Wakefield to feature on latest series of BBC2’s Great British Railway Journeys

The Northern network will star on the show which follows TV presenter Michael Portillo, who, armed with his trusty Bradshaw's guide, explores the UK by rail.

Now on its fourteenth series, two episodes will feature Northern’s scenic stations and routes.

Last night, BBC2 showed the episode, entitled ‘Oldham to Wakefield’ where he visited Oldham, Edale in the Peak District and onto Sheffield, ending his journey in Wakefield, where he admired the postwar sculptures of Barbara Hepworth at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Tonight’s episode, ‘Wakefield to Leeds, will show Michael visiting the National Coal Mining Museum.

His guide, an ex-miner, takes him 140 metres down into the mine to imagine the conditions men faced and tells him how the strikes of the 1970s and 1980s affected mining communities.

Michael pauses to admire the tall spire of Wakefield Cathedral and its resident peregrine falcons with their chicks before heading to the banks of the River Calder.

In a vast factory he finds the headquarters of a shirt manufacturer, Double Two, a pioneering wartime business co-founded by a Jewish refugee from Austria.

Here, Michael discovers the first Terylene shirt was made in 1951.

In Leeds, Michael heads for the Chapeltown area to investigate the origins of the Leeds West Indian carnival in 1967 and to try his hand on the steel drums.

The episode featuring Wakefield will be shown tonight on BBC2 at 6.30pm.