Norwich to Brandon
Episode 16 · 2014-01-27

- Documentary
Episode overview
Guided by his 19th century Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Norwich to Chichester. On this first leg he explores Norwich's medieval heart. In the city's Norman castle he uncovers the Victorian public's gory fascination with crime and punishment and finds out how campaigners such as Elizabeth Fry, who was born in Norwich, worked to improve conditions for prisoners. At the city's livestock market, Michael learns how to buy a calf at auction with a subtle twitch of his guidebook. He then heads west to Thetford to explore the rabbit warrens of the Brecks. He discovers how the Victorian appetite for rabbits and their fur led to special train services to London, known as Bunny Trains. After a painful encounter with a polecat, Michael heads northwest to Brandon, home of some of the best quality flint in Britain and tries his hand at flint-knapping.
30 minutes
Season 5 episodes
1. Manchester to Birkenhead2014-01-06
2. Southport to Leyland2014-01-07
3. Preston to Rochdale2014-01-08
4. Haworth to Huddersfield2014-01-09
5. Honley to Chesterfield2014-01-10
6. London Euston to Cheddington2014-01-13
7. Bletchley to Newport Pagnell2014-01-14
8. Northampton to Nuneaton2014-01-15
9. Leicester to Loughborough2014-01-16
10. Nottingham to Leeds2014-01-17
11. Southampton to Basingstoke2014-01-20
12. Winchfield to Crowthorne2014-01-21
13. Wokingham to Bradford-on-Avon2014-01-22
14. Chippenham to Gloucester2014-01-23
15. Cheltenham to Wolverhampton2014-01-24
16. Norwich to Brandon2014-01-27
17. Ipswich to Chelmsford2014-01-28
18. Ilford to Rochester2014-01-29
19. Faversham to Dorking2014-01-30
20. Brighton to Chichester2014-01-31