Stowmarket to Harwich

Michael Portillo is on the final leg of his journey following the route of the North Country Continental service to Harwich. Along the way, he meets volunteers on the Mid-Suffolk Light railway and is allowed to drive The Middy. In Leiston, Michael uncovers an intriguing industrial pioneer - the world's first purpose-built assembly line. The work of a young Victorian engineering prodigy impresses Michael in Ipswich. In Harwich, he discovers how the port became a gateway to the continent and was then superseded by a new deep-water port further inland. Michael lends a hand below decks to ensure all is shipshape before one of the vast ferries leaves for the Hook of Holland.