Melvyn Bragg's Travels in Written Britain

Latest Episodes

• Season 1 Episode 4: Scotland

  In the final episode of the series Bragg follows in the footsteps of Scotland's early tourists, including the 18th-century man of letters Samuel Johnson. He travels from Edinburgh to the Trossachs, North Berwick and Stirling experiencing the literature that chronicles the area's turmoils, taking a particular look at the poem by Robert Burns A Man's a Man for Aw That - a contender to be the country's national anthem

• Season 1 Episode 3: The Midlands

  Examining the literary heritage of the Midlands, from John Clare's poetic vision of the Northamptonshire countryside to George Eliot's Middlemarch. The presenter explores a landscaped park at Hagley Hall and the village of Bourneville, designed to be a worker's paradise, before taking in Shakespeare's Stratford by way of Ambridge. Contributions from Simon Russell Beale, Christopher Lee and Meera Syal

• Season 1 Episode 2: London and the Thames

  A journey through London examining the street slang of Shakespeare's day and the language of the foul-mouthed Thames boatmen. Plus, the Victorian view on the squalor of the East End and a look at Britain's seafaring tradition in Gravesend. With contributions from Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson, Tracey Emin and Ken Livingstone