Great Canadian Railway Journeys
Season 12019
Michael Portillo explores Canada, armed with his Appleton's Guidebook.
Michael Portillo explores Canada, armed with his Appleton's Guidebook.
15 Episodes
Michael Portillo begins a new journey on the tracks of the ocean line to explore Canada's maritime provinces, en route to Quebec City. Clutching his 1899 Appleton's Guide to Canada, Michael begins in the Atlantic port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he discovers an 18th-century British hilltop citadel, manned at the time of his guide by the 78th Highland Regiment.
January 14, 2019
Steered by his 1899 Appleton's Guide to Canada, Michael Portillo continues his journey through Canada's maritime provinces towards Quebec City. In the picturesque harbour town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, he discovers that the first wave of Scots to settle in New Scotland arrived on board a ship named Hector. Aboard a proud replica of the 18th-century vessel, he hears of their gruelling 11-week voyage across the Atlantic and is invited to join young dancers in a Scottish reel.
January 15, 2019
Clutching his 1899 copy of Appleton's Guide to Canada, Michael Portillo travels on the Ocean train from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick. Along the way he investigates the world's biggest tide at Hopewell Rocks and admires its dramatic rock formations and caves.
January 16, 2019
Michael Portillo continues his rail adventure from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Quebec City, following his 1899 edition of Appleton's Guide to Canada. In the Acadian fishing village of Neguac, New Brunswick, he discovers sea-farmers are producing up to 15 million oysters a year. Michael takes to the water to investigate how it is done and is rewarded with a taste of the freshest mollusc he has ever sampled.
January 17, 2019
Michael Portillo explores the Province of Quebec with his nineteenth-century Appleton's Guide to Canada. He takes the fabulously scenic Train de Charlevoix along the north bank of the mighty St Lawrence River to La Malbaie. Along the way, he discovers how a tiny shrine became a magnet for millions of pilgrims in search of miracles, where fashionable Victorians chose to spend their summers and how a unique family recipe from the old world has made a great grandson's fortune in the new.
January 18, 2019
Michael Portillo boards the Canadian Pacific Railway Engine 374 that linked the vast nation of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1887.
January 21, 2019
Michael Portillo explores British Columbia. He discovers how two superpowers nearly came to war over a pig.
January 22, 2019
Armed with his 1899 Appleton's Guide to Canada, Michael Portillo learns how to head off a charging bear in the wilderness of British Columbia.
January 23, 2019
Michael Portillo boards the Rocky Mountaineer to cross the backbone of the North American continent from Kamloops to the spa resort of Banff.
January 24, 2019
Michael Portillo arrives in Calgary, Alberta. He saddles up with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, hears about their origins and learns about their role today.
January 25, 2019
Michael Portillo travels across the vast Canadian Prairie on Canada's last trans-continental passenger line. Michael explores Winnipeg, the nation's chief railroad centre.
January 28, 2019
Michael Portillo explores the province of Saskatchewan. He learns how a middle-class British boy transformed himself into an 'indigenous' naturalist.
January 29, 2019
Michael Portillo crosses the Great Plains of Canada by rail. In the cultural hub of Saskatoon he learns how to make a traditional Saskatoon berry pie.
January 30, 2019
Michael Portillo continues his thousand-mile rail journey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Jasper, Alberta. Michael explores a glossy, glassy oil-rich Edmonton.
January 31, 2019
Michael Portillo's rail journey reaches a dramatic scenic conclusion in the Rocky Mountains. Michael is awed by the scale of the vast Athabasca Glacier.
February 1, 2019