An uninterrupted two-hour canal boat journey might not be the sort of thing you ’ d normally sit down to watch on TV . But it will feature with a three-hour tour of the National Gallery and half-hour shows on traditional craftsmanship in a new BBC series of programmes shot in real time , designed to relax viewers . The concept has been inspired by ‘ slow TV ’ in Norway , which in recent years has included a seven-hour recording of a train journey , a five-day programme on boat travel and 12 hours on knitting . Scroll down for video . Relaxing : Viewers will be able to tune in to The Canal , a two-hour canal boat journey down one of Britain ’ s historic waterways ( file picture ) The three programmes will dispense with editing , voice overs and music . Viewers will be able to tune in to The Canal , a journey down one of Britain ’ s historic waterways . It will feature the sights and sounds of wildlife and the tow path as the boat passes , giving facts about the canal as captions in the landscape . National Gallery will be a three-hour behind the scenes tour of the gallery with Frederick Wiseman – again , with no voiceover , but taking viewers from board room meetings to exhibition spaces . Make presents three half-hour programmes showing traditional craftsmanship as skilled workers make items including a steel knife and a wooden chair . BBC Four channel editor Cassian Harrison said : ‘ This surprising selection of programmes is the antithesis to the general direction much of television is going in . One of three programmes : National Gallery will be a three-hour behind the scenes tour of the gallery with Frederick Wiseman with no voiceover , but taking viewers from board room meetings to exhibition spaces . ‘ Slowing everything right down gives us the time to really observe things as they happen , and this series of programmes celebrates the simple pleasures of life in the slow lane. ’ The reaction to the announcement of the series - called BBC Four Goes Slow - today on Twitter was mixed . Producer Chuck Thomas joked : 'It 's only a matter of time until ITV2 commissions Watching Paint Dry . ' But Olympia Brown , science learning manager at the Royal Institution , said : 'Love that Cassian Harrison is doing slow TV on BBC 4 . Including three hours of traditional craftmanship ! ' The idea for slow TV began in Norway in 2009 when producers decided to broadcast the whole journey of a long train line that runs from Oslo to Bergen to celebrate its 100th anniversary . Slow TV shows , which are known as ‘ Sakte-TV ’ in Norwegian , have also included a 134-hour boat trip from Bergen to Kirkenes , and a 24-hour broadcast of the first day of the salmon fishing season . Norway has attracted international attention for its series of ‘ slow TV ' programmes , including a live-broadcast of a seven-hour train journey and the knitting of a jumper . The concept was born on state broadcaster NRK ( Norsk Rikskringkasting - which translates as Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation ) in 2009 with centenary of the Bergen railway line . Rather than commission a conventional feature programme on the line , NRK instead decided to put a camera on a train and broadcast the entire seven-hour trip from Oslo to Bergen , interweaving archive footage to liven up the programme . First example : The idea for slow TV began in Norway in 2009 when producers decided to broadcast the whole journey of a long train line that runs from Oslo to Bergen ( above ) to celebrate its 100th anniversary . Remarkably , it was a roaring success , with 1.2million viewers - about a quarter of the population of Norway - tuning in for at least part of the trip . Since then , the network has broadcast a cruise journey , a fire being slowly built and burned , and more recently , the making of a jumper - starting with the sheep from which the wool came . Last year , the tax-funded channel began the online broadcast of Piipshow , a live stream of birds and squirrels in a feeder that looks like a coffee shop . Also last year , British Airways announced it would make the seven-hour train journey video available to passengers on its in-flight entertainment system .
National Gallery Four Goes Slow series also features three-hour BBC tour . Third programme will see half-hour shows on traditional craftsmanship . Series designed to relax viewers has been inspired by 'slow TV ' in Norway . This has included 12 hours on knitting and a seven-hour train journey .