蜜芽传媒

Michael Portillo鈥檚 rail travels take him to the north west corner of France, where he explores the beautiful and historic regions of Brittany and Normandy and learns of their connections with Great Britain.

He begins in Nantes, where he contends with the fantastical creatures that stalk the city鈥檚 former shipbuilding yards, among them a giant sloth, a vast spider and a huge heron. The mechanical monsters are inspired by the science fiction writing of Jules Verne, born in Nantes in 1828. At the castle of the dukes of Brittany, Michael discovers the city was once capital of the independent medieval Duchy of Brittany. He follows the trail of the region鈥檚 defiant defender, the Duchess Anne.

On the tiny island of Gavrinis, in the Gulf of Morbihan, Michael investigates a rounded stone cairn, which conceals an elaborately decorated burial chamber built 6,000 years ago. At the port of Lorient, Michael discovers the enormous German submarine base from which the Nazis directed the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War.