Great British Railway Journeys

S10E10 Glasgow to Connel Ferry

Michael Portillo engages with the Officer Training Corps at the University of Glasgow, an organization thriving since its inception in the early 1900s, as he participates in drills alongside students. Traveling westward along the Firth of Clyde, he arrives in Helensburgh, where he uncovers a groundbreaking collective of artists called the Glasgow Boys. Continuing his journey on the stunning West Highland Line, Michael reaches Inveraray, the historic seat of Clan Campbell and the Dukes of Argyll. There, he learns about the unique union between Queen Victoria’s vivacious daughter, Princess Louise, and the commoner, Marquess of Lorne, who later became the 9th Duke of Argyll. Michael concludes his adventure at Connel Ferry, close to Oban, where he meets Lily, a prized Highland calf, and discovers her lineage, maintained by the Nelson family since 1901, and the breed's status as a Highland symbol