If you want to watch some educational but entertaining TV, wherein our host travels around ancient countries by train and looks at a lot of burial sites, I have just the thing for you. Alice Roberts, celebrated academic and broadcaster, has produced three series of a TV show for Channel 4 in which she does just that. The first, Ancient Egypt by Train, was the gateway drug that led quickly to Ottoman Empire by Train and most recently Ancient Greece by Train.

I was interested in the Ancient Egypt show, mostly because I’d just finished playing some Tomb Raider, and I like trains. I thought I’d just watch a bit and see how it went, and very quickly was engrossed in this journey. There’s something about Alice’s presentation that is entirely engaging - these are beginner type shows where she’s only just scratching the surface of the kind of history that’s available, and talking to experts around the country helps add to her own vast knowledge. I knew a bit about Egypt, absolutely nothing about the Ottoman Empire, and mostly just Greece for the Olympics, so there was plenty to take on board across these three series.

The train part of it is fun, too, although sometimes it’s a bit misleading. Some episodes don’t have very much train in them at all, and sometimes there are definite travels by boat or by car that don’t count. Still, it’s fun to see the kinds of railway lines and journeys available in these other countries, and how Alice manages to get where she’s going. The one sleeper train ride that crossed a border at 1am meaning she had to get up with her passport and then go back to sleep has particularly stuck with me.

Where a lot of historical shows pick a specific subject and track it from start to finish, these are much broader, asking questions and pondering the answers. We’re looking at properly ancient history here so quite often there’s a lot we don’t know, and you’re left to use your imagination and start asking your own questions. Nothing is spoon fed or handed to you on a plate. It’s inspiring, in a way.

My favourite of the three series was the Egypt one, but the others opened my eyes to areas of history I’ve not given much consideration too. I’m very interested to see where Alice is off to next.