Great British Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo travels between Croydon and Shoreham-by-Sea

Michael Portillo arrives in Croydon, where he hears the story of a mixed-race composer who was once celebrated but is now forgotten. At Three Bridges station, he is delighted to find a recently built depot and its fleet of new Class 700 trains - and is given the great honour of washing one down. In Lewes, he makes a beeline for Charleston, the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and in Shoreham-by-Sea, Michael discovers how magnificent Edwardians in flying machines took off from the oldest licensed airport in the country