Barging Britain, Friday 14th February 2020 9pm, Channel 5
Channel 5 is dedicating prime time Friday night TV to the joys of barging…ahem, narrowboating.

Starting Friday 14^th February (perfect Valentines night in) at 9pm, you can watch four new celebrities discover the joys of the inland waterways across the UK and we were pleased to support the programme with three of our Black Prince boats.

The celebs are Bill Oddie, Jennie Bond, Anne Diamond and Pete Waterman and they feature our boats in episodes 3, 4, 5 and 6 as they navigate the Scottish canals from our base at Falkirk and the Grand Union canal in Oxfordshire.

In episodes 1 and 2 they will be touring the Leeds to Liverpool Canal.

Black Prince are also supporting the programme with a Win a Holiday competition – so watch the programme for full details of how to enter for a chance to win a fabulous canal boat short break!

The Routes
The beautiful area of Stirlingshire in Scotland is featured in Barging Britain, together with areas of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire.

Canal holidays in Scotland start from our hire base at Falkirk, a town in the central lowlands ideally situated half way between Edinburgh and Glasgow. You can ascend the famous Falkirk Wheel, pass through three locks and cruise on to Edinburgh along the lock-free Union Canal.  You will pass over the magnificent Almond Aqueduct and travel through villages such as Linlithgow and Ratho.  For those heading west to Glasgow, you will cruise along the Forth and Clyde Canal, which has more locks and swing bridges and meanders through some splendid scenery.

Good news for those who may be wary of locks – all locks in Scotland are operated by the Scottish waterways team.

Canal holidays along the Grand Union Canal start from our canal boat hire base in Nation, Warwickshire. From Napton you can access the South Oxford Canal to Oxford, the Warwickshire Ring and the Grand Union north to Warwick and Birmingham and south to Stoke Bruerne and Leighton Buzzard.

The Celebrities

Bill Oddie, OBE (78) is most well known as being an English writer, comedian and television presenter, initially becoming famous as one of The Goodies.

A birder since his childhood in Quinton, Birmingham, Oddie has also established a reputation as a naturalist, conservationist, and television presenter on wildlife issues. His wildlife programmes for the BBC include: Springwatch/Autumnwatch, How to Watch Wildlife, Wild In Your Garden, Birding with Bill Oddie, Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie and Bill Oddie Goes Wild.

Anne Diamond (65) is a British journalist and broadcaster. She hosted Good Morning Britain for TV-am and the similarly titled Good Morning… with Anne and Nick for BBC One, both with Nick Owen as her co-presenter. She has also worked previously for Loose Women, BBC London, and is a regular columnist for the Daily Mail. Since 2003, she has made regular appearances on Channel 5’s topical discussion show The Wright Stuff and now its successor, Jeremy Vine.

In 1991, following the death of her third son Sebastian, Ann successfully campaigned for research into cot death. The campaign, which she co-founded, is reported to have cut the incidence of cot death in the UK from 2,000 a year to around 300.

Pete Waterman, OBE (73) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team, he wrote and produced many hit singles. He is the owner of significant collections of both historic and commercial railway locomotives and rolling stock.

Jennifer Bond (69) is an English journalist and television presenter. Bond worked for fourteen years as the BBC’s royal correspondent. She has most recently hosted Cash in the Attic and narrated the programme Great British Menu. In February 2004, she proved popular with the public when she finished as runner-up in the third series of the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!