A two-hour BBC show featuring nothing more than a journey down a canal in southern England has proved an unlikely hit with viewers.

All Aboard! The Canal Trip was filmed in real time and contained no commentary, music or presenter and nothing more exciting than passing boats, changing scenery and the occasional passer-by walking along the towpath.

But half a million viewers were mesmerised by the experiment in slow TV­ filmed with a camera strapped to the front of the barge travelling down the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The show ­– in which the only sounds were birdsong, dogs barking, rippling water and the chugging of the engine – fetched 506,000 viewers and a peak of 599,000, above the BBC4 slot average of 340,000.

Beguiling. Heroic, even

It was also deemed a success with viewers on Twitter.

Paul Waller joked: “BBC4 Canal trip. Still no sign of the upturned shopping trolley.”

Steve Edwards wrote: “All Aboard! The Canal Trip on at prime time against Champions League football – the work of a TV scheduling genius ... it’s mesmerising!”

“Thank you for All Aboard... I feel soooo relaxed... Can you do a daily programme?” asked Susan Lomax.

Andy Stewart wrote: “Beguiling filmmaking. Heroic even.”

The programme, which switched from colour to black and white, featured facts about canals presented in text on the surface of the water.

The film was part of the BBC Four Goes Slow series, a selection of “unrushed programmes giving audiences the chance to sit back, unwind and watch some very unhurried television”.

All Aboard!’s executive producer Clare Paterson had previously admitted that some people would “hate” the programme and find it “boring”.