Fred Talbot travels around the region by boat, making his way along the Leeds-Liverpool canal, before visiting the Inland Waterways Festival. He also meets the horses still earning their keep in North Wales.
Fred Talbot takes a trip along the Leeds-Liverpool canal and learns its extraordinary history. He also meets the elderly residents of Eccles, who regale him with tales of the region's past. Plus, the work of a boat restoration team based in Runcorn.
Fred Talbot visits the Wigan Flight of Locks, a stretch of waterway with 21 locks in 2 miles. He also talks to a man still working a coal boat on the canals and meets a group of football fans travelling to a match in style.
Stranded locals are rescued from the waterways, and the luxury cruise liner Hebridean Princess visits Salford Quays.
Fred Talbot continues his exploration of the region's waterways, meeting the people who keep them clean. On the Leeds-Liverpool canal, an injured bat is saved and released back into the wild, and there's the story of a man who built a lighthouse on the Bridgewater canal.
Fred Talbot travels across the Ribble, one of the longest rivers in the north-west of England and joins a Diwali celebration on the canal.
Fred Talbot explores the Lancaster Canal travelling north towards Billsborrow, and discovers the history of Ellesmere Port. He also visits a hotel boat and meets people designing their own narrowboat.
Fred Talbot meets people living on the Lancaster Canal and visits the 18th-century Glasson Dock. He also discovers the stories behind the decoration on narrowboats and barges, and examines the history of Cheshire's famous boat lift.
Fred Talbot visits the North West's waterways, learning about the history of the Manchester Ship Canal and the regeneration of Salford Quays. He also takes a trip across the Lune Aqueduct in Lancaster, and travels down the Bridgewater Canal with a party of schoolchildren.
Fred Talbot takes the final leg of his journey through the Northern Reaches and looks at the plan to take the canal right up to Kendal. He also sees the final stages of boatbuilding with the design team and visits North Wales for a special 200th anniversary celebration.
Fred Talbot takes another journey around the region by boat. He begins by travelling from Bugsworth Basin to Marple along the Peak Forest Canal, meeting a photographer and joining in the fun with a local canoe club along the way.
Fred Talbot travels through the famous Marple Lock Flight before visiting a training station and joining a team trying to increase fish stock in the Manchester Ship Canal. Plus, a look at the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Fred Talbot reaches the Ashton Canal, taking a look at the industrial buildings by the waterside and passing the Commonwealth Stadium. He then visits the Tameside Canals Festival and spends the day with the Wooden Canal Boat Society.
Fred Talbot explores Manchester's historic Castlefield area, before taking a look at the world famous Canal Street in the company of a tourist guide. Plus, a woman who travels by water bike and spends her holidays on a rowing boat.
Fred Talbot leaves Slattocks to travel through Castleton and Smithy Bridge. Along the way, he meets up with a group of enthusiasts taking part in a four-day, 45-mile horse-drawn boat journey to a festival at Ellesmere Port.
Fred Talbot travels from Littleborough to the highest point of the Rochdale Canal - The Summit. He also pays a visit to Hollingworth Lake, meets a local historian and calls in at a canalside pub, as well as looking at a fishing contest.
Fred Talbot travels from the summit of the Rochdale canal to Todmordon. He meets a Dutch woman who has brought her grandchildren for a canal holiday, and finds out how a group of Merseyside pupils are documenting the history of the Albert Dock.
Fred Talbot continues down the Rochdale canal to Hebden Bridge, where he examines the work of a local boat builder. He takes a trip on the Bridgewater canal's rubbish-collecting vessel, the Water Womble, and sails a narrowboat on the River Mersey.
Fred Talbot travels from Hebdon Bridge to Mytholmroyd, stopping off at a local clog manufacturer. Plus, an in-depth look at the seven wonders of the waterways, including such engineering feats as the Burnley Embankment, Stannedge Tunnel and the Anderton boat lift.
Continuing his trip through West Yorkshire, Fred Talbot travels along the Rochdale Canal from Mytholmroyd to the first lock at Sowerby Bridge. Along the way, he encounters the deepest lock in the UK, and takes a cruise on the Manchester Ship Canal.
Matthew Corbett takes a coast-to-coast journey from the North Sea to the Irish Sea. After a detour to a Cheshire boat painter, the journey begins along the Humber and into the port town of Goole, where the Aire & Calder Navigation takes him into the heart of Yorkshire.
Matthew Corbett discovers how the Aire & Calder Navigation survived the railway revolution and how water power continues to drive an ancient mill. Plus, a look at why Wakefield was once the region's `pantry', how Leeds city centre has continually embraced its waterside existence and how one part of Ellesmere Port offers boaters a chance to relive the past.
Matthew Corbett spends his first day on the historic Leeds and Liverpool Canal as he continues to explore northern waterways. Having seen how a Cheshire charity is benefiting from the Bridgewater Canal, he stops off at Kirkstall Abbey and Saltaire before retracing the steps of a well-known relative.
Matthew Corbett spends his second day on the historic Leeds and Liverpool Canal. He stops off at Bingley's famous staircase locks, looks at canal crafts made by a Cheshire-based society and ends with a poignant recollection near Skipton.
Matthew Corbett reaches the half way point of his journey visiting Skipton Castle and a strange construction near the county border. And before he swaps the white rose for the red, he finds out why Worsley's water is orange and how a piece of old carpet can protect a canal boat from wear and tear.
Matthew Corbett spends a day with the Humber Lifeboat crew, delves into the murky world of the police underwater search team and hears a curious tale of a cow swimming a mile through a tunnel to reach a pub.
Matthew Corbett hears about Blackburn's pivotal role in the packet boat routes that proved so popular along the Leeds and Liverpool canal. He then travels towards Hoghton Tower through the town's lock flight. Plus, competitors trying to conquer Cheshire's 97-mile ring race in less than 24 hours, and an attempt to entice barn owls back to the Aire and Calder Navigation Canal.
Matthew Corbett is on the Leeds and Liverpool canal and discovers how two prominent landmarks in Chorley relied on the waterway a century ago. He then heads to Wigan's flight of locks and reminisces with two women who had a huge impact on the waterways during war-time.
Matthew Corbett visits west Lancashire's canal-side communities at Appley Bridge, Parbold, Rufford and Burscough, and learns about life in a boating family. Plus, a trip to the Stanley Ferry workshop where lock gates are made using age-old skills.
Matthew Corbett completes his coast-to-coast journey by arriving in Liverpool and crossing the Mersey on a ferry, and exploring the 2008 Capital of Culture's new canal link. He also talks about the Sobriety Project in Goole, a charity that has changed the lives of so many people on the east coast.