Portillo’s on track for a scenic Ulster train trip
Michael Portillo in Londonderry
A FORMER high-profile Conservative MP has hailed the transformation of Northern Ireland after embarking on a journey to discover the rich railway history of the Province.
Michael Portillo – who served as Defence Secretary in the mid-1990s – was speaking as a three-part BBC television series starts this evening following the ex-Cabinet minister stepping aboard a steam engine in Downpatrick as well as experiencing the scenic coastal rail trip between Coleraine and Londonderry.
The politician-turned media commentator, 58, will also explore the history of Belfast’s Victorian docks, take a white-knuckle walk over the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and experience the delights of the Giant’s Causeway as part of the Great British Railway Journeys series.
Presenting the long-running series, Mr Portillo – remembered for dramatically losing his Westminster seat in the 1997 General Election – uses a copy of the Bradshaw Railway Guide from the 1860s to travel the parts of the original railway network that still remain today.
It was compiled by the Victorian cartographer George Bradshaw, who was best known for developing the most successful and longest published series of combined railway timetables.
Mr Portillo’s journey also took him south of the border, prior to his Ulster visit, where he travelled north by train from Dublin, making stops in Drogheda and Newry before stopping in Downpatrick.
Speaking to the News Letter, Mr Portillo described his time in Northern Ireland as “wonderful”.
He maintained the contrast to his previous official visits was striking.
“My last visits to the Province were as Secretary of State for Defence,” he said.
“I was used to arriving by helicopter, doing a corkscrew landing to avoid anti-aircraft fire, sprinting across the ground to avoid sniper fire and visiting military barracks.
“To visit now without any protection whatsoever, to mix with the people and to make a film about railways was a wonderful contrast and a very moving contrast.
“It was hard for me to believe the changes in my own situation and in the situation in Northern Ireland.”
However, Mr Portillo admitted that it was “inevitable” that politics would arise during his cross-border journey.
“In the Republic there are 16 rail stations named after the leaders of the Easter rebellion and the railway between Dublin and Belfast is cut across by partition.
“Closer to the present day, the railway service was often interrupted by terror or threats of terror.”
The former politician said that viewers can look forward in the Northern Ireland part of the series to some “fantastic scenery, a few political reflections and very nice steam trains too”.
He also highlighted the train journey between Coleraine and Londonderry as his most memorable.
Renowned travel writer Michael Palin previously described the route – which incorporates the north Antrim coastline – as one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world.
Mr Portillo said: “I thought it was breathtaking – I enjoyed every mile of it. We just need to get the track a little bit less shaky and then it will be a perfect journey.”
Asked what was the most enjoyable aspect of his Ulster visit, Mr Portillo pointed to the culmination of his journey when he was standing on the Londonderry peace bridge.
He said: “By then I was reflecting on the journey and some very nice experiences that I had and the much greater extent of the peace than what I remembered. It was a sunny afternoon and it felt pretty good.”
Tonight, Mr Portillo goes back in time and travels in style along the steam railway from Inch Abbey to the old station in Downpatrick.
He also visits the Down Cathedral and St Patrick’s Grave, which is mentioned in the Bradshaw guide.
Downpatrick & Co Down Railway marketing manager, Robert Gardiner, explained that Mr Portillo was “very taken” with the heritage railway.
He said the one-time Defence Secretary was particularly keen to learn how rail enthusiasts kept the project running during the height of the Troubles.
“We explained for us it was not really an issue,” Mr Gardiner said.
“There was a will among our volunteers to carry on and get something done or else it would be too late.”
Mr Gardiner said Mr Portillo follows in the line of a number of high profile visitors to experience the steam railway, including Graham Norton and Griff Rhys Jones.
He said: “We seem to be able to attract big names down to the railway and all publicity is welcome. To go national on such a high-profile programme is absolutely fantastic.”
Great British Railway Journeys Goes to Ireland will air on BBC2 Northern Ireland tonight and the rest of this week at 6.30pm
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
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