Billy Connolly's Great American Trail

Billy embarks on his great American trail as he opens the New York tartan day parade to a 30,000 strong crowd. He heads to Plymouth, Massachusetts where the pilgrims first landed on American soil, followed by a meeting with the Native American tribe who almost had their people and language wiped out, until it was revived in a pre-school class of children. Then to Boston, and home to possibly the naughtiest group of nuns on the planet. From there Billy heads to Gloucester, the oldest sea port in America, home to Humpback whales, the most bizarre fisherman’s tradition and the scene of the Perfect Storm. After which he heads to the graveside of the most famous man you never knew was a Scot - Uncle Sam! before wrapping things up at the haunting Ellis Island, through which millions of immigrants passed, although some never made it past its hospital’s walls.

This week opens in Kearny, a place known as Little Glasgow where Billy discovers it was the Scots who brought football to America. Then it’s a pilgrimage to the Martin Guitar Company the factory that have built the guitars for some of the biggest rockstars on the planet, including Billy’s hero Hank Williams. From there it’s on to the tiny town of Stockbridge, home to America’s greatest artist, Norman Rockwell and the muse whose bottom appeared on thousands of copies of the Saturday Evening Post. Don’t say Billy doesn’t take you anywhere nice, next up it’s the Eastern State Penitentiary that was once America’s most notorious prison and the one time residence of legendary gangster Al Capone. From there Billy heads to the boardwalk of Atlantic City, the city that was Vegas before Vegas was famous. Followed by Billy tinkling the irons of the world’s largest musical instrument that just happens to be underneath a car park. It’s the 50th anniversary of Woodstock this year and there’s never been a better time to meet some veterans of peace, love and understanding at the site of the greatest rock concert on earth. Billy ends the episode with a clog dance at Floyd County Store in the Appalachian mountain range.

This week begins deep in Virginia on the trail of bootleggers dealing in the illegal drink moonshine. From there Billy follows the trail of the underground railroad and the amazing woman who led hundreds of slaves to their freedom, meeting one of the family members keeping her memory very much alive. Then stopping off to encounter the baffling sight of a farm filled with giant sculpted heads of all the American Presidents. From there it’s onto mining country…..and the town that’s dealing with the biggest epidemic in American history, the opioid crisis. They say that all of country music can be traced back to one family, the Carter family, and, in a pinch yourself moment, Billy visits the home of the family that put country music on the map. Then it’s to the backroom of Manuel Cuuevas’s atelier, the flamboyant designer who put Elvis in that goldsuit, Cher in bell bottoms and dressed the Beatles. Ending in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry and the hallowed stage where Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash performed.