Guided by his Appleton's and tracing the footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathers, Michael Portillo heads for Plymouth, the 'home town' of America. He learns how indigenous tribes of Wamponoag people taught newly arrived settlers to live off the land, inspiring one of the biggest holidays in today's American calendar.\n\nMichael boards the Cape Cod Central heritage railroad, bound for Hyannis, a favoured presidential holiday spot. Catching a ferry to Martha's Vineyard, he discovers that ardent Methodists put the island on the map in the early 19th century by establishing the country's first religious summer camp. On the island of Nantucket, Michael discovers how hardy New Englanders made vast fortunes from whale oil in what was once the whaling capital of the world. He joins conservationists and whale spotters out at sea, hoping for a glimpse these magnificent creatures. On the banks of the Providence River, Michael discovers a dining club that traces its roots back to the 1840s and is invited to join an open-air 'clambake'.\n\nIn Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, Michael finds a pen company that counts among its customers the Presidents of the United States. The elite US Coast Guard Academy, established in New London, Connecticut, in 1876, trains cadets to defend the American coastline. Michael joins them on the drill ground. At the childhood summer home of the Nobel prize-winning American playwright, Eugene O'Neill, Michael discovers the setting for one of his greatest plays.
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 3: 1. Boston
Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook to the United States and Canada, Michael Portillo embarks on a 1,100-mile railroad journey from Boston, Massachusetts, across th ...
07-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 10. Thousand Islands To Toronto
Steered by his 1899 Appleton's guide, Michael Portillo's rail journey through eastern Canada continues along the Grand Trunk railway, following the route of the St Lawrence Rive ...
18-06-2018
BBC 2
Series 4: 9. Portage La Prairie To Saskatoon
Steered by his 1899 Appleton’s Guide, Michael Portillo strikes west across Manitoba into the province of Saskatchewan. High above the prairie at Riding Mountain, Michael d ...
10-10-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 8. New Haven To Plattsburgh
Armed with his Appleton's guide, Michael Portillo continues his rail journey through Connecticut and New England. He takes a crash course in rowing in New Haven, where college t ...
14-06-2018
BBC 2
Series 3: 7. Montreal, Quebec
Following a special 1899 Canadian edition of his Appleton's guide, Michael Portillo has left the United States and crossed the border to embark on the next leg of his rail journ ...
16-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 4: 3. Skagway To Vancouver
Michael Portillo embarks on a second spectacular rail journey through Alaska into Canada on the White Pass and Yukon railway.\n\nArriving in Skagway by seaplane from railwayless ...
21-09-2022
BBC 2