Great Canal Journeys (2014) s03e02 Episode Script
Birmingham to Braunston
1 I'm Prunella Scales.
And I'm Timothy West.
Beautiful.
We've been husband and wife for over five decades.
Amazing.
Cheers.
We've been wedded to stage and screen for even longer.
Great hairdo! Ha-ha.
But we share another passion - canals.
Cast off, please.
Aye-aye, sir.
Canals wind through our lives, carrying our treasured memories Of families growing up, Of moments of wonder And hidden beauty.
Is this the most remote canal we've ever been on? It probably is, yes.
Of love And laughter.
Hey! Sorry about that.
Things are a bit harder for me these days.
I'm not strong enough.
But we get by.
We're at the Sun Inn! Hooray! Pru has a slight condition.
It does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
Oh, my darling.
I'm so sorry.
I didn't cast you off! One has to recognise that Pru's domestic life is getting a little narrower by the day.
Well, it can be a nuisance, but it doesn't stop me remembering how to open a lock gate, or make the skipper a cup of tea.
OK.
Cast off.
OK.
We'll be exploring new countries.
It's amazing, isn't it? And following new routes.
I'm lost now.
But one thing stays the same We're always together.
Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
The Grand Union - the backbone of Britain's canal system.
Working boats once plied its waters crewed by close-knit families, who spent their lives ferrying goods between Birmingham and London.
On this journey, we'll retrace part of this historic route.
So this is the Grand Union proper.
And, like the boatmen of old, we'll rely on our family to get us there' Oh, you're so strong.
.
.
our son, Sam, and Tim's daughter, Juliet.
' Hi, there.
You all right? Travelling from Birmingham, the hub of the canal network' It's the Venice of the north, really, or the Venice of the Midlands.
The Midlands.
We'll head to a great gathering of fellow canal folk at the historic village of Braunston.
There, we'll celebrate the great bygone era of working boats.
For me, it doesn't get better than this.
And honour a woman who dedicated much of her life to saving Britain's canals' We hereby declare this plaque open.
Open! .
.
our dear friend, Sonia Rolt, who died last year.
Gorgeous to see you.
Oh, well.
And you.
Ahead lies a daunting journey strewn with tunnels Aah.
Aaah! .
.
and locks.
I don't think I can do it.
I'm too scared.
Sorry.
Wind.
But with luck and a little help from our fellow canal lovers Thank goodness you're with us! .
.
we'll make it.
Whoo! Our journey begins in Birmingham's Gas Street Basin.
We were last here in the 1980s.
This is all so different.
It's all very smart now.
Shall we go and find our boat? Yeah, let's do that.
OK.
Grace, Amazing Grace.
Uh-huh.
Nice.
She's nice, isn't she? She's very spacious.
They're huge windows, aren't they? Yes, that's nice.
You can see out well but people can see in.
I have to be very careful when I'm dressing or undressing.
Well, if you want to do a striptease in the forward cabin, yes.
Sam should be here in a few minutes.
Oh, good.
For this voyage, we've enlisted the help of the younger generation.
Hello! Hello! Hi! Joining us on the first leg, is our son and fellow actor, Samuel West.
This is nice.
Yesterday, we celebrated my birthday.
53 again! But having my eldest onboard today, is the best possible present.
Hello, Mum.
Happy birthday for yesterday.
Thank you.
It doesn't seem that long ago that I was showing Sam the ropes.
Now we're both grateful for his help.
OK, ready when you are.
OK! OK.
Our voyage to the Canal Festival will take us through Birmingham, and we'll then join the Grand Union.
Travelling out through the suburbs, we'll enter the open Warwickshire countryside and face some of the most daunting lock flights on the network.
Finally, we'll head north-east to Braunston.
I can't believe this is the same place.
I know.
Travelling in our own boat, we last came through here when Sam was a teenager.
I remember, in about 1980 we turned round and I remember gunning the engine to try and turn the boat.
Yeah.
And the foam came up grey the water was like oil, and now all the foam is on the cappuccinos.
It's extraordinary.
Today, Brummies are proud of their canals, claiming to have more than Venice.
And they're right.
Over 100 miles versus a meagre 26.
Yes, it's the Venice of the north, really, or the Venice of the Midlands.
The Midlands.
Yes, it's remiss of Venice not to want to turn round their failing tourist fortunes by calling themselves, "The Birmingham of the south," really.
Having neither access to the coast or to major rivers to transport its goods, Birmingham had to rely on its canal network.
It was the canals that helped transform a minor market town into the beating heart of Britain's Industrial Revolution - the city of a thousand trades.
Here in the centre of the city, times have changed and the once derelict and abandoned canal wharves have been given a new role.
This is all Brindleyplace now, which is an amazing development.
Is this all new? It's all new, yes.
Bloody hell.
It's amazing.
'With Sam by my side, it feels like the old days.
' Yet so much time has passed.
I have had yet another birthday and Sam now has a family of his own.
' Is this, I suppose, it must be your first time this year on the canals? I'm afraid so, yeah.
Just got it in in the first six months.
Well, this is the problem with having a small child who is, as of four weeks ago, walking.
Does she have a life jacket? Well, yeah, but I still don't want to throw her in to try it out! Sam's daughter will continue the family tradition, but perhaps when she's a little older! We should be coming up to the Farmer's Bridge flight.
Yep.
This flight used to be lit at night by gas lamps so that people could go on using them through the hours of darkness.
Central Birmingham might seem to be all lattes, cappuccinos and luxury flats, but the past is never very far away.
Hello.
Are you Albert? Yes.
Hello, I'm Sam.
Here to help us through the locks is a man who remembers when working boats still plied these waters.
How long have you been working on this flight? Oh, this flight? I've done 21 years up here.
I was boating originally when I was 15 with horse-drawn coalboats.
How old are you now? 77.
No! Yeah.
Wow.
Beginning to feel it now.
Oh, my mum's still got six years on you.
She was 83 yesterday.
Yeah.
All right, Ma? Here, look Go on, Ma.
What? She doesn't like help.
Go on.
Aah! I think it's best I hand this one over to the professional.
Oh, you are brilliant.
You're so strong! So, you said you started on the canals when you were 15? 15, yeah, with horse-drawn boats.
Amazing.
So more than 60 years now.
Yeah.
How many of you for each boat? Two.
Yes.
One with the horse, one with the boat.
Right.
Yeah, so we were That's quite efficient.
We need more than two now and we've got an engine.
I know.
I prefer to do the locks myself but today I have to admit defeat.
All right.
She's a little bit less confident on the side of locks than she was.
I remember when she was climbing over 15ft drops like a mountain goat.
I think my father's a very good carer but it's nice when he has company.
It's nice to come along and It's not a burden but just share the job because it is a job.
Oooh! Pru has always been so generous with her love and affection, and so we're taking a short break for me to buy her an extra special birthday present in the Jewellery Quarter.
A living reminder of this city's proud industrial past, the Jewellery Quarter's metal works once relied on canal-supplied coal to keep its foundries smelting.
For two centuries, this area has been helping tongue-tied men to say how they feel about the woman they love.
Why are we going in here? Well, I've arranged a little something for you, Pruey.
If you'd like to look over here This is just literally being finished.
Oh! Oh, isn't that beautiful? Thank you so much.
It's for your birthday, for yesterday.
You shouldn't have! Come around here.
So, it's sterling silver.
It has a central ruby and it has been rose gold-plated.
Lovely.
'One thing I never forget is how much I'm loved, by Tim and all my family.
I'm very lucky, really.
You are kind.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
What a treat! Yeah.
We're heading out through the suburbs now.
The Digbeth Branch Canal, once served the local Typhoo Tea, and Bird's Custard factories.
'Today, this area is awaiting redevelopment 'and so this stretch has a melancholic air 'of urban decay and industrial decline.
' That's it.
Yup.
It's extremely stiff.
I think I need your great strength.
Oh, you're so strong.
Well, you started it for me.
It's easier.
'Sam is leaving us soon, 'but it's been wonderful having him onboard again, 'even if it was only for the day.
' It takes me back to when they were little and we took them on the boat for the first time.
He's a father himself now, but his offspring is a bit young to come on the boat yet.
As we turn onto the Grand Union Canal, it's time to say goodbye to Birmingham.
Can we pull in just on the left just up there? Yeah.
'And to our eldest son, who is heading home 'to his partner and young daughter.
' Ta-ra, mother.
Bye, darling.
See you very soon.
Thanks for a lovely day.
I'll see you soon.
Yes, please.
Look after yourself.
You're always welcome.
OK.
Bye-bye.
'He's a grown man but I still want to cook him his supper 'and put him to bed!' 'Well, I'm afraid, you'll have to make do with me, darling.
' 'You'll do just fine.
' Lovely morning, isn't it? Mmm.
You flaked out last night but I was sailing on until about half past ten.
It was rather magical, I had the headlight on, and the tall trees and the fronds, it was gorgeous.
It's so lovely to leave the city behind and to wake up and you're in the real countryside.
'We're on a voyage from Birmingham to the village of Braunston 'for the annual canal festival.
' 'Leaving Catney we'll head into the open Midlands 'countryside before tackling the lock flight at Knowle.
'We'll then moor up at Kingswood.
' So this is the Grand Union and for over 150 years it carried coal from the north and from Birmingham to London and goods that arrived by ship in London up to Birmingham and the rest of the country.
'This canal and the whole network would have closed decades ago 'if it wasn't for a small group of determined people.
'The woman whom we are on our way to honour, Sonia Rolt, 'was one of those great pioneers of canal preservation 'and a dear friend who died last year.
'The working boats of old are long gone but there is a new 'generation of boaters who are making the waterways part of their lives.
'The narrow boat skippered by Sarah Henshaw 'carries a different sort of cargo - 'books.
' Hello.
You made it, nice to meet you.
It's Sarah, isn't it? Yes, hi, Tim, hello, Pru, really nice to meet you.
Great.
Do you want to take a look at the bookshop? Please.
Love to, yes, good.
'Sarah's home port is on the Trent and Mersey Canal 'but since 2009 she has travelled the network 'selling her literary wares.
' I'm afraid you'll have to excuse the house rabbit.
He does have a tendency of getting under your feet.
What's his name? His name's Napoleon Bunnyparte, which is a terrible name, I'm afraid.
And this is the bookshop.
Wonderful what you can do with a 60-foot boat.
Yeah, when it's open plan it's lovely and it lets the light in.
So when you're choosing books, do you try and find books that have some relevance to the canals? I do now, actually.
I started without any knowledge of the canals, or boating.
I'd been on one canal boat holiday when I was about 12 or 13 with my family and absolutely hated it.
I was working as a journalist in London which is how I got into it.
I wanted a complete change from that lifestyle, I was fed up of the city, fed up of nine to five and I thought a bookshop on a boat had a romantic appeal.
Have you got a favourite canal book? I do, actually.
It's The Maiden's Trip by Emma Smith, who volunteered for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, as I'm sure you're aware, during World War II.
Oh, yes, of course.
I just love her, I love her exuberance for the lifestyle and she approached it from a similar angle to me so she had no boating experience at all.
'Just like our friend Sonia, Emma Smith was one of the female 'canal volunteers who were vital to the nation's war effort '.
.
transporting raw materials 'and munitions along the Grand Union Canal.
' Oh, go on, read us a bit.
OK, then! The reason I like it is because she sums up so well what an odd experience it is to stand for so many hours on end at the back of a boat holding the tiller.
"The hours that one spends in this way on the deck of the boat "formed a peculiar part of one's life, a second little "life of withdrawal different from all others.
"One was alone but not lonely, nor bored, nor wasting time.
"Time, by an odd inversion, was the waster.
"One's mind with a clearly mixed detachment ranged "over every field of thought.
"And one did nothing, nothing except inquiringly stare ahead "and move one's hand from one side to the other.
" Oh, look, there's a goat.
What a lovely sight, goats, and I'd forgotten how gorgeous the wild irises are at this time of year.
'Idyllic as it might seem now, 'life on the old Grand Union was no holiday.
' Hi.
'Here to help us through Knowle Locks is a man who remembers 'exactly what it was like to be a professional bargee.
' You've been at it all your life, haven't you? Yeah, all my life and I'm still on now.
Yeah.
And I'm 78.
'Today, Joe's swapped a 20-tonne cargo of coal' Give me your hand.
'.
.
for something a little more delicate.
' OK? I'm Joe, a qualified boatman.
Hello.
'And considerably lighter! 'I'm very relieved not to be tackling this flight on my own.
' You're all right.
I'll look after you while I'm up here.
You're lovely, thank you very much.
OK.
Oh, it's ready.
OK, cast off.
'I'll try and put on a good show for the professional boatman.
' CRUNCHING Sorry, wind! 'It's all right, Timmy, I don't think Joe noticed.
' Thank goodness you're with us, I don't think I'd be strong enough for that.
No? 'Joe's certainly opened a few locks in his time.
' And you were actually a baby on board? I was born at Fradley Junction outside the Swan boozer.
All the boat people loved a pint and Dad stopped there and that's where my mum took bad and had me and the boat's called The Victory.
And your dad stayed in the pub.
Me dad was in the pub.
They left me in a little cottage on the side of the canal for the district nurse to look after me.
'Canal boats are our family's second home 'but they were Joe's only home.
'Working boats' cabins were often only seven feet long 'and eight and a half feet wide.
'So for Joe, his parents and five siblings, it would 'have been a tight squeeze! 'And every member of the family was expected to muck in.
' I was five when I started steering the boat, but on probably two bricks.
As long as I could see over the top.
If that weren't it, they'd turn the bricks over and lift me up a bit, and then I was about six, I think, when I started drawing the paddles.
What sort of life was it? Very hard.
Especially for the women, you know, the wives.
They used to have to do all the cooking, look after all the babies.
Yeah.
They didn't get no money, only the captain got paid.
I wouldn't like to go back to it again.
I know it's a nice life now but I wouldn't like it to come back again, you know, like it was when I was 17 and 18.
One more to go.
Your bow rope is there.
OK.
You better do what the gaffer's telling you or you'll get the sack.
We don't want that, do we? Not after 40 years, no.
40 years! 'Joe's been opening locks for over seven decades 'and he's rather good at it!' Oh, bless you, that's wonderful.
'There was a real community spirit amongst boating families 'and you can still see it in Joe.
' I wouldn't like to have done that on my own.
'Families needed to work together, 'because back then life on the cut was tough.
'Thankfully, times have changed.
' Oh, look at the swans here! Aren't they gorgeous? Is that Mum and Dad and all the babies, do you think? I guess so, yes.
Right, well, we've got quite a busy day today.
We have the delight of what's called the Stairway To Heaven.
21 locks of the Hatton Flight.
Right.
A lot of work for the crew.
Yes.
OK! We away? We're en route to the canal festival at Braunston.
Travelling through the Warwickshire countryside, we'll enter Shrewley Tunnel before descending the 21 locks of the Hatton Flight, and mooring up on the outskirts of Warwick.
Adagio is a nice name for a boat, isn't it? Ma non troppo.
Adagio ma non troppo, yes.
Slow, but not too slow.
It's the essence of canal travel.
I love this time of year.
The wild roses are just amazing.
Cruising through rural Warwickshire, it's hard to believe that this canal was once one of Britain's main industrial arteries busy with working boats for over 170 years.
Even the landscape itself has been shaped by the labour of men.
So we're looking down quite a distance Yes! Into the countryside.
And yet, we're about to go into a tunnel.
Seems incongruous, doesn't it? 'Ahead, the 433-yard Shrewley Tunnel.
'Dug out by hand at the turn of the 19th century.
' I don't like tunnels on canals, I must say.
What is it you don't like about them? I don't know, I suppose it's the concept of being buried alive.
Yes, it's quite a primal fear, that, isn't it? 'Cut through porous rock, inside it's notoriously wet and, 'like all tunnels, potentially dangerous.
' All right? Yep, fine.
'So better safe than sorry.
' It doesn't have a towpath, so it was legging through.
God.
But the horses, clearly they were so concerned with speed that they built a second tunnel.
You see up there? Sweet! Yes, it's lovely.
That's a horse tunnel? Which is a horse tunnel.
Horses usually had to be taken over the hill.
But here they have a direct route to the other side, while a team of leggers legged the 30-tonne boats through the main tunnel as fast humanly possible.
Not an easy life at all, but one which was considerably safer than working in canal construction.
As in nearly every canal tunnel that's ever been built, there are unfortunate fatalities.
And in this case, a number of the Irish navvies involved in the building died during the course of the construction.
Their spirits remained within the canal tunnel.
So, it's haunted, is it? So, it is haunted.
'It's saddening to think of those men who lost their lives 'just so that we could cruise through here today.
' Ah, ah! Sit down.
This is one of the nastiest tunnels I've ever experienced on the canal.
Absolutely soaking.
That's better.
Yeah, I'm glad to be out.
One of the reasons we love canals is that you never quite know who, or what, you'll encounter around the next bend.
Oh, look! Oh! Goodness me.
Oh, he's having a paddle.
He's having a paddle, yes.
Hello! Hello.
Where have you come from? How far have you been? He's quite happy.
Yes.
'And the paddling cow goes on her way, as do we.
' We began this journey on the Birmingham plateau at nearly 500 feet above sea level.
From there, it's downhill all the way to Braunston, which means we have to descend a great number of locks.
So we're coming up now to the Hatton Locks, the 21 locks built in the 18th century, originally.
But, er, rebuilt in 1934 using a new material that people weren't very sure about.
It was called concrete.
Ha! 'One thing is certain, that lock wheeling on my own, it will take us 'at least six hours to get through the 21 locks of the Hatton Flight.
' We're in luck.
There's a boat waiting to go down with us.
And it's a work boat.
'I certainly could do with some extra muscle to help me 'with these very large gates.
' Hello.
You going all the way down? Yeah, to the bottom.
Terrific.
Do you mind being married to us? Absolutely.
Absolute pleasure, no problem at all.
How long do you usually take to go down the whole 21? It can be two and a half hours.
Well, if we do do it under two and a half I'll be very pleased and surprised.
Well, that's a challenge.
But I'm sure we'll make it.
So, we're going for an unofficial record.
Under two and a half hours! Whether we make it or not, we'll still be cutting our journey time to less than half.
It takes 2,000 turns of the paddle gear to take a boat from the top to the bottom of the Hatton Flight.
Doing it on my own would have been quite daunting.
You go first.
Yes, dear.
'I still want to do my bit.
' Thank you! Of course, the skipper has to allow me off the boat first.
Off you get.
Hello? Off you get.
Well, yes, when Yes! Off you get! There, now! What? No, no Too late, gone.
Never mind.
It's too It's too far! It's too far.
Everybody always think I've got longer legs than I have.
So, how are we doing? This is number six, isn't it? Not bad, are we? We're doing very well, I think.
Yep.
We've done six locks.
Yeah? In just about 20 Under 25 minutes.
That's very good.
We're a good team.
I'm glad there's two of us.
That's 3:37.
Er Yeah we're all right, we're all right.
The Hatton Flight was one of the last great engineering feats of the canal age, and was built to speed up the journey between Birmingham and London.
The new locks were twice the width of the originals, and, at 14 feet, could accommodate one large barge or two narrow boats at the same time.
Crews who collected their wages at the top of the flight nicknamed Hatton's 21 locks "The Stairway To Heaven".
If we can get to the bottom by 5:31 Yes? We've equalled the record.
Oh, good.
I'm not bothered about speed on canals, you know.
Tim's taking this challenge a bit too seriously, and I'm not used to arriving at locks at such great speed! If you want to help, you've got to get off immediately we pass the stone.
Yes.
Well I hope I'll be able to manage it.
At the lock gate.
Go very, very slowly, darling.
Oh, I don't think I can do it.
I'm, I'm too scared.
I'm too scared, Tim.
I can't.
I can't do it.
No? You're a bit more nervous getting on and off the boats stepping over a distance, aren't you? Am I? Than you used to be, yeah.
Oh, well.
It's all right.
That's my advanced age no doubt, I don't know.
No, no, you're just being careful.
That's all right.
So far, touch wood, I'm not feeling physically aged yet.
Even so, three years ago we took on the 29 locks of the Caen Hill flight and Pru did most of the lock wheeling by herself.
That'd be too much for her now.
It's like Shakespeare, Tim.
What? It's so tiring, nobody gets to sit down unless you're a king.
That's right, yeah.
Nobody gets to rest unless you're the captain.
This is the last lock on the flight.
Oh! Our boys in blue give the last lock all they've got.
Is it enough to break the record? That's pretty good timing, just over two hours.
Just over two hours? Barely under two and a half.
How do you feel about that? We've gone through the last lock! 'And that's it, we've made it.
'With time to spare!' Oh! Fantastic! I really need that.
Pass 'em down the line.
Oh, they're nice and cold.
For the records, the Hatton Locks in 2 hours 7 minutes.
It's a short run now to Warwick, and our mooring for the night.
Home to the Earls of Warwick for centuries, the castle sits majestically on the banks of the River Avon.
The canal, however, was built for working boats, so we're being sent into town via the tradesmen's entrance.
Right, we're coming into Warwick now and we're going to spend the night on the Saltisford arm.
Built in 1799, this wharf once kept the local gasworks supplied with coal.
Thanks very much.
But now serves as a ready-made marina for pleasure boats.
How lovely.
'It's time to welcome new recruits on board.
' Hiya.
Hello! Hello, darling girl! 'We're being joined by my daughter, Juliet, and grandson, Ben.
' Jolly good.
Great to see you, isn't it? How's it going, you all right? 'Juliet is Tim's daughter from his first marriage, 'but I've known her since she was only six.
' Whoa! Cheers! Lovely to see you.
'Just like the traditional working boats of old, 'our crew is now also our family.
' Oh, it's lovely to be here with my ready-made daughter! Oh! Do you want me to cast off? Would you? Thanks.
'We're en route to the annual narrow-boat rally at the canal-side 'village of Braunston.
' Don't fall in.
Ah, I've lost the rope.
There's a good start.
'For this next stretch of canal, we've enlisted some extra crew, 'in the shape of my daughter Juliet and grandson Ben.
' OK, just come aboard, will you? Well done.
Good.
'Today, we'll pass by Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa, heading east.
'We'll be swapping on to our own family boat at Calcutt.
'Then, at Napton Junction, 'we turn on to the Oxford Canal for our final run into Braunston.
'We need to make it to Braunston tonight, as first thing 'tomorrow morning, we're due ceremonially to unveil a plaque.
' 'We'll be honouring an important figure in canal history, 'our friend, Sonya Rolt.
' 'So we can't be late.
' Steady as she goes, Timmy! We are a bit aground, aren't we? Yeah.
'This is when the younger generation are put to the test.
' We need the pole, Ben.
That'll do it, yeah.
Yeah? 'And they pass with flying colours.
' Thank you.
'Juliet's mother and I split up when she was just five.
'And sadly, I missed out on a fair bit of her childhood.
' I lived with my mum till I was 14.
And she remarried and moved to Wales.
And I didn't really want to go to Wales, so I went to live with my dad.
Hello.
But I was away at school, so I didn't really see him very much.
We didn't see a lot of each other, did we? Not a lot, no.
No.
Um Well, um We were away an awful lot.
Yeah.
Always working, so Yes, yes.
Lock coming.
'But we made the best of the time we had together.
'It was often on canal trips like this.
'Juliet has a sweet nature and always got on well with her second 'family - Sam, Joe and especially Pru.
' She was the most amazing stepmother, weren't you? I'm your wicked stepmother, I know.
No, you were worried that I was going to think that, but no, never.
Never, she was great.
It was brilliant.
I was so lucky because I had two boys, so she was a readymade daughter, you see.
No, you were lovely.
I don't really remember I remember you flinging your arms round my knees and saying, "You're my mum!" And I was thrilled.
But I said, "No, no, no.
I'm not your mum.
I'm an extra mum.
" 'As ever, it's these moments on the canals 'when our family is at its closest.
' Where the bee sucks, there suck I On the cowslip's bell I lie There I couch, when owls do cry Merrily, merrily, shall I move now Under the blossom that hangs on the bough Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
Ooh.
Did you like that, Ben? Thank you.
'It's time to drop off our hire boat and sadly, 'Juliet and Ben are leaving us, too.
' Thank you so much.
Darling, it's lovely to have you.
'We're now transferring to our family boat.
'We like to use her whenever we can.
She's currently moored in the marina here at Calcutt, 'which is on our route.
' 'So we thought - why not?' Ah! Oh! 'We still have over six miles to go today 'and it's already seven o'clock.
' Well, don't get too relaxed.
We've got to get to Braunston and it's time we were off.
Braunston, here we come.
Yeah.
Do you want me to cast off? Yes, please.
It's nice to be home from home in our own boat, isn't it? Lovely though the other one was.
It's been a long journey today.
Yes, we can relax a bit now.
It's a home, wherever it is.
'We're on our way to honour a woman 'who helped keep Britain's canals open.
'And on an evening like this, 'one can understand why they were worth saving.
' 'When you're on the canals, time moves to a different rhythm.
'The past feels closer.
'One can sense what it must have been like for those weary 'crews of the working boats, 'as they made their way late into Braunston, 'thankful to make their mooring before nightfall.
' TRADITIONAL MUSIC 'It's the day of the rally and from early morning, 'Braunston is throbbing with canal life.
' Well, a beautiful day for it.
Thousands of people.
It's going to be great.
'Braunston's position at the junction of the Oxford 'and Grand Union canals meant it expanded to become a commercial hub.
'It's also where the canal community gathered together, 'as they still do today.
'This annual rally is a celebration of the historic working boats 'and of the men, women and children who lived and worked on them.
' Not too tight.
Thank you.
Into a knot.
Thank you.
Good.
I've got a cap somewhere, haven't I? 'We're very honoured to be playing a part in today's ceremonies.
'Regrettably, we've been asked to perform our 'duties in traditional canal dress.
'Even though I'm an actor, I can't abide dressing up.
' 'It helps me get in to character.
' I'm playing the owner's wife, who does the washing and cooks.
Steers.
Steers the butty! And steers the butty and has babies from time to time.
'The moment has come to remember our dear friend Sonya Rolt, 'whom we had tea with for the final time last year.
' Marvellous to see you.
And you.
'As one of the Inland Waterway Volunteers, Sonya 'worked on a narrow boat throughout World War II.
' 'After the war, she campaigned to improve 'the lives of the families who still lived and worked on the canals.
'Then, with her second husband, Tom Rolt, 'she fought to save the dying network for future generations to enjoy.
' 'This memorial honours her contribution to canals.
' We hereby declare this plaque open.
Open.
It was indeed the inspiration for a movement which could preserve the waterways.
Nobody's understood quite how after the war there was grave danger of them being absolutely completely disregarded.
So it really was a close run thing.
'Without Sonya and others like her, there could be no festival here.
'No canals.
' 'And of course, no working canalboats.
'It's thanks to Sonya we can join the crew of a steam-powered narrow boat, 'one of the last in existence.
' Hello.
Hello.
Pleased to meet you.
Welcome to the President.
Are you going to come for a ride? Yes, please.
Yes, please! 'When she was built in 1909, President was state of the art.
' Steam-driven canalboats, that's the way to travel.
To me, it doesn't get better than this.
Wonderful.
Listen to that noise.
'Being steam not horse powered, 'President was in an elite class of narrow boats.
' What was President carrying in her heyday? President used to run what they call flyrun, which was nonstop between London and Birmingham, and it would be carrying valuable cargoes, tea and things like that.
But used to do it flyrun, nonstop, between London and Birmingham in about 54 hours.
That's pretty good going, isn't it? Yeah.
Here you are, Tim.
Would you like to take over the helm? Sure.
Thank you.
Oh, Tim must be in seventh heaven to be at the tiller of a steam-driven canalboat, sort of a dream for him.
'In 1858, this area was described as a boatman's village.
'Where the people on the land seemed to belong to the people on the water.
'Where everybody knew everybody and seemed glad to see everybody.
' 'Over 150 years later, 'it's still a community that we're proud to be a part of.
' It's been a great day, hasn't it? Yes.
Lovely to see all these people, these lovely boats.
But it's lovely that canal life has become reborn.
It's something people can share.
Yes.
Like our family does.
Well, yes.
We've got a lot to thank canals for.
Mmm.
Haven't we? 'Next week, Ireland.
'We explore a wild and remote canal.
' The Ireland of myths and legends.
'Following an ancient waterway 'That forms a link between two nations.
' This is border country.
'And we uncover our own hidden history.
' I'm beginning to feel a little bit more Irish by the moment.
And I'm Timothy West.
Beautiful.
We've been husband and wife for over five decades.
Amazing.
Cheers.
We've been wedded to stage and screen for even longer.
Great hairdo! Ha-ha.
But we share another passion - canals.
Cast off, please.
Aye-aye, sir.
Canals wind through our lives, carrying our treasured memories Of families growing up, Of moments of wonder And hidden beauty.
Is this the most remote canal we've ever been on? It probably is, yes.
Of love And laughter.
Hey! Sorry about that.
Things are a bit harder for me these days.
I'm not strong enough.
But we get by.
We're at the Sun Inn! Hooray! Pru has a slight condition.
It does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
Oh, my darling.
I'm so sorry.
I didn't cast you off! One has to recognise that Pru's domestic life is getting a little narrower by the day.
Well, it can be a nuisance, but it doesn't stop me remembering how to open a lock gate, or make the skipper a cup of tea.
OK.
Cast off.
OK.
We'll be exploring new countries.
It's amazing, isn't it? And following new routes.
I'm lost now.
But one thing stays the same We're always together.
Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
The Grand Union - the backbone of Britain's canal system.
Working boats once plied its waters crewed by close-knit families, who spent their lives ferrying goods between Birmingham and London.
On this journey, we'll retrace part of this historic route.
So this is the Grand Union proper.
And, like the boatmen of old, we'll rely on our family to get us there' Oh, you're so strong.
.
.
our son, Sam, and Tim's daughter, Juliet.
' Hi, there.
You all right? Travelling from Birmingham, the hub of the canal network' It's the Venice of the north, really, or the Venice of the Midlands.
The Midlands.
We'll head to a great gathering of fellow canal folk at the historic village of Braunston.
There, we'll celebrate the great bygone era of working boats.
For me, it doesn't get better than this.
And honour a woman who dedicated much of her life to saving Britain's canals' We hereby declare this plaque open.
Open! .
.
our dear friend, Sonia Rolt, who died last year.
Gorgeous to see you.
Oh, well.
And you.
Ahead lies a daunting journey strewn with tunnels Aah.
Aaah! .
.
and locks.
I don't think I can do it.
I'm too scared.
Sorry.
Wind.
But with luck and a little help from our fellow canal lovers Thank goodness you're with us! .
.
we'll make it.
Whoo! Our journey begins in Birmingham's Gas Street Basin.
We were last here in the 1980s.
This is all so different.
It's all very smart now.
Shall we go and find our boat? Yeah, let's do that.
OK.
Grace, Amazing Grace.
Uh-huh.
Nice.
She's nice, isn't she? She's very spacious.
They're huge windows, aren't they? Yes, that's nice.
You can see out well but people can see in.
I have to be very careful when I'm dressing or undressing.
Well, if you want to do a striptease in the forward cabin, yes.
Sam should be here in a few minutes.
Oh, good.
For this voyage, we've enlisted the help of the younger generation.
Hello! Hello! Hi! Joining us on the first leg, is our son and fellow actor, Samuel West.
This is nice.
Yesterday, we celebrated my birthday.
53 again! But having my eldest onboard today, is the best possible present.
Hello, Mum.
Happy birthday for yesterday.
Thank you.
It doesn't seem that long ago that I was showing Sam the ropes.
Now we're both grateful for his help.
OK, ready when you are.
OK! OK.
Our voyage to the Canal Festival will take us through Birmingham, and we'll then join the Grand Union.
Travelling out through the suburbs, we'll enter the open Warwickshire countryside and face some of the most daunting lock flights on the network.
Finally, we'll head north-east to Braunston.
I can't believe this is the same place.
I know.
Travelling in our own boat, we last came through here when Sam was a teenager.
I remember, in about 1980 we turned round and I remember gunning the engine to try and turn the boat.
Yeah.
And the foam came up grey the water was like oil, and now all the foam is on the cappuccinos.
It's extraordinary.
Today, Brummies are proud of their canals, claiming to have more than Venice.
And they're right.
Over 100 miles versus a meagre 26.
Yes, it's the Venice of the north, really, or the Venice of the Midlands.
The Midlands.
Yes, it's remiss of Venice not to want to turn round their failing tourist fortunes by calling themselves, "The Birmingham of the south," really.
Having neither access to the coast or to major rivers to transport its goods, Birmingham had to rely on its canal network.
It was the canals that helped transform a minor market town into the beating heart of Britain's Industrial Revolution - the city of a thousand trades.
Here in the centre of the city, times have changed and the once derelict and abandoned canal wharves have been given a new role.
This is all Brindleyplace now, which is an amazing development.
Is this all new? It's all new, yes.
Bloody hell.
It's amazing.
'With Sam by my side, it feels like the old days.
' Yet so much time has passed.
I have had yet another birthday and Sam now has a family of his own.
' Is this, I suppose, it must be your first time this year on the canals? I'm afraid so, yeah.
Just got it in in the first six months.
Well, this is the problem with having a small child who is, as of four weeks ago, walking.
Does she have a life jacket? Well, yeah, but I still don't want to throw her in to try it out! Sam's daughter will continue the family tradition, but perhaps when she's a little older! We should be coming up to the Farmer's Bridge flight.
Yep.
This flight used to be lit at night by gas lamps so that people could go on using them through the hours of darkness.
Central Birmingham might seem to be all lattes, cappuccinos and luxury flats, but the past is never very far away.
Hello.
Are you Albert? Yes.
Hello, I'm Sam.
Here to help us through the locks is a man who remembers when working boats still plied these waters.
How long have you been working on this flight? Oh, this flight? I've done 21 years up here.
I was boating originally when I was 15 with horse-drawn coalboats.
How old are you now? 77.
No! Yeah.
Wow.
Beginning to feel it now.
Oh, my mum's still got six years on you.
She was 83 yesterday.
Yeah.
All right, Ma? Here, look Go on, Ma.
What? She doesn't like help.
Go on.
Aah! I think it's best I hand this one over to the professional.
Oh, you are brilliant.
You're so strong! So, you said you started on the canals when you were 15? 15, yeah, with horse-drawn boats.
Amazing.
So more than 60 years now.
Yeah.
How many of you for each boat? Two.
Yes.
One with the horse, one with the boat.
Right.
Yeah, so we were That's quite efficient.
We need more than two now and we've got an engine.
I know.
I prefer to do the locks myself but today I have to admit defeat.
All right.
She's a little bit less confident on the side of locks than she was.
I remember when she was climbing over 15ft drops like a mountain goat.
I think my father's a very good carer but it's nice when he has company.
It's nice to come along and It's not a burden but just share the job because it is a job.
Oooh! Pru has always been so generous with her love and affection, and so we're taking a short break for me to buy her an extra special birthday present in the Jewellery Quarter.
A living reminder of this city's proud industrial past, the Jewellery Quarter's metal works once relied on canal-supplied coal to keep its foundries smelting.
For two centuries, this area has been helping tongue-tied men to say how they feel about the woman they love.
Why are we going in here? Well, I've arranged a little something for you, Pruey.
If you'd like to look over here This is just literally being finished.
Oh! Oh, isn't that beautiful? Thank you so much.
It's for your birthday, for yesterday.
You shouldn't have! Come around here.
So, it's sterling silver.
It has a central ruby and it has been rose gold-plated.
Lovely.
'One thing I never forget is how much I'm loved, by Tim and all my family.
I'm very lucky, really.
You are kind.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
What a treat! Yeah.
We're heading out through the suburbs now.
The Digbeth Branch Canal, once served the local Typhoo Tea, and Bird's Custard factories.
'Today, this area is awaiting redevelopment 'and so this stretch has a melancholic air 'of urban decay and industrial decline.
' That's it.
Yup.
It's extremely stiff.
I think I need your great strength.
Oh, you're so strong.
Well, you started it for me.
It's easier.
'Sam is leaving us soon, 'but it's been wonderful having him onboard again, 'even if it was only for the day.
' It takes me back to when they were little and we took them on the boat for the first time.
He's a father himself now, but his offspring is a bit young to come on the boat yet.
As we turn onto the Grand Union Canal, it's time to say goodbye to Birmingham.
Can we pull in just on the left just up there? Yeah.
'And to our eldest son, who is heading home 'to his partner and young daughter.
' Ta-ra, mother.
Bye, darling.
See you very soon.
Thanks for a lovely day.
I'll see you soon.
Yes, please.
Look after yourself.
You're always welcome.
OK.
Bye-bye.
'He's a grown man but I still want to cook him his supper 'and put him to bed!' 'Well, I'm afraid, you'll have to make do with me, darling.
' 'You'll do just fine.
' Lovely morning, isn't it? Mmm.
You flaked out last night but I was sailing on until about half past ten.
It was rather magical, I had the headlight on, and the tall trees and the fronds, it was gorgeous.
It's so lovely to leave the city behind and to wake up and you're in the real countryside.
'We're on a voyage from Birmingham to the village of Braunston 'for the annual canal festival.
' 'Leaving Catney we'll head into the open Midlands 'countryside before tackling the lock flight at Knowle.
'We'll then moor up at Kingswood.
' So this is the Grand Union and for over 150 years it carried coal from the north and from Birmingham to London and goods that arrived by ship in London up to Birmingham and the rest of the country.
'This canal and the whole network would have closed decades ago 'if it wasn't for a small group of determined people.
'The woman whom we are on our way to honour, Sonia Rolt, 'was one of those great pioneers of canal preservation 'and a dear friend who died last year.
'The working boats of old are long gone but there is a new 'generation of boaters who are making the waterways part of their lives.
'The narrow boat skippered by Sarah Henshaw 'carries a different sort of cargo - 'books.
' Hello.
You made it, nice to meet you.
It's Sarah, isn't it? Yes, hi, Tim, hello, Pru, really nice to meet you.
Great.
Do you want to take a look at the bookshop? Please.
Love to, yes, good.
'Sarah's home port is on the Trent and Mersey Canal 'but since 2009 she has travelled the network 'selling her literary wares.
' I'm afraid you'll have to excuse the house rabbit.
He does have a tendency of getting under your feet.
What's his name? His name's Napoleon Bunnyparte, which is a terrible name, I'm afraid.
And this is the bookshop.
Wonderful what you can do with a 60-foot boat.
Yeah, when it's open plan it's lovely and it lets the light in.
So when you're choosing books, do you try and find books that have some relevance to the canals? I do now, actually.
I started without any knowledge of the canals, or boating.
I'd been on one canal boat holiday when I was about 12 or 13 with my family and absolutely hated it.
I was working as a journalist in London which is how I got into it.
I wanted a complete change from that lifestyle, I was fed up of the city, fed up of nine to five and I thought a bookshop on a boat had a romantic appeal.
Have you got a favourite canal book? I do, actually.
It's The Maiden's Trip by Emma Smith, who volunteered for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, as I'm sure you're aware, during World War II.
Oh, yes, of course.
I just love her, I love her exuberance for the lifestyle and she approached it from a similar angle to me so she had no boating experience at all.
'Just like our friend Sonia, Emma Smith was one of the female 'canal volunteers who were vital to the nation's war effort '.
.
transporting raw materials 'and munitions along the Grand Union Canal.
' Oh, go on, read us a bit.
OK, then! The reason I like it is because she sums up so well what an odd experience it is to stand for so many hours on end at the back of a boat holding the tiller.
"The hours that one spends in this way on the deck of the boat "formed a peculiar part of one's life, a second little "life of withdrawal different from all others.
"One was alone but not lonely, nor bored, nor wasting time.
"Time, by an odd inversion, was the waster.
"One's mind with a clearly mixed detachment ranged "over every field of thought.
"And one did nothing, nothing except inquiringly stare ahead "and move one's hand from one side to the other.
" Oh, look, there's a goat.
What a lovely sight, goats, and I'd forgotten how gorgeous the wild irises are at this time of year.
'Idyllic as it might seem now, 'life on the old Grand Union was no holiday.
' Hi.
'Here to help us through Knowle Locks is a man who remembers 'exactly what it was like to be a professional bargee.
' You've been at it all your life, haven't you? Yeah, all my life and I'm still on now.
Yeah.
And I'm 78.
'Today, Joe's swapped a 20-tonne cargo of coal' Give me your hand.
'.
.
for something a little more delicate.
' OK? I'm Joe, a qualified boatman.
Hello.
'And considerably lighter! 'I'm very relieved not to be tackling this flight on my own.
' You're all right.
I'll look after you while I'm up here.
You're lovely, thank you very much.
OK.
Oh, it's ready.
OK, cast off.
'I'll try and put on a good show for the professional boatman.
' CRUNCHING Sorry, wind! 'It's all right, Timmy, I don't think Joe noticed.
' Thank goodness you're with us, I don't think I'd be strong enough for that.
No? 'Joe's certainly opened a few locks in his time.
' And you were actually a baby on board? I was born at Fradley Junction outside the Swan boozer.
All the boat people loved a pint and Dad stopped there and that's where my mum took bad and had me and the boat's called The Victory.
And your dad stayed in the pub.
Me dad was in the pub.
They left me in a little cottage on the side of the canal for the district nurse to look after me.
'Canal boats are our family's second home 'but they were Joe's only home.
'Working boats' cabins were often only seven feet long 'and eight and a half feet wide.
'So for Joe, his parents and five siblings, it would 'have been a tight squeeze! 'And every member of the family was expected to muck in.
' I was five when I started steering the boat, but on probably two bricks.
As long as I could see over the top.
If that weren't it, they'd turn the bricks over and lift me up a bit, and then I was about six, I think, when I started drawing the paddles.
What sort of life was it? Very hard.
Especially for the women, you know, the wives.
They used to have to do all the cooking, look after all the babies.
Yeah.
They didn't get no money, only the captain got paid.
I wouldn't like to go back to it again.
I know it's a nice life now but I wouldn't like it to come back again, you know, like it was when I was 17 and 18.
One more to go.
Your bow rope is there.
OK.
You better do what the gaffer's telling you or you'll get the sack.
We don't want that, do we? Not after 40 years, no.
40 years! 'Joe's been opening locks for over seven decades 'and he's rather good at it!' Oh, bless you, that's wonderful.
'There was a real community spirit amongst boating families 'and you can still see it in Joe.
' I wouldn't like to have done that on my own.
'Families needed to work together, 'because back then life on the cut was tough.
'Thankfully, times have changed.
' Oh, look at the swans here! Aren't they gorgeous? Is that Mum and Dad and all the babies, do you think? I guess so, yes.
Right, well, we've got quite a busy day today.
We have the delight of what's called the Stairway To Heaven.
21 locks of the Hatton Flight.
Right.
A lot of work for the crew.
Yes.
OK! We away? We're en route to the canal festival at Braunston.
Travelling through the Warwickshire countryside, we'll enter Shrewley Tunnel before descending the 21 locks of the Hatton Flight, and mooring up on the outskirts of Warwick.
Adagio is a nice name for a boat, isn't it? Ma non troppo.
Adagio ma non troppo, yes.
Slow, but not too slow.
It's the essence of canal travel.
I love this time of year.
The wild roses are just amazing.
Cruising through rural Warwickshire, it's hard to believe that this canal was once one of Britain's main industrial arteries busy with working boats for over 170 years.
Even the landscape itself has been shaped by the labour of men.
So we're looking down quite a distance Yes! Into the countryside.
And yet, we're about to go into a tunnel.
Seems incongruous, doesn't it? 'Ahead, the 433-yard Shrewley Tunnel.
'Dug out by hand at the turn of the 19th century.
' I don't like tunnels on canals, I must say.
What is it you don't like about them? I don't know, I suppose it's the concept of being buried alive.
Yes, it's quite a primal fear, that, isn't it? 'Cut through porous rock, inside it's notoriously wet and, 'like all tunnels, potentially dangerous.
' All right? Yep, fine.
'So better safe than sorry.
' It doesn't have a towpath, so it was legging through.
God.
But the horses, clearly they were so concerned with speed that they built a second tunnel.
You see up there? Sweet! Yes, it's lovely.
That's a horse tunnel? Which is a horse tunnel.
Horses usually had to be taken over the hill.
But here they have a direct route to the other side, while a team of leggers legged the 30-tonne boats through the main tunnel as fast humanly possible.
Not an easy life at all, but one which was considerably safer than working in canal construction.
As in nearly every canal tunnel that's ever been built, there are unfortunate fatalities.
And in this case, a number of the Irish navvies involved in the building died during the course of the construction.
Their spirits remained within the canal tunnel.
So, it's haunted, is it? So, it is haunted.
'It's saddening to think of those men who lost their lives 'just so that we could cruise through here today.
' Ah, ah! Sit down.
This is one of the nastiest tunnels I've ever experienced on the canal.
Absolutely soaking.
That's better.
Yeah, I'm glad to be out.
One of the reasons we love canals is that you never quite know who, or what, you'll encounter around the next bend.
Oh, look! Oh! Goodness me.
Oh, he's having a paddle.
He's having a paddle, yes.
Hello! Hello.
Where have you come from? How far have you been? He's quite happy.
Yes.
'And the paddling cow goes on her way, as do we.
' We began this journey on the Birmingham plateau at nearly 500 feet above sea level.
From there, it's downhill all the way to Braunston, which means we have to descend a great number of locks.
So we're coming up now to the Hatton Locks, the 21 locks built in the 18th century, originally.
But, er, rebuilt in 1934 using a new material that people weren't very sure about.
It was called concrete.
Ha! 'One thing is certain, that lock wheeling on my own, it will take us 'at least six hours to get through the 21 locks of the Hatton Flight.
' We're in luck.
There's a boat waiting to go down with us.
And it's a work boat.
'I certainly could do with some extra muscle to help me 'with these very large gates.
' Hello.
You going all the way down? Yeah, to the bottom.
Terrific.
Do you mind being married to us? Absolutely.
Absolute pleasure, no problem at all.
How long do you usually take to go down the whole 21? It can be two and a half hours.
Well, if we do do it under two and a half I'll be very pleased and surprised.
Well, that's a challenge.
But I'm sure we'll make it.
So, we're going for an unofficial record.
Under two and a half hours! Whether we make it or not, we'll still be cutting our journey time to less than half.
It takes 2,000 turns of the paddle gear to take a boat from the top to the bottom of the Hatton Flight.
Doing it on my own would have been quite daunting.
You go first.
Yes, dear.
'I still want to do my bit.
' Thank you! Of course, the skipper has to allow me off the boat first.
Off you get.
Hello? Off you get.
Well, yes, when Yes! Off you get! There, now! What? No, no Too late, gone.
Never mind.
It's too It's too far! It's too far.
Everybody always think I've got longer legs than I have.
So, how are we doing? This is number six, isn't it? Not bad, are we? We're doing very well, I think.
Yep.
We've done six locks.
Yeah? In just about 20 Under 25 minutes.
That's very good.
We're a good team.
I'm glad there's two of us.
That's 3:37.
Er Yeah we're all right, we're all right.
The Hatton Flight was one of the last great engineering feats of the canal age, and was built to speed up the journey between Birmingham and London.
The new locks were twice the width of the originals, and, at 14 feet, could accommodate one large barge or two narrow boats at the same time.
Crews who collected their wages at the top of the flight nicknamed Hatton's 21 locks "The Stairway To Heaven".
If we can get to the bottom by 5:31 Yes? We've equalled the record.
Oh, good.
I'm not bothered about speed on canals, you know.
Tim's taking this challenge a bit too seriously, and I'm not used to arriving at locks at such great speed! If you want to help, you've got to get off immediately we pass the stone.
Yes.
Well I hope I'll be able to manage it.
At the lock gate.
Go very, very slowly, darling.
Oh, I don't think I can do it.
I'm, I'm too scared.
I'm too scared, Tim.
I can't.
I can't do it.
No? You're a bit more nervous getting on and off the boats stepping over a distance, aren't you? Am I? Than you used to be, yeah.
Oh, well.
It's all right.
That's my advanced age no doubt, I don't know.
No, no, you're just being careful.
That's all right.
So far, touch wood, I'm not feeling physically aged yet.
Even so, three years ago we took on the 29 locks of the Caen Hill flight and Pru did most of the lock wheeling by herself.
That'd be too much for her now.
It's like Shakespeare, Tim.
What? It's so tiring, nobody gets to sit down unless you're a king.
That's right, yeah.
Nobody gets to rest unless you're the captain.
This is the last lock on the flight.
Oh! Our boys in blue give the last lock all they've got.
Is it enough to break the record? That's pretty good timing, just over two hours.
Just over two hours? Barely under two and a half.
How do you feel about that? We've gone through the last lock! 'And that's it, we've made it.
'With time to spare!' Oh! Fantastic! I really need that.
Pass 'em down the line.
Oh, they're nice and cold.
For the records, the Hatton Locks in 2 hours 7 minutes.
It's a short run now to Warwick, and our mooring for the night.
Home to the Earls of Warwick for centuries, the castle sits majestically on the banks of the River Avon.
The canal, however, was built for working boats, so we're being sent into town via the tradesmen's entrance.
Right, we're coming into Warwick now and we're going to spend the night on the Saltisford arm.
Built in 1799, this wharf once kept the local gasworks supplied with coal.
Thanks very much.
But now serves as a ready-made marina for pleasure boats.
How lovely.
'It's time to welcome new recruits on board.
' Hiya.
Hello! Hello, darling girl! 'We're being joined by my daughter, Juliet, and grandson, Ben.
' Jolly good.
Great to see you, isn't it? How's it going, you all right? 'Juliet is Tim's daughter from his first marriage, 'but I've known her since she was only six.
' Whoa! Cheers! Lovely to see you.
'Just like the traditional working boats of old, 'our crew is now also our family.
' Oh, it's lovely to be here with my ready-made daughter! Oh! Do you want me to cast off? Would you? Thanks.
'We're en route to the annual narrow-boat rally at the canal-side 'village of Braunston.
' Don't fall in.
Ah, I've lost the rope.
There's a good start.
'For this next stretch of canal, we've enlisted some extra crew, 'in the shape of my daughter Juliet and grandson Ben.
' OK, just come aboard, will you? Well done.
Good.
'Today, we'll pass by Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa, heading east.
'We'll be swapping on to our own family boat at Calcutt.
'Then, at Napton Junction, 'we turn on to the Oxford Canal for our final run into Braunston.
'We need to make it to Braunston tonight, as first thing 'tomorrow morning, we're due ceremonially to unveil a plaque.
' 'We'll be honouring an important figure in canal history, 'our friend, Sonya Rolt.
' 'So we can't be late.
' Steady as she goes, Timmy! We are a bit aground, aren't we? Yeah.
'This is when the younger generation are put to the test.
' We need the pole, Ben.
That'll do it, yeah.
Yeah? 'And they pass with flying colours.
' Thank you.
'Juliet's mother and I split up when she was just five.
'And sadly, I missed out on a fair bit of her childhood.
' I lived with my mum till I was 14.
And she remarried and moved to Wales.
And I didn't really want to go to Wales, so I went to live with my dad.
Hello.
But I was away at school, so I didn't really see him very much.
We didn't see a lot of each other, did we? Not a lot, no.
No.
Um Well, um We were away an awful lot.
Yeah.
Always working, so Yes, yes.
Lock coming.
'But we made the best of the time we had together.
'It was often on canal trips like this.
'Juliet has a sweet nature and always got on well with her second 'family - Sam, Joe and especially Pru.
' She was the most amazing stepmother, weren't you? I'm your wicked stepmother, I know.
No, you were worried that I was going to think that, but no, never.
Never, she was great.
It was brilliant.
I was so lucky because I had two boys, so she was a readymade daughter, you see.
No, you were lovely.
I don't really remember I remember you flinging your arms round my knees and saying, "You're my mum!" And I was thrilled.
But I said, "No, no, no.
I'm not your mum.
I'm an extra mum.
" 'As ever, it's these moments on the canals 'when our family is at its closest.
' Where the bee sucks, there suck I On the cowslip's bell I lie There I couch, when owls do cry Merrily, merrily, shall I move now Under the blossom that hangs on the bough Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
Ooh.
Did you like that, Ben? Thank you.
'It's time to drop off our hire boat and sadly, 'Juliet and Ben are leaving us, too.
' Thank you so much.
Darling, it's lovely to have you.
'We're now transferring to our family boat.
'We like to use her whenever we can.
She's currently moored in the marina here at Calcutt, 'which is on our route.
' 'So we thought - why not?' Ah! Oh! 'We still have over six miles to go today 'and it's already seven o'clock.
' Well, don't get too relaxed.
We've got to get to Braunston and it's time we were off.
Braunston, here we come.
Yeah.
Do you want me to cast off? Yes, please.
It's nice to be home from home in our own boat, isn't it? Lovely though the other one was.
It's been a long journey today.
Yes, we can relax a bit now.
It's a home, wherever it is.
'We're on our way to honour a woman 'who helped keep Britain's canals open.
'And on an evening like this, 'one can understand why they were worth saving.
' 'When you're on the canals, time moves to a different rhythm.
'The past feels closer.
'One can sense what it must have been like for those weary 'crews of the working boats, 'as they made their way late into Braunston, 'thankful to make their mooring before nightfall.
' TRADITIONAL MUSIC 'It's the day of the rally and from early morning, 'Braunston is throbbing with canal life.
' Well, a beautiful day for it.
Thousands of people.
It's going to be great.
'Braunston's position at the junction of the Oxford 'and Grand Union canals meant it expanded to become a commercial hub.
'It's also where the canal community gathered together, 'as they still do today.
'This annual rally is a celebration of the historic working boats 'and of the men, women and children who lived and worked on them.
' Not too tight.
Thank you.
Into a knot.
Thank you.
Good.
I've got a cap somewhere, haven't I? 'We're very honoured to be playing a part in today's ceremonies.
'Regrettably, we've been asked to perform our 'duties in traditional canal dress.
'Even though I'm an actor, I can't abide dressing up.
' 'It helps me get in to character.
' I'm playing the owner's wife, who does the washing and cooks.
Steers.
Steers the butty! And steers the butty and has babies from time to time.
'The moment has come to remember our dear friend Sonya Rolt, 'whom we had tea with for the final time last year.
' Marvellous to see you.
And you.
'As one of the Inland Waterway Volunteers, Sonya 'worked on a narrow boat throughout World War II.
' 'After the war, she campaigned to improve 'the lives of the families who still lived and worked on the canals.
'Then, with her second husband, Tom Rolt, 'she fought to save the dying network for future generations to enjoy.
' 'This memorial honours her contribution to canals.
' We hereby declare this plaque open.
Open.
It was indeed the inspiration for a movement which could preserve the waterways.
Nobody's understood quite how after the war there was grave danger of them being absolutely completely disregarded.
So it really was a close run thing.
'Without Sonya and others like her, there could be no festival here.
'No canals.
' 'And of course, no working canalboats.
'It's thanks to Sonya we can join the crew of a steam-powered narrow boat, 'one of the last in existence.
' Hello.
Hello.
Pleased to meet you.
Welcome to the President.
Are you going to come for a ride? Yes, please.
Yes, please! 'When she was built in 1909, President was state of the art.
' Steam-driven canalboats, that's the way to travel.
To me, it doesn't get better than this.
Wonderful.
Listen to that noise.
'Being steam not horse powered, 'President was in an elite class of narrow boats.
' What was President carrying in her heyday? President used to run what they call flyrun, which was nonstop between London and Birmingham, and it would be carrying valuable cargoes, tea and things like that.
But used to do it flyrun, nonstop, between London and Birmingham in about 54 hours.
That's pretty good going, isn't it? Yeah.
Here you are, Tim.
Would you like to take over the helm? Sure.
Thank you.
Oh, Tim must be in seventh heaven to be at the tiller of a steam-driven canalboat, sort of a dream for him.
'In 1858, this area was described as a boatman's village.
'Where the people on the land seemed to belong to the people on the water.
'Where everybody knew everybody and seemed glad to see everybody.
' 'Over 150 years later, 'it's still a community that we're proud to be a part of.
' It's been a great day, hasn't it? Yes.
Lovely to see all these people, these lovely boats.
But it's lovely that canal life has become reborn.
It's something people can share.
Yes.
Like our family does.
Well, yes.
We've got a lot to thank canals for.
Mmm.
Haven't we? 'Next week, Ireland.
'We explore a wild and remote canal.
' The Ireland of myths and legends.
'Following an ancient waterway 'That forms a link between two nations.
' This is border country.
'And we uncover our own hidden history.
' I'm beginning to feel a little bit more Irish by the moment.