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Woodbridge to Southwold

Michael Portillo reaches the Deben estuary on his coastal railway journey around eastern England. At Woodbridge, he is plunged in at the deep end on a rafting challenge with the sea scouts.

Michael Portillo reaches the Deben estuary on his coastal railway journey around eastern England. At Woodbridge, he is plunged in at the deep end on a rafting challenge with the sea scouts.

Wren is a 12-year-old stallion who is an endangered breed now protected by the Suffolk Punch Trust. With a little help from his trainer, Michael picks up the lines to put him through his paces.

At Thorpeness, Michael discovers Britain’s first purpose-built seaside village, a dream resort for early 20th-century middle-class holidaymakers, with a golf course, a boating lake and a fairy-tale cottage.

The Walberswick ferrywoman conveys Michael across the River Blythe to Southwold, a seaside town with a lighthouse. Inside the Adnams brewery, Michael learns how local barley is malted and fermented, and that varieties of hops have complex flavours.

6 months left to watch

28 minutes

Signed Audio described

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Michael Portillo
Director Harriet Leaf
Series Editor Alison Kreps
Executive Producer John Comerford
Production Company Fremantle

Broadcasts

Steam railway programmes on ±«Óãtv iPlayer

A collection of programmes from the ±«Óãtv archives on the beauty of steam locomotives.