Canal Boat Diaries
Canal Boat Diaries is a TV show on BBC4. Robbie Cumming offers a look at life on his narrowboat while travelling through England. The program has been available since 2026. A total of 47 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in August 2026.
Last episode
1:00:00
1:00:00Canal Boat Diaries
Fallen trees block Robbie's journey on the Peak Forest Canal. Later, he meets TV host Terry Christian, whose dad once worked a local waterway.
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1:00:00Robbie helps rescue a runaway narrowboat on the scenic Macclesfield Canal and cruises through autumn scenery toward Congleton to see a shipwreck up for sale.
Series 1
30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming travels along the Rochdale Canal from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester, but disaster strikes when he runs aground.
30:00Robbie Cumming continues across the Pennines from Marple to Huddersfield, where his journey is hampered by a fallen tree and a leaking lock pound.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie slips and falls overboard on Heartbreak Hill. Also, Eddie 'the Stove Man' and his enormous German Shepherd fix the fireplace on the old Naughty Lass.
Series 3 30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming explores a Victorian village in West Yorkshire, moors up in Leeds Dock, and goes in search of an abandoned Aire and Calder Navigation waterway.
30:00Robbie Cumming crosses the Pennines on the picturesque Leeds and Liverpool Canal before lending a hand to hire boaters in Gargrave in North Yorkshire.
30:00Robbie Cumming begins a new 170-mile journey across the north of England but soon runs into difficulty with a problem with his craft's propeller in Wigan.
Series 2 30:00
30:00Robbie crosses an epic aqueduct near Stratford-upon-Avon and gets stuck in a lock in central Birmingham.
30:00Robbie navigates the mighty River Severn and takes an unexpected bath as he takes a tumble at the Tardebigge lock flight in Worcestershire.
30:00Robbie gets stuck in the mud in Woodseaves Cutting and explores the charming canal-side village of Kinver in Staffordshire.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie sets off from Runcorn on the Bridgewater Canal, but a series of unfortunate mishaps soon tests his patience - from lost camera footage to closed canals.
1:00:00With the Anderton Boat Lift out of action, Robbie explores the scenic River Weaver onboard a borrowed narrowboat called 'Tench'.
1:00:00As Robbie leaves the scenic Llangollen Canal, he faces a journey of running repairs and narrowboat maintenance on the old Naughty Lass.
1:00:00 1:00:00Robbie begins a new canal adventure in Wales and encounters towering aqueducts and stunning scenery along the way.
Series 2 30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming battles his way through blanket weed on the Shropshire Union Canal and discovers industrial secrets in Audlem in Cheshire.
Series 1 30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming concludes his journey by travelling from Barton Swing Aqueduct to Liverpool Docks - but experiences engine problems on the way.
30:00Robbie Cumming explores the English canal network. A low canal tunnel in Staffordshire proves to be problematic and Robbie helps out a stranded boater.
30:00Robbie Cumming journeys from Shardlow to Etruria Junction, Stoke on Trent, exploring the Trent and Mersey Canal.