Led by his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo's railway journey continues through New England. On the banks of the Providence River, he discovers a club that traces its roots and culinary traditions back to the 1840s. Michael joins in with one of its legendary open-air 'clambakes'.\n\nIn the Rhode Island capital, Providence, Michael is on the trail of an historic company that counts US presidents among its customers. Portillo practises the art of penmanship at AT Cross, America's oldest manufacturer of writing instruments. Travelling west to New London, Connecticut, Michael visits the elite US Coast Guard Academy. Established around the time of his guidebook in 1876, 300 cadets enrol every year and train to defend more than one hundred thousand miles of American coastline.\n\nOn the literary trail, Michael visits the childhood summer home of an American dramatist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Eugene O'Neill's deeply personal and ground-breaking work dealt with human frailty and the struggles of modern life and transformed American theatre.
Source: BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 9. Chicago To Champaign, Illinois
16-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 5. Santa Fe, New Mexico, To The Grand Canyon
09-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 4. La Junta To Colorado Springs
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 2. Sedalia To St Joseph, Missouri
04-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 1. St Louis To Jefferson City, Missouri
02-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: 10. Edmonton To Jasper
Michael Portillo continues west through the Canadian Prairie on his thousand-mile rail journey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Jasper, Alberta. Following his 1899 Appleton’s g ...
11-10-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 3. Berkeley To Santa Cruz
Following his Appleton's guide, Michael Portillo makes a trip to the jewel in the crown of America's National Parks, Yosemite, to behold its towering granite cliffs, its giant s ...
06-06-2018
BBC 2
Series 3: 18. Los Angeles
Armed with his Appleton's guide to the United States, Michael Portillo arrives in Los Angeles to delight in the 'city of dreams', from its glorious Union Station to its golden b ...
06-12-2022
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: 13. San Francisco To Sausalito, California
Armed with his trusty Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo's rail journey through California takes him to the commercial metropolis of San Francisco. Riding through the vibrant st ...
28-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 8. Montreal To Ottawa
Steered by his Appleton's guidebook Michael Portillo's train journey continues in Canada's Quebec province. \n\nVenturing into the wooded hills of Vaudreuil, Michael explores a ...
17-11-2022
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