Canal Boat Diaries
A video diary of narrowboat life on Britain's canals.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Canal Boat Diaries follows Robbie Cumming as he navigates England and Wales’ canal network aboard his narrowboat, *The Naughty Lass*. The show is a continuous video diary, giving a candid view of the highs and lows of life on the water. It originally aired on BBC Four, with its first four series broadcast between 19 November 2019 and 4 May 2023. After the BBC dropped the series in 2023, UKTV picked it up, and from series 5 onward it has been shown on U&Yesterday, starting in 2024.
Cumming films most of the episodes himself, using an iPhone and Go-Pro cameras, which keeps the style close to the natural, immediate feel of his earlier YouTube videos. Each episode takes between five and ten days to shoot with a small crew; drone footage of towpaths and waterways is provided by Halo-Vue, with permission from the Canal & River Trust. Along his journeys, he explores lesser-known waterways, stopping at towns, villages, pubs, landmarks, and scenic spots, while also touching on local history.
The series grew out of Cumming’s personal experience. In the winter of 2012/13, he was asked by his school friend Sam Martin to house-sit and look after her narrowboat while she tried to sell it. He lived there rent-free, provided he kept it maintained and moving. He fell in love with canal life, and two years later bought his own boat, naming it *The Naughty Lass*—a pun on the *Nautilus* from Jules Verne’s *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*. While working from home, he started a YouTube channel, *Robbie Cumming’s Voyage Logs*, which gained a substantial following. Television producer Stuart Woodman admired the authenticity of his storytelling and proposed adapting the concept into a TV series. The BBC commissioned a five-part travel documentary in 2019.
The first four series consisted of 30-minute episodes produced by the BBC. After series 4, the broadcaster decided not to continue. In October 2023, UKTV bought the rights, and production company Middlechild expanded the episodes to 60 minutes for a 10-episode fifth series. That series saw Cumming explore Birmingham’s canal network, visit Braunston—often called the spiritual home of narrowboaters, home to All Saints Church, known as the “cathedral of the canals”—and then travel south along the Grand Union Canal. A sixth series, commissioned in 2024, followed him through southern England’s waterways, ending at the Regent’s
- field
- Television documentary series
- nationality
- British
- known_for
- Travel documentary series about narrowboat life on Britain's canals
- first_broadcast
- 19 November 2019
- last_broadcast
- Ongoing as of series 7 (2026)
Lore & Background
The series originated from Robbie Cumming's YouTube channel, which he started after falling in love with canal life while house-sitting a friend's narrowboat in the winter of 2012/13. He later purchased his own narrowboat, named The Naughty Lass after a pun on The Nautilus from Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. His YouTube videos amassed a substantial following, leading television producer Stuart Woodman to approach Cumming and adapt the concept into a five-part BBC series in 2019. Cumming primarily films episodes himself using an iPhone and Go-Pro cameras, maintaining the style of his earlier videos, with drone filming by Halo-Vue with permission from the Canal & River Trust.
The first four series, with 30-minute episodes, were produced by the BBC. After the BBC dropped the series in 2023, UKTV purchased the rights, and from series 5 onward episodes were expanded to 60 minutes over 10 episodes, produced by Middlechild. Series 5 explored Birmingham's canal navigations and the Grand Union Canal; series 6 covered southern England, ending at Regent's Canal; series 7 traveled from west to east, visiting Wales for the first time along the Llangollen Canal, then through the Shropshire Union, Lancashire, and the Rochdale Canal, known as the 'everest of the canals'.
Reader's Guide
Canal Boat Diaries has received critical praise, with Cumming affectionately described as the 'Canal Man' and building a loyal following through his television series, vlogs, and livestreams. Reviewer Christina Collins praised Cumming for showing the stark realities of narrowboat life during the cost of living crisis, contrasting his grassroots approach with the more polished portrayal in Great Canal Journeys. The series has been credited with encouraging more people to spend time on Britain's canals. Notably, the first episode of series 6 was the highest-rated unscripted program streamed within a month of its launch on UKTV's streaming service. The series' significance lies in its authentic, self-filmed depiction of canal life, bridging YouTube and broadcast television, and its role in popularizing lesser-known waterways. In 2024, Cumming also toured a one-man stage show, Canal Boat Stories Live!, featuring behind-the-scenes content and audience interaction.
Did You Know?
- The series was originally broadcast on BBC Four from 19 November 2019 to 4 May 2023, before being picked up by UKTV for series 5 onward.
- Robbie Cumming films most episodes himself using an iPhone and Go-Pro cameras, maintaining the style of his earlier YouTube videos.
- The narrowboat The Naughty Lass is named after a pun on The Nautilus from Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.
- Series 7 featured Cumming traveling the Rochdale Canal, known as the 'everest of the canals', climbing through all 92 locks.
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