Michael Portillo begins a new journey on the tracks of the Ocean line to explore Canada's maritime provinces en route to Quebec City. 

Clutching his 1899 Appleton's Guide to Canada, he begins in the Atlantic port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he discovers an 18th-century British hilltop citadel, manned at the time of his guide by the 78th Highland Regiment. Michael joins the men who recreate the roles of those Scottish soldiers today. 

At the mercy of the young 'sergeant major', Michael learns the drill in kilt and sporran. 

Michael follows his Appleton's to a vast Victorian dry dock, still in use today by shipbuilders for the Royal Canadian Navy and finds out what it takes to build a state-of-the-art Arctic Patrol vessel. He learns of a catastrophic explosion in Halifax harbour in 1917, which killed 2,000 people and left 25,000 homeless. Former residents of an African-Canadian community torn in two by the railway tell Michael of their struggle for redress. 

Paddling along the Shubenacadie Canal, he discovers a 'marine railway', and on Banook Lake, he joins 15 'warriors' preparing for battle in a war canoe. 

In the picturesque harbour town of Pictou, Nova Scotia, Michael discovers the first wave of Scots to settle in the region, who arrived on board a ship named Hector. Aboard a replica of the 18th-century vessel, he hears of their gruelling 11-week voyage across the Atlantic and is invited to join young dancers in a Scottish reel. At the Northumberland Fisheries Museum, Michael investigates what it takes to keep Nova Scotia's top export on the menu. 

From Caribou, Michael catches the ferry to Prince Edward Island to meet its most famous resident at her beautifully kept home. Charmed by the red-haired Anne of Green Gables and her fiery temper, he heads to the island's provincial capital, Charlottetown, to see her record-breaking musical. 

Following the island's famous red roads, Michael arrives at the Red Shores racetrack, where they're preparing for an evening harness race. Champion driver Kenny Arsenault takes Michael out for a hair-raising spin.

Michael Portillo explores the province of Quebec with his 19th-century Appleton's Guide to Canada. He takes the fabulously scenic Charlevoix train along the north bank of the mighty St Lawrence River to La Malbaie. 

Following his guidebook to the beautiful basilica at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, Michael discovers the racks of crutches discarded by the healed and meets modern-day visitors in search of miracles. 

The Train de Charlevoix, built to transport pilgrims, now conveys tourists along the north bank of the St Lawrence River to the Murray lakes. Michael tours the fine 19th-century houses, which were once the haunt of the Gatsby generation. Taking to the skies in a seaplane, Michael flies over the Laurentian Mountains to land on an isolated lake, where he fishes for trout for his supper. 

At Baie St Paul, Michael heads for the high ground, where he discovers 6,500 tomato vines are under cultivation to produce wine. The waterfall at Montmorency is a spectacular sight – especially from a zip wire! 

From Quebec, Michael relocates to Canada's Central Plains to begin a 1,000-mile journey across the vast Prairie aboard Canada's last trans-continental passenger line. From the very heart of the country, he travels west to the majestic Rocky Mountains. 

On this leg, Michael explores the Manitoban capital, Winnipeg, the nation's chief railroad centre, known as the 'gateway to the west'. Joining the ranks of the 17,000 Canadian national students to have studied at the giant freight company's national training centre, Michael has a go at marshalling a wagon. 

In the French quarter of Saint Boniface, Michael cashes in at the Canadian Royal Mint and discovers the origins of the half-million Canadians who today identify as Metis. Michael meets a descendant of the 19th-century rebel leader now known as the Father of Manitoba and enjoys their traditional fiddle music.