The series starts with John navigating the Peak Forest Canal, which runs through stunning countryside from Buxworth in Derbyshire to Ashton-under-Lyne. Along the way, in Hyde he meets former boxer Ricky Hatton, who discusses his plans to revitalise the area and offer new opportunities to local youngsters, and joins a team of junior archaeologists at Mellor Mill, who are attempting to unearth the remains of what was once one of the world's largest mills.

The broadcaster leaves central Manchester, heading east along the Rochdale Canal. Not long into his journey, John finds himself struggling to contend with 19th-century technology at a cotton works. Further up the canal, he helps out members of an conservation group clearing the waterway of dumped supermarket trollies. After passing into West Yorkshire, it's on to Hebden Bridge, famous for the hard-wearing material corduroy, before John tries his hand at clog-making in one of Britain's few remaining factories dedicated to the craft.

The broadcaster takes in the delights of the Lancaster Canal, setting out from Tewitfield. As he meanders down the waterway, John cannot resist visiting Carnforth railway station, where he re-enacts his favourite scene from the classic film Brief Encounter, some of which was filmed there. After Carnforth, the canal crosses the River Lune on its way to Lancaster, where the veteran journalist marvels at the engineering of the Lune Aqueduct. Later, he heads south to Garstang, famous for its cheeses, and finally on towards Preston.

John travels down the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, one of the oldest and prettiest canals in Britain, setting off from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands down to the River Severn.

John is barging his way along the Oxford Canal, which meanders through the heart of the gentle English countryside until it reaches the River Thames in Oxford.

The Regent's Canal runs through the heart of London linking the docks with the rest of Britain. John navigates the history-filled route, finding the East End's haunted Ragged School, and making and sampling a bottle or two of `mother's ruin' along the way. The veteran broadcaster even finds time to stop off to feed the giraffes at London Zoo. Last in the series.