ACTORS Timothy West and Prunella Scales joined 130 fellow canal boat enthusiasts at The Castle Hotel in Taunton for a talk on waterways.

The couple gave their talk, entitled Our Great Canal Journeys: A Lifetime of Memories on Britain's Most Beautiful Waterways on March 16.

Lunch was also served.

Somerset County Gazette: Timothy West and Prunella Scales inspired canal boat engagement, as discovered at literary talk

Married for 52 years and known for many roles from Sybil in Fawlty Towers (Scales) to the RSC & the National Theatre (West), they shared the joys of exploring the English countryside at 4 mph and the unique hazards of negotiating the locks.

The talk also touched on how West and Scales arranged life around their busy careers.

The veteran thespians’ travels were chronicled on Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys for eight years as they navigated British waterways by barge and narrowboat, describing the places and people they met along the way. 

Somerset County Gazette: Timothy West and Prunella Scales inspired canal boat engagement, as discovered at literary talk

At the end of the talk, one couple in the audience shared the story of their engagement. Steve McCormick and Jayme Halko were so inspired by West and Scales’ TV programme that Steve proposed to Jayme on a canal boat in London.