Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ahead of the Queen's long-heralded State Visit to West Germany; Tonight takes a boat trip along the Rhine - sailing the same stretch of water that the Queen is scheduled to tour - through some of the busiest, most dangerous waters and wildest scenery in Europe. Sailing on the good ship Tonight - Wikinger - are Cliff Michelmore, Kenneth Allsop, Julian Pettifer, Cathal O'Shannon, and Dorothy Williams.
00:00 Introduction
01:43 Binger Loch - the most dangerous part of the Rhine
03:27 Passing the "Mouse Tower" - Mäuseturm
04:31 Wiesbaden - Cathal O'Shannon at the most modern shop in the world
08:34 Rheinhessen - Germany's wine industry
09:54 Hotel Krone - Julian Pettifer interviews the President of the Winegrowers Association of Rheingau
13:49 Commercial shipping on Rhine - Kenneth Allsop
18:32 The Oscar Huber - last paddle steamer on the Rhine
20:09 The bridge at Remagen - Cliff Michelmore on Ludendorff Bridge, aka Karl Timmerman's Bridge
23:23 Bonn - Julian Pettifer on the market town that became the capital of West Germany
28:25 Ascending The Drachenfels, on foot, by Drachenfelsbahn railway, and on a donkey
29:56 The legend of The Drachenfels
32:26 End credits
Clip taken from Tonight: Am Rhein, originally broadcast on BBC One, 14 May, 1965.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
Ahead of the Queen's long-heralded State Visit to West Germany; Tonight takes a boat trip along the Rhine - sailing the same stretch of water that the Queen is scheduled to tour - through some of the busiest, most dangerous waters and wildest scenery in Europe. Sailing on the good ship Tonight - Wikinger - are Cliff Michelmore, Kenneth Allsop, Julian Pettifer, Cathal O'Shannon, and Dorothy Williams.
00:00 Introduction
01:43 Binger Loch - the most dangerous part of the Rhine
03:27 Passing the "Mouse Tower" - Mäuseturm
04:31 Wiesbaden - Cathal O'Shannon at the most modern shop in the world
08:34 Rheinhessen - Germany's wine industry
09:54 Hotel Krone - Julian Pettifer interviews the President of the Winegrowers Association of Rheingau
13:49 Commercial shipping on Rhine - Kenneth Allsop
18:32 The Oscar Huber - last paddle steamer on the Rhine
20:09 The bridge at Remagen - Cliff Michelmore on Ludendorff Bridge, aka Karl Timmerman's Bridge
23:23 Bonn - Julian Pettifer on the market town that became the capital of West Germany
28:25 Ascending The Drachenfels, on foot, by Drachenfelsbahn railway, and on a donkey
29:56 The legend of The Drachenfels
32:26 End credits
Clip taken from Tonight: Am Rhein, originally broadcast on BBC One, 14 May, 1965.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
