The ever popular travel documentary ‘Great British Railway Journeys’ is currently running its 15th series at 6:30pm on weekday nights on BBC2.

Next week presenter Michael Portillo’s journey will take him on a visit to the Wensleydale Railway in North Yorkshire on the final stage of a five part trip, commencing from next Monday evening to Friday evening.

The filming for the episode which features the Wensleydale Railway took place in June 2023, where Michael was intrigued to learn about the role of historical interpreters and re-enactors.

At Wensleydales award winning finely restored Edwardian station at Scruton, volunteers here have been dressing up in period costumes since 2016, while at the same time educating and interacting with visitors who take a free tour of Scruton’s station buildings.

Visitors are told authentic historical stories as part of the experience which shows what life was like at a railway station at the start of the 20th century.

All the interactive programmes that are put on are overseen and directed by The Wensleydale Railway Association (Trust) which is the charitable arm of the railway’s operating company, Wensleydale Railway PLC.

Michael also met with railway volunteers at Leeming Bar before taking a heritage train down the line to Leyburn.

We were delighted to welcome Michael Portillo and his team to our railway in June last year for a day of filming the Great British Railway Journeys series. Myself and volunteers from our Living History Interpreters team had a lovely time chatting to Michael about our Heritage programme and the fantastic work that we do to bring local history to life. We hope that Michael and his team had a great time travelling on our trains, and learned lots about the history of our railway and our community.”

Connor Lagus, Community Engagement Officer at Wensleydale Railway

In a previous newspaper article, Michael had expressed a view that his tv series was very-much about exploring the history of railways and not just about the trains themselves. Michael’s genuine passion and enthusiasm for heritage was self-evident during his visit to our railway. Our team loved having the opportunity to share and showcase our rich railway history, restored stations and Yorkshire Dales scenery. The filming of BBC’s ‘Great British Railway Journeys’ follows on from us being chosen as filming location for ITV’s crime drama ‘Vera’. With award-winning restored Edwardian and Victorian stations at Scruton and Leeming Bar, and stunning Yorkshire Dales scenery, our railway has much to offer tv and film production companies as well as our visitors.”

Nick Keegan, Fundraising and Marketing Manager at Wensleydale Railway

The Wensleydale Railway operates over 22 miles from Scruton west of Northallerton and runs heritage diesel trains to the edge of the Yorkshire Dales national Park at Leyburn, offering the local community, leisure travellers and tourists a great day out. The railway is also seeking to extend its line to Redmire, information on this can be found at on the Return to Redmire just giving page.

The episode which covers Michael Portillo’s visit to the Wensleydale Railway is to be aired on BBC 2 at 6:30pm on Friday 5th April 2024.