Travelling in tandem Pick of the day
BRITAIN BY BIKE WITH LARRY & GEORGE LAMB
C5, 8pm
AS celebrity travelogues go (and there are a LOT), this is an enjoyable whizz around the country’s green and pleasant lands.
Well, it’s a whizz for ex EastEnders and Gavin & Stacey actor Larry Lamb, who is on an electric bike, and more of a slow wheeze for his son, TV presenter George Lamb, who is pedalling hard behind him.
The trip is to mark Larry’s special birthday – he’s 70 on Sunday – as they cherry pick the best cycle routes in the UK’s national parks.
The cycling adds a unique element here, as does the incomparable chemistry between them. Father and son know each other’s quirks and happily fall into affectionate banter and mocking while checking off bucket list destinations.
“Where do you want to go?” asks George, 37. “Downhill,” comes Larry’s prompt reply.
Then Larry sings merrily as his bike powers him uphill, while George looks like he’s about to keel over.
“Goodnight mate,” Larry says to George as they bed down in a tent. “Love you,” he replies. It’s enough to warm the cockles of your heart.
Their first destination is the Yorkshire Dales where they are outnumbered by sheep about 30 to one. They meet sheepdog trainer Shaun, who breeds border collies and owned his first sheep at the age of 12.
Then they wind their way to Malham Cove, a limestone cliff, where George attempts to conquer his fear of heights by climbing the cliff ’s face – while Larry watches with glee.
Later on they have a go at flyfishing and making pork pies, before George retraces part of the 2014 Tour de France route. And the whole thing ends where it should – in the pub.