Michael Portillo explores British Columbia, steered by his Appleton’s Guide to Canada, published in 1899. He discovers how two superpowers nearly came to war over a pig and joins the Royal Canadian Navy to firefight on board the frigate HMCS Regina.\n\nStarting on Vancouver Island, Michael explores the rich British heritage and colonial past of the provincial capital of British Columbia, Victoria. He discovers the origins of the immensely powerful fur-trading enterprise, the Hudson’s Bay Company and, in the affluent James Bay area of Victoria, he finds the former home of an early 20th-century artist who documented the art and culture of the indigenous people of the western coast, Emily Carr. \n\nAt Saanichton, Michael helps to carve a 36-foot totem pole in the studio of a present-day First Nations artist. In the wilderness of British Columbia, Michael learns how to head off a charging bear and holds on tight in a sidewinder while Canadian lumberjacks nudge tons of logs along the water to a sawmill.\n\nStriking east on the transcontinental railway, Michael stops first in Mission City, gold rush country in the 19th century but also a centre for the conversion by Catholic missionaries of the local indigenous population. Michael hears the tragic stories of First Nations children forcibly separated from their families and learns how Canada is facing up to the past.\n\nFrom Kamloops, Michael follows his Appleton’s to the wild wooded hills above the city, where his guidebook tells him he may find grizzly, black and brown bears. Michael learns what bears like to eat and is thrilled to see how they live in the wild.
Source: BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 9. Chicago To Champaign, Illinois
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BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 5. Santa Fe, New Mexico, To The Grand Canyon
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BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 4. La Junta To Colorado Springs
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BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 2. Sedalia To St Joseph, Missouri
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BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 1. St Louis To Jefferson City, Missouri
02-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: 8. Sainte-anne-de-beaupre To Winnipeg
Michael Portillo explores the province of Quebec with his 19th-century Appleton’s Guide to Canada. He takes the fabulously scenic Charlevoix train along the north bank of ...
29-09-2022
BBC 2
Series 1 Reversions: 4. Schenectady To Niagara Falls
28-07-2016
BBC 2
Series 4: 5. Kamloops To Calgary
Clutching his 1899 Appleton’s Guide, Michael Portillo boards one of the world’s most famous trains, the Rocky Mountaineer, to cross the backbone of the North America ...
26-09-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 14. San Francisco
Michael Portillo resumes his exhilarating tour of San Francisco to find that diversity has been at the heart of the city since the days of the gold rush, though not always harmo ...
29-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 4. Monterey To Los Angeles
Steered by his late 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo continues through southern California aboard the Coast Starlight rail service. In the historic port of Mo ...
08-06-2018
BBC 2
Series 4: 7. Springhill Junction To Quebec City
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 wo ...
28-09-2022
BBC 2