tv show great canal journeys

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Great Canal Journeys: how a bittersweet boating show captured viewers' hearts

The swansong of Timothy West and Prunella Scales’s narrowboat adventures aired this week, having elevated the humble travelogue to a touching saga of love and loss

‘M y name’s Timothy West, and this is my wife, Prunella Scales.” Much of the tender magic of Great Canal Journeys is in that proud, robustly jolly, semi-formal introduction, habitually included in the narration as one venerated actor refers to his beloved other. The Channel 4 show – the probable last episode of which was broadcast last night – is one of many travel series that amount to watching celebrities go on holiday, but it’s one of the few that truly feels as if it’s inviting us to come along too.

West and Scales have no need to feign canal enthusiasm for the cameras. In their show’s best episodes, they revisit their own, real narrowboating holidays, re-enacting scenes from a romance that’s endured for more than half a century. A simple thing that sets them apart is that they’re a lot older than almost anyone else on British television. What has made this series such a gift is their willingness to share the emotion of navigating that last phase of life together, a bittersweetness made all the more powerful by Scales’s Alzheimer’s disease. West is the boat’s skipper, cajoling and comforting and forever worrying about the welfare of his mate.

The success of the series has demanded that Tim and Pru venture overseas, as near as France and as far as India. Their foreign jaunts were fine, but this new trip put them back where they look most comfortable, in the veins of green England . Going up the familiar Oxford Canal from Banbury in Oxfordshire to Braunston in Northamptonshire offered a chance to relax, enjoy choice excerpts from previous seasons, and update us on the topic discussed whenever we and they reconvene: how Pru’s doing. The news was not good.

Since the first instalment in 2014, the series has charted the long, slow goodbye that is living with dementia, cherishing every moment of precious normality and celebrating how an immersion in nature is the surest way to bring the old Pru back. But that task of loving a person whose powers are fading only ever gets harder. Now we heard not only that Pru’s mental decline was accelerating, but that deafness was also encroaching.

The show’s editors have been masters of holding the shot for an extra second after Tim has finished speaking, long enough for us to discern pain clouding the full-hearted, wrinkly eyed smile that takes over his face when he talks about how happy Pru makes him. As Tim explained that Pru’s hearing loss was denying him the pleasure of ordinary conversation – the quick exchange of ideas and feelings with his best friend, treasured every day since 1963 – we saw more sadness than smile.

This episode was broadcast on West’s 85th birthday and possessed an air of soft valediction throughout. In the ancient St Peter’s Church at Wormleighton, Warwickshire, the vicar boldly asked for clarification of what the rest of the programme was only hinting at: was this the couple’s last ever Great Canal Journey? Tim looked at Pru and thought about the bustling community of hobbyists and holidaymakers on Britain’s manmade waterways . “They can carry on without us. I just wonder if we can carry on without them.”

So a saga that has been – quietly, let’s not make a fuss about it – one of the greatest love stories on TV seems to be over. There’s another new episode next week, but it’s even more heavily based on old clips, with the linking scenes showing Tim taking care of Pru at home rather than judging tight turns and ratcheting locks.

This was the swansong, and in the loveliest of many lovely moments, Fairport Convention came on board at Cropredy to perform the exquisitely appropriate Who Knows Where the Time Goes? “Who knows how my love grows? And who knows where the time goes?” Oh, for a little more time. But what times we’ve had.

• Timothy West
• Boating holidays
• Alzheimer's
• Relationships
• Mental health

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Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth embark on spectacular canal journeys across Britain and abroad

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

Series 13 Episode 4: Peak Forest Canal

Sheila and Gyles boat the beautiful Peak Forest Canal and have a go at dry stone walling

Series 13 Episode 3: Grand Union and Stratford Canal

Sheila and Gyles learn about brewing ale and brave the 500-foot-long Edstone Aqueduct

Series 13 Episode 2: West Lancashire Coastal Plain

Gyles takes on the world pie-eating champion in Wigan. Then all canals lead to Liverpool.

Series 13 Episode 1: Cambridgeshire Fens

Sheila and Gyles explore the Cambridgeshire Fens and make a pilgrimage to Ely Cathedral

Best of Wales and the West Country

A look back at Tim and Pru's adventures on the waterways of Wales and the West Country

Best of Scandinavia

A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' 350-mile journey across Sweden by boat

North of England

Tim and Pru look back over their many great adventures along northern England's canals

Best of Scotland

Tim and Pru look back at one of their favourite locations

Global Adventures

Tim and Pru share a stash of memories of their canal journeys overseas

The British Isles

Tim and Pru go on a voyage through the beautiful Cherwell Valley

Series 10 Episode 2: Asian Odyssey (Part Two)

Timothy and Pru complete their tour of South East Asian waterways on the Mekong Delta

Series 10 Episode 1: Asian Odyssey (Part One)

The 'ancient mariners' travel the waterways of Vietnam - from Halong Bay to Hanoi

Series 9 Episode 6: Rideau Canal, Canada

Tim and Pru embark on an epic journey along Canada's Rideau Canal

Series 9 Episode 5: Lancaster Canal

Tim and Pru navigate the Lancaster Canal, an early masterpiece of the waterways

Series 9 Episode 4: Argentina

Tim and Pru take a boat ride in the Argentine jungle

Series 9 Episode 3: Manchester

Tim and Pru explore the waterways of north west England, from Manchester to Ellesmere

Series 9 Episode 2: North Italy

Tim and Pru cross Italy's largest lake and travel down Europe's oldest working canal

Series 9 Episode 1: The River Nile

Tim and Pru explore one of the world's great waterways

Series 2 Episode 4: Forth and Clyde and Union Canals

Timothy and Pru travel through the stunning scenery of central Scotland

Series 2 Episode 3: Canal du Midi

Timothy and Pru explore the picturesque Canal du Midi in the south of France

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Great Canal Journeys

• The Best of Series One & Two

Season 6 episodes (8)

About this show

Ratings and reviews.

Great Canal Journeys

Tim and Pru brave the Atlantic Ocean, and the world’s third largest whirlpool, to reach Britain’s most remote canal: the Crinan. They have to work for their keep aboard a traditional steam ship, which brought supplies to the remote Hebridean islands.

Cast & Crew

Sheila Hancock

Gyles Brandreth

Timothy West

Prunella Scales

Mike Taylor

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Great Canal Journeys - Season 1

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Currently you are able to watch "Great Canal Journeys - Season 1" streaming on Amazon Prime Video or for free with ads on Amazon Prime Video with Ads.

S1 E1 - The Kennet and Avon

S1 e2 - the rochdale, s1 e3 - the llangollen canal, s1 e4 - canal du nivernais, france, where does great canal journeys rank today the justwatch daily streaming charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. this includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. this includes data from ~1.3 million movie & tv show fans per day..

Streaming charts last updated: 1:22:08 PM, 04/15/2024

Great Canal Journeys is 14055 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The TV show has moved up the charts by 5567 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than Workaholics but less popular than Dance Academy.

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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Season 12 – Great Canal Journeys

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Sheila Hancock

Gyles Brandreth

Catrina Lear

Daniela Neumann

Executive Producer

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Great Coastal Railway Journeys Season 3 Episodes

• Documentary
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From the sea lochs of Scotland to the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, seasoned train traveller Michael Portillo immerses himself in the magnificent scenery of the nation's coastal regions.

Season 3 Episode Guide

18 Episodes 2024 - 0

Lowestoft to Great Yarmouth

Wed, May 1, 2024 30 mins

Woodbridge to Southwold

Tue, Apr 30, 2024 30 mins

Axminster to Budleigh Salterton

Mon, Apr 8, 2024 30 mins

Michael Portillo embarks on another journey exploring the shores of Britain, travelling from the Jurassic Coast to the rugged tip of the Lizard Peninsula and beyond to the spectacular Isles of Scilly.

Exeter to Plymouth

Tue, Apr 9, 2024 30 mins

Michael Portillo reaches Devon's county town, Exeter, dominated since the Middle Ages by its magnificent gothic cathedral. He joins stonemasons charged with conserving its intricate Beer stonework.

Tintagel to St Austell

Wed, Apr 10, 2024 30 mins

Michael leaves Devon for Cornwall and the rugged Atlantic coast of its northern shore, where the ruins of Tintagel Castle emerge from the mist and spray of the sea.

St Mawes to Porthcurno

Thu, Apr 11, 2024 30 mins

Michael reaches the pretty Cornish fishing village of St Mawes, today an exclusive holiday destination for connoisseurs of yachts, fine food and luxury hotels.

Isles of Scilly

Fri, Apr 12, 2024 30 mins

Michael Portillo nears the end of his railway adventure tracking the rugged coast of south west England. He finishes in the westernmost reaches of England, in the Scillonian archipelago.

Cardigan Bay to Abergynolwyn

Mon, Apr 15, 2024 30 mins

Harlech to Abedaron

Tue, Apr 16, 2024 30 mins

Porthmadog to Anglesey

Wed, Apr 17, 2024 30 mins

The Isle of Anglesey

Thu, Apr 18, 2024 30 mins

Conwy to Colwyn Bay

Fri, Apr 19, 2024 30 mins

Eastbourne to Rye

Mon, Apr 22, 2024 30 mins

Folkestone to Le Touquet

Tue, Apr 23, 2024 30 mins

Dover to Margate

Wed, Apr 24, 2024 30 mins

Birchington-on-Sea to Whitstable

Thu, Apr 25, 2024 30 mins

Faversham to Chatham

Fri, Apr 26, 2024 30 mins

Canvey Island to Wrabness

Mon, Apr 29, 2024 30 mins