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 October 2026.
Last episode
1:00:00
1:00:00Canal Boat Diaries
Robbie Cumming navigates the scenic Oxford Canal onboard Naughty Lass, explores its twists and turns, and helps tow a stranded broken-down boater.
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1:00:00During a cold snap Robbie Cumming gets iced in on the Grand Union Canal. Later, his parents pay a visit and help him through Marsworth Locks.
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.
1:00:00Robbie Cumming discovers a mysterious message in a bottle on the Ashby Canal and calls in to meet a mate who lives on an old narrowboat.
1:00:00Robbie Cumming encounters a leaky lock pound on the Perry Barr Flight and gets marooned in the mud before travelling under Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham.
1:00:00It'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.
1:00:00Robbie explores the picturesque Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
Series 2
30:00
30:00Robbie crosses an epic aqueduct near Stratford-upon-Avon and gets stuck in a lock in central Birmingham.
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.
Series 5 1:00:00
1:00:00A window gets smashed onboard the Naughty Lass and Robbie Cumming receives a soaking inside the very wet Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Union Canal.
1:00:00Robbie Cumming takes a tumble at Buckby Locks in Northamptonshire and has a problem with his power supply and battery bank.
Series 4 30:00
30:00Robbie Cumming has problems with ice on the Grand Union Canal, and ends his journey in Braunston, Northamptonshire.
Series 3 30:00
30:00
On 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.
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.
30:00Robbie Cumming journeys from Shardlow to Etruria Junction, Stoke on Trent, exploring the Trent and Mersey Canal.
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.