Great Canal Journeys

Sheila and Gyles boat the beautiful Peak Forest Canal to Manchester, where they have a go at dry stone walling and discover the hatting history of Denton.

Sheila and Gyles journey to Stratford-upon-Avon, where Sheila performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Gyles once lived with his family.

Sheila and Gyles boat from Wigan to Liverpool across the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. In Wigan, Gyles takes on the world pie-eating champion.

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth are back on the barge to explore the Cambridgeshire Fens. They visit the vicarage where a children's classic was written, make a pilgrimage to Ely Cathedral to hear some medieval plainsong and try their hand at a spot of landscape painting, before ending their journey in Cambridge to pay homage to early 20th-century poetry great Rupert Brooke.

Concluding their tour of Staffordshire's waterways, Sheila and Gyles take a ride on an old working boat, uncover the history of Stourport and get a taste of the Desi pub in Wolverhampton

Sheila and Gyles embark on their tour of Staffordshire's waterways, navigating the Caldon and the Trent and Mersey Canals on a pilgrimage in the Potteries and Stoke-on-Trent

A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' adventures on the idyllic waterways of the Avon, Bristol Channel, Llangollen Canal, and the Mon and Brec

A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' travels in Sweden, where they finally fulfilled their lifetime ambitions of crossing the country coast-to-coast by boat. The 350-mile journey takes in the mighty Göta Canal, Sweden's three biggest lakes, the islands of the Swedish Archipelago, and the Baltic sea - a huge challenge for any sailor let alone two octogenarians more used to the Kennet and Avon Canal. Even the relaxation is testing - a Swedish sauna with an icy plunge into the waters of the canal, but the long tranquil summer days, island-dotted lakes, and woodland glades make it Tim's favourite-ever trip.

Timothy and Pru complete their grand tour of South East Asian waterways on Vietnam's Mekong Delta and the world-famous Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat

The intrepid 'ancient mariners' go on one last far-flung voyage, to South East Asia, travelling the waterways of Vietnam, from Halong Bay to Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu and Hanoi

Tim and Pru embark on an epic journey along Canada's Rideau Canal, a world heritage site - from the backwoods of Ontario to the nation's capital

Tim and Pru navigate the Lancaster Canal, an early masterpiece of the waterways - travelling up along the coast of Morecambe Bay and visiting Carnforth and Lune Aqueduct

Tim and Pru take a boat ride in the Argentine jungle. There's gin and tonic with some remote Anglo Argentines, hummingbirds, honey, and a spot of tango.

Tim and Pru embark on a voyage through canal history, as they explore the waterways of north west England - heading from the suburbs of Manchester to the great canal port at Ellesmere

Tim and Pru visit the famously beautiful Welsh canal with a haunted castle on route

Tim and Pru voyage through the dramatic landscape of north-west Portugal, with deep locks, hilltop vineyards and some port in Porto

Tim and Pru travel past enchanted forests, fairy-tale castles and picturesque mountains and valleys, on a trip Alsace and Lorraine in France

Tim and Pru explore one of Britain's most ancient and picturesque waterways, discovering the area's unique way of life, its ruins, fens, marshes and woodlands

Tim and Pru strike out for the rarely navigated Brahmaputra river in the far north of India, where they meet a community of monks and hitch a ride on an elephant

Tim and Pru explore the extraordinary backwaters of Kerala, with spices, dancing and a visit to a temple

Tim and Pru island-hop their way through the Hebrides, visiting Tobermory, Iona, the Isle of Jura, and lastly the magical nine-mile Crinan canal

Tim and Pru cross the Scottish Highlands on a sun-kissed voyage along the spectacular Caledonian Canal, a waterway that links the North Sea with the Atlantic

With Tim playing King Lear in Bristol, he and Prunella Scales tour the city and also some West Country waterways further afield, including Devon. They also take a paddle steamer.

Tim and Pru take another journey into their pasts, via the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2016

Tim and Pru travel to the Netherlands, exploring the canals from the Windmills of the Kinderdijk to the vibrant city of Amsterdam

Tim and Pru travel to Venice, following the route once taken by Casanova and Byron, escaping the crowds of St Mark's to find tranquillity as well as beauty

Timothy and Prunella take a trip down the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, one of Britain's most picturesque waterways, and also pay tribute to William Shakespeare

Tim and Pru follow the ancient route of the Vikings, visiting Stockholm and the nearby islands of its archipelago

Tim and Pru set forth from Gothenburg on the first half of the Göta Canal, one of the longest and most beautiful waterways in the world, travelling 350 miles, coast to coast across Sweden

Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle

Timothy West and Prunella Scales travel from Birmingham to Braunston, Northamptonshire, for a festival of canal boats and to unveil a plaque to a late friend and canal campaigner

Timothy and Prunella go in search of London's lost canal route from Teddington, through Surrey and Sussex, and all the way to the sea at Littlehampton

Timothy and Pru travel through the stunning scenery of some of central Scotland's most glorious countryside, from Edinburgh to Glasgow

Timothy and Pru explore the most picturesque stretch of the Canal du Midi in the south of France, eating lamb's brain fritters and drinking 200-year-old brandy

Timothy and Pru explore London's Union and Regent's canals, from Brentford to Limehouse, meeting with friends Andrew Sachs and Sir Ian McKellen

Timothy and Pru take a journey on the Oxford Canal through the Cherwell Valley, meeting author Philip Pullman and their son Samuel West on the way

For the last stage of Tim and Pru's canal odyssey, they head to France's Burgundy region to visit the Canal du Nivernais, which runs through some of the most picturesque scenery in northern France

This third canal journey takes Pru and Tim back to their honeymoon destination, Llangollen, in North Wales

Prunella and Tim travel the Rochdale canal, past once mighty mills, the epic beauty of the Pennines and the longest and highest canal tunnel in Britain

Tim and Pru travel along the 21-mile Kennet and Avon canal, from Bath to Devizes, meeting canal-side characters and wildlife along the way

A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' adventures on the idyllic waterways of the Avon, Bristol Channel, Llangollen Canal, and the Mon and Brec

A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' Swedish travels where they made a 350-mile journey coast-to-coast by boat, taking in the mighty lakes, canals and islands

Tim and Pru look back over their many great adventures along northern England's canals with some of the best examples of the golden age of the waterways, including the Leeds to Liverpool canal

Tim and Pru look back at one of their favourite locations, with its epic vistas, dramatic feats of engineering, stunning landscapes, and a coast-to-coast adventure