Great British Railway Journeys

[90019]

However, in passing, I have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed pulling your strings on here, so perhaps that might be regarded as an achievement?

Tbh, I don't really care any more, I have better things to do now, and am quite content to continue watching it as I am enjoying it very much, regardless of what you think about it.

What I still find slightly odd, is that you continue to watch it, but then go and complain about it afterwards, especially when some of the comments you make can be made about a lot of programs on tv.
As an example;

It's not necessary to spend ANY time 'searching' for faults and errors in these programmes, they are glaringly obvious

The people making them are not badly paid, so why do you think it is OK for them to do a crappy job?

I really can't work out why this bothers you so much, for one thing, it may be glaringly obvious to you, but I doubt that a lot of people watching will notice. It's far from doing a crappy job either. There are a lot of inconsistencies in tv, but because you're not aware of the subject, you don't notice them. Just because some people notice some of them, it doesn't mean it's been done badly.


Anyway, I really cba going any further with this. I still think you should stop watching it if the inconsistancies annoy you that much.

 

[Mojo]

I've made a list of places to go as well! Including Matlock, Buxton, Totnes, Aylesbury and Coventry. Without the information in this series, I'd probably never have considered these places worth visiting!

Aylesbury?! My home town! Having not seen the whole series yet, what is it that attracted you to visit? I moved out in 2005, and in summer 2009 I went back there after having not visited since 2006. The town certaintly isn't the place I remember; place seemed to have gone downhill a bit.

 

[Astaroth]

Tbh, I don't really care any more, I have better things to do now, and am quite content to continue watching it as I am enjoying it very much, regardless of what you think about it.

What I still find slightly odd, is that you continue to watch it, but then go and complain about it afterwards, especially when some of the comments you make can be made about a lot of programs on tv.
As an example;


I really can't work out why this bothers you so much, for one thing, it may be glaringly obvious to you, but I doubt that a lot of people watching will notice. It's far from doing a crappy job either. There are a lot of inconsistencies in tv, but because you're not aware of the subject, you don't notice them. Just because some people notice some of them, it doesn't mean it's been done badly.


Anyway, I really cba going any further with this. I still think you should stop watching it if the inconsistancies annoy you that much.

I haven't watched one since last Friday, but that's really only because they ended then ... though from your comment I take it you haven't noticed. You really should pay more attention ... then perhaps you wouldn't keep 'whingeing' about my comments on the programme, considering I haven't made any for some time ... I've only responded to your continued 'whinges'. Such fun, don't you think.

By the way, I think I noticed an error when Prof Khalili was talking about Heisenberg a few nights ago, but I'm not really certain ... what do you think?

 

[Mike Redding]

I'm a week behind on this as i've been watching it when it's replayed on BBC 1 late night/early morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the series so far and i'm looking forward to watching tonight's episode shortly.

Yes, there are inaccuracies, but it's not difficult to ignore them, considering the program is aimed at the average person who (from my experience) only knows the "Fast Train" and "Slow Train". I don't know if anyone has noticed this already, but they HAVE at least made an effort with the Helicopter shots. 9 times out of 10 the trains that are filmed are the right trains/livery for the area that Portillo is in. It might not be perfect, but it's nice that they tried.

 

[90019]

I haven't watched one since last Friday, but that's really only because they ended then ... though from your comment I take it you haven't noticed. You really should pay more attention ...

I'm watching it on iPlayer.

 

[General Zod]

I don't want to be scaremonger but the centre of Aylesbury itself does not have too many attractions ( I'm sure Mojo would agree !) but once you venture outwards there is plenty ! Hartwell House is in a beautiful place called Stone If you feel up to it then the Grand Union Canal has an arm which stretches from Aylesbury to Marsworth where it splits in two; going north to Birmingham and south towards London. The Aylesbury - Marsworth canal path walk ( just over 6 miles, 18 locks and just as many old bridges ) is well worth it as there is much to see on the way if you like flora and fauna. The Ivinghoe pub where Michael Portillo had his Aylesbury Duck is about 5-10 mins drive from Marsworth and a brisk walk away from Pitstone Hill, the Ridgeway footpath and Ivinghoe Beacon. Once you scale the Beacon you have spectacular views over the whole of the Vale of Aylesbury. The area is easily reachable by train. Just bring your walking boots / trainers and get off at Tring. It really is beautiful during the summer on a warm day.

 

[Greenback]

Aylesbury?! My home town! Having not seen the whole series yet, what is it that attracted you to visit? I moved out in 2005, and in summer 2009 I went back there after having not visited since 2006. The town certaintly isn't the place I remember; place seemed to have gone downhill a bit.

I hope you;ve caught up with it now! To be honest, Aylesbury is a plca UI've rathe roverlooked when it comes to travelling - the nearest I've been on the train is Princes Risborough! It looked like a nice old market town, and I'd liek to try an authentic Aylesbury Duck as shown in the programme, but it was said the farmer only sells his ducks locally. there was a shot of a nice looking restaurant IIRC! A lot of places have gone downhill a bit, I think it's to do with the relentless spiral of decline in modern society...shuts up before embarking on another pointless and tedious rant!

 

[Mojo]

Having lived in Aylesbury and went to school in High Wycombe, I always preferred Aylesbury to High Wycombe, the latter which was full of traffic jams, nasty buildings and the scum of the Earth, in comparison to Aylesbury which was steeped in history and had much more pleasant citizens. However my return to Aylesbury last year was met by a deserted shopping centre with over half the shops closed and a load of old wrinklies and overweight people who were either unemployed, working in a non-job for one of the councils or in a shop earning minimum wage.

Maybe I should return on a Saturday when all the London workers are in town and I may find it a more pleasant place, but despite my past affection for it I find that since I've moved out it's all been lost, and by living somewhere else I have learned to appreciate how strange the place can be, with roundabouts named after former factories and a major road junction which sounds like a sexual act.

I'd better get to love it though, as "Place of birth: Aylesbury" will be in my passport for life, and when people ask me where I'm from and I tell them "Buckinghamshire," I always get an "oooh" so it can't be too bad.

 

[Greenback]

a deserted shopping centre with over half the shops closed and a load of old wrinklies and overweight people who were either unemployed, working in a non-job for one of the councils or in a shop earning minimum wage.

I was going to make a joke about it sounding like Llanelli, but seriously, with out of town retail parks most town and cities centres are pretty depressing these days.

 

[yorksrob]

Aylesbury?! My home town! Having not seen the whole series yet, what is it that attracted you to visit? I moved out in 2005, and in summer 2009 I went back there after having not visited since 2006. The town certaintly isn't the place I remember; place seemed to have gone downhill a bit.

I can certainly empathise with that! The Ashford (Kent) I grew up in certainly seems to be a shadow of it's former self from when I grew up there in the mid-nineties. Both my favourite pubs in the town centre (The Castle and The Victoria) have now gone (and the trains just aren't as good as the slammers ). I find the opening episode of "Whatever happened to the likely lads" sums up my feelings entirely (and the first scenes are set in a Mk 1 buffet car on the east coast mainline).

 

[TellMeWhy]

Not much point in spending a lot of money on a show at half past six when most people will be looking at the news.

He certainly got into a mess with his history of Cromford and the different mills.

The owners of the Cromford Station Waiting Room self-catering let were very pleased. They got 4 new bookings the next day!

 

[jaybs]

"He certainly got into a mess with his history of Cromford and the different mills"


I'm quite sure that very few if any TV presenters do all their own personal research, I agree with TellMeWhy that any small business getting four new bookings the next day in the current climate would be more than pleased and I am sure there are many other cases how much the first series created interest.

 

[Metroland]

The series got 2.3-2.61 million viewers, only slightly less than the 'Strictly come dancing' spin off in that slot before. This is on the same level as Best of Top gear, Mastermind, Eggheads, The Simpsons and Deal or no deal

http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammesOverview?_s=4