'Fantastic' Severn Valley Railway wins praise from Michael Portillo
Politician-turned TV presenter Michael Portillo praised Shropshie's Severn Valley Railway while filming his new show in the West Midlands.
Mr Portillo was in the region for an edition of Great British Railway Journeys.
In the show, Mr Portillo travels on the British railway network, guided by a Victorian guidebook written by George Bradshaw, and compares how the destinations have changed between Victorian and modern times.
Great British Railway Journeys has become one of the most popular on BBC television.
And it has also had an effect on tourism, with Mr Portillo's observations considered influential on the economy of the places that he visits.
The former politician, who turned to media work after leaving the Commons in 1995, is no stranger to the region, having visited both Shrewsbury and the Severn Valley Railway for earlier episodes.
Speaking during a visit this week to Wolverhampton, in which he took a trip to historic Bantock Park, he said his visit to the Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth in 2012 had left a lasting impression.
He said: "In the last series we went to the Severn Valley Railway – I thought it was absolutely fantastic.
"The stations are so beautifully restored, and they have tremendous sets of carriages and it is a wonderful attraction that this region should be proud of."
During the visit to Shropshire Mr Portillo travelled along the line from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth and spent an hour interviewing David Williams, one of the railway's founding volunteers
He also took a ride on Bridgnorth's Cliff Railway, famously the the only working inland funicular railway in the country.