Great Canal Journeys

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 hair, Pru.

PRUNELLA LAUGHS

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.

Ah!

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.

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 Stratford Canal runs through lush Warwickshire countryside,

to the hometown of our national playwright.

Pru and I, we're words people,

and Shakespeare is the perfect wordsmith, the perfect dramatist.

So, we're embarking on a voyage to pay tribute to him.

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Her memory is now seriously bad,

but she can remember hundreds of thousands of lines of Shakespeare.

And in his last resting place...

We'll put on a performance in his honour.

OK. OK.

We'll follow one of Britain's most picturesque...

Magic. The heart of England.

..and narrow canals.

There's no safety rail on this bridge.

No. Frightening.

Along the way, we'll recruit some assistance

from three generations of the family West...

PRUNELLA LAUGHS

It's a journey that takes us back in time,

to when we were both young actors.

There's the theatre, look!

Yes, there it is.

And unlocks our deepest memories.

I'm Titania, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.

Who's going to dance?

Our journey begins at Kingswood,

the Spaghetti Junction of the canal network.

What do you think? Oh, nice.

From here, you can take two separate routes.

To Birmingham, or east to Warwick...

Right. Cast off, please, Pruey.

'..or indeed south to Stratford.'

It's a significant year.

2016 is the 400th anniversary

of Shakespeare's death.

And, incidentally, 200 years since the opening of this canal.

OK!

Off we go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the actor's spiritual home.

I've performed in most of Shakespeare's plays,

and played several parts more than once.

Right from the start of my working life, I've played the classics, too.

Shakespeare's language, his poetry, is part of us.

What did Judi Dench call Shakespeare?

She and Michael called him, "The man who pays the rent."

Yes, for many years, he helped pay our bills, too.

Beginning at Kingswood Junction, we'll join the Stratford Canal.

Passing by its unique lock-keeper cottages.

We'll cross England's longest aqueduct, before paying a visit

to the home estate of Shakespeare's mother.

Then descending the Wilmcote flight, we'll arrive in Stratford itself.

Finally, we'll pay tribute to the Bard at his last resting place.

They don't leave a lot of room these bridges, do they? No.

Can't see how far away I am from... No. You're... You're doing well.

OK, and I...

Gosh, look at the number of people who've bashed into that bridge.

Frightening. Am I all right?

You're all right at the moment.

Well done, that's it.

Stop, you're straight now.

Excellent.

We won't get lost, will we?

No, no, no, no!

It's very hard to get lost on these canals.

Well, it has been known.

You can't be talking about me, surely.

Just look for the narrowest canal at Kingswood junction,

and that's the Stratford.

LOUD BANG

Whoops, no room for mistakes.

We're on the Stratford all right.

There was a lot of financial constraint

about building this canal, and so you see a lot of, erm...

..economies.

In the late 18th century, a plan was devised

to extend Stratford's waterways north, towards Birmingham.

But it went badly over budget,

and the only way to get the canal finished

was to reduce the width of its locks to that of a single narrow boat.

It makes it easier for the crew though,

as there's only one gate at either end.

It's all right, I'll do it.

No, it's tough. What? It's a big one.

It's all right I can do it. All right. Yes. All right. Yes.

You don't... You don't think I'm...

You go and do the, erm...paddle.

Yes, all right.

There are a lot of locks on this journey.

And Pru's doing very well at the moment,

but I don't want her to overtire herself.

And she's quite capable of steering the boat.

So, I think I'm going to take over the locks as a general rule.

But just at the moment, she's finding she likes doing it.

So, I'm going to let her be.

Not too bad.

Today, we have nine locks to tackle,

before spending the night at a lock-keeper's cottage at Lowsonford.

Magic.

The heart of England

This canal may have been built on the cheap,

but that doesn't stop it being rather beautiful.

The Stratford also boasts some rather clever innovations.

These split bridges are a very singular arrangement.

The idea is that the bridges don't lift up, they're permanent.

But you unhitch your leading horse, then you pass the lead over the top.

Right over. And then you pass it down through the gap here?

Yes, here. Here. Here.

And reattach it. Yes.

Saves you time and endless amount of effort. Yes. Very brilliant.

Very good idea.

The man responsible for designing this canal

was the local landowner and engineer, William James.

Largely forgotten by history,

he was in fact one of the great transport innovators of his age.

We're on our way to see Terry Deary,

who wrote that marvellous collection of, erm...

Horrible Histories.

And he's also written extensively about William James...

Terry, hello.

Very good to see you. Good to see you.

And thank you for your hospitality.

'..and claims he is one of the greatest unsung

'heroes of Britain's Industrial Revolution.'

William James was really responsible

for this canal as we know it today, wasn't he?

He certainly was because they built a certain amount

of the canal then they ran out of money.

Big recession at the end of the French Revolutionary Wars. Yes.

And he invested his own money in order to get it finished.

He had to be very parsimonious,

which is why you've got this very narrow lock... Yeah, yeah.

..single locks, single gates.

And little bridges.

They may be single-lock gates, but they're still rather heavy.

I'll come. If you move up a bit, I'll start here.

Well done. Oh, your great strength.

As well as being a pioneering canal builder,

William James went on to become one of the founding fathers

of Britain's railways.

So, William James wasn't just an engineer,

he was a visionary and he designed a rail network

for the south of England which is basically what we still use today.

He never stopped thinking.

But his passion for a future rail network throughout Britain

made him enemies.

Powerful men who had already invested heavily

in the building of canals.

When James started surveying railways, as was his right,

they did all sorts of underhand tricks to stop him.

Including violence.

And one of his assistants was stabbed in the back

with a pitchfork.

So, James hired a professional boxer to defend him.

But it didn't work. They beat the boxer up. Oh, God!

It's a great story.

It is.

He can't have been a very good boxer.

We think we know all the great engineers