All the way through the three episodes, Coltrane pokes fun at himself and the producers, as well as the people he visits, but always in a loving way. He seems totally at ease with his celebrity status, in fact seeming a little embarrassed by it when faced with normal people but it is much more appealing than the typical cool host talking to the camera about how great everything is kind of thing that is on the Travel Channel these days. The people he meets greet him like a brother because he is just himself.

This kind of travel is the best. It hearkens back to the days when families packed up everything in the family car for a month of exploring the roads and scenery. The trips could have a final destination in mind but it wasn’t always necessary. It is a way of life that has disappeared with the rush of the modern world. Robbie Coltrane takes us back there by the hand and leads us on a meandering path all over the map of England and Scotland.

Of course the trip would take a lot less time on the motorway. Heck, even British Rail would have delivered Coltrane home faster than this meandering side trip but that is not the point. By going off the main road and taking the side roads, Coltrane, and we by extension, discovered a world that is every bit as quintessential Britain as people outside the United Kingdom imagine when we think about Britain. Full of unique customs and traditions, not to mention eccentric people, Britain is a wonderful place and Robbie Coltrane has stumbled across the perfect path to exploring it.

Now, where can I get one of those beautiful red Jaguar roadsters?