Seasons & Episodes
Season 1
15 episodes
E01
Halifax
Michael Portillo explores Canada's maritime provinces. Clutching his 1899 Appleton's Guide to Canada, Michael begins in the Atlantic port of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
E02
Pictou to Prince Edward Island
Michael Portillo journeys through Canada's maritime provinces. He heads to the Confederation Theatre in PEI's provincial capital, Charlottetown.
E03
Springhill Junction to Moncton
Michael Portillo travels from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick. He appears to defy gravity on Magnetic Hill in a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville.
E04
Miramichi to Quebec City
Michael Portillo continues his rail adventure. In the Acadian fishing village of Neguac, New Brunswick, Michael takes to the water.
E05
Saint-Anne de Beaupre to La Malbaie
Michael Portillo explores the Province of Quebec. Michael visits the waterfall at Montmorency - a spectacular sight, especially from a zip wire!
E06
Vancouver
Michael Portillo boards the Canadian Pacific Railway Engine 374 that linked the vast nation of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1887.
E07
Vancouver Island to San Juan Island
Michael Portillo explores British Columbia. He discovers how two superpowers nearly came to war over a pig.
E08
Port Moody to Kamloops
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.
E09
Kamloops to Banff
Michael Portillo boards the Rocky Mountaineer to cross the backbone of the North American continent from Kamloops to the spa resort of Banff.
E10
Calgary
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.
E11
Winnipeg
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.
E12
Portage La Prairie to Watrous
Michael Portillo explores the province of Saskatchewan. He learns how a middle-class British boy transformed himself into an 'indigenous' naturalist.
E13
Saskatoon
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.
E14
Edmonton
Michael Portillo continues his thousand-mile rail journey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Jasper, Alberta. Michael explores a glossy, glassy oil-rich Edmonton.
E15
Hinton to Jasper
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.
Cast
Michael Portillo
as Presenter
