Great Canal Journeys: The Best of Series One & Two (Prunella Scales & Timothy West)

This seven part documentary travelogue series follows much loved thespians Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales as they navigate some of the most breath-taking stretches of canal in Britain and France. Each episode tells the history of a different canal network. Along the way Tim and Prunella will meet the local characters who live, work or just enjoy the canals and witness first-hand how canal life has changed over the years.

Includes the episodes:

Kennet and Avon

Veteran actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by heading to the West Country to travel along a canal close to their hearts, the fully restored Kennet and Avon which they helped restore 40 years ago. Pru's increasing forgetfulness due to her dementia doesn't stop them enjoying the sights, characters and wildlife along a picturesque the 21-mile stretch of water from Bath to Devizes.

Rochdale

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.

Llangollen

Tim and Pru head to Llangollen, Denbighshire, where they spent their honeymoon. Reminiscing over how their relationship has survived and thrived over the past 50 years, the pair take in the picturesque sights of the Vale of Llangollen and the Montgomery Canal, before travelling on a horse-drawn barge up the Horseshoe Falls.

Canal du Nivernais

Tim and Pru conclude their odyssey in the Burgundy region of France, where they travel along the Canal du Nivernais, which passes through towns and villages steeped in history. They visit the market town of Chablis to help with the annual grape harvest and the medieval city of Auxerre before reflecting on what the journey has meant to them as a married couple.

Oxford

Timothy West and Prunella Scales embark on another waterway adventure, starting in the romantic city of Oxford, where they began their courtship many years ago. They follow the gentle contours of the Oxford Canal through the Cherwell Valley, where they meet novelist Philip Pullman and are joined by their son, fellow actor Samuel West. Tim and Pru follow in the footsteps of author Tom Rolt, whose vivid account of his journey down this canal in 1939 ignited a campaign that went on to save Britain's canals from extinction.

Canal du Midi

Built nearly a century before the British canal system, the Canal du Midi in the south of France has been designated a world heritage site. Tim and Pru explore a picturesque stretch, as is it meanders toward the Mediterranean. They visit the town of Beziers and the Malpas Tunnel - Europe's first navigable canal tunnel - and taste the delights of lamb's brain fritters, and a brandy that is almost 200 years old.

Forth and Clyde and Union Canals

In a coast-to-coast adventure from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Tim and Pru travel along the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, taking in Scotland's highest aqueduct and longest canal tunnel, as well some striking examples of 21st-century engineering and monumental sculptures.

Actors: Prunella Scales, Timothy West

Audio Languages: English

Duration: 315 minutes

Number of Discs: 2

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