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Great Canal Journeys: how a bittersweet boating show captured viewers' hearts
The swansong of Timothy West and Prunella Scales’s narrowboat adventures aired this week, having elevated the humble travelogue to a touching saga of love and loss
‘M y name’s Timothy West, and this is my wife, Prunella Scales.” Much of the tender magic of Great Canal Journeys is in that proud, robustly jolly, semi-formal introduction, habitually included in the narration as one venerated actor refers to his beloved other. The Channel 4 show – the probable last episode of which was broadcast last night – is one of many travel series that amount to watching celebrities go on holiday, but it’s one of the few that truly feels as if it’s inviting us to come along too.
West and Scales have no need to feign canal enthusiasm for the cameras. In their show’s best episodes, they revisit their own, real narrowboating holidays, re-enacting scenes from a romance that’s endured for more than half a century. A simple thing that sets them apart is that they’re a lot older than almost anyone else on British television. What has made this series such a gift is their willingness to share the emotion of navigating that last phase of life together, a bittersweetness made all the more powerful by Scales’s Alzheimer’s disease. West is the boat’s skipper, cajoling and comforting and forever worrying about the welfare of his mate.
The success of the series has demanded that Tim and Pru venture overseas, as near as France and as far as India. Their foreign jaunts were fine, but this new trip put them back where they look most comfortable, in the veins of green England . Going up the familiar Oxford Canal from Banbury in Oxfordshire to Braunston in Northamptonshire offered a chance to relax, enjoy choice excerpts from previous seasons, and update us on the topic discussed whenever we and they reconvene: how Pru’s doing. The news was not good.
Since the first instalment in 2014, the series has charted the long, slow goodbye that is living with dementia, cherishing every moment of precious normality and celebrating how an immersion in nature is the surest way to bring the old Pru back. But that task of loving a person whose powers are fading only ever gets harder. Now we heard not only that Pru’s mental decline was accelerating, but that deafness was also encroaching.
The show’s editors have been masters of holding the shot for an extra second after Tim has finished speaking, long enough for us to discern pain clouding the full-hearted, wrinkly eyed smile that takes over his face when he talks about how happy Pru makes him. As Tim explained that Pru’s hearing loss was denying him the pleasure of ordinary conversation – the quick exchange of ideas and feelings with his best friend, treasured every day since 1963 – we saw more sadness than smile.
This episode was broadcast on West’s 85th birthday and possessed an air of soft valediction throughout. In the ancient St Peter’s Church at Wormleighton, Warwickshire, the vicar boldly asked for clarification of what the rest of the programme was only hinting at: was this the couple’s last ever Great Canal Journey? Tim looked at Pru and thought about the bustling community of hobbyists and holidaymakers on Britain’s manmade waterways . “They can carry on without us. I just wonder if we can carry on without them.”
So a saga that has been – quietly, let’s not make a fuss about it – one of the greatest love stories on TV seems to be over. There’s another new episode next week, but it’s even more heavily based on old clips, with the linking scenes showing Tim taking care of Pru at home rather than judging tight turns and ratcheting locks.
This was the swansong, and in the loveliest of many lovely moments, Fairport Convention came on board at Cropredy to perform the exquisitely appropriate Who Knows Where the Time Goes? “Who knows how my love grows? And who knows where the time goes?” Oh, for a little more time. But what times we’ve had.
- Timothy West
- Boating holidays
- Alzheimer's
- Relationships
- Mental health
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Great Canal Journeys
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Shannon Erne Waterway
- Episode aired Nov 8, 2015
Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle. Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle. Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle.
- Mike Taylor
- Timothy West
- Prunella Scales
- Frank McCabe
- Self - Host
- Self - Worked on Restoration of Shannon Erne Canal
- Self - Seanchaí …
- Self - Current Owner of Rossfad
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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- November 8, 2015 (United Kingdom)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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- Runtime 47 minutes
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Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth embark on spectacular canal journeys across Britain and abroad
Tim and Pru embark on an epic journey along Canada's Rideau Canal, a world heritage site - from the backwoods of Ontario to the nation's capital
Series 13 Episode 4: Peak Forest Canal
Sheila and Gyles boat the beautiful Peak Forest Canal and have a go at dry stone walling
Series 13 Episode 3: Grand Union and Stratford Canal
Sheila and Gyles learn about brewing ale and brave the 500-foot-long Edstone Aqueduct
Series 13 Episode 2: West Lancashire Coastal Plain
Gyles takes on the world pie-eating champion in Wigan. Then all canals lead to Liverpool.
Series 13 Episode 1: Cambridgeshire Fens
Sheila and Gyles explore the Cambridgeshire Fens and make a pilgrimage to Ely Cathedral
Best of Wales and the West Country
A look back at Tim and Pru's adventures on the waterways of Wales and the West Country
Best of Scandinavia
A look back at Timothy West and Prunella Scales' 350-mile journey across Sweden by boat
North of England
Tim and Pru look back over their many great adventures along northern England's canals
Best of Scotland
Tim and Pru look back at one of their favourite locations
Global Adventures
Tim and Pru share a stash of memories of their canal journeys overseas
The British Isles
Tim and Pru go on a voyage through the beautiful Cherwell Valley
Series 10 Episode 2: Asian Odyssey (Part Two)
Timothy and Pru complete their tour of South East Asian waterways on the Mekong Delta
Series 10 Episode 1: Asian Odyssey (Part One)
The 'ancient mariners' travel the waterways of Vietnam - from Halong Bay to Hanoi
Series 9 Episode 6: Rideau Canal, Canada
Tim and Pru embark on an epic journey along Canada's Rideau Canal
Series 9 Episode 5: Lancaster Canal
Tim and Pru navigate the Lancaster Canal, an early masterpiece of the waterways
Series 9 Episode 4: Argentina
Tim and Pru take a boat ride in the Argentine jungle
Series 9 Episode 3: Manchester
Tim and Pru explore the waterways of north west England, from Manchester to Ellesmere
Series 9 Episode 2: North Italy
Tim and Pru cross Italy's largest lake and travel down Europe's oldest working canal
Series 9 Episode 1: The River Nile
Tim and Pru explore one of the world's great waterways
Series 2 Episode 4: Forth and Clyde and Union Canals
Timothy and Pru travel through the stunning scenery of central Scotland
Series 2 Episode 3: Canal du Midi
Timothy and Pru explore the picturesque Canal du Midi in the south of France
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New. Argentina: Tim and Pru take a boat ride in the Argentine jungle with gin and tonic with some remote Anglo-Argentines, hummingbirds, honey and a spot of tango. S6 Ep4
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Great Canal Journeys - This documentary travelogue series follows much loved thespians Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales as they navigate some of the...
Great Canal Journeys is a British television series in which a pair of presenters take canal barge and narrowboat trips in the United Kingdom, Europe, India and Egypt. The series was originally aired on More4 before transferring to Channel 4 with Series 2.. The original presenters were husband and wife Timothy West and Prunella Scales.Both are keen narrowboaters and were involved in ...
Tim and Pru with their family in what might be the final episode of Great Canal Journeys. Photograph: Spun Gold TV/Channel 4. Since the first instalment in 2014, the series has charted the long ...
Sun, Oct 23, 2016. With Tim playing King Lear in Bristol, he and Prunella Scales tour the city and also some West Country waterways further afield, including Devon. They also take a paddle steamer. 8.1 /10 (12)
Top-rated. Mon, Mar 10, 2014. S1.E1. Kennet & Avon. Back in 1990, to promote the fully restored canal, Tim and Pru were invited to be the first boat in 42 years to travel the full length of the K&A. Almost a quarter of a century later, they navigate the 21 miles along its most picturesque stretch, starting in Bath and ending in Devizes.
Watch with Prime. S1 E2 - Rochdale. March 17, 2014. 47min. ALL. Tim and Pru tackle the Rochdale Canal- a waterway that was a main artery for the textile industry at the height of the Industrial Revolution. They begin in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, and head west through Mytholmroyd, before journeying up over the Pennines to the canal summit ...
Mon, Mar 10, 2014. S1.E1. Kennet & Avon. Back in 1990, to promote the fully restored canal, Tim and Pru were invited to be the first boat in 42 years to travel the full length of the K&A. Almost a quarter of a century later, they navigate the 21 miles along its most picturesque stretch, starting in Bath and ending in Devizes.
Great Canal Journeys. 4 Series ∙ 21 Episodes ∙ Travel. Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth embark on spectacular canal journeys across Britain and abroad.
Timothy West and Prunella Scales go to Ireland and travel along the Shannon Erne Waterway, the 'peace canal' linking the North to the South. Along the…
Special 4 North of England. November 24, 2019 12:00 PM — 47m. 6 9 14. Tim and Pru look back over their many great adventures along northern England's canals with some of the best examples of the golden age of the waterways, including the Leeds to Liverpool canal. 100%.
Timothy and Pru explore the picturesque Canal du Midi in the south of France. First shown: Sun 29 Mar 2015 | 47 mins. Show more. Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth ...
Watch with a free Prime trial. Watch with Prime. S3 E4 - Sweden Part 1. November 15, 2015. 47min. ALL. Tim and Pru head into uncharted waters to attempt one of the longest canal journeys in the world- 350 miles coast to coast across Sweden. The first leg of their voyage begins in Gothenburg, where they link up with the historic Gota Canal ...
Tim and Pru island-hop their way through the Hebrides, visiting Tobermory, Iona, the Isle of Jura, and lastly the magical nine-mile Crinan canal.The Crinan C...
Series Selector for Great Canal Journeys. Series 3. Series 4. Series 5. Series 6. All episodes for series 3 of Great Canal Journeys. S3 E1 · London's Lost Route to the Seas. ... Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway to try some folk singing. S3 E4 · The Gota Canal, Sweden.
Great Canal Journeys (TV Series 2014- ) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Menu. Movies. ... Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle. 8.3 /10 (12) Rate. 2 4.
April 17, 2016. 47min. 7+. Tim and Pru cross the Highlands along the spectacular Caledonian Canal, which links the North Sea with the Atlantic. Voyaging through the heart of the highlands they meet Loch Ness monster hunters, kilt-wearing bards, and pipe-playing clan chiefs. Entitled. Watch with a free Prime trial.
6 Rideau Canal, Canada. 11/18/19. Season-only. Tim and Pru embark on an epic journey along Canada's Rideau Canal, a world heritage site - from the backwoods of Ontario to the nation's capital. 7 Vietnam. 6/9/19. Season-only. Tim and Pru start their trip in Halong Bay, before travelling along the Red River to visit both Hanoi and Hoa Lu.
March 16, 2014. 47min. ALL. Tim and Pru tackle the Rochdale Canal- a waterway that was a main artery for the textile industry at the height of the Industrial Revolution. They begin in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, and head west through Mytholmroyd, before journeying up over the Pennines to the canal summit, more than 600ft above sea level.
Shannon Erne Waterway: Directed by Mike Taylor. With Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Frank McCabe, Jack Lynch. Timothy West and Prunella Scales head to Ireland and the Shannon Erne Waterway, where they try some folk singing, Irish dancing, and visit the ruins of Crom Castle.
Watch with a free Prime trial. S3 E4 - Sweden Part 1. November 15, 2015. 47min. ALL. Tim and Pru head into uncharted waters to attempt one of the longest canal journeys in the world- 350 miles coast to coast across Sweden. The first leg of their voyage begins in Gothenburg, where they link up with the historic Gota Canal, taking them into the ...
Great Canal Journeys. Season 6. Timothy West and Prunella Scales explore one of the world's great waterways, the river Nile. They also embark across Italy's largest lake, head off on their first adventure in Argentina, and trek along Europe's oldest working canal. 2019 14 episodes.
North of England. Tim and Pru look back over their many great adventures along northern England's canals. First shown: Sun 24 Nov 2019 | 47 mins.
YESTERDAY HD. New. Manchester to Merseyside: Tim and Pru embark on a voyage through canal history as they explore the waterways of northwest England and heading from Manchester to Ellesmere Port. S6 Ep3. Record. S9 E3 3 Apr 12:00pm. Watch. S9 E2. Download.