
Michael Portillo's 19th-century Appleton's guidebook leads him to the Parker House Hotel, where in his best pinny, he whisks up a Boston cream pie.\n\nIn the fine dome atop Massachusetts General Hospital, where no-one could hear the screaming, Michael discovers the scene of grisly surgery, first made bearable in 1846 by a miraculous new substance. North of Boston, in Salem, Michael is caught up in a witch hunt. He gets a taste of the hysteria which gripped the town in the 17th century and how events were re-interpreted at the time of his guide.\n\nAnd in Concord, where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired, Michael discovers the home of the celebrated author of the coming of age classic Little Women and hears the story behind the novel.
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: 6. Halifax To Prince Edward Island
Michael Portillo begins a new journey on the tracks of the Ocean line to explore Canada’s maritime provinces en route to Quebec City.\n\nClutching his 1899 Appleton’ ...
27-09-2022
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 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 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: 16. Santa Clara To Santa Cruz
Michael Portillo's thousand-mile rail journey through California continues south toward Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley and ends in the surf of Santa Cruz. In a high- ...
01-12-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 7. Plymouth To New London
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 Wa ...
13-06-2018
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