Original subtitles

'I'm rejoining the rails for another epic adventure.'

Are you excited? Who wouldn't be? 'I'm travelling around the globe again...'

..riding some of the most legendary trains in the world...

TRAIN HORN BLARES '..to experience more spectacular railways.'

Look at this place!

'From the Arctic Circle...' Ooh!

..to the glorious Andes.

'And the heart of Europe...' Isn't it fantastic? It's just a ticket hall.

'..to the edge of America.'

Oh! This is amazing! 'And I'll venture off the tracks

'to discover awe-inspiring places...'

Eng-er-land! '..extraordinary people...

'..and unforgettable experiences.'

It's staggering, isn't it?

Ahh!

'I'm travelling around the world, and this week,

'I'm gonna be exploring the vast West Coast of North America.

'I've got a massive journey ahead of me, covering close to 3,000 miles.

'First Seattle,

'then Vancouver, just over the border in Canada.

'I'll then head inland to the famous Rocky Mountains,

'before making my way to Talkeetna in the US state of Alaska,

'where I'll end my adventure.

'This is a land of spectacular Alpine landscapes,

'stunning wildlife and harsh winter climates.

'And what I want to know is how much it all shapes the lives of the people living here.'

I haven't been to Seattle. I haven't been to Vancouver. I haven't been to Alaska.

But I don't feel remotely embarrassed about that because until 150 years ago,

virtually no Europeans had, either. So I'm not on my own.

'This Amtrak Coast Starlight train follows the coast from Los Angeles

'to my first destination, Seattle.

'It's a city that's constantly been reinventing itself over the past 200 years

'and I'm really keen to explore it.'

But before I do so, I just wanna have a sneaky peek

at this glorious station lobby.

You've gotta admit, it is pretty wonderful, isn't it?

'King Street Station opened in 1906.

'Its designers went on to build New York's Grand Central Station.

'And every year, more than 2.7 million passengers pass through it.

'Seattle is Washington State's largest city.

'It's been famous for its optimism and enterprise

'ever since the days of the gold prospectors back in the 1800s.

'In the 20th century, Boeing set up shop here,

'and it was the birthplace of Bill Gates's Microsoft.

'And it's now famous as one of the tech capitals of the world.'

Seattle is a really lucky city.

It's been built on boom after boom after boom,

and we're right in the middle of the latest one,

which is affecting not only the town, but the whole of the world.

This is the headquarters of Amazon

and it owns virtually all of the new build round here,

including those remarkable balls.

'Amazon revolutionised the way the world shops.

'And for Seattle, it became more than just a big employer,

'it helped turn the city into a vibrant technology hub...'

Push. Light. Scan. '..attracting hundreds of budding inventors and entrepreneurs.'

High-five! Oh, that's weird.

'..who hope their latest creation will earn them millions.

'Like coffee-lover Andy Kleitsch.'

And, of course, we have to point this out, Tony.

Which? Right here. The very first Starbucks. Oh, really?

Shall we go and get a cup of coffee? Yeah, let's do it.

'Starbucks inspired Andy to start his own coffee company, Atamo.

'The idea - an environmentally-friendly alternative coffee

'made entirely without coffee beans.'

Oh, well, this is neat, isn't it? Welcome to the lab.

This is Jarret Stopforth. He's the co-founder. Hi, Jarret. Nice to meet you.

Pleasure. I love your place. Very hip. Very modern. So, how did this happen?

I'd been messing around with this design to hack coffee

and to create coffee without the bean.

'Climate change is making it harder for coffee growers around the world to produce the perfect bean.'

This is definitely Breaking Bad time, isn't it? Absolutely.

'Andy and Jarret's idea - create the same coffee taste

'without the bean. But that's easier said than done.'

Now, I know you don't wanna tell me exactly what's in here, but can you give me a little clue?

Some of the things that we've looked at are sunflower seed husks,

watermelon seeds from the juicing industry, things that are considered by-products

but for which there may be compounds and molecules that are very similar to what coffee is.

That makes brilliant sense, doesn't it? If there are things in the food industry which we just chuck

that actually can become the very root of what it is you're making,

then it's a good thing for everybody. Yeah, truly.

So we're gonna let it stir up for a little bit... Yeah. ..and then when you're ready,

just tap the powder into it. Yes!

And we'll be ready to taste it.

'I'm being given four different cold coffees to sample.

'Three are the biggest players on the market, including Starbucks,

'and the fourth one, our bean-free version.'

So we want you to go ahead and try each one

and just see if you can pick out which one's ours.

Right, I'm gonna try pink first.

I so hope pink isn't yours.

I've gotta try yellow.

I do like this much better than the other one, but then I haven't tasted the others yet.

I'm looking at both of your eyes. Mm-hm. Mm-hm.

We're giving nothing away. You aren't. You clearly play poker.

So I reckon that your one

is either the yellow one or the green one.

Yeah, you are correct. Yay! It is one of those two.

And do you have an idea of which one you prefer?

Either of these could be the normal coffee that I would drink every day in London.

I just think this is slightly sweeter.

That I would say was the one I prefer the most.

You're hired. Yes! You got it right! THEY LAUGH

I'm pleased for you guys, too. Good job. Thank you.

'There are thousands of entrepreneurs like Andy and Jarret creating start-ups here.

'And just like the prospectors over 100 years ago,

'some of them will strike gold and a lot will go bust.

'But that's the gamble that gives Seattle its energy.'

It's 6.30 in the morning. Time to leave the high-tech city of Seattle behind,

and Canada, here we come.

'It's around 140 miles from Seattle to Vancouver

'and the journey should take me just over four hours.'

I'm a little bit disappointed to be leaving Seattle after such a brief time

because everybody there was so nice and warm and friendly.

Although that was a bit of a drawback

because I was gonna say how nice and warm and friendly the Canadians are.

They'll probably turn out to be really grumpy now, won't they?

'This part of North America is famous for its spectacular scenery.

'And there's no better way to enjoy it than by train.

'This is Amtrak's Cascades line,

'which is named after the mountain range that runs parallel to it.

'As the train winds its way north,

'the views out of the window become more breathtaking by the minute.'

TRAIN HORN BLARES 'If only I could see them.'

DOOR BANGS

There are two locks and they're both across.

I can't get out. Yeah, I think we probably need the guard.

I can get the top one open easily,

but the bottom one isn't moving.

Yay! Thank you. HE LAUGHS

Free!

'Coming up, I discover what it takes to be a real Canadian.'

Don't be nervous. Well, I am nervous cos I don't wanna hurt you.

THEY LAUGH

'And I explore the great Canadian wilderness

'on one of the world's great train lines.'

When was this railway put in? Back in the 1880s.

Wow! Imagine how difficult it must have been in those days.

'It's day two of my whistle-stop adventure

'discovering the vast West Coast of North America by train.

'I've travelled just over 140 miles north of Seattle

'and am now over the border in Canada.

'Tomorrow we're heading into the famous Rockies.

'But first, I'm gonna stretch my legs in the great city of Vancouver.'

Oh, lovely. The sun's out.

'When the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed back in the 1800s,

'it not only connected Vancouver with Montreal,

'all the way over on the other side of Canada,

'but it created the excuse for a swanky new station.'

This is Vancouver's Pacific Central Station,

and it's 100 years old practically to the day.

And looking pretty good for its age, I think.

'At first glance, Vancouver looks pretty similar to Seattle with its stunning harbour.

'And like America, Canada was built on immigration.

'A lot of immigrants seemed to come from Britain, so why did they come here?

'I'm asking local tour guide Jeremy.'

So many of my Scottish friends have got relatives in Canada

and are always going to Canada. Is that a thing? Certainly.

The Scots were one of the first kind of major groups that emigrated here to Canada.

From the very beginning, there was of course the French.

Canada was at one point both an English colony, or a British colony, and a French colony.

But also Scandinavian, Chinese immigration, lots of Italian, as well.

A lot of what you see in North America or in the United States is also found here in Canada.

Yeah, but the difference seems to me to be that in the US,

the whole issue of immigration is really to the fore and really very raw,

whereas over here, I don't really get a sense of that.

Yeah. So, Canadians are very well aware that we are a new country,

we are a country built on immigration, and we're very proud of that and we love that about Canada.

How would you describe Vancouver?

It's a new city. It's very multicultural.

Vancouverians have a real love for the outdoors.

It's kind of the biggest perk of living in Vancouver

is being so close to the mountains and the ocean. Yeah.

And the amazing camping and hiking and fishing and skiing

and snowboarding that's available to you here.

'It's this love of the outdoors,

'especially as those outdoors can be so unforgivingly cold,

'that's at the heart of one of Canada's most popular sports.'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'Ice hockey epitomises everything Canadian.

'This fast, furious, brutal game

'has been played here for over 100 years.

'And I'm hoping ex-pro Dave Babych...

'..can tell me why the sport is so close to Canada's heart.'

How did you get into it in the first place?

I think I started skating when I was two and a half, as soon as you could pretty much walk properly.

And we had our backyard rink. And then every community had an outdoor rink because it was cold enough.

It was similar to this except it was outdoors. That's how you get into it.

I don't know whether my eyes are playing me up, but these guys do not look in the first flash of youth.

This is, I think, a 60-and-older group.

You know, hockey is such a big thing from being young and old

that I can probably guarantee you that some of these guys have been playing together for 30, 40 years.

Excuse me. Come in for a minute. THEY LAUGH

Slowest hockey you'll get.

May I ask, how old are you?

83. Did you score any goals?

Not today. No. I scored three last week. Last Tuesday.

You've finished for the day now? THEY LAUGH No. We go for a beer.

'Blimey! I wouldn't mind some of what that old boy's got.'

You let me know if you can handle it. HE LAUGHS

You need a hand? No. Why? Do I look as though I do?

'And although I haven't been skating for about 40 years,

'I'm gonna give goalie a try.'

Do you know how to put this on?

I haven't got a clue. I'm afraid you're gonna have to dress me like my mum.

We'll get this out of the way. Is there a cup in there?

What do you mean a cup? A cup to protect the old...

No. ..the jewels. There's a little puppet. A little sock. Oh. Here.

OK. Instruct me in the ways of the cup.

Well, that's self-explanatory.

No, it's not! If I get this on wrong, I die.

You've never worn a girdle before? Or, like, a garter belt?

Not very often. At parties, obviously.

I'm like a very old Transformer. Yeah!

'Maybe more like a prisoner

'being led to my execution by the firing squad.'

I'm ready. You are? Yeah. Alright. OK.

Ready? Don't be nervous. Well, I am nervous cos I don't wanna hurt you.

OK. I'm gonna try to go right in the midsection, right where your cup is.

That would've hurt.

You alright? Yep.

OK. Let's see what we've got here. Keep them down a bit, Dave.

Alright.

Oh, yeah. Come on. I'd have stopped that.

You know what? I'd have stopped that.

There's no way you'll be able to make any saves, glove saves, anything.

'There's nothing like a really big bloke

'telling you you're rubbish at something to make you up your game.

'Alright, Dave, bring it on.'

Yeah! Oh! What a save! What a save!

THEY LAUGH

'On second thoughts, has anyone got a wheelchair?'

I think he's happy with that. THEY LAUGH

'Thanks, Dave.

'I think I'll have a little rest now.

'I've gotta be fit in the morning because we've got an awful lot of travelling to do.

'See, that's the thing about Canada. It's so bloody big.'

This is not only a stunning view, it tells a really vivid story

about this part of my travels.

You see that mountain over there? That's Mount Baker.

That's in Washington State in the US.

Way over there, just behind those trees, is Seattle.

So I've come all the way in this direction to Vancouver down there.

And then next, we're going way, way, way, way, way over here

beyond those hills, into the Rockies.

Early morning. Quite a nip in the air.

But today, I'm going on the Rocky Mountaineer Railway.

It used to be a line that carried the furs and the gold and the metal down from the Rockies,

but now it's a tourist line,

and it's reputed to be one of the great rail journeys of the world.

And I'm gonna be on it for two whole days!

JAZZY PIANO MUSIC

It's a nice terminus, isn't it? You feel a buzz in the air.

It does feel like everyone's about to have a good time.

'This station used to be a locomotive repair shed

'but was upgraded in 2005

'and is now the high-end departure lounge for the Rocky Mountaineer.'

BAGPIPES PLAY 'And they certainly know how to give you a send-off.'

Is this J3? Yes. It is. Excited?

You bet! Who wouldn't be after all that?

Oh, fantastic. Alright. Welcome aboard. Thank you.

Are you gonna be looking after us for these two days? Most definitely. We sure are.

'One thing I've heard about this train is that the food's exceptional.'

Ah! Look. Something's cooking up there.

'Let's have a look around.'

Oh, wow! This is gorgeous, isn't it?

I can smell bacon and eggs, actually. It's working for me.

'What's also working for me is this glass-domed roof,

'designed to give me a full panoramic view of the Rockies.'

I think I will deposit myself... here.

'This journey is gonna take me more than 500 miles east from Vancouver...

'..to the Jasper National Park,

'deep in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.

'Railways have always played a key role

'in getting around Canada's enormous land mass.

'And just look at this send-off.'

There's hundreds of people waving.

I think every railway employer in Vancouver is waving.

I've got a feeling this is gonna be a pretty good ride.

'This train is like a very, very thin five-star hotel

'hurtling along the Canadian Pacific Railway.

'As train conductor Greg explains,

'it's a world away from what the early trains on this line must have been like.'

When was this railway put in?

Construction started back in the 1880s.

Wow! Imagine how difficult it must have been in those days.

I can only imagine. There's no things like satellites, GPS, none of that type of stuff.

'At the time it was built, Canada had a big problem

'finding enough people to lay the 3,000 miles of track.

'So they enlisted 15,000 labourers from China.

'But it still took a gruelling four years.'

Just the sheer physical act of working in this environment must have been incredibly difficult.

Oh, incredibly.

I know it's nowhere near winter,

but the wind that's coming at us now really bites. Yeah.

'When the train line was finally completed,

'it transformed Canada's economy by providing an efficient system

'for distributing the Rocky Mountains' rich resources,

'like timber, copper, furs,

'and, of course, gold.

'I'm loving this luxury travel.

'Taking in the views while enjoying an afternoon tipple isn't only very decadent,

'it is also a great excuse for a natter with your fellow passengers.'

Is this your first time on this train? On this train, yes.

Well, actually, on any passenger train.

On any passenger train ever? Yeah. Yeah. So it's kind of exciting.

You always travel by plane or car. Plane or car. Why's that?

Er, well, I'm in Calgary. So we drive over to Vancouver.

It feels very strange talking to someone who's never been on a train before.

It's nice. The views from this train are insane.

'I've only been on board this train for a day,

'but I'm already blown away by the beauty.

'But I can't spend my whole journey sampling fancy wine and canapes.

'Tomorrow, I'm gonna have to roll my sleeves up. I've got a lot of work to do.

'Coming up...' Can we make two out of that?

'..the heat's on in the Rocky Mountaineer kitchen

'as I find out what it takes to feed a train full of hungry passengers.'

If you want to use your finger just to get the sauce up, I won't mind.

'And I arrive at the majestic Rocky Mountains,

'where I help evict some uninvited visitors.'

Yeah, this'll scare them.

There's nothing more terrifying than a bit of Morris dancing.

'I'm deep in Canada's vast wilderness,

'on board the Rocky Mountaineer train.

'This unique locomotive is taking me to my next destination, Jasper.

'And we're approaching one of Canada's most famous landmarks,

'the Rocky Mountains,

'which Greg tells me are best seen from the back of the train.'

This is the view that everyone hopes they'll see. Whoa!

THEY LAUGH And sometimes that happens.

I thought it was gonna go straight into me!

'It's not surprising that train buffs like me

'come from all over the world to experience this journey,

'as you can really enjoy this line's rich history.

'And the free peanuts.' There's something ironic about the fact

that this line was built for the early pioneers,

rugged men suffering from all kinds of depravation,

and now here I am, I had a three-course breakfast when I got on,

and now I'm gonna wander down for lunch.

'And what fascinates me is how the Rocky Mountaineer copes

'with the challenge of feeding all the passengers

'while it's out in the middle of the wilderness.'

In terms of wardrobe, I've grabbed a chef jacket for you right here. Thank you.

'Executive chef Daniel is the man who comes up with an a la carte menu each day.'

So you must carry an awful lot of food around with you.

We have quite a bit of food on board, but all of this food will be eaten.

So everything's made fresh. It was loaded last night,

the vegetables, some of the sauces and stuff,

and we're cooking it this morning, it will be all gone by lunchtime.

And then we'll get all new food tomorrow.

'Each of the ten carriages has its own onboard kitchen with a team of three chefs.

'And today, I'm giving them a hand.'

So we leave that little bit folded back, do we? Yeah. That's perfect.

OK. And when it cooks, it'll cook just like that.

'And our star dish is Pacific salmon.'

Perfect. Oh. You don't have to go too much. You cut right through the board.

'But salmon isn't the only special on the menu.'

The soup is split pea, by the way.

Er, and the salad is golden beets and peppers.

Are they beets from the Fraser Valley? Yes.

'Well, what they don't know won't hurt them.'

Right, chef! 'Right, let's get cooking.'

I'll get you to give it a little bit of salt and pepper.

Shall I dry my hands? You know what? I'll take care of it for you.

Ohh! I wanna do it! I know, I know.

Right behind you there is a sink if you need to. Oh, right, right, right. Yep.

And just a dash of oil.

If you wanna rub that around on there, that would be great.

Fine. Perfect. And then we'll throw this right into the oven that's just behind you.

Perfect.

'All meals on this train are free.'

OK, so then we're good to go. Ring in the centre

and you wanna fill it up with creamy rice.

'I say free. The tickets cost over £1,500 each.'

Now, look, I've got little mistakes around here. That's OK.

'So, let's hope my salmon goes down well.'

Madam. The... Thank you very much. ..chicken and salmon.

Can I stop being a waiter for a minute and just ask you to try it?

I'll try.

Mm. Wonderful. Are you just going, "Mm, wonderful" or do you mean it?

No, no, really, the flavours. Cos I think that sauce is really, really good. Mm-hm.

If you want to use your finger just to get the sauce up, I won't mind.

Thank you. Not at all. Cheers. 'My work is done.'

Sorry, yours won't be long. 'Almost.

'My time on this glorious train is nearly done.

'And much has I've enjoyed all this five-star luxury,

'I think it's time to get my walking boots and thermals on

'and brave the Rocky Mountain air.'

We're coming into Jasper now and I've just changed my watch to what they call Mountain Time,

which is an hour ahead.

It's taken us two days to get from the city of Vancouver

out here into the wilds,

and you can really sense the difference.

The different smell, it's colder.

'And I'm now deep in the heart of the vast Rocky Mountains,

'which stretch over 3,000 miles

'from New Mexico in the States

'up to British Columbia in Canada.'

Ah, here we are. Arrived in Jasper.

Look at that stunning view.

It's a pretty good railway station, isn't it?

I wouldn't mind working here.

Now, back to the hotel.

This is the kit we travel with.

'The town of Jasper dates back to 1813,

'when it was a fur-trading outpost.

'Nowadays, it's a picturesque wee town

'and a quiet place to live.

'That is, until the early hours of each morning.'

RADIO BEEPS 10-4. Are they still by the park

or should we go in the parking lot behind?

'This is Val, one of Jasper's park rangers, and she's out on the hunt.'

The trick is not to go too fast so we can see them. Cos as you can see, it's still dark.

At this time of the year, it's, yeah, usually by 8.30,

just before people start to go to work or school,

that's when we try to have the elk out of town by.

'Every night, elk come down from the mountains in search of food.

'And each morning, Val's faced with the tricky task of getting them out of town again.'

There's... Oh, look, there's three.

So, they recognise the light.

Do the people mind that there are elks running in and out of their back gardens?

Erm, you know, usually, we are pretty used to it.

'Jasper's rangers deal with close to 1,000 elk-related incidents each year.

'Locals often wake up during the night

'to find the animals fighting in their back yards

'or trashing their gardens in search of something to eat.'

Imagine having a pair of those in your back garden if you'd just planted up.

Those are the main tools. Yeah, this'll scare them.

There's nothing more terrifying than a bit of Morris dancing. HE LAUGHS

Oh, they're hockey sticks! Yeah. So, basically, we call it an elk stick.

This is a hockey stick with the flagging tape at the end of it.

And the goal of it is to make yourself more impressive.

Most of the time, though, we want it pretty low to the ground.

Otherwise the elk will lift its head up to look at that and may try to kick it.

'These are wild animals, so when they're spooked, they can be a bit dangerous.

'They sometimes attack people and have even killed pets.'

If the elk come charging at us, we stick as a group,

we can raise that up, we shout at the elk,

and I'm gonna use the paintball gun.

HE LAUGHS That's a really good safety provision.

If the elk start charging us, we stick together and yell. THEY LAUGH

Hey, come on.

'Lucky for us, these female elk seem happy to be walked to the outskirts of town.'

I think they're telling Val that they've found a bull. That's correct.

Oscar 19, Oscar 16. "Go ahead."

'But giving a bull its marching orders is a different story.

'They can become extremely aggressive.'

Just make sure that we don't try to push the bull, that we do not get between the bull and the female.

Yeah. Here's the female. Erm...

"10-4, on our way."

'And close by is its mate.'

There's one up here somewhere, isn't there?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I see.

Such a beautiful animal.

Which way are we gonna try and herd them? They are going in the right direction.

The bull is just disappearing behind there

and the cow is just behind those white cars there.

TRAIN HORN BLARES Unfortunately, there's a train, so it'll be a bit trickier.

Yeah, I can see the train going along... That's right. ..just there.

So if the train wasn't there, we could push them right across, and once they're on the other side...

The train actually has gone, so we can just do a bigger push

and that's gonna be it.

I've just got to sort out my trousers, which are falling down round my knees.

So, when you're ready, let's do the big push.

Sorry about this. Oh, no. HE LAUGHS

So we can start making noise.

Hey! Come on!

Over the line! Let's go! Whoa, there he goes.

There.

Our elk have crossed the road now, haven't they? Yeah.

So is that it? Is that job done?

So, the job is done, yeah.

'That's until tonight, when they'll be back

'causing a whole new load of havoc.'

There's something wonderful about nature invading a town at night.

It's like towns are only temporary.

We're just here for as long as the animals allow us to be.

That's right. Well, we are in their territory. Yeah.

So they were there first and we came and built the towns.

Well, we need to coexist, actually, and that's the way that we find to do it. Yeah.

I think this is a lovely way, with a hockey stick and some safety tape. Little morning walk.

'It's time to leave.

'What a great insight into how people round here

'have adapted their lives to deal with the local wildlife.'

Jasper's a lovely little town.

Nice size, beautiful countryside all around,

a herd of elk you can chase out of town every day.

But now I'm gonna get back on the train and head off to the coast.

'Coming up...' Look at that railway station. Isn't it gorgeous?

'..my train adventure takes me to my final destination,

'Alaska,

'where I go even deeper into the great wilderness...

'..and discover the harsh reality

'of how Mother Nature is suffering at the hands of humans.'

10, 20 years ago, this lake wasn't here.

And that's because of climate change. Yes, I think it's fair to say climate change.

'I'm on the last leg of my odyssey, exploring the West Coast of North America by train.

'I'm aiming to end my trip visiting the snowy glaciers in Alaska,

'but I'm taking a bit of a twisted route getting there

'and I'm now heading for a port called Prince Rupert.'

This may sound a bit daft, but a few days ago,

we were in Vancouver, which is, say, there,

and the coast goes up like that, but we didn't go up the coast,

we went wiggling all round,

into the Rockies, to Jasper there.

But now we're gonna go to Prince Rupert,

and in order to do that, we're on the train

heading right back in that direction to the coast.

'It's just over 700 miles from Jasper to Prince Rupert

'on the Skeena train, which travels on the Grand Trunk line.

'It was constructed at the start of the 19th century

'and it opened up the remote northern territories to the rest of Canada.'

This is Prince Rupert, which a bloke in there just told me

is the second wettest place in Canada.

And it's certainly pretty flipping grim right now.

But this is the end of the railway line.

Although, in fact, trains can get further north, although not by land.

'They have to go by sea, via the AquaTrain ferry.

'This unique vessel can carry up to 45 cargo carriages

'the 1,600-odd miles along the coast

'to the port of Whittier in Alaska.

'The trains are then put back on the tracks

'to make their way to the city of Anchorage.'

Look at that railway station. Isn't it gorgeous?

See that? The Alaska Railroad.

I'm finally in Alaska.

'This station is the railway's main junction

'and it's where I'll be able to jump on a train bound for Northern Alaska.

'The railway was built back in the early 1900s

'and had a key role in the development of this US state.

'My stop is Talkeetna,

'a small town with an interesting history.'

In 1923,

President Harding arrived in Talkeetna.

They'd just completed the Alaska railway

and he came here to celebrate it by driving a golden stake into the ground.

And that night, he stayed at this modest little inn and it killed him.

Well, at least, two days later, he was brown bread.

Some people say it was because he ate a poisoned crab's claw.

But others say he was in fact poisoned by his wife

because he brought his mistress along as well as her

and she was really, really hacked off about it.

I'll leave you to decide which is the more plausible.

'Talkeetna wasn't only the end of the line for President Harding,

'it's also the end of the line for me,

'as I'm going where the trains can't go.'

Alright, we're gonna call the tower for takeoff. 'I'm a little apprehensive.

'But my pilot, Mark, has been flying over 25 years,

'so I should be in safe hands.'

Have you flown in small planes much before? A few. Not many.

'And although we've only been in the air for a few minutes,

'the world is already starting to look very different.'

If you look carefully at the snow, you'll see some tracks.

There's been a moose or something walking through here.

Or it could be a bear.

Presumably, these mountains are snow-capped all year.

A lot of people would think that because they think of Alaska,

they think of snow and glaciers and so on.

But we're actually pretty far south in Alaska,

so these mountains are all gonna be snow-free come summer.

'Soon we're deep in the Alpine wilderness.'

Wow. That's some glacier.

'But the challenge of putting a plane down next to a glacier

'is that you can never guarantee there'll be a safe spot to land.'

As a float plane pilot, one of the things you've gotta consider is

even if you landed there that morning, by the time you come back in the evening,

it could be completely different conditions.

We're running out of options, aren't we? Well...

I haven't seen anywhere that isn't frozen over. Yeah.

Temperatures have started dropping the last week,

but I see one lead over here.

And what are you looking for?

I'm looking at the distance, I'm looking for icebergs,

I'm looking also which way the wind direction is.

Wouldn't an iceberg be fairly obvious?

You would think so, but some of them just barely stick up above the water.

'As much as the landscapes of North America have been a revelation,

'the sheer majesty of this glacier is mind-blowing.'

Right, I'm supposed to be doing a nice little interview for the telly,

but in fact, I'm hanging on by one end of a safety belt,

I'm standing on a float,

you're looking like Mr Cool cos you're used to this,

and around our feet is broken ice,

which every now and again goes, "Creak, creak, creak," doesn't it?

Just listen for a moment.

QUIET CREAKING

And you're right to just sit here and take it in.

So often, people come to Alaska and they have a checklist.

Saw a bear, saw a glacier, saw the Aurora.

And I just want them to stop and focus on what it is

that makes the experience unique to them.

Can you explain to me what it is that I can actually see there?

Well, this ice started its journey way up in those mountain peaks that you see in the background.

So it's travelled, like, 20 miles over hundreds of years.

And the ice, of course, is comprised of snowflakes,

snowflakes being compressed over hundreds of years into very, very tight ice.

And it has that blue colour because of its density.

So is this the very front edge of a glacier?

Yep. We call it the toe or the face of a glacier.

This water here has all come out from the melting snow, the melting glacier.

It runs through tunnels in the ice.

So glaciers, while they look very solid,

actually are riddled with tunnels like Swiss cheese or something.

And then the water comes up. And this lake wasn't here 20 years ago.

It was a very small sliver of a lake.

In the last five, ten years, it's quadrupled in size.

And that's because of climate change? Yes, I think it's fair to say climate change.

'It's tragic to think that one day this great glacier could disappear.

'I feel very privileged to have come here today

'and I can't think of a better place to end this leg of my trip around the world.

'This journey not only showed me the beauty of North America's rugged, unforgiving wilderness,

'it also opened my eyes to how fragile our planet is.

'And it's been an experience I'll never forget.

'Next time, I'm riding one of the most famous train lines in the world,

'the Trans-Siberian Express.' Oh, look down there!

'I delve back into Russia's Communist past.'

The entire Russian royal family was massacred on this spot.

'Drink some hardcore home brew with the locals.'

They don't arrest you for it?

'And end up in Finland on Independence Day.'

And here is the President. Oh, my goodness!