Great Canal Journeys (2014) s05e02 Episode Script
The Netherlands
1 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.
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? Probably is, yes.
'Of love.
'And laughter.
' Agh! 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 summit.
Hooray.
Pru has a slight condition.
It does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
CRUNCHING 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.
'This time, we'll explore new countries' The Rialto, of course.
'.
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make new memories' This is canal perfection, isn't it? '.
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and return to old haunts.
' Hello, I remember you.
Yeah, about a year ago, wasn't it? 'But one thing stays the same.
We're always together.
' Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
'We may be both in our ninth decade 'but it doesn't mean we're set in our ways.
' OK, Pru, cast off.
Thank you.
'So, this week, we're taking on a network totally unknown to us.
' How thrilling.
'In five separate boats, 'we'll voyage west to east across the Netherlands, 'navigating through new types of canal with unfamiliar names.
' Gracht.
Singel.
Grachtengordel.
So, what's this one? It's a canal(!) SHE LAUGHS 'We'll face fresh challenges '.
.
as we head for the nation's capital city.
' You've been to Amsterdam before, haven't you? Terrible to have lived so long and you can't remember where you've been.
'Our minds may not be as sharp and our reactions a bit slower' HE SHOUTS OU '.
.
but that's not going to stop us enjoying the beauty of nature' You are remarkable.
Yes.
Very, very remarkable.
'.
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or marvelling at the splendour of the Dutch Golden Age.
' From the canals of Amsterdam to the oceans of the world 'Ahead lie news sights, new experiences.
'I can't wait.
' THUD We have to have one bump.
There's another bump.
'The Netherlands has been fighting back the water 'for more than a thousand years 'and here in the World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk, 'windmills have been pumping water 'off this low-lying land since the Middle Ages.
' Amazing.
'There is no mistaking we're in Holland.
What, the windmills? Yeah.
'We are starting our voyage aboard a traditional fishing barge, 'following a canal through the Blokweer Polder.
'A polder is what the Dutch call an area of land 'that's been reclaimed from the sea.
' Here, we're actually 23 feet below sea level.
That is terrifying, isn't it? Why doesn't it flood? Because of the windmills, because they are pumping the water into the canal.
Wow.
'Half of the Netherlands was once underwater, 'and it's the combination of windmills and canals that, 'over the centuries, have prevented this land from flooding.
'Far more than just a form of transport, 'Dutch canals helped to create the country itself.
'We pick up our own boat west of the university town of Leiden 'and voyage through the region's picturesque Lake District.
'Tulips are in bloom at Keukenhof.
'And ground-breaking British engineering 'is on display at Cruquius.
'Continuing north-east through Haarlem, 'we'll join the North Sea Canal, bound for Amsterdam.
'Finally, we'll head out into the former Zuiderzee, 'ending our voyage on the picturesque island of Marken.
' Tim, could you lower the sail? Yes, yes.
Now? Yes, please.
Thank you.
Very well.
Hello.
Hiya.
'We are meeting Peter Paul, who lives in one of these windmills, 'and helps look after this historic site.
' Welcome to Kinderdijk.
Thank you.
Come on, let's go see a windmill.
They are wonderful.
'This is the oldest of the Kinderdijk windmills, 'and she's been turning since the 16th century.
' It looks colossal when you're up this close.
When it's moving really fast, 50,000 litres per minute.
50,000 litres.
Yeah.
That's pretty good, isn't it? 'So dykes hold back the sea 'and excess rainwater is pumped into canals, 'which drain into rivers, which in turn lead back to the sea.
' Here it is.
The inside of a working windmill.
A beautiful piece of machinery, isn't it? Yeah.
Brilliant.
Wonderful.
'It's an ingenious system for controlling nature 'but, inevitably, it doesn't always work.
' In 1953, we had a north-westerly storm and an extra-high tide, and the dykes broke.
Shocking.
And so a lot of people drowned.
Shocking.
Hmm.
The south-westerly parts of the Netherlands were flooded.
More than 1,800 people lost their lives.
It had a huge impact on our society as a whole.
Yeah.
'In Holland, one-sixth of the North Sea's country 'was swamped by the angry sea.
'The waters roared through the protective dykes and surged through 'the countryside, covering fields and homes alike.
'100,000 people had to be evacuated.
'Loss of life and property rose to fantastic heights.
' It's a tragedy the Dutch were determined wouldn't happen again.
So, in 1953, they began the Delta Works, one of the world's largest engineering projects.
Almost 50 years later, a new series of massive dams was finally completed.
Canals don't just help to prevent flooding.
They have also provided the Dutch with an extensive transport system, centuries ahead of the British.
And it's a network we are about to discover for ourselves.
There she is.
Oh, right.
Yes, she's quite big, isn't she? Yeah.
Can you manage? It's all right, I can manage.
Wow.
It's more than I'm used to.
'Well, she might not be a traditional large Dutch barge, 'but I'm still apprehensive about skippering such a wide vessel.
' Do you want me to cast off? Yes, please, thank you.
Our first port of call is the historic town of Leiden, where we are picking up two of our dearest friends.
Then, heading north, we'll moor up in the beautiful Kaag lakes.
Canals are fundamental to the Low Countries.
So it's not surprising that, while we have only one word, they have a lot.
Gracht.
Singel.
Grachtengordel.
So, what's this one? It's a canal(!) SHE LAUGHS 'We're approaching Leiden, where Maggie, Pru's oldest friend, 'and her Dutch husband, Quintus, are waiting for us.
'But before we can enter the town to pick them up, 'we face our first challenge.
' We'll never get under there, we'll bang our heads.
I hope the bridge is going to open.
'I've got to get this wide boat through a rather small gap.
' Are we narrow enough for that? I certainly hope so.
We're going to fall foul of this wall behind us.
No, we're not.
THUD It's opening.
Oh, at last, it is.
There is a wonderful bicycle barrier there going up.
Look, love, the bridge has gone up.
Don't drive on, you'll fall in.
CYCLISTS SHOU 'What's the Dutch for "you crazy fools"?' Well done.
Thank you.
'We've arrived at the port of Leiden.
' It's very attractive, isn't it? Yes, it is.
'There is a remarkable episode in Leiden's history 'which illustrates just how clever the Dutch are at managing water.
' Well done.
It was autumn 1573, and Leiden was besieged by the Spanish Habsburg army.
The population was starving to death.
Finally, the Dutch broke the dykes, turning land back into sea.
And when the Spanish soldiers spotted a fleet of Dutch ships sailing towards them across former fields, they took fright and fled.
Leiden was saved.
I'm dying to see Maggie.
I've known her longer than I've known you.
Yes, I suppose you have.
'Maggie and her husband Quintus 'are waiting for us in the historic heart of Leiden.
' Hello.
'When I was a young actress, 'I shared a flat with Maggie in Flood Street in Chelsea.
'We had a number of gentlemen callers in those days - 'one of them being Quintus and another being a Mr Tim West.
' Lovely.
Curiously unlike Flood Street, isn't it? How long ago did we meet in Flood Street? It's probably nearly 60 years, and we've been friends ever since.
It probably IS nearly 60 years.
Wow.
Magical.
And here we are.
Cheers, cheers.
Skol.
Cheers.
Skol.
'Maggie and Quintus are fellow canal-lovers but, surprisingly, 'we've never been boating together.
Until now.
' OK, Pru, cast off, thank you.
OK.
There is a saying here that God made the world but the Dutch made the Netherlands.
Quite right, too.
'We've left the canals briefly 'and are entering southern Holland's unspoiled Lake District.
' Oh, isn't that lovely? 'Having her old friend Maggie on board is good for Pru, 'helping her to restore some half-forgotten memories 'and bringing back some of her old spark.
' Do you remember we both answered the same advertisement to go and live in Cheney Court? And I was very jealous because you answered the advertisement first and you got the bigger room because you said, "I am an actress and I have to pace up and down while I learn my lines.
" It's a really long time ago.
Well remembered.
It was really a very great time and all the friends who came into the flat Were different.
There were several actors who came.
Yes, but they weren't all my boyfriends.
Oh, no.
'Watching her chatting away and laughing with Maggie, 'I see that my old Pru, the girl I fell for all those years ago, 'is still there.
' Do you still feel like the same person that you were in those days? Oh, yes, I think so.
Yes, just stiffer.
It takes longer to do things.
Longer to make my face up.
'We're anchoring in one of the five Kaag lakes.
' That'll do, Quintus, thank you.
OK, Captain.
'Thanks to canals and a tot or two of Dutch courage, 'the years are falling away.
' We've managedsomehow.
THEY LAUGH 'It feels like yesterday that Quintus and I were calling on 'two young women who shared a flat in Chelsea.
' It's gin! I haven't had a gin since I was a teenager! Prost.
We're going to miss you.
Many thanks.
Thank you for coming.
Cheers.
Cheers.
'A new canal journey in an unknown land 'has brought old friends together again 'to remember how lucky we all were 'to find each other all those years ago.
' LAUGHTER 'Tim and I have left our beloved British canals behind us 'and are on a new adventure exploring the waterways of Holland.
' Oh, look at the windmill.
It costs a lot, but it's nice to have one in your garden, isn't it? 'Magic.
But in my garden, I'd rather have some of those.
' I adore tulips.
Good, well, you're going to see rather a lot of them in a minute.
Good.
OK.
I've loved flowers and plants for as long as I can remember and, back in Wandsworth, I've always been the one to tend our garden.
It's part of making a home.
It's tulip season in Holland, so I'm taking Pru to the gardens of Keukenhof where, between late March and the end of May, over seven million tulips are on display.
'The canals here are too shallow for our boat, 'so, for our a final approach, we're aboard a special Keukenhof sloop' Look at that band of colour over there.
Yes.
'.
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with guides Hanika and Andre.
' Spring is really going on now.
Wonderful.
'Surprisingly, tulips aren't even Dutch.
'The first bulbs were imported by intrepid 16th-century traders.
' And the bulbs came from where? Further East, Turkey, wasn't it? Originally, they came from Central Asia.
Yeah.
The tulip is actually a mountain flower.
But here, it's growing in acres and acres of flat field.
It needs the dryness.
Oh, right, yes.
And here, it's all sandy soil.
Sandy? Sandy.
And that's why you can grow your tulips here so easily.
Excellent.
Yep.
'When tulips first acclimatised to their new Dutch home 400 years ago, 'their intense colours made them completely unique 'among flowers in Europe.
' Now, we are used to fields and fields of flowers, but at that time, there were very, very few bulbs.
So, of course, they were very costly.
It was the hobby of very rich people.
By the 1630s, tulip-mania gripped the country and demand was so great that prices inflated to unsustainable levels, leading to the world's first recorded stock market crash.
How much was a tulip bulb worth in those days? One bulb, and you can buy a house with it in Amsterdam.
In euros, it would maybe cost a million.
Wow.
'That's incredible.
'But even if they cost a penny a dozen, I would still love them.
'Well, Pru, there are seven million tulips here 'waiting for you to enjoy.
' Look, Tim.
Oh, look, look at that, look at that.
Yes.
I think the frilly white petals are absolutely gorgeous.
You are remarkable.
Yes.
Very, very remarkable.
'In the six weeks the gardens are open, 'nearly two million visitors come to admire 'the 800 different varieties on display.
'It seems tulip-mania never really went away.
' Gorgeous.
Come on, Pru, better be off.
Bye-bye, tulips.
Leaving Keukenhof, we'll head north-east on the Ringvaart canal to the steam pump at Cruquius, and then on to the historic city of Haarlem.
From there, we'll join the North Sea Canal bound for Amsterdam.
We're on the Ringvaart at the moment, it's a circular canal which once encircled the entire Haarlemmermeer sea.
Gosh.
This inland sea was once 66 square miles of open water, prone to violent storms and flooding.
Over the centuries, it claimed countless lives, earning the ominous nickname "the Waterwolf".
It wasn't until the 19th century that the Dutch came up with a viable plan to tame the wolf.
But to do it, they needed the help of British technology.
Over there, you can see the crenelated towers.
Yes.
Inside there is the pump, which did the extraordinary job of draining this inland sea into the canal.
Good lord! It's amazing.
We'll go and look.
Yes.
What you see here is the world's largest steam pumping engine.
Wow.
'Australian-born Adrian helps run 'this beautiful example of Victorian engineering.
' These pumps actually pump the water 4½ metres from what was the bottom of the lake, from that level up to the level of the encircling canal.
Yeah.
Wow.
I mean, it is like wow, isn't it? Terrific.
Staggering.
Tim, have you ever seen anything like this? There isn't anything like this.
In the world? Wow.
That's a piece of British ingenuity dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
We knew how to do it in those days.
Yes.
'In 1848, the Dutch imported 'three state-of-the-art beam engines from Cornwall.
'And it took them just three years 'to pump out 100 million tonnes of water, 'transforming the wild Waterwolf into dry land.
' You see, what I love about Victorian engineering is its beauty.
They were so proud, so justly proud of the things that they did, that they celebrated them.
Gorgeous, isn't it? Staggering.
Look at that one there! Massive! And those are proper Dutch barges.
Wow.
'We're turning off the Ringvaart, onto the canalised Spaarne river, 'which flows towards the city of Haarlem.
' Of course, we think about Haarlem as being New York, really Yes, yes.
.
.
but it's originally Dutch, and, um, like Brooklyn also Oh, that's Dutch? Yes.
And the whole place was called New Amsterdam.
They were sailors, weren't they, the Dutch? And they still are, of course.
Yes.
'This canal will lead us into the centre of Haarlem.
' Oh, that's very impressive.
Wow.
'Made wealthy by its linen and silk industry, 'Haarlem is a prime example of a 17th-century Dutch Golden Age town.
' Some gorgeous architecture, isn't it, really? It's amazing.
'But we've come here to admire some Golden Age art 'by Holland's most revered artist, Rembrandt.
' He's most known for his oil paintings such as The Night Watch, on display in Amsterdam.
But some of Rembrandt's more personal and intimate works are held here at Haarlem's Teylers Museum.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
'Curator Michiel Plomp has agreed to unlock the archives 'to show us some rare etchings.
' We're so lucky.
Aren't we? How thrilling.
'One of my greatest heroes, 'Rembrandt has been an inspiration for me throughout my adult life.
' I thought I would bring out some early self-portraits.
Yes.
This is really early.
From the late '20s.
Oh, that's gorgeous.
And here we are in the 1630s.
Yep.
Yes, yes.
I love Rembrandts portraiture, particularly the wonderful way he has of, er mixing expressions of faces.
Mm-hm! You can see a man who has a sort of default expression of self-satisfaction and yet there's room for a little doubt or a little jealousy or a little insecurity.
That's true.
He's a master in these changes of expressions, yes.
Yes.
Very much so.
It's a wonderful thing for an actor to look at these pictures and think, if he could actually transmit to a viewer Yeah.
.
.
that complexity in a non-moving face, we ought to be able to do it.
THEY LAUGH Although he was tremendously successful in selling his works, he wasn't awfully good about saving money, was he? No, far from that.
No, no, no.
He used all the money that he got to buy a way too expensive house in Amsterdam.
So he was busy always paying for that house.
In some of his later portraits, you see a man who looks back at some of the foolish things that he's done, but it's too late now.
It's the same sort of idea that Shakespeare had when he put King Lear together.
'Rembrandt lived over three centuries ago.
'But for me, in his work, there is always a new discovery, 'a new inspiration.
' Something happens to you every day that, in some way, adds a little bit more.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
Cast off, all right? Yes, fine.
We're off.
'Tonight's mooring is on the outskirts of Amsterdam, 'but to get there, we have to negotiate a number of bridges.
' Oh, God.
Oh, come on.
Bloody hell! What? They're going to close it.
'It's not the sort of canal that we're used to, is it? 'No, it isn't.
No hills means no locks 'and a lot of very low bridges instead.
' Why don't they make the bridges a bit higher? We'll never get under that.
HE LAUGHS Very roomy.
Is it all right? All right now.
Oh! Follow that, Standedge Tunnel.
SHE LAUGHS 'It's early evening 'and we're still several miles from our mooring.
' But there was once a quicker canal route to Amsterdam.
It was called a "trekvaart".
'A trekvaart was a canal dug solely for transportation 'often with a daily ferry service in vessels that held up to 30 people.
' This boat was called a "trekschuit" and it ran on this canal to Amsterdam in 1632 and was believed to be the first public transport in the world.
'British naval officer, John Leake, had a very low opinion 'of this new Dutch invention of commuting.
' "In this voiture, people of all conditions "travel promiscuously together.
"It is not infrequent to have your eyes and noses entertained "with the beauties and perfumeries of the nursery.
" That's a nice phrase.
"And men of decent fashion, though seated in company "with young gentlewoman, with little ceremony, "turn themselves around and make water in the canal.
" Ha! Like the 8.
10 to Waterloo.
Nobody's ever peed onto the railway line while I've been commuting to Waterloo.
Not on an electric line anyway.
No! 'Mind you, if my daily commute was by canal, I wouldn't mind a jot.
' We are on a voyage through the canals of the Netherlands.
Today, we've entered the North Sea Canal, bound for downtown Amsterdam.
This is the huge port of Amsterdam.
It's quite a sight, isn't it? At over 300 yards wide, this is very much a ship canal.
Look to your left.
Oh, right.
BOAT HORN TOOTS How thrilling.
This canal can carry oceangoing vessels of up to 90,000 tonnes.
We'd better give him a wide berth, then.
You've been to Amsterdam before, haven't you? You worked here? I can't remember.
When was that? I can't remember.
Did I do some filming here? I think I did, yes.
I don't think I was here with you.
God, it's terrible to have lived so long and you can't remember where you've been.
Today, we'll be mooring in the city's Oosterdok, before transferring to a smaller vessel to explore Amsterdam's Grachtengordel, a ring of canals that lies at the heart of the city.
God, look at that.
Look at that vessel, Tim.
Yep.
It's the tallest motor vessel I've ever seen.
It's a floating skyscraper! TIM LAUGHS It's quite a relief to turn out of the shipping lanes and enter the tranquil, historic harbour of Oosterdok .
.
home to some of Amsterdam's classic ships and barges.
Oh, look.
It's wonderful, isn't it? Incredible.
She's called the Amsterdam, a 17th century Dutch East India Company trader.
Three master.
Yep.
Wow.
During the golden age, the Dutch East India Company's ships would dock here to unload goods and precious cargoes from all over the world.
Here we are.
We can explore the canals of old Amsterdam.
About 160 of them.
What a treat.
It is.
Nowhere quite like it.
This was a huge complex, the biggest warehouse complex in Europe.
Good Lord.
Bringing furs from Russia, spices from the Indies and they'd all be transhipped here onto smaller vessels and through the canals.
The 17th-century Dutch traders were so successful, they helped transform Amsterdam into one of the wealthiest cities in the world, famed for the grandeur of its golden age architecture.
The best way to see it is at water level.
Welcome in Amsterdam.
But to explore the canals of old Amsterdam, we're going to need a smaller boat.
This is a first for us.
After 47 years of boating, we've gone electric.
Forwards, backwards.
It's easy going.
That's Amsterdam, really.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy.
Easy-going? Let's hope so.
It's lovely.
Oh, God! What? Look, Tim, there's a mooring rope.
Oh! Can you manage? I can't do it at this angle.
Thank you.
That's better.
We head across the harbour towards the entrance to Amsterdam's canal district.
Unbelievable.
Yes, this is the heart of old Amsterdam.
And it's the area where the city began, as a rather insignificant fishing village on the River Amstel.
Coming up now is the oldest lock in Amsterdam.
Extraordinary.
Then, in 1270, the Amstel was dammed, giving the city its name.
Ah, right! Amstel-dam.
If it wasn't for canals, this would just be a muddy swamp.
It's all very different from the canals back home, isn't it? Yes, British canals sneak through the city centres, almost hidden.
Here, they're very much centre stage.
Quite right, too.
This is canal perfection, isn't it? Yes.
Amazing old buildings here, look at them.
Yeah, they're beautiful.
These elegant 17th-century buildings were designed to be both a merchant's home and his warehouse.
To find out how Amsterdam became known as the Venice of the North, we're meeting a canal historian.
Permission to come on board, sir? Yes, please.
Yes, of course.
Good to see you.
Great to see you.
Smooth.
Beautiful.
It's wonderful to see the city from the canal, which is how it should be seen, really.
And the thing about Amsterdam is when it expanded, the big idea was of course to build large boulevards, lined with trees, very elegant buildings alongside.
But it simply couldn't be done - everything around you is wet and it's below sea level.
So they built canals instead? They built canals instead, so the canals you're on are actually kind of boulevards with water.
Yes.
Well, hooray.
It's mainly leisure boats today, but up until the early 20th century, Amsterdam's canals were a key form of transport, part of the fabric of the city.
You have to imagine, alongside the quayside were all the city's markets.
The vegetable market - the farmers from around the city would bring in their cabbages, their strawberries, etc, every bit of trade and transport was done on the water.
If you got on a boat here, you could sail to Hamburg or to Stockholm or to Paris almost, without really getting out on the open sea.
That's when canals could take you all over Europe, of course.
Beautiful buildings.
Incredible buildings.
The top floors are so beautifully decorated.
One thing you see on a lot of these houses is a little sign in stone, which is an indication of the person who lived there, of his profession.
This is a house that used to belong to a butcher, so it has a young lamb and an oxen on it.
Yes.
Yes.
Did they have a special sign for actors' houses? I shouldn't think actors could afford houses! I don't think they owned anything, no.
Quite right, too.
No, I'm just wondering if any of them could, we could get one for our house in darkest Wandsworth in London.
A muse or something A skull.
A skull! LAUGHTER Alas, poor Yorick.
We're passing through the Golden Bend, once home to the city's richest merchants.
They didn't spend the money on the outside, they spent the money on the inside, they spent money on lavish decorations and painted ceilings, and what's more, they stretch until the next canal.
And, on the other side, they would have servants' quarters.
They were actually grand complexes.
And the drains all went into the canal, did they? Yes.
If you see these lovely 17th-century pictures of the canals, you have to imagine what it smelt like.
Everything went into the canals.
I read a diary of a 19th-century student and he said, "If I open the window, it's like 100 privies stinking at the same time.
" It's early Friday evening.
The sun's out and so is the party crowd.
Traffic is definitely building.
Look out, Tim! This is a particularly busy little curve.
Are they going to run us down? I'm going to stay left, I think.
BOATS THUMP Oh! We have to have one bump.
Oh, God.
Amsterdam's trip boats clearly think they own these canals.
But my husband has other ideas.
What are you doing, darling? I can get through first, I think.
Famous last words.
Here we go.
We're doomed! We're doomed.
We're doomed.
Wow! Did it.
Well done.
It was easy.
Excellent.
Well done.
Another bump.
There is another bump.
That's not like you, Tim.
Can't be helped, I'm afraid.
It's time to say goodbye to our friend.
See you later.
Bye-bye.
Cheers.
Could we head for a quieter stretch of canal now, please? Amsterdam is well-known for its liberal attitudes, and it's important not to confuse cafes with coffee shops, where your latte comes with something a bit stronger.
Yes, you can smell the marijuana.
You know where we are.
I don't recognise the smell.
Oh, come on! We're heading deeper into the city, to its medieval core, where the canals link with the old port of Amsterdam.
As early as the 13th century, sailors visited the area known as De Wallen to satisfy their carnal desires.
We are entering the red light district.
You shouldn't have brought your wife with you! Well, it's probably for the best.
Love Experience.
Love Experience, yes.
Right, OK.
And Bike Rental.
I think that just means renting bikes.
I think.
So you can ride on to the next one.
Tolerated for centuries, it wasn't until 2000 that the city officially legalised the world's oldest profession.
Today, many of the working women who sit in Amsterdam's famous windows are members of their own trade union.
Historically, actresses were often equated with "ladies of the night", and in the 18th and early 19th century, Amsterdam's more upmarket establishments were known as "play-houses".
Night falls and De Wallen comes to life.
It's rather romantic, isn't it? Yeah, it is, actually.
Much better than Wardour Street.
Well, I wouldn't know about Wardour Street, darling.
How do you know about Wardour Street? Well, that's where all the film companies' offices are.
Oh, really This really is the most unusual and intriguing canal journey.
Yes, it is, but perhaps on this stretch, it's best if you stay on the boat.
Of course, darling.
Timmy! HORN HONKS Tim! Yes, I've seen it.
Well done.
It's the final day of our voyage across Holland Hello, seagull.
.
.
and we're continuing our slightly hazardous exploration of the canals of Amsterdam.
I wish I wasn't staring straight into the sun.
Sorry? Oh! Oh, come on - it's just a tap.
We're bound for one of the city's grand canalside residences, before we follow the route of the 17th-century Dutch traders and head out into the old Zuiderzee.
Beautiful buildings.
These must always have been very expensive properties.
It was the place to be.
Today, we'll get a chance to see inside one of the finest mansions of Holland's golden age.
Look, is it a royal bridge? It's got crowns on the top.
We've been invited to tea by one of the members of the Dutch aristocracy.
And along here is the Van Loon House.
Oh? And we're going to visit Mrs Van Loon-Labouchere .
.
who was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
So, mind your Ps and Qs.
Yes.
In a typically Dutch fashion, the rather plain exterior is an illusion, disguising a sumptuous interior of priceless antiques and works of art.
Welcome to the House Van Loon.
It's wonderful to be here.
'The Van Loon family were merchants 'who initially made their money dealing in fish - 'herring, to be precise' These are all family portraits.
Mm.
So, the co-founder of the Dutch East India Company was? That's him, yes.
Yes.
'.
.
but in 1602, they hit the big time, when Willem Jansz Van Loon 'became a founding member of the Dutch East India Company.
' Shall we go in the garden room and have some tea? Lovely! 'The family fortune lasted for generations 'and, by the 19th century, 'the Van Loons were members of the Dutch nobility 'and part of the royal circle.
' This house was a wonderful house for a family to live in.
But it wasfor entertaining as well, was it not? Always.
Of course.
I entertained quite a lot.
I gave dinner parties.
In that beautiful dining room? In the dining room.
Yes.
President Putin came on a state visit to Holland, and the palace was under renovation, so the Queen gave him lunch here.
We may not be part of the British nobility, but we both played the odd Royal in our time - and, in A Question Of Attribution, Pru was cast as our current Queen.
You played Queen Elizabeth? I played Queen Elizabeth, yes.
Was it on television, or on the stage? It was on the stage initially, but It was on the stage initially.
Yes, I played her a couple of times.
Sometime afterwards, she came and said hello to the cast, you know.
Oh, how nice.
When it came to be my turn, I curtsied and said, "I suppose you think you should be doing this?" Ah! That she should be the one to curtsy to you?! The Van Loon Museum is a vivid reminder of the glory of this country's golden age, when the Dutch East India Company became the world's first global corporation.
The key to its success - an efficient transport system of canals at home, and a network of trading stations abroad.
Up she goes.
Exciting sight, isn't it? Yeah, I love it.
For the final leg of our Netherlands adventure, we're following the route of the old Dutch trading galleons, which left the port of Amsterdam bound for Indonesia, China and the New World.
I used to have a thing about square rig when I was a little when I was a little girl.
And I dreamt about sailing around the world in one.
Well, our vessel is not quite so grand.
A flat-bottomed cargo ship, she has plied these shallow waters for over a century.
So, we're heading out, as the Dutch sailors did in the golden age, from the canals of Amsterdam to the oceans of the world.
Next stop, Java.
Next stop, Wandsworth, please! Wandsworth, via Java.
OK, yeah.
Fine.
We're not actually going quite that far today - just a few miles to a traditional fishing village on the island of Marken.
We've travelled just 15 miles out of modern Amsterdam, but I feel as if we've gone a long way back in time.
Marken, founded in the 13th century, gives us a glimpse into the past, when the traditional Dutch way of life meant dealing with the constant threat of floods.
All these exquisite little houses Yes.
.
.
were originally on stilts, when this area was tidal.
Oh! Good lord.
And then when they dyked it in, of course, they had to make sure that the water level was constant.
They're beautiful.
In this picturesque place, it's easy to forget how hard the Dutch have battled the sea over the centuries, and how their perseverance and ingenuity created this land - and, with it, their own success.
400 years ago, in the Dutch Golden age, stately galleons would pass by here, laden with exotic goods from the Indies.
The cargo of coffee, pepper, silks and spices - and, as Masefield said Sandalwood and cedarwood, and Sweet white wine, yes.
Ha! Sounds so exciting.
Across canal, lake and sea, we've followed the route of the mariners from the Dutch golden age.
'And we'll return home with our own exotic cargo of new experiences.
' Tim, have you ever seen anything like this? There isn't anything like this.
'Of new insights' Something happens to you every day that, in some way, adds a little bit more.
Mm! Yes.
And old friendships rekindled.
We'll never stop exploring.
And making new discoveries together.
Quite like an adventure, don't you? I'll go anywhere, as long as you come with me.
That could be arranged.
Promise? Yeah, come on.
Good.
Next time, we venture along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
All right, Pruey? Transporting us back in time to the of steam.
Darling, it's going to be a great moment for you.
As we uncover its industrial heritage, we also reconnect with our northern routes.
So, we are both northerners, aren't we? Even though we've been living in darkest Wandsworth for the last 45 years.
Yes.
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.
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? Probably is, yes.
'Of love.
'And laughter.
' Agh! 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 summit.
Hooray.
Pru has a slight condition.
It does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
CRUNCHING 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.
'This time, we'll explore new countries' The Rialto, of course.
'.
.
make new memories' This is canal perfection, isn't it? '.
.
and return to old haunts.
' Hello, I remember you.
Yeah, about a year ago, wasn't it? 'But one thing stays the same.
We're always together.
' Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
'We may be both in our ninth decade 'but it doesn't mean we're set in our ways.
' OK, Pru, cast off.
Thank you.
'So, this week, we're taking on a network totally unknown to us.
' How thrilling.
'In five separate boats, 'we'll voyage west to east across the Netherlands, 'navigating through new types of canal with unfamiliar names.
' Gracht.
Singel.
Grachtengordel.
So, what's this one? It's a canal(!) SHE LAUGHS 'We'll face fresh challenges '.
.
as we head for the nation's capital city.
' You've been to Amsterdam before, haven't you? Terrible to have lived so long and you can't remember where you've been.
'Our minds may not be as sharp and our reactions a bit slower' HE SHOUTS OU '.
.
but that's not going to stop us enjoying the beauty of nature' You are remarkable.
Yes.
Very, very remarkable.
'.
.
or marvelling at the splendour of the Dutch Golden Age.
' From the canals of Amsterdam to the oceans of the world 'Ahead lie news sights, new experiences.
'I can't wait.
' THUD We have to have one bump.
There's another bump.
'The Netherlands has been fighting back the water 'for more than a thousand years 'and here in the World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk, 'windmills have been pumping water 'off this low-lying land since the Middle Ages.
' Amazing.
'There is no mistaking we're in Holland.
What, the windmills? Yeah.
'We are starting our voyage aboard a traditional fishing barge, 'following a canal through the Blokweer Polder.
'A polder is what the Dutch call an area of land 'that's been reclaimed from the sea.
' Here, we're actually 23 feet below sea level.
That is terrifying, isn't it? Why doesn't it flood? Because of the windmills, because they are pumping the water into the canal.
Wow.
'Half of the Netherlands was once underwater, 'and it's the combination of windmills and canals that, 'over the centuries, have prevented this land from flooding.
'Far more than just a form of transport, 'Dutch canals helped to create the country itself.
'We pick up our own boat west of the university town of Leiden 'and voyage through the region's picturesque Lake District.
'Tulips are in bloom at Keukenhof.
'And ground-breaking British engineering 'is on display at Cruquius.
'Continuing north-east through Haarlem, 'we'll join the North Sea Canal, bound for Amsterdam.
'Finally, we'll head out into the former Zuiderzee, 'ending our voyage on the picturesque island of Marken.
' Tim, could you lower the sail? Yes, yes.
Now? Yes, please.
Thank you.
Very well.
Hello.
Hiya.
'We are meeting Peter Paul, who lives in one of these windmills, 'and helps look after this historic site.
' Welcome to Kinderdijk.
Thank you.
Come on, let's go see a windmill.
They are wonderful.
'This is the oldest of the Kinderdijk windmills, 'and she's been turning since the 16th century.
' It looks colossal when you're up this close.
When it's moving really fast, 50,000 litres per minute.
50,000 litres.
Yeah.
That's pretty good, isn't it? 'So dykes hold back the sea 'and excess rainwater is pumped into canals, 'which drain into rivers, which in turn lead back to the sea.
' Here it is.
The inside of a working windmill.
A beautiful piece of machinery, isn't it? Yeah.
Brilliant.
Wonderful.
'It's an ingenious system for controlling nature 'but, inevitably, it doesn't always work.
' In 1953, we had a north-westerly storm and an extra-high tide, and the dykes broke.
Shocking.
And so a lot of people drowned.
Shocking.
Hmm.
The south-westerly parts of the Netherlands were flooded.
More than 1,800 people lost their lives.
It had a huge impact on our society as a whole.
Yeah.
'In Holland, one-sixth of the North Sea's country 'was swamped by the angry sea.
'The waters roared through the protective dykes and surged through 'the countryside, covering fields and homes alike.
'100,000 people had to be evacuated.
'Loss of life and property rose to fantastic heights.
' It's a tragedy the Dutch were determined wouldn't happen again.
So, in 1953, they began the Delta Works, one of the world's largest engineering projects.
Almost 50 years later, a new series of massive dams was finally completed.
Canals don't just help to prevent flooding.
They have also provided the Dutch with an extensive transport system, centuries ahead of the British.
And it's a network we are about to discover for ourselves.
There she is.
Oh, right.
Yes, she's quite big, isn't she? Yeah.
Can you manage? It's all right, I can manage.
Wow.
It's more than I'm used to.
'Well, she might not be a traditional large Dutch barge, 'but I'm still apprehensive about skippering such a wide vessel.
' Do you want me to cast off? Yes, please, thank you.
Our first port of call is the historic town of Leiden, where we are picking up two of our dearest friends.
Then, heading north, we'll moor up in the beautiful Kaag lakes.
Canals are fundamental to the Low Countries.
So it's not surprising that, while we have only one word, they have a lot.
Gracht.
Singel.
Grachtengordel.
So, what's this one? It's a canal(!) SHE LAUGHS 'We're approaching Leiden, where Maggie, Pru's oldest friend, 'and her Dutch husband, Quintus, are waiting for us.
'But before we can enter the town to pick them up, 'we face our first challenge.
' We'll never get under there, we'll bang our heads.
I hope the bridge is going to open.
'I've got to get this wide boat through a rather small gap.
' Are we narrow enough for that? I certainly hope so.
We're going to fall foul of this wall behind us.
No, we're not.
THUD It's opening.
Oh, at last, it is.
There is a wonderful bicycle barrier there going up.
Look, love, the bridge has gone up.
Don't drive on, you'll fall in.
CYCLISTS SHOU 'What's the Dutch for "you crazy fools"?' Well done.
Thank you.
'We've arrived at the port of Leiden.
' It's very attractive, isn't it? Yes, it is.
'There is a remarkable episode in Leiden's history 'which illustrates just how clever the Dutch are at managing water.
' Well done.
It was autumn 1573, and Leiden was besieged by the Spanish Habsburg army.
The population was starving to death.
Finally, the Dutch broke the dykes, turning land back into sea.
And when the Spanish soldiers spotted a fleet of Dutch ships sailing towards them across former fields, they took fright and fled.
Leiden was saved.
I'm dying to see Maggie.
I've known her longer than I've known you.
Yes, I suppose you have.
'Maggie and her husband Quintus 'are waiting for us in the historic heart of Leiden.
' Hello.
'When I was a young actress, 'I shared a flat with Maggie in Flood Street in Chelsea.
'We had a number of gentlemen callers in those days - 'one of them being Quintus and another being a Mr Tim West.
' Lovely.
Curiously unlike Flood Street, isn't it? How long ago did we meet in Flood Street? It's probably nearly 60 years, and we've been friends ever since.
It probably IS nearly 60 years.
Wow.
Magical.
And here we are.
Cheers, cheers.
Skol.
Cheers.
Skol.
'Maggie and Quintus are fellow canal-lovers but, surprisingly, 'we've never been boating together.
Until now.
' OK, Pru, cast off, thank you.
OK.
There is a saying here that God made the world but the Dutch made the Netherlands.
Quite right, too.
'We've left the canals briefly 'and are entering southern Holland's unspoiled Lake District.
' Oh, isn't that lovely? 'Having her old friend Maggie on board is good for Pru, 'helping her to restore some half-forgotten memories 'and bringing back some of her old spark.
' Do you remember we both answered the same advertisement to go and live in Cheney Court? And I was very jealous because you answered the advertisement first and you got the bigger room because you said, "I am an actress and I have to pace up and down while I learn my lines.
" It's a really long time ago.
Well remembered.
It was really a very great time and all the friends who came into the flat Were different.
There were several actors who came.
Yes, but they weren't all my boyfriends.
Oh, no.
'Watching her chatting away and laughing with Maggie, 'I see that my old Pru, the girl I fell for all those years ago, 'is still there.
' Do you still feel like the same person that you were in those days? Oh, yes, I think so.
Yes, just stiffer.
It takes longer to do things.
Longer to make my face up.
'We're anchoring in one of the five Kaag lakes.
' That'll do, Quintus, thank you.
OK, Captain.
'Thanks to canals and a tot or two of Dutch courage, 'the years are falling away.
' We've managedsomehow.
THEY LAUGH 'It feels like yesterday that Quintus and I were calling on 'two young women who shared a flat in Chelsea.
' It's gin! I haven't had a gin since I was a teenager! Prost.
We're going to miss you.
Many thanks.
Thank you for coming.
Cheers.
Cheers.
'A new canal journey in an unknown land 'has brought old friends together again 'to remember how lucky we all were 'to find each other all those years ago.
' LAUGHTER 'Tim and I have left our beloved British canals behind us 'and are on a new adventure exploring the waterways of Holland.
' Oh, look at the windmill.
It costs a lot, but it's nice to have one in your garden, isn't it? 'Magic.
But in my garden, I'd rather have some of those.
' I adore tulips.
Good, well, you're going to see rather a lot of them in a minute.
Good.
OK.
I've loved flowers and plants for as long as I can remember and, back in Wandsworth, I've always been the one to tend our garden.
It's part of making a home.
It's tulip season in Holland, so I'm taking Pru to the gardens of Keukenhof where, between late March and the end of May, over seven million tulips are on display.
'The canals here are too shallow for our boat, 'so, for our a final approach, we're aboard a special Keukenhof sloop' Look at that band of colour over there.
Yes.
'.
.
with guides Hanika and Andre.
' Spring is really going on now.
Wonderful.
'Surprisingly, tulips aren't even Dutch.
'The first bulbs were imported by intrepid 16th-century traders.
' And the bulbs came from where? Further East, Turkey, wasn't it? Originally, they came from Central Asia.
Yeah.
The tulip is actually a mountain flower.
But here, it's growing in acres and acres of flat field.
It needs the dryness.
Oh, right, yes.
And here, it's all sandy soil.
Sandy? Sandy.
And that's why you can grow your tulips here so easily.
Excellent.
Yep.
'When tulips first acclimatised to their new Dutch home 400 years ago, 'their intense colours made them completely unique 'among flowers in Europe.
' Now, we are used to fields and fields of flowers, but at that time, there were very, very few bulbs.
So, of course, they were very costly.
It was the hobby of very rich people.
By the 1630s, tulip-mania gripped the country and demand was so great that prices inflated to unsustainable levels, leading to the world's first recorded stock market crash.
How much was a tulip bulb worth in those days? One bulb, and you can buy a house with it in Amsterdam.
In euros, it would maybe cost a million.
Wow.
'That's incredible.
'But even if they cost a penny a dozen, I would still love them.
'Well, Pru, there are seven million tulips here 'waiting for you to enjoy.
' Look, Tim.
Oh, look, look at that, look at that.
Yes.
I think the frilly white petals are absolutely gorgeous.
You are remarkable.
Yes.
Very, very remarkable.
'In the six weeks the gardens are open, 'nearly two million visitors come to admire 'the 800 different varieties on display.
'It seems tulip-mania never really went away.
' Gorgeous.
Come on, Pru, better be off.
Bye-bye, tulips.
Leaving Keukenhof, we'll head north-east on the Ringvaart canal to the steam pump at Cruquius, and then on to the historic city of Haarlem.
From there, we'll join the North Sea Canal bound for Amsterdam.
We're on the Ringvaart at the moment, it's a circular canal which once encircled the entire Haarlemmermeer sea.
Gosh.
This inland sea was once 66 square miles of open water, prone to violent storms and flooding.
Over the centuries, it claimed countless lives, earning the ominous nickname "the Waterwolf".
It wasn't until the 19th century that the Dutch came up with a viable plan to tame the wolf.
But to do it, they needed the help of British technology.
Over there, you can see the crenelated towers.
Yes.
Inside there is the pump, which did the extraordinary job of draining this inland sea into the canal.
Good lord! It's amazing.
We'll go and look.
Yes.
What you see here is the world's largest steam pumping engine.
Wow.
'Australian-born Adrian helps run 'this beautiful example of Victorian engineering.
' These pumps actually pump the water 4½ metres from what was the bottom of the lake, from that level up to the level of the encircling canal.
Yeah.
Wow.
I mean, it is like wow, isn't it? Terrific.
Staggering.
Tim, have you ever seen anything like this? There isn't anything like this.
In the world? Wow.
That's a piece of British ingenuity dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
We knew how to do it in those days.
Yes.
'In 1848, the Dutch imported 'three state-of-the-art beam engines from Cornwall.
'And it took them just three years 'to pump out 100 million tonnes of water, 'transforming the wild Waterwolf into dry land.
' You see, what I love about Victorian engineering is its beauty.
They were so proud, so justly proud of the things that they did, that they celebrated them.
Gorgeous, isn't it? Staggering.
Look at that one there! Massive! And those are proper Dutch barges.
Wow.
'We're turning off the Ringvaart, onto the canalised Spaarne river, 'which flows towards the city of Haarlem.
' Of course, we think about Haarlem as being New York, really Yes, yes.
.
.
but it's originally Dutch, and, um, like Brooklyn also Oh, that's Dutch? Yes.
And the whole place was called New Amsterdam.
They were sailors, weren't they, the Dutch? And they still are, of course.
Yes.
'This canal will lead us into the centre of Haarlem.
' Oh, that's very impressive.
Wow.
'Made wealthy by its linen and silk industry, 'Haarlem is a prime example of a 17th-century Dutch Golden Age town.
' Some gorgeous architecture, isn't it, really? It's amazing.
'But we've come here to admire some Golden Age art 'by Holland's most revered artist, Rembrandt.
' He's most known for his oil paintings such as The Night Watch, on display in Amsterdam.
But some of Rembrandt's more personal and intimate works are held here at Haarlem's Teylers Museum.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
'Curator Michiel Plomp has agreed to unlock the archives 'to show us some rare etchings.
' We're so lucky.
Aren't we? How thrilling.
'One of my greatest heroes, 'Rembrandt has been an inspiration for me throughout my adult life.
' I thought I would bring out some early self-portraits.
Yes.
This is really early.
From the late '20s.
Oh, that's gorgeous.
And here we are in the 1630s.
Yep.
Yes, yes.
I love Rembrandts portraiture, particularly the wonderful way he has of, er mixing expressions of faces.
Mm-hm! You can see a man who has a sort of default expression of self-satisfaction and yet there's room for a little doubt or a little jealousy or a little insecurity.
That's true.
He's a master in these changes of expressions, yes.
Yes.
Very much so.
It's a wonderful thing for an actor to look at these pictures and think, if he could actually transmit to a viewer Yeah.
.
.
that complexity in a non-moving face, we ought to be able to do it.
THEY LAUGH Although he was tremendously successful in selling his works, he wasn't awfully good about saving money, was he? No, far from that.
No, no, no.
He used all the money that he got to buy a way too expensive house in Amsterdam.
So he was busy always paying for that house.
In some of his later portraits, you see a man who looks back at some of the foolish things that he's done, but it's too late now.
It's the same sort of idea that Shakespeare had when he put King Lear together.
'Rembrandt lived over three centuries ago.
'But for me, in his work, there is always a new discovery, 'a new inspiration.
' Something happens to you every day that, in some way, adds a little bit more.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
Cast off, all right? Yes, fine.
We're off.
'Tonight's mooring is on the outskirts of Amsterdam, 'but to get there, we have to negotiate a number of bridges.
' Oh, God.
Oh, come on.
Bloody hell! What? They're going to close it.
'It's not the sort of canal that we're used to, is it? 'No, it isn't.
No hills means no locks 'and a lot of very low bridges instead.
' Why don't they make the bridges a bit higher? We'll never get under that.
HE LAUGHS Very roomy.
Is it all right? All right now.
Oh! Follow that, Standedge Tunnel.
SHE LAUGHS 'It's early evening 'and we're still several miles from our mooring.
' But there was once a quicker canal route to Amsterdam.
It was called a "trekvaart".
'A trekvaart was a canal dug solely for transportation 'often with a daily ferry service in vessels that held up to 30 people.
' This boat was called a "trekschuit" and it ran on this canal to Amsterdam in 1632 and was believed to be the first public transport in the world.
'British naval officer, John Leake, had a very low opinion 'of this new Dutch invention of commuting.
' "In this voiture, people of all conditions "travel promiscuously together.
"It is not infrequent to have your eyes and noses entertained "with the beauties and perfumeries of the nursery.
" That's a nice phrase.
"And men of decent fashion, though seated in company "with young gentlewoman, with little ceremony, "turn themselves around and make water in the canal.
" Ha! Like the 8.
10 to Waterloo.
Nobody's ever peed onto the railway line while I've been commuting to Waterloo.
Not on an electric line anyway.
No! 'Mind you, if my daily commute was by canal, I wouldn't mind a jot.
' We are on a voyage through the canals of the Netherlands.
Today, we've entered the North Sea Canal, bound for downtown Amsterdam.
This is the huge port of Amsterdam.
It's quite a sight, isn't it? At over 300 yards wide, this is very much a ship canal.
Look to your left.
Oh, right.
BOAT HORN TOOTS How thrilling.
This canal can carry oceangoing vessels of up to 90,000 tonnes.
We'd better give him a wide berth, then.
You've been to Amsterdam before, haven't you? You worked here? I can't remember.
When was that? I can't remember.
Did I do some filming here? I think I did, yes.
I don't think I was here with you.
God, it's terrible to have lived so long and you can't remember where you've been.
Today, we'll be mooring in the city's Oosterdok, before transferring to a smaller vessel to explore Amsterdam's Grachtengordel, a ring of canals that lies at the heart of the city.
God, look at that.
Look at that vessel, Tim.
Yep.
It's the tallest motor vessel I've ever seen.
It's a floating skyscraper! TIM LAUGHS It's quite a relief to turn out of the shipping lanes and enter the tranquil, historic harbour of Oosterdok .
.
home to some of Amsterdam's classic ships and barges.
Oh, look.
It's wonderful, isn't it? Incredible.
She's called the Amsterdam, a 17th century Dutch East India Company trader.
Three master.
Yep.
Wow.
During the golden age, the Dutch East India Company's ships would dock here to unload goods and precious cargoes from all over the world.
Here we are.
We can explore the canals of old Amsterdam.
About 160 of them.
What a treat.
It is.
Nowhere quite like it.
This was a huge complex, the biggest warehouse complex in Europe.
Good Lord.
Bringing furs from Russia, spices from the Indies and they'd all be transhipped here onto smaller vessels and through the canals.
The 17th-century Dutch traders were so successful, they helped transform Amsterdam into one of the wealthiest cities in the world, famed for the grandeur of its golden age architecture.
The best way to see it is at water level.
Welcome in Amsterdam.
But to explore the canals of old Amsterdam, we're going to need a smaller boat.
This is a first for us.
After 47 years of boating, we've gone electric.
Forwards, backwards.
It's easy going.
That's Amsterdam, really.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy.
Easy-going? Let's hope so.
It's lovely.
Oh, God! What? Look, Tim, there's a mooring rope.
Oh! Can you manage? I can't do it at this angle.
Thank you.
That's better.
We head across the harbour towards the entrance to Amsterdam's canal district.
Unbelievable.
Yes, this is the heart of old Amsterdam.
And it's the area where the city began, as a rather insignificant fishing village on the River Amstel.
Coming up now is the oldest lock in Amsterdam.
Extraordinary.
Then, in 1270, the Amstel was dammed, giving the city its name.
Ah, right! Amstel-dam.
If it wasn't for canals, this would just be a muddy swamp.
It's all very different from the canals back home, isn't it? Yes, British canals sneak through the city centres, almost hidden.
Here, they're very much centre stage.
Quite right, too.
This is canal perfection, isn't it? Yes.
Amazing old buildings here, look at them.
Yeah, they're beautiful.
These elegant 17th-century buildings were designed to be both a merchant's home and his warehouse.
To find out how Amsterdam became known as the Venice of the North, we're meeting a canal historian.
Permission to come on board, sir? Yes, please.
Yes, of course.
Good to see you.
Great to see you.
Smooth.
Beautiful.
It's wonderful to see the city from the canal, which is how it should be seen, really.
And the thing about Amsterdam is when it expanded, the big idea was of course to build large boulevards, lined with trees, very elegant buildings alongside.
But it simply couldn't be done - everything around you is wet and it's below sea level.
So they built canals instead? They built canals instead, so the canals you're on are actually kind of boulevards with water.
Yes.
Well, hooray.
It's mainly leisure boats today, but up until the early 20th century, Amsterdam's canals were a key form of transport, part of the fabric of the city.
You have to imagine, alongside the quayside were all the city's markets.
The vegetable market - the farmers from around the city would bring in their cabbages, their strawberries, etc, every bit of trade and transport was done on the water.
If you got on a boat here, you could sail to Hamburg or to Stockholm or to Paris almost, without really getting out on the open sea.
That's when canals could take you all over Europe, of course.
Beautiful buildings.
Incredible buildings.
The top floors are so beautifully decorated.
One thing you see on a lot of these houses is a little sign in stone, which is an indication of the person who lived there, of his profession.
This is a house that used to belong to a butcher, so it has a young lamb and an oxen on it.
Yes.
Yes.
Did they have a special sign for actors' houses? I shouldn't think actors could afford houses! I don't think they owned anything, no.
Quite right, too.
No, I'm just wondering if any of them could, we could get one for our house in darkest Wandsworth in London.
A muse or something A skull.
A skull! LAUGHTER Alas, poor Yorick.
We're passing through the Golden Bend, once home to the city's richest merchants.
They didn't spend the money on the outside, they spent the money on the inside, they spent money on lavish decorations and painted ceilings, and what's more, they stretch until the next canal.
And, on the other side, they would have servants' quarters.
They were actually grand complexes.
And the drains all went into the canal, did they? Yes.
If you see these lovely 17th-century pictures of the canals, you have to imagine what it smelt like.
Everything went into the canals.
I read a diary of a 19th-century student and he said, "If I open the window, it's like 100 privies stinking at the same time.
" It's early Friday evening.
The sun's out and so is the party crowd.
Traffic is definitely building.
Look out, Tim! This is a particularly busy little curve.
Are they going to run us down? I'm going to stay left, I think.
BOATS THUMP Oh! We have to have one bump.
Oh, God.
Amsterdam's trip boats clearly think they own these canals.
But my husband has other ideas.
What are you doing, darling? I can get through first, I think.
Famous last words.
Here we go.
We're doomed! We're doomed.
We're doomed.
Wow! Did it.
Well done.
It was easy.
Excellent.
Well done.
Another bump.
There is another bump.
That's not like you, Tim.
Can't be helped, I'm afraid.
It's time to say goodbye to our friend.
See you later.
Bye-bye.
Cheers.
Could we head for a quieter stretch of canal now, please? Amsterdam is well-known for its liberal attitudes, and it's important not to confuse cafes with coffee shops, where your latte comes with something a bit stronger.
Yes, you can smell the marijuana.
You know where we are.
I don't recognise the smell.
Oh, come on! We're heading deeper into the city, to its medieval core, where the canals link with the old port of Amsterdam.
As early as the 13th century, sailors visited the area known as De Wallen to satisfy their carnal desires.
We are entering the red light district.
You shouldn't have brought your wife with you! Well, it's probably for the best.
Love Experience.
Love Experience, yes.
Right, OK.
And Bike Rental.
I think that just means renting bikes.
I think.
So you can ride on to the next one.
Tolerated for centuries, it wasn't until 2000 that the city officially legalised the world's oldest profession.
Today, many of the working women who sit in Amsterdam's famous windows are members of their own trade union.
Historically, actresses were often equated with "ladies of the night", and in the 18th and early 19th century, Amsterdam's more upmarket establishments were known as "play-houses".
Night falls and De Wallen comes to life.
It's rather romantic, isn't it? Yeah, it is, actually.
Much better than Wardour Street.
Well, I wouldn't know about Wardour Street, darling.
How do you know about Wardour Street? Well, that's where all the film companies' offices are.
Oh, really This really is the most unusual and intriguing canal journey.
Yes, it is, but perhaps on this stretch, it's best if you stay on the boat.
Of course, darling.
Timmy! HORN HONKS Tim! Yes, I've seen it.
Well done.
It's the final day of our voyage across Holland Hello, seagull.
.
.
and we're continuing our slightly hazardous exploration of the canals of Amsterdam.
I wish I wasn't staring straight into the sun.
Sorry? Oh! Oh, come on - it's just a tap.
We're bound for one of the city's grand canalside residences, before we follow the route of the 17th-century Dutch traders and head out into the old Zuiderzee.
Beautiful buildings.
These must always have been very expensive properties.
It was the place to be.
Today, we'll get a chance to see inside one of the finest mansions of Holland's golden age.
Look, is it a royal bridge? It's got crowns on the top.
We've been invited to tea by one of the members of the Dutch aristocracy.
And along here is the Van Loon House.
Oh? And we're going to visit Mrs Van Loon-Labouchere .
.
who was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
So, mind your Ps and Qs.
Yes.
In a typically Dutch fashion, the rather plain exterior is an illusion, disguising a sumptuous interior of priceless antiques and works of art.
Welcome to the House Van Loon.
It's wonderful to be here.
'The Van Loon family were merchants 'who initially made their money dealing in fish - 'herring, to be precise' These are all family portraits.
Mm.
So, the co-founder of the Dutch East India Company was? That's him, yes.
Yes.
'.
.
but in 1602, they hit the big time, when Willem Jansz Van Loon 'became a founding member of the Dutch East India Company.
' Shall we go in the garden room and have some tea? Lovely! 'The family fortune lasted for generations 'and, by the 19th century, 'the Van Loons were members of the Dutch nobility 'and part of the royal circle.
' This house was a wonderful house for a family to live in.
But it wasfor entertaining as well, was it not? Always.
Of course.
I entertained quite a lot.
I gave dinner parties.
In that beautiful dining room? In the dining room.
Yes.
President Putin came on a state visit to Holland, and the palace was under renovation, so the Queen gave him lunch here.
We may not be part of the British nobility, but we both played the odd Royal in our time - and, in A Question Of Attribution, Pru was cast as our current Queen.
You played Queen Elizabeth? I played Queen Elizabeth, yes.
Was it on television, or on the stage? It was on the stage initially, but It was on the stage initially.
Yes, I played her a couple of times.
Sometime afterwards, she came and said hello to the cast, you know.
Oh, how nice.
When it came to be my turn, I curtsied and said, "I suppose you think you should be doing this?" Ah! That she should be the one to curtsy to you?! The Van Loon Museum is a vivid reminder of the glory of this country's golden age, when the Dutch East India Company became the world's first global corporation.
The key to its success - an efficient transport system of canals at home, and a network of trading stations abroad.
Up she goes.
Exciting sight, isn't it? Yeah, I love it.
For the final leg of our Netherlands adventure, we're following the route of the old Dutch trading galleons, which left the port of Amsterdam bound for Indonesia, China and the New World.
I used to have a thing about square rig when I was a little when I was a little girl.
And I dreamt about sailing around the world in one.
Well, our vessel is not quite so grand.
A flat-bottomed cargo ship, she has plied these shallow waters for over a century.
So, we're heading out, as the Dutch sailors did in the golden age, from the canals of Amsterdam to the oceans of the world.
Next stop, Java.
Next stop, Wandsworth, please! Wandsworth, via Java.
OK, yeah.
Fine.
We're not actually going quite that far today - just a few miles to a traditional fishing village on the island of Marken.
We've travelled just 15 miles out of modern Amsterdam, but I feel as if we've gone a long way back in time.
Marken, founded in the 13th century, gives us a glimpse into the past, when the traditional Dutch way of life meant dealing with the constant threat of floods.
All these exquisite little houses Yes.
.
.
were originally on stilts, when this area was tidal.
Oh! Good lord.
And then when they dyked it in, of course, they had to make sure that the water level was constant.
They're beautiful.
In this picturesque place, it's easy to forget how hard the Dutch have battled the sea over the centuries, and how their perseverance and ingenuity created this land - and, with it, their own success.
400 years ago, in the Dutch Golden age, stately galleons would pass by here, laden with exotic goods from the Indies.
The cargo of coffee, pepper, silks and spices - and, as Masefield said Sandalwood and cedarwood, and Sweet white wine, yes.
Ha! Sounds so exciting.
Across canal, lake and sea, we've followed the route of the mariners from the Dutch golden age.
'And we'll return home with our own exotic cargo of new experiences.
' Tim, have you ever seen anything like this? There isn't anything like this.
'Of new insights' Something happens to you every day that, in some way, adds a little bit more.
Mm! Yes.
And old friendships rekindled.
We'll never stop exploring.
And making new discoveries together.
Quite like an adventure, don't you? I'll go anywhere, as long as you come with me.
That could be arranged.
Promise? Yeah, come on.
Good.
Next time, we venture along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
All right, Pruey? Transporting us back in time to the of steam.
Darling, it's going to be a great moment for you.
As we uncover its industrial heritage, we also reconnect with our northern routes.
So, we are both northerners, aren't we? Even though we've been living in darkest Wandsworth for the last 45 years.
Yes.