tavistock where he learns about Rabbit Pie, and then goes on to visit the Ambrosia Cream Rice factory to discover how the railway helped it expand. He travels along The Granite Way cycle route that now occupies part of the track beds. At Okehampton, he meets members of the Dartmoor Railway Association{{cite web|url=https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2018/09/dartmoor-railway-to-feature-on-channel-5.html|title=Dartmoor Railway to feature on Channel 5 - Railway Advent Holden.M p.20 September 2018|access-date=30 November 2018}} who campaigned to re-open the line to Exeter.
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}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = Lake District
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|10|12|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.12
|ShortSummary = In this episode Rob walks the former Penrith to Cockermouth line in Cumbria. Along the way he visits Keswick Station to discover colourful stories, hears about the tragic story of engineer Thomas Bouch, visits a former ore mine and tells story of the decline of the line by the advent of the motorcar with help from the Lakeland Motor Museum.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g42j98/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e4-lake-district/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Episode 4 Series 1 - Radio Times|access-date=3 December 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2018/10/11/lakeland-motor-museum-team-to-feature-in-tvs-walking-britains-lost-railways/|title=Lakeland Motor Museum team to feature in TV's Walking Britain's Lost Railways - Cumbria Crack p.11 October 2018|work=Cumbria Crack |date=11 October 2018 |access-date=3 December 2018}}
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|EpisodeNumber2 = 5
|Title = Somerset and Dorset
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|10|19|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.03
|ShortSummary = Rob walks the former Somerset and Dorset line closed in 1966. He visits the start of the line in Burnham on Sea where he hears about its history from local historian John Strickland. Following the line through Highbridge across the Somerset Levels he discovers the complicated issues that engineers had to deal with when creating the railway and the high costs that were involved, including a 26-mile stretch that cost an equivalent £35 million today. At Glastonbury he meets Tor, a local guide who discusses the resurgent interest in Arthurian Legend.{{cite web|url=https://www.torstourofthetor.com/single-post/2018/06/24/New-Channel-5-series-Walking-Britains-Lost-Railways|title=New Channel 5 series 'Walking Britain's Lost Railways' - torstourofthetor p.24 June 2018|date=24 June 2018 |access-date=3 December 2018}} He then visits the northern stretch to Bath through the Coombe Down Tunnel, UK's longest without intermediate ventilation which faced a tragic accident and is now part of a national cycle route.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g5rn2q/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e5-somerset-and-dorset/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Episode 5 Series 1 - Radio Times|access-date=3 December 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/inside-soap/20181009/284146452057871|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways - Inside Soap p.9 October 2018|access-date=3 December 2018}}
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}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|EpisodeNumber2 = 6
|Title = Wales
|DirectedBy = Adam Kaleta
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2018|10|26|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.18
|ShortSummary = Rob walks along the former railway line between Ruabon and Barmouth in North Wales which had been a busy route prior to its closure in 1965. Along the way he visits the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct; rides the Llangollen Railway, canoes on Bala Lake and rides the Bala Lake Railway; hears the local sounds from a Harpist in Dolgellau and examines its history as a tourist line during the Victorian period.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g6c6xz/walking-britains-lost-railways--s1-e6-wales/|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways Episode 6 Series 1 - Radio Times|access-date=3 December 2018}}
|LineColor = 000000
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}}
=Series 2 (2020)=
{{Episode table |background=#03548C |overall= |series= |title= |titleR= |director= |airdate= |airdateR={{cite web |title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways – Listings |url=https://next-episode.net/walking-britains-lost-railways/season-2 |website=The Futon Critic |access-date=15 February 2020}} |viewers= {{cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/|title= BARB Four-screen dashboard|access-date=23 November 2018}}|country=U.K. |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 7
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Derbyshire
|DirectedBy = Rosie Saunders
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|02|9|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.124
|ShortSummary = In Derbyshire, Rob travels along a stretch of what was once part of the London to Manchester express route, through the glorious countryside of Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park.
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}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 8
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = The Durham Coalfields
|DirectedBy = Lucy Joyner
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|02|16|df=y}}
|Viewers = 0.952
|ShortSummary = Rob Bell explores the era when our modern railways were born in the industrial heartlands of the North-East, where for over 150 years coal was king. Visiting former collieries, living museums and meeting former miners, he tells the story of the 1822 Hetton line, the world's first railway designed for steam locomotives.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 9
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|DirectedBy = Rosie Saunders
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|04|3|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.268
|ShortSummary = Rob Bell travels to Bangor, where he explores a lost line that was built in 1801 to transport Welsh slate from the local quarry, down to the sea.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 10
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|DirectedBy = Rosie Saunders
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|04|10|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.018
|ShortSummary = Rob journeys through the Scottish Highlands, following a path cut by the world's first global star - Queen Victoria.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 11
|EpisodeNumber2 = 5
|DirectedBy = Lucy Joyner
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|04|17|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.348
|ShortSummary = Rob follows the line of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway from King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth, discovering a lost railway through some of the quietest parts of England, but also some of the richest country estates of all.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 12
|EpisodeNumber2 = 6
|DirectedBy = Rosie Saunders
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|04|24|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.243
|ShortSummary = Rob follows the Waverley Line, which stretches for 100 miles south from Edinburgh.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
}}
=Series 3 (2020)=
{{Episode table |background=#699DD2 |overall= |series= |title= |titleR= |director= |airdate= |airdateR={{cite web |title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways – Listings |url=https://next-episode.net/walking-britains-lost-railways/season-2 |website=The Futon Critic |access-date=15 February 2020}} |viewers= {{cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/|title= BARB Four-screen dashboard|access-date=23 November 2018}}|country=U.K. |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 13
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = North Devon
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|11|27|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.513
|ShortSummary = Rob explores two of North Devon's former railways - the Ilfracombe branch line of the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) that ran from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe, and the Barnstaple to Lynton line.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 14
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Walking Scotland's Lost Railways: Highlands
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|12|4|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.537
|ShortSummary = Rob is in the Scottish Highlands recounting the history of the Callander and Oban Railway, which ran through west Scotland's rugged countryside for 57 years.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 15
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Cotswolds
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|12|11|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.392
|ShortSummary = Rob examines the history of the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway, which was in use for over 100 years until its closure in 1969.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 16
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = East Midlands
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2020|12|18|df=y}}
|Viewers = 1.217
|ShortSummary = Rob is in the East Midlands, examining the impact of Edward Watkin's Great Central Railway, which ran from Manchester, through the Midlands and onto London.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
}}
=Series 4 (2021)=
{{Episode table |background=#2C5F6E |overall= |series= |title= |titleR= |director= |airdate= |airdateR={{cite web |title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways – Listings |url=https://next-episode.net/walking-britains-lost-railways/season-2 |website=The Futon Critic |access-date=15 February 2020}} |viewers= {{cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/|title= BARB Four-screen dashboard|access-date=23 November 2018}}|country=U.K. |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 17
|EpisodeNumber2 = 1
|Title = Walking Yorkshire's Lost Railways
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2021|10|15|df=y}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Rob is in Yorkshire, looking into the history of the line built to connect York to Hull, via Beverley, and the part played by "The Railway King" George Hudson.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 18
|EpisodeNumber2 = 2
|Title = Walking Cornwall's Lost Railways
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2021|10|22|df=y}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Rob travels across Cornwall's first two railway lines—the Portreath Tramroad and Redruth and Chasewater Railway, where he learns more about the vital role they played in the county's mining industry.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 19
|EpisodeNumber2 = 3
|Title = Walking Kent's Lost Railways
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2021|10|29|df=y}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Rob visits Kent and the abandoned Elham Valley Railway, where he delves into its important past during the two world wars.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 20
|EpisodeNumber2 = 4
|Title = Walking Northern Ireland's Lost Railways
|DirectedBy = Matt Cottingham
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2021|11|19|df=y}}
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Exploring the lost railways of Northern Ireland, Rob travels along the route of its first railway to be built, from Belfast on the east coast, via Armagh, to Bundoran on the west coast.
|LineColor = 000000
}}
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=9025180|title=Walking Britain's Lost Railways}}
Category:Channel 5 (British TV channel) documentary series
Category:2018 British television series debuts
Category:2010s British documentary television series
Category:2020s British documentary television series
Category:British English-language television shows
Category:Documentary television series about railway transport
Category:Rail transport in Great Britain
Category:Television shows set in England