Great Canal Journeys

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth explore the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. They uncover the history of Stourport, which only came into being after the canal was built there, which is unique for a British town. They explore the history of carpet manufacturing in Kidderminster and meet 84-year-old Audrey, who operated a daunting power loom for much of her working life. Gyles also dons a panto costume in Stourbridge to learn more about the local legend of Dick Whittington. When the duo reach Wolverhampton, they get a taste of the Desi pub, a modern institution in the Black Country that combines Punjabi food with British booze.

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth are back on the barge to explore the Cambridgeshire Fens. They visit the vicarage where a children's classic was written, make a pilgrimage to Ely Cathedral to hear some medieval plainsong and try their hand at a spot of landscape painting, before ending their journey in Cambridge to pay homage to early 20th-century poetry great Rupert Brooke.

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth travel along the Leeds-Liverpool canal across the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, from Wigan to Liverpool. They explore the two things that Wigan is most famous for - its pier and its pies - with Gyles going head head with the world pie-eating champion. They also visit Scarisbrick Hall to tell the story of Houses of Parliament designer Augustus Pugin.