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10 March 2014 (2014-03-10) – 22 March 2021 (2021-03-22)
Great Canal Journeys is a British television series in which a pair of presenters take canal barge and narrowboat trips in the United Kingdom, Europe, India and Egypt. The series was originally aired on More4 before transferring to Channel 4 with Series 2.
The original presenters were husband and wife Timothy West and Prunella Scales. Both are keen narrowboaters and were involved in campaigning to revive the Kennet and Avon Canal. West and Scales both talk frankly about Scales' dementia during the series, which was praised by Alzheimer's Research UK.
In 2020, West and Scales were replaced by TV personality Gyles Brandreth and actor Sheila Hancock for series 11. In the first episode Timothy West gave the two novice canal boaters a crash course in narrowboating.
The series started with Tim and Pru celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary by travelling 21 miles along the Kennet & Avon canal from Bath to Devizes.
Tim and Pru visit Llangollen where they spent their honeymoon. They travel through the Vale of Llangollen, the Montgomery Canal before visiting the Horseshoe Falls by horse drawn barge.
Tim and Pru visit the Burgundy region of France. They travel along the Canal du Nivernais taking part in the grape harvest in Chablis before ending the trip in Auxerre.
Tim and Pru start in Oxford for a trip on the Oxford Canal which was the first trip they had on a canal 40 years previously. They meet Sonia Rolt, a canal campaigner and author Philip Pullman. They are joined on the journey through the Cherwell Valley by the first canal laureate Jo Bell and their son, actor Sam West.
Tim and Pru travel along the Canal du Midi, which was built nearly 100 years before the British canals and is designated a World Heritage site. They visit the town of Béziers and travel in the Europe's first navigable canal – the Malpas Tunnel. They try lamb's brain fritters and drink 200-year-old whisky. They are joined on the journey by their son Joseph West and his family.
Tim and Pru travel along the two Scottish canals in a coast to coast trip from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Along the way they travel Scotland's highest aqueduct and go through its longest canal tunnel. They also visit 21st-century canal technology with the Falkirk Wheel.
Tim and Pru start their trip in Halong Bay, before travelling along the Red River to visit both Hanoi and Hoa Lu. They also visit the ancient port town of Hoi An and take part in its famous lantern festival.
Tim and Pru start their trip in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, exploring its local customs before crossing into Cambodia. There they visit the capital city Phenom Penh before travelling onto the ancient abandoned city of Angkor Wat, where they discover how the city and the surviving temple were built with the aid of canals.
Gyles and Sheila travel the Lea Navigation, visiting the former Royal Gunpowder Mills and tackling their first manual locks before travelling up the Thames.
Sheila and Gyles tour Staffordshire's waterways – the Caldon and the Trent and Mersey Canals on a tour of the Potteries and Stoke-on-Trent.
Home media
With the exception of the London Ring episode in series 2, all of first eight series have been issued on DVD; the series numbering, however, is different.
