Journey 12 and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Trade in Yours
For a £0.40 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Journey 12 on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Great British Railway Journeys [Hardcover]

Michael Portillo , Charlie Bunce
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
RRP: £20.00
Price: £12.80 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £7.20 (36%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Thursday, 20 June? Choose Express delivery at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £0.99  
Hardcover £12.80  
Trade In this Item for up to £0.40
Trade in Great British Railway Journeys for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more

Book Description

6 Jan 2011

The Sunday Times Bestseller

A glorious insight into Britain over the last 150 years - its history, landscape and people - from the window of Britain’s many and magnificent railway journeys.

Inspired by George Bradshaw, a 19th-century cartographer who mapped Britain’s railways as they sprung up around him, Charlie Bunce and Michael Portillo take a journey along nine classic British railway routes and surround themselves with the history, the charm and the people at the heart of the railways.

More than just a practical mode of transport, Britain’s railways are richly representative and evocative of British society and how it has developed over the last 150 years. Symbols of progress and change, they tell of remarkable breakthroughs in technology, industry and travel. Iconic in their design they have both made a distinctive impact on Britain’s landscape and opened it up to millions of people who, through train journeys alone, became acquainted with wonderful new places and sights. And as fond staples of childhood experiences they evoke deep, memorable feelings of nostalgia, of holidays and home.

Great British Train Journeys is a passionate, charming and insightful look at Britain from a window seat: a compelling read for all who look forward to travelling by train.


Frequently Bought Together

Great British Railway Journeys + Bradshaw's Handbook - A Facsimile of the Famous Guide (Old House) + Bradshaw's Railway Folded Map 1907 (Old House)
Price For All Three: £26.59

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Collins; First Edition edition (6 Jan 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007394764
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007394760
  • Product Dimensions: 19.5 x 2.5 x 25.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 12,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

• ‘A glorious insight into Britain over the last 150 years – its history, landscape and people – from the window of Britain's many and magnificent railway journeys […] It fills in the gaps, gives you more insight, takes you further, as it were. Charlie Bunce's words are the perfect compliment to Portillo's commentaries, and the entire book is a delight to read. The original photography is stunning, while the historical photographs are simply fascinating. All in all, this is a book no serious history student of this period can afford to be without. It's for armchair travellers, yes indeed, but it's much more valuable than that.’ – Books Monthly's Nonfiction Choice for February

• A ‘delightful pictorial travelogue’ – Annabel Ford, Cox & Kings

• ‘A colourful insight into Britain over the last 150 years’ – National Geographic Traveller

About the Author

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.

Michael Portillo was an MP for nearly 20 years and held three ministerial positions in the cabinet. He now has a regular weekly television show about politics, and has made documentaries on a range of subjects, including Great British Railway Journeys.


Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An ideal answer to relax after a tiring day! 4 Feb 2011
By Penny
Format:Hardcover
Having watched the television series I was delighted to receive the book and how true to the series it was. This book is very well written, beautifully illustrated and very easy to read and assimilate - a good read after a busy day. Looking forward to receiving the DVD of the series.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great British Railway Book 21 Feb 2011
Format:Hardcover
We were drawn to the book having seen a couple of episodes of the televsion series, presented by Michael Portillo. Unfortunately we didn't manage to view the whole series (6.30 in the evening was rather poor programming) so perhaps a DVD purchase is imminent! The book is an 'easy read' - not complicated or stuffy and includes some excellent photographs. The journeys are described beautifully with the bonus of snippets of history about various towns en route. It is not a book just for 'railway enthusiasts' - though I feel sure they would enjoy it - and it has a much broader appeal. In recent times we are used to holidaying abroad so many people are more knowledgeable about foreign cities than those on our doorstep, myself included, and this book has rekindled an interest in doing some touring closer to home, both by rail and by simply tracing parts of the route by road and by foot. One journey in the book was near Newcastle, a region that I know nothing of despite my mother being a Geordie, so this is where we are bound in the near future - having done some family tree research first. It's amazing where a 'good read' might take you! I enthusiastically recommend this book.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Well presented 9 Feb 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent programme and very good book showing the highligts .
A good substitute for Bradshaw's Hand Book which is unattainable
Was this review helpful to you?
98 of 101 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A super TV tie-in 16 Jan 2011
By Steve
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed the first series of Great British Railway journeys on TV last year and the current series does not disappoint.
This book is excellent with informative text and super illustrations and manages to combine social history with the enthusiasm for rail travel.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific companion to the tv series 20 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Michael Portillo tv series this book accompanies was a hidden gem of early 2010, buried on BBC2 at 6:30 against main and regional news programmes. Whatever you might have thought of Michael as a politician you would not fail to have been captivated by his presentation, replete with boyish enthusiasm for the people and places of the UK. This year he - and the series - returned, along with this companion book.

The book is faithful to both original series and 'companion' book is a very apt term as it does retain much of the atmosphere of the series. That's something of a surprise actually as it is not written by Michael - but is none the worse for it. Yes there are a few howling typos, grammatical gaffs but that's like saying there's a couple of duff notes in Bohemian Rhapsody. It doesn't matter when taken as a whole. Sit back and relax.. And take a wonderful journey around Great Britain.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Great British Railway Journeys 31 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover
This is an interesting book, especially for people who have seen the TV series. I missed some of the episodes, which is partly why I bought the book. However, as mentioned by other reviewers, there are a few annoying errors, such as the reference on Page 262 of the Hythe and New Romney railway being opened in 1927, "and extended to Dungeness in 1828". Back to the future? Also, I cannot understand how anyone can publish a book such as this without including at least one map showing the routes covered. Even a basic outline map of the UK with the routes marked would have been helpful. Having said this, I did enjoy reading it and am not sorry I bought it!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Railman 31 Jan 2011
By cairns
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A book to accompany the T.V. series. It moves along at a good pace and helps to fix in your mind what you saw on the programmes. There are lots of photo's to accompany the text, both colour and black&white. Each chapter covers one of the set of programmes, nine in all. There are some glaring errors, Dark Peak becomes Dark peat, Bouch becomes Boucher, Swan becomes Swann and Edward Pease's birth and death dates are partially mixed up, but these can be easily rectified in any further reprints. It is perhaps more of a book for the casual observer, but great enjoyment could be attained by anyone.
Was this review helpful to you?
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but could be better 7 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover
If you're expecting it to be as exhilarating as the television series, it falls short - as it's not written by Michael Portillo, it lacks his charisma and, sometimes, his grammar too. So, although it needs a little more proofreading, it's quite fun and informative but lacks the obvious thing - maps. Worth buying but to be read with your own map to hand.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars for my Kindle
Not read this yet - saving it for when I'm relaxing on my beach holiday, or just sitting by the hotel pool
Published 4 days ago by Pam Page
5.0 out of 5 stars A Winner
Michael Portillo is an excellent presenter.. Interesting .
and informative.journeys making the viewer feel as if
he were there. More of the same please
Published 18 days ago by P Travis
5.0 out of 5 stars Over the sea to Skye
I bought this for my husband to read when he was attending the hospital. He thinks it is well written and enjoyed the journey and the descriptions in the book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Owl
4.0 out of 5 stars Train Liverpool to Scarborough
A good short read with excellent description of the journey for the railway buff and traveller alike worth a read
Published 1 month ago by The Putt
4.0 out of 5 stars If you like the series you'll like the book!
I bought this book as a present for a Railway Journeys fan - she was not disappointed! Having a brief look inside there are plenty of pictures, its set out in journey sections,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars GBRJ
Purchased for my husband who is a steam rail enthusiast, but has enjoyed the GBRJ series on the television as pre dinner relaxation. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AS
5.0 out of 5 stars Great British Railway Journeys
I've been watching the bcc series named as this book and I'm fascinating with both! It's a great book for those how love railways and trains. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Book
I bought this book as a present for my husband and he finds it very informative. A good coffee table book for dipping in and out of. Lovely photographs.
Published 2 months ago by loddoll
5.0 out of 5 stars Great British Railways
Still enjoying Michael Portillo's journeys in the re-runs of the series on television, and this book is the perfect accompaniment. Brilliant, simply brilliant.
Published 2 months ago by John
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Was as advertised. Down loaded as promised on to Kindle. No problems. Easy read. Cannot say any more about it.
Published 3 months ago by Sam
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges