Journey 9: London to Hastings

A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain, from The Sunday Times bestseller.

Historically Kent has been both the garden of England and its first line of defence and the train journey from London to Hastings reflects these contrasts. Michael Portillo travels through Greenwich, with its famous Royal Observatory, visits Chatham’s historic dockyard and discovers the history of hop picking, papermaking and cricket ball manufacturing. At the coast he finds sea bathing at Margate, oysters at Whitstable, Roman defences at Richborough and the historic castle of Walmer, official residence of the Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Places visited: London, Greenwich, Kent, Chatham, Aylesford, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Margate, Richborough, Walmer Castle, Ashford and Hastings.

This individual journey is one of a series taken from the bestselling books Great British Railway Journeys and Great Victorian Railway Journeys that accompany the highly successful BBC Two series. Michael Portillo follows the famous George Bradshaw railway guides in railway journeys across the length and breadth of the country, discovering spectacular scenery and stunning architecture and exploring local history and industry.