Michael Portillo is on the final leg of his journey following the route of the North Country Continental service to Harwich. Along the way, he meets volunteers on the Mid-Suffolk Light railway and is allowed to drive The Middy. In Leiston, Michael uncovers an intriguing industrial pioneer - the world's first purpose-built assembly line. The work of a young Victorian engineering prodigy impresses Michael in Ipswich. In Harwich, he discovers how the port became a gateway to the continent and was then superseded by a new deep-water port further inland. Michael lends a hand below decks to ensure all is shipshape before one of the vast ferries leaves for the Hook of Holland.