Canals: The Making of a Nation
★ 6.3 · 2015 · 29m · Documentary
Liz McIvor looks at who built the nation's canal network, who funded it, those who worked on it and how they were regenerated following WWII.
Episodes
1. Engineering29m · The struggles of the builders and engineers tasked with creating a landscape of canals over the rugged terrain surrounding the Pennine hills.
2. Geology29m · How the process of building Britain's canals resulted in furthering geological knowledge, as surveyor William Smith created the first geological map of England and Wales.
3. Capitalism29m · The story of 'canal mania', the period of activity that helped develop Britain's modern financial economy, now centred in London.
4. The Workers29m · The tales of the men who built the canals - the navigators, or navvies - focusing on their work on the Manchester Ship Canal.
5. The Boat People29m · The people who operated the canal boats, carrying fuel and goods around the country.
6. Heritage29m · How the nation's canals were saved following years of postwar neglect, becoming places of tranquillity and popular for boating holidays.More Like This
Transamazonica: A Highway to the Past
2021 · ★ 10
The Transamazon highway was a gigantic saga, the greatest example of the pharaonic works of the Brazilian military government. But the road that would promote national integration was best known for linking the famine of the Northeast with the misery of the Amazon. This haunting docuseries follows the story of the construction of this highway and its morbid consequences.
More info →
Penguins on a Plane: Great Animal Moves
2014
Penguins on a Plane: Great Animal Moves follows the expert handlers entrusted with transporting some of the world's most precious and challenging cargo safely to their destinations.
More info →
Hot Roads - The World's Most Dangerous Roads
2011
A risky expedition along thoroughfares that harbor mortal danger for those who use them or live on them. They run through deserts, ice, and snow, deep in the jungle, along water, and over mountains: the world's most dangerous roads, truly "hot roads." Many have died along these roads.
More info →
Speed
2019 · ★ 6
Investigating mankind's insatiable necessity to move faster and further; for pleasure, for work, to explore, to survive.
More info →
InterCity 125: The Train That Saved Britain's Railways
2018
Intercity 125 – Britain's own original high-speed train – rules the rails today, but this national icon is set to give way to hi-tech imports. It's time to celebrate the heroic story of a design classic that saved Britain's railways from terminal decline.
More info →
The Age of Aerospace
2016
Explore the last 100 years of aviation history in unprecedented detail. From the Wright brothers first flight to the Apollo moon landings and beyond, the series highlights milestones in an industry defined by innovation.
More info →
Maps of Britain
2024 · ★ 7
Britain is connected by miles of roads, canals, and railway. This series explores the history of how we get around this ancient island.
More info →
The Tube: Going Underground
2016 · ★ 8.3
Carrying nearly five million passengers per day, the London Tube is one of the world's oldest and busiest metro systems in the world. Today the Tube is undergoing a complete overhaul that is long overdue. Take a behind the scenes look into the daily lives of drivers, emergency personnel, operations managers, and many others among the near twenty thousand employees of this massive rail system, as they navigate the evolution of the London Tube.
More info →
Night Trains
2026 · ★ 7
A journey along Europe’s most spectacular night train routes, uncovering hidden natural stories along the way — stories of landscapes, wildlife, and the ecosystems that shape them.We meet people on board and along the routes. What unites them is a special connection to nature. Traveling through the night and into the early hours of morning, our routes take us across Germany, Scandinavia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, and almost the entire Balkan Peninsula, all the way to the outskirts of Istanbul.
More info →
The Channel Tunnel: 25 Years
2019
The Channel Tunnel stands as an engineering triumph and a testament to what can be achieved when two nations, Britain and France put aside their historic differences and work together. On the 25th anniversary of its opening, we reflect on what it took to build the longest undersea tunnel ever constructed.
More info →
