Michael Portillo journeys around Britain by train. He learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool and finds out about the first railway fatality.

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed the public, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

His journey takes him coast to coast, from Liverpool to Scarborough, beginning on the world's first passenger railway line. On the first leg, Michael learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles cake.