Gyles and Sheila are back on our screens, and in case you missed it you can catch up with their Great Canal Journey to Cambridge and the Fens by watching episode one of series 13 on All 4.

Actor Sheila Hancock and author and presenter Gyles Brandreth took over presenting the show in November 2020. (Read TVs Great Canal Journeys Has Two New Skippers). They were narrowboat novices at that point, but have since taken to cruising and steering canal boats with heart-warming humour and enthusiasm.

At the beginning of series 13 they started their journey in the town of March, where Fox narrowboats are based, and travelled along the old course of the River Nene to visit Emneth, then south down the Great Ouse to Ely Cathedral, and finished their trip in Cambridge, learning about the poet, Rupert Brook.

Early on in the journey Sheila was seriously impressed by the Fenland scenery; she loved the spaciousness of the panorama, “It’s all sky!” They learned that the sea level is still rising in the Fens, so it is inevitable that large areas, previously reclaimed from the sea, will eventually be underwater once more.

There were some pretty views of the village of Upwell before they arrived at Emneth to visit the vicarage. This was once home to Reverend Wilburt Audrey, author of the much-loved Thomas the Tank Engine books. The Reverend died in 1997 but Gyles and Sheila were invited in to chat to his daughter about the inspiration for the popular books.

Back on the River Ouse Gyles and Sheila were stunned by the view of Ely Cathedral across the Fens as they approached Ely. Ely was once an island, before the draining of the Fens, and the cathedral dates back to the 11^th century. The inside of the cathedral is huge, and gloriously impressive. The programme showed the unique octagon lantern tower before a segment where Ely Cathedral Boy Choristers practiced their medieval Plain Song. The cathedral was built on the site of a monastery, founded by Etheldreda, a local Anglo Saxon princess. This episode explains that it may have taken one hundred years to build the current version of the cathedral.

Back on their canal boat, inspired by their visit to the cathedral, Gyles and Sheila had a thoughtful conversation about faith, god and their own mortality. It was fun to watch their affectionate friendship as Sheila teased Gyles about his fashion sense, and his habit of name-dropping celebrities’ names.

South of Ely the two friends met an artist and tried landscape painting. Although they both lacked confidence in their abilities they had a go anyway. In Cambridge Kings College “oozes history” said Gyles. It’s alumni include Rupert Brook, who in 1914 wrote the patriotic poem ‘The Soldier’. Gyles and Sheila checked out previous hand written drafts of the famous poem. Then they had cucumber sandwiches and tea at the vicarage, discussing the poet, who had tragically died aged only 27.

Finally Gyles and Sheila ended their trip by drinking Pimms in the sunshine, in an ancient meadow moored on the River Cam.

A cruise from March to Ely takes nine hours, and then Ely to Cambridge is about five hours cruise. Of course you can travel at your own leisurely pace and stop somewhere overnight along the way.

If you want to take your own great canal journey next year check availability now. We have some great holiday deals to enjoy. And you can order sandwiches and other treats to be waiting on board for you from Glam Grazing.

You may also like: How to Experience Some Great Canal Journeys from Your Own Home

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Want to explore the quieter parts of England?

Feel like cruising through amazing scenery?

Planning to spend quality time with a loved one?

In Channel 4’s television series, Great Canal Journeys, Timothy West and Prunella Scales now take canal barge and narrowboat trips in various countries around the world. But the programme originally began with focussing on their life-long love of the British inland waterways. Back in 1990 the actors were on the first narrowboat to travel the newly restored section of the Kennet and Avon between Bath and Devizes.

In the TV series they’ve travelled the popular Kennet and Avon, the Llangollen Canal, Oxford, Grand Union Canal and the Norfolk Broads, but have yet to feature the lesser-known Fenland Waterways. Sometimes referred to as the waterways best-kept secret; we find our local canals to be much less crowded; perfect for escaping the paparazzi! (BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson described the Fenlands as “a hidden gem,” in the Ely Standard.)

Matthew Corbett, Toyah Wilcox, Timothy Spall, Nicholas Cage, David Suchet, Heston Blumenthal, Brian Blessed, Camilla Parker Bowles, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones) and Calista Flockhart have all tried escaping to the waterways for a narrowboat holiday. (Read more: How to Holiday Like a Celebrity Without it Costing a Fortune).

However, English canals, waterways and narrowboats are rarely featured in fictional films and television. (Read more: Movies That Feature Narrowboating Life).

Timothy and Prunella love discovering places that they haven’t been before, meeting new people, and taking life at a gentle pace. There is also something very poignant about watching their relationship, and seeing them reminisce about memories in their past.

You don’t have to be of retirement age to enjoy a narrowboat holiday though. What these programmes show us is that a boating holiday is a wonderful chance to get away from modern, busy distractions, and focus on our human relationships; the people that matter. In Marie Browne’s memoir, Narrow Margins, her young family discover how to slow down and reconnect with one another. She also describes travelling the River Nene – a route covered by Fox Boats holidays. (Read more: 3 Things this Book Can Tell Us About Narrowboat Holidays).

If you want to reconnect with the ones you love and spend some quality time together, then why not take a short narrowboat holiday break and experience your own Great Canal Journey? Slow down, and create new memories with the ones you love.

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The post Cruise Like Tim and Pru from Great Canal Journeys: How to Reconnect With the Ones You Love appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.