Portillo explores the Conwy valley, stopping at Britain's first artists' colony at Betws-y-Coed, visiting the Victorian slate capital of Blaenau Ffestiniog and taking a steam train down to the harbour at Porthmadog. Finally, he travels to Silkstone Common Station near Barnsley to visit Wortley Top Forge and learn about Thomas Andrews (metallurgist). Then he takes the Blackpool Tramway to Fleetwood, where he learns of the origins of the Fisherman's Friend lozenge and is given a tour of the factory. Heading west to Thetford, he explores how the Victorian appetite for rabbits and their fur led to special train services to London, and ends in the Suffolk town of Brandon, where he tries his hand at flint-knapping. Then he pitches in with the volunteers who look after the Gwili Railway and ends this leg in Swansea, where he learns how to pose for a photograph in Victorian style.

Portillo tastes a Victorian superfood in Alton, explores the fascinating Whitchurch silk mill, untouched for over 150 years, and tries his hand at driving a steam train on the challenging Watercress Line. Portillo rides one of Scotland's most picturesque railways, visits Scotland's smallest station and learns what went into a Victorian-style spa break. Powell used the financial year 1968–69 to show how income tax could be halved from 8s 3d to 4s 3d in the pound (basic rate cut from 41% to 21%) [17] [18] and how capital gains tax and Selective Employment Tax could be abolished without reducing expenditure on defence or the social services.Portillo rediscovers a once-famous poet in Nottingham and travels on a railway line resurrected by popular demand after falling victim to the Beeching cuts. Portillo travels through Buckinghamshire, meeting one of the Second World War's most secret agents at Station X in Bletchley. Classified by the BBC in both the travel and history genres, the series features Portillo using the guide to plan his journeys, in the process visiting points of interest picked out in the guide and comparing its content with the modern world, both the physical and cultural ones. He also follows in the tracks of many 19th-century industrial employees who made day trips to Hebden Bridge to walk in the Calder Valley.

He also learns how to make Gloucester cheese, and joins the Gloucester Choral Society in a rendition of Jerusalem. The first poster on the left of the photograph is for the Morecambe Astoria cinema and advertises the film ‘The Music Goes Round’, released in 1936.

At St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, he visits the tomb of French emperor Napoleon III and his family, and ends in Crowthorne, Berkshire, the home of Broadmoor Hospital.

The Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers invites him to take part in the oldest archery competition in the world. In Scarborough, Portillo's Bradshaw directs him to the castle, where the founder of the Quaker movement was once imprisoned. Portillo discovers the history behind the Brighton Pavilion and learns that Queen Victoria was not an admirer of the Prince Regent's flamboyant taste. Next he travels to a smokehouse in Craster and learns how herrings are kippered; followed by a train journey to Dunbar to visit the birthplace of naturalist John Muir.Portillo takes a ride on a secret miniature railway hidden beneath London's streets, rings the bells of Bow Church, and tries his hand at station announcing at Fenchurch Street station. In Pinner, he finds out about a Victorian domestic goddess and whips up a pint of her fanciest ice cream. Portillo explores the fascinating history of Belfast's Victorian docks, discovers the Irish spade-making traditions untouched for over 150 years, and takes a walk on the wild side with Whitehead's Victorian coastal paths.