Michael Portillo follows Bradshaw’s pearl route by train from Palma to Manacor

Former politician and minister for transport Michael Portillo jumped aboard the train to Manacor yesterday following the pearl route.In the series, Portillo,  follows  the instructions given by George Bradshaw is his 1913 railway tourist guidebook called Bradshaw’s Continental Rail Guide which Portillo has used to travel all over the world.
The production company behind the hugely popular series explained that their aim is to paint a picture of the regions and countries  they  visit both at the time of the guidebook, and today.
So far they  have crisscrossed Europe and beyond to visit a wide range of countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Israel, Scandinavia and Russia.
Last year the series was extremely well received with 2.2 million viewers which is 33% above BBC2’s average viewing figures and in the new series, millions of people will watch Portillo travelling from Palma to Manacor via Inca.
Portillo, who was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, to an exiled Spanish republican father, Luis Gabriel Portillo (1907–1993  and a Scottish mother, Cora (née Blyth) (1919-2014) hadsonly ever been to Palma once before, and that was for just 24 hours  to address a tourism convention, told the Bulletin before departure yesterday that he was very much looking forward to  being able to explore the island.
“I am here to follow what Bradshaw wrote about Manacor  in 1912 and 1913 and how it was the capital of pearls, that is the main reason for this particular journey.
“However, I know we will be changing trains in Inca, which also has a long and interesting history and I am looking forward to watching the wonderful Majorcan countryside pass by, in particular the mountains I’ve heard so much about, So, this is a new experience and I’m very much looking forward to it.   I’ve also been able to practice my Spanish although in Barcelona and Valencia not everyone speaks Castilian Spanish, but I’ve managed to defend myself,” he said before opening up his Bradshaw guide and heading off to Inca with a carriage half full of rather bemused, but curious,  passengers.
His film crew has already visited the island twice filming many of the places Portillo will be visiting and the former Secretary of State for Defence will complete his filming on the island this evening, probably to return home in time for the general election.