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 45 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in June 2026.
Last broadcast:09/06/2026 at 20:00
Last episode
1:00:00
1:00:00Canal Boat Diaries
It's Robbie's toughest trip yet as he battles through water weed on the Bradley Arm and gets stuck in silt on the Ridgacre Branch.
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1:00:00Fallen trees block Robbie's journey on the Peak Forest Canal. Later, he meets TV host Terry Christian, whose dad once worked a local waterway.
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 6
1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie mends a leaky pump on the Naughty Lass on the Grand Union Canal. In Watford, he visits a TV legend's home and buys gas from a friendly fuel boat.
Series 5
1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie explores the picturesque Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
1:00:00Disaster strikes when the Naughty Lass collides with a low bridge on the Bumble Hole Canal Branch damaging a chimney.
1:00:00Robbie Cumming sets out to explore the meandering waterways of inner city Birmingham including the Soho Loop and the Engine Arm Canal.
1:00:00Robbie Cumming journeys through Royal Leamington Spa and the historic town of Warwick with its medieval castle.
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.
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.
Series 6
1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie returns to where his boating life began, exploring London's canals on Naughty Lass. He travels through Little Venice and moors in Paddington Basin.
1:00:00Robbie navigates the Oxford Canal, bumps into a hire boat and a hedge and tackles large river locks on the scenic Upper River Thames.
Series 4
30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming has problems with ice on the Grand Union Canal, and ends his journey in Braunston, Northamptonshire.
30:00Narrowboater Robbie Cumming faces a journey of many challenges as he runs aground and breaks down in Nottingham.
30:00Robbie Cumming tackles the fast-flowing River Trent and is invited to join a night-time illuminated boat parade.
30:00Robbie Cumming makes a running repair to his narrowboat on the Tinsley lock flight in South Yorkshire, then cruises beneath Conisbrough's magnificent viaduct.
Series 3
30:00
30:00On the last leg of his epic journey across the north of England, Robbie tackles the fast-flowing River Ouse and is forced to make an emergency stop.
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.