Michael Portillo continues his journey through the Lake District where he discovers a magical world of talking rabbits, ducks, hedgehogs and mice, who have entertained children for more than 100 years. At the village home of author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, Michael learns about her legacy and her fears about the railways.

Fuelled by a Victorian energy bar, Michael presses on to Brantwood, home of the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. He finishes with a brief encounter at Carnforth.

Michael Portillo reads the riot act in Preston, where he discovers four mill workers were shot dead by soldiers at a protest in 1842. In Darwen, he makes a splash in pink as he traces developments in 19th-century interior design from wallpaper to paint.

Michael explores the Victorian industrial landscape of Salford, populated by little matchstick figures, as revealed in the paintings of LS Lowry. Michael finishes this leg of his journey on Kersal Moor, where he twists his tongue around the Lancashire dialect and discovers the poetry of Edwin Waugh.

Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael begins this leg of his journey in Merseyside, where he feels the heat of modern glassmaking in St Helens. He discovers how the techniques invented in the Victorian era to construct buildings such as the Crystal Palace have evolved and are powering a new architectural revolution.

On the last leg of his journey through north west England, Michael Portillo makes a clean sweep in Ashley, where, in Victorian times, the new middle classes set up home in suburban villas with multiple chimneys, swept by children.

In Macclesfield, Michael finds the end of the Silk Route and tries his hand at screen printing. After stoking the fire on the steam-powered Churnet Valley Railway, Michael alights at Froghall for Alton Towers, to trace the 19th-century origins of the modern theme park.

People in the north-west of England welcome extra help to tackle a rise in the Delta variant.

Three people were stabbed at the Manchester shopping centre, prompting a large police response.

Ilkay Gundogan donates the bonus he received for helping Manchester City win the Premier League to help his childhood club fund a new artificial pitch.

Extra support - including surge testing and vaccine buses - are provided to Covid hotspot areas.

They have claimed that poor supply means that they are "now operating at only a fifth of capacity".

First-time buyers share their experiences of trying to get on to the housing ladder.

The Manchester Arena bomb scene was so dark it made it harder to treat casualties, an inquiry hears.

The measures include military support and in-school testing in areas hardest hit by the Delta variant.

A Labour MP and a Conservative chairman object to plans to carve up the City of Chester constituency.

A woman criticises a new police scheme which allows domestic abusers to meet their victims.

With the launch of The Hundred on the horizon, the T20 Blast begins on Wednesday with the aim of providing fireworks of its own.

A changed map could bring small but possibly significant changes to the area's representation.

A fundraising plumber opens up his front garden as a space for people to remember loved ones.

Rupert Everett's daughter says she is "desolate" her father is not alive to read a critical report.