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 37 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in April 2026.
Last broadcast:12/04/2026 at 19:00
Last episode
1:00:00
1:00:00Canal Boat Diaries
Robbie Cumming journeys through Royal Leamington Spa and the historic town of Warwick with its medieval castle.
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30:00Robbie Cumming has problems with ice on the Grand Union Canal, and ends his journey in Braunston, Northamptonshire.
Series 2
30:00
30:00Robbie navigates the mighty River Severn and takes an unexpected bath as he takes a tumble at the Tardebigge lock flight in Worcestershire.
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.
Series 1
30:00
30:00The reality of life afloat with Robbie Cumming. A fallen tree and a leaking lock pound hamper Robbie's journey across the Pennines.
30:00Life on England's waterways with Robbie Cumming. A low canal tunnel in Staffordshire proves a problem, and Robbie helps out a stranded boater.
30:00Life on board a narrowboat with Robbie Cumming. Robbie tackles a propeller problem and tricky locks on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Derbyshire.
Series 4
30:00
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.
Series 2
30:00
30:00Robbie gets stuck in the mud in Woodseaves Cutting and explores the charming canal-side village of Kinver in Staffordshire.
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 travels along the Rochdale Canal from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester, but disaster strikes when he runs aground.
Series 6
1:00:00
1:00:00Robbie navigates the wintery Grand Union Canal while preparing for Christmas and narrowly avoids flooding his boat in a tricky staircase lock.
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.