Great Canadian Railway Journeys

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.

Michael Portillo journeys through Canada's maritime provinces. He heads to the Confederation Theatre in PEI's provincial capital, Charlottetown.

Michael Portillo travels from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick. He appears to defy gravity on Magnetic Hill in a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville.

Michael Portillo continues his rail adventure. In the Acadian fishing village of Neguac, New Brunswick, Michael takes to the water.

Michael Portillo explores the Province of Quebec. Michael visits the waterfall at Montmorency - a spectacular sight, especially from a zip wire!

Michael Portillo boards the Canadian Pacific Railway Engine 374 that linked the vast nation of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1887.

Michael Portillo explores British Columbia. He discovers how two superpowers nearly came to war over a pig.

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.

Michael Portillo boards the Rocky Mountaineer to cross the backbone of the North American continent from Kamloops to the spa resort of Banff.

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.

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.

Michael Portillo explores the province of Saskatchewan. He learns how a middle-class British boy transformed himself into an 'indigenous' naturalist.

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.

Michael Portillo continues his thousand-mile rail journey from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Jasper, Alberta. Michael explores a glossy, glassy oil-rich Edmonton.

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.