Canal Cuttings (38)

This is just one of a series of around fifty old newspaper articles that I have been reading. I have been researching from old newspapers and magazines. Covering the last 200 years or so of life on the inland waterways. With particular interest in the major issues of the day that were effecting the canals. The most active periods for evaluation and change, has always been just prior, during and shortly after the two world wars. It should be remembered that between the wars the ownership of some of the canals changed hands as the railway companies bought up the waterways to get reduce competition. What is not clear is the effect this early form of asset stripping had on the viability of the inland waterways. Its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Most surprising of all are some of the problems that beset the canals back then - are still prevalent today. Reading old newspapers can throw up some rather interesting stories. Here is what we would call today a public interest story.

Caveat: Some of the articles are difficult to read and even using modern electronic  scanning and text conversion methods. The odd punctuation, word or character may have been transcribed in error. 

 

Evening News
30th November 1907

CANALS OF ENGLAND

HOW TO RESTORE PROSPERITY - TOWING BY ELECTRICITY.

Since water carriage is so much cheaper than land carriage, it is surprising that the canals of England have been; allowed to be so neglected. Germany now makes great use of her canals by means of towing motors on the banks, operated by an overhead electric cable like Sydney trams. An appeal is now being made in England to restore the canals, and an, expert writer points out that there are 4000 miles of canals (2700 miles are in dependent and 1200 are controlled by the railway companies); of these 230 miles are only capable of carrying boats of 90 tons; 2000 miles, boats of 60 tons; and the remainder boats of 18 tons. On the Continent the waterways are capable of bearing boats of 1000 tons, and as a consequence we are at a great disadvantage. English waterways carry only about 30,000,000 tons annually, whereas the railways carry 300,000,000 tons of minerals alone  the greater portion of which might be carried with far greater ease, less public in convenience, and at a. much lower rate if the canals were only properly used. That the Continent realises the immense value of its canals is evidenced by the fact that since 1879 France has spent £100,000,000 on her waterways alone, and is at present engaged on works involving a further expenditure of £20,000,000. Manufacturers are always complaining of the inland rates for merchandise in England, as compared with abroad. If only, they say in effect, some cheap and efficacious means of utilising our canals could be devised, the benefit to the community would be incalculable. There is such a means, and that to our hands (says the expert). Why should not our canals be 'electrified?'


OVERHEAD ELECTRIC WIRES. 

By a simple application of the system of overhead wires, the widening of certain places, and the rebuilding of some antiquated locks — questions that present no difficulties to the modern engineer — out canals might be made one of the most important modes of transport in the kingdom. Imagine miles upon miles of overhead wires, to which cargo boats are linked in the same way as the tramway cars in our streets, slipping in and out of modern locks, which open at a touch, conveying produce and merchandise to the great centres at a third (or less) of the prices that is now charged. In such a picture there may be hope for the farmer yet, and prosperity may return to many a town whose now smokeless chimneys may once again send forth the cloud which tells of industrial activity. It is a standing grievance with the farmer and the merchant that our railway companies have so increased their freight taxes that they have positively no margin or profit. The railways have obtained control of just sufficient of the canalised rivers to strangle competition. If the canals were electrified and controlled by a central board nationalised, If need be one of the greatest disabilities ever put on a vast money earning industry would be removed; healthy competition would be re stored; rates would be lowered; and something like a sane system of swift carriage, linking the principal ports of the country, would be instituted. It may not be generally realised that one can go through Great Britain by canal, and scarcely touch land. Among the more important waterways in the country are those due to the Duke of Bridgewater and the genius of his extraordinary engineer, Brindley. The success of these canals and the marvellous nature of the Duke's investments, known as the Bridgewater Trusts, are matters of common knowledge.

ATTEMPTED LEGISLATION.

From time to time various efforts have been made to revive interest in canals. In 1904 no fewer than 61 Chambers of Commerce passed resolutions for nationalising the canals by transferring the control to a public trust. The Mansion House Association on Railway and Canal Traffic urged a similar resolution in 1904, and pressed the Government to promote a Bill. The present Canal Traffic Bill now before Parliament includes a scheme to give local authorities power to consolidate the capital and administration of the canal system by the formation of a central canal trust, to acquire, improve, and manage in the first instance a chain of canals. Germany, Holland, Russia, Austria, and the Netherlands all have their canals, by which, a large proportion of their produce is distributed under semi state control. Canada and America, leading countries in self development, have of late enormously increased their canal mileage. England is not asked to build new canals, only to utilise those she has. By such a change commercial England would receive a new lease of life. When will it come?

Weather update.

Put two British people in a room together and for some time they will not see each other. Its our reserved attitude. Then some time later there will be a grudging acknowledgement of each other.  Usually as delivered as a nonchalant nod. Later, they will begin to talk. If their boaters, the topic of converstion will be pump-out -v- bucket and chuck-it.  Any other people and the topic will be the weather, its because we are obsessed with the weather. Recently as part of a research project turned up a 258 year old weather diary. The diary was kept by Reverend Duel Taylor, who was at the time the rector of Bath. starting in 1756 and for the next six years he meticulously recorded the prevailing conditions day by day.

As a boater we are also fixated with the weather. Often using the information to guide our movement or mooring over the following few days. We have an expectation that the canal might freeze over during the worst that the winter can throw at us. However, we would be very surprised it the rivers should freeze over. 1947 and 1963 were two particularly cold years, with in living memory. I was around for the first, but I can only remember the second one. On the 17 of December 1759 the reverend wrote: 'A sharp north east wind which has frozen the river so hard the people have walked over it in great numbers for 3 days past.'

(Made of parchment, the small notebook describes in some detail the weather conditions between 1756 and 1761.)

The coverage of the diary coincided with the end of a period of very cold weather in our history known as the 'Little Ice Age'. Frozen rivers were not unusual during this period.

The River Thames froze over on a number of occasions. The people organised what were called  'frost fairs' At its worst there would have been around a foot of ice. So next time someone says 'its very cold today' you could remind them that by comparison, 200 to 400 years ago the conditions had been much worse. And that the weather now is particularly balmy!

History Replayed

Today I may sound a bit like 'Old Moore's Almanac' that low quality print pamphlet that used to be available at the travelling fairs. This is because, I have been doing a bit of research, looking at issues that had an effect upon the canals from the earliest of times. Done in the main by utilising contemporary newspaper cuttings of the period. I have also looked at other European countries that have significant inland waterways such as France, Holland and Germany. The main difference is that in other countries the canals were owned and operated by the state. Whereas in the UK they were privately owned and operated. 

There was stiff competition between different waterways and links between the two were jealously guarded. Tolls were placed upon the cargo carried and some, but not all waterways made good profits. The very colourful history of the canals actually reflects that throughout the golden age of the canals, improvements and developments had been taking place. From the early towing of boats by hand, to the use of a horse and latterly by using an engine. Technology and ingenuity has been adapted and applied. The concept of health and safety was not on the agenda and some major disasters also took place.
 

In a way, the rolling changes are just another reflection of canal life in general. As the loss of commercial boat traffic through the better economics and speed of the railways brought about change. However by way of an unintended consequence. This was then followed by reduced profits which then led to budgets cuts by the owners (in some cases the railways) in anything other than the most essential maintenance. There have also been more recent, but equally significant changes in the way the canals are used. This time the move was away from working vessels to leisure craft being more prominent in numbers.  The appeal of leisure boating was in the lack of speed and the much more leisurely pace of life. I did not realise it at the time but I witnessed this slow but inexorable change taking place. 

I was wondering, if we are entering another period similar to the post war period of downturn and budget cuts. There are some other significant but less obvious changes that are now upon us. Does what happened in the past have any bearing on what is happening around us. Are there any lessons that can be learned?

This is the current conundrum. 

The day to day costs of boating is making entry prohibitive for many who would like to be live aboard or recreational boat owners on the inland waterways. Especially if you want it to be a retirement option. This is being reflected in the falling number of licensed craft. Climate change is making our weather even seasonally unpredictable. I remember the old witticism - 'If you don't like our weather - just give it half an hour.' But water shortages followed days later by floods have not done us any favours either. Boat yards and marinas going out of business, lines of hire boats moored up. Some Marinas being forced to reduce their charges as space is no longer at a premium.

I have a niggle - a doubt - about the long term future. The whole idea of a move away from quango to charity is something I would have wanted. However, the press cuttings reveal that this change had been mooted several times over recent decades. The niggle for me, is that the choice of the actual timing was one decided upon by government, and done in a down turn. Not doing it during a period of affluence, which would allow other funding streams to be developed. Change was decided upon during a period of savage government cuts and without any semblance of altruistic motivation. There are 150,000 charities in the UK all competing for a dwindling source - the public's money.

However, if as the history of the canals proves to be just another iteration of the same cause and effect. If what goes around, actually really does comes around. There should at some time in the future a renaissance of the inland waterways. However, the rub would be, not as a leisure waterway for boaters, but as a linear wildlife conservation project. One where motorised craft would be too intrusive. In some places this has already started. Yes - we will keep the heritage aspect. But it would be hard to justify modern leisure craft as having any form of realistic heritage worth. After all 'Cressy' was broken up and burnt many years ago. As the bottom gets closer to the top the problem is only going to be more exacerbated.

This may sound to be quite downbeat, but its not something that's going to come around over night. The key to forestalling such a change in the future, is getting the infrastructure right. That can only be done with obtaining the correct level of funding and from reliable, dependable sources. 

Canal Cuttings (37)

This is just one of a series of around fifty old newspaper articles that I have been reading. I have been researching from old newspapers and magazines. Covering the last 200 years or so of life on the inland waterways. With particular interest in the major issues of the day that were effecting the canals. The most active periods for evaluation and change, has always been just prior, during and shortly after the two world wars. It should be remembered that between the wars the ownership of some of the canals changed hands as the railway companies bought up the waterways to get reduce competition. What is not clear is the effect this early form of asset stripping had on the viability of the inland waterways. Its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Most surprising of all are some of the problems that beset the canals back then - are still prevalent today. Reading old newspapers can throw up some rather interesting stories. Here is what we would call today a public interest story.

Caveat: Some of the articles are difficult to read and even using modern electronic  scanning and text conversion methods. The odd punctuation, word or character may have been transcribed in error. 

The Advertiser

Saturday 15 March 1930

INLAND VOYAGES

CHILDREN OF THE CANALS THE BARGEE'S HOME 

From a Special Correspondent. London, February 6. 1930. A threepenny bus ride from Charring Cross, a short walk down a muddy alleyway, and you are in contact with a world of which the average Londoner is wholly ignorant, which has no counterpart in Australia, and which has so far survived the revolutions in transport which has changed the face of England. Here is Paddington Basin. and here, on the still, black waters of the canal, there float the barges which ply on England's inland waterways, carrying queer cargoes on long, leisurely voyages between the precipitous walls of factory buildings, through dark tunnels under the cities, and across the level, green countryside. They are not only bearers of cargo, these humble galleons of the shallow waters: they are the floating homes of the bargees and their families, and have been for generations, some of them. Children are born on them, and learn from their parents and in the hard school of experience the trade of canal navigation, until in the fullness of time the control of the tiller and the towrope may be handed down to them. 

For a hundred and fifty years the canals have played their part in the commerce of the nation; only the roads, in the scheme of transportation, are older than they. In that long period the ancient supremacy of the highways has been challenged by the locomotive, and, with the coming of the motor, has been reasserted, but the barges still plod up and down the narrow channels, drawn by the patient horses on the towpath—though, indeed, the motor driven barge (ominous portent!) has appeared in recent years on the larger waterways. The Unlettered Water Folk The coming of the petrol engine Is not the only threat to the mode of life and the peace of mind of the bargee and the bargee's highly competent wife. The shadow of the schoolmaster has fallen athwart the barge. To the infinite scandal of various right-minded people, it has been shown that not only is the average bargee totally illiterate totally devoid of book-learning, that is to say, though he may be deeply versed in the ways of life and skilled in the ancient lore of his calling but his children are not being taught to read and write. Here is a tiny stratum of the population, scattered from Birmingham to Brentford, denied the blessings of popular education; here are perhaps 2,000 children of school-going age who cannot even read the titles in a cinema film.

Humanitarian members of Parliament have lately set out to remedy this outrageous state of affairs, at no matter what cost to the family life of the bargee, who does not send his children to school simply be cause the barge which is his home and theirs is forever moving up and down the canals, nowhere lingering long enough for the youngsters to go ashore to school. It is true that there are voluntary school organisations at Brentford and Paddington, but they are not regularly attended, and in any case nothing less than the stamping of the barge-dwellers in the State mould will suit their self-appointed champions, who are asking Parliament to say that no child under 15 shall live on a canal boat. Limelight on the Barge This drastic proposal, with its threat to the home-life of the waterman, is being stoutly resisted by interested and disinterested persons, some of whom have an eye to the cheap labour which the system, of living in on barges provides, and others of whom tend to idealise the class whose cause they are espousing. Whatever the rights of the matter, the battle in Parliament as the press has brought the bargee into unaccustomed and possibly undesired prominence. Bis ways of life have been exposed to the public gaze; members of Parliament, including a real, live duchess, have visited his humble abode; one member even took a long voyage on the canals. But. curiously, no unanimity of opinion has resulted from all this investigation. Labour members have hinted darkly at child slavery on the canals, and have described "the horrible cargoes of garbage" which some of the barges bear: while it has even been alleged that bargees sell or lend their children, according to whether there is a surplus or a shortage of labour on the boats! 

On the other hand. Conservative speakers have pointed to the purity of the family life on the barges, to the healthy condition of the children, and to the cruelty of forcing the water woman to decide whether she shall live ashore with her children or afloat with her husband. Points of View I asked a stalwart and taciturn bargee on the wharfside at Paddington what he thought about it all He spat reflectively into the canal. "Why can't they leave us alone?" he said, with a, backward jerk of the thumb, doubtless intended for the direction of West minster. Book-learning's of no use on the towpath." Then, "What's wrong with them kids?" There was quite obviously nothing wrong with the three "kids" who were playing happily on the deck of the barge, where the family washing was hung out to dry. They compared, in fact, more than favourably with the white-faced, under-nourished children of the adjacent Paddington slums. Their play ground was small, but it was probably less dangerous than the streets. Their "home." glimpsed through the hatch, was extraordinarily tiny, but it was also extraordinarily clean. Neither they nor their parents seemed to be conscious of the misery in which they were supposed to live, nor of the lack of shore-going culture to which the conditions of their life condemned them. They were ignorant of all except that which pertained to the life of the canals, but they were not unhappy. The absence of education, it was said, forced the children to follow their father's calling: but are there not in twentieth century England worse callings than that of a bargee? "Why can't they leave us alone?' The waterman's simple question raised a whole train of reactionary reflections on the subject of compulsory education.

The Underused Canals

You can't learn the language in a bowler hat wrote a contributor to The Times.Referring to the visits of Parliamentarians to the waterside. Neither can you learn all about the people of the canals from departmental literature. At H.M. Stationer Office I invested ninepence in the purchase of the "Report of the Departmental Committee on Living on Canal Boats," which was chiefly remarkable for its confession of the inability of the members to discover the number of boats in use as dwellings. statistics bearing on the health of the water-people, and so on. The bargee has eluded the census-collector as well as the board of education. But the committee was able to show that "so far as health, cleanliness, morality feeding and clothing are concerned, the canal dwellers are fully equal, if not superior, to town dwellers of a similar class." Most of those employed on canal boats "have been accustomed to the life from early youth, if not from birth, and they have been brought up in traditions handed down to them by generations of canal boat people, with the result that their contentions are different from those of shore dwellers. Life on board their boats appears to be of an almost patriarchal character, and the presence of the wife and mother on board hers to preserve a high standard of morality among the men and a kindly but efficient discipline among the children." The committee could find nothing wrong with the health or morals of the barge population, but it was forced to admit that the children were "scandalously under educated." If the children are removed ashore for the purpose of education, the mothers will mostly go with them, into the slums, and the "almost patriarchal" existence of the canal families will be broken up forever. It is a pretty problem for the House of Commons. The Chamberlain Committee, reporting nine years ago, left it largely unsolved. The casual observer of a picturesque phase of English life is disposed to wonder, the demands of progress notwithstanding, whether some things are not better left alone.

Investing for the future

Most people know that I enjoy poking fun at CaRT, if I did not poke fun, then I would only end up crying into my beer.  So in the spirit of being a bit more upbeat, I decided to do some fractured motivational posters.  As a kid I had a few motorcycle posters on my bedroom wall. So I decided to hang a few inland waterways posters on my blog wall.

The future of the inland waterways has been secured by the advent of the 'new epiphany' that is the new inland waterway truss. With an unlimited amount of cash being raised by chuggers or Charity Muggers. With a zero backlog of repairs being achieved by ignoring anything less than dire.

NABO Need Your Help.

CaRT it seems are ignoring Richard Parry's pledge on no more mooring changes across the system

 

Mark Tizard of the National Association of Boat Owners Said:

Help us collate the changes.

At the end of March the boating associations held a meeting with CRT to discuss mooring strategy. It was agreed that there was a need for evidence based data gathering before further changes were made to Visitor Moorings. Richard Parry agreed and instructed Sally Ash that no more changes should be made to visitor moorings this year. The idea was that demand should be reviewed over the summer and data gathered on ease of mooring on existing VM's, pinch points, how long is the period of high demand and suggestions for new VMs etc. This could then be shared so that informed decisions could be made by CRT with broad support.

Since then however CRT have continued as if this meeting didn't happen making changes.
Please could you post on here any changes that you are aware so that we can collate this information.

To get us going :
Visitor Moorings at Beeston Nottingham, changed from 14 days to 48 hrs.
Visitor Moorings on the Lancaster canal all changed to 48 hours
Visitor Moorings in London (some changed from 14 to 7 days)

I should add that NABO are not against change but believe that Visitor Moorings should be able to cater for a range of visitors cruising the network and thus should have a range of stay times.

Telephone Surveys

Have you ever been the subject of a random telephone call? 

Its a trick (cold calling) sometimes played by businesses trying to sell double glazing or something similar. The call usually starts with a stranger saying that they are conducting a telephone survey. Sometimes offered with the chance to win a prize.   But there are also genuine telephone surveys being conducted by market research companies on behalf of someone else. Cold calling is happening to me more and more and to be honest I have little interest in taking part part. (I also never answer 'withheld number' calls) But even with a number, I am usually very polite about declining to take part. 

However, if the caller is persistent I go into mode two, when I will always give them the most unbelievable answers. So if I was asked the question - 'have you visited a canal in the last two weeks', I would say 'I have watched German television almost everyday in the last two weeks'. After they have explained that they meant the inland waterways, and not Kanal, I would say yes and give a specific number like 437 times in the last 14 days, 411 of which were while taking rover on his last walk in the evening. If that fails to work, I can always do the obvious and ask them to hang on for a moment, then put the phone next to the radio. Its amazing sometimes how long they will hold. Maybe thats because they are enjoying the radio program.

I am thinking of tape recording about the way that Tom Mabe deals with cold callers. Which is an all time classic and one that has led to a whole genera of 'cold calling recordings' I could have some fun by playing Tom Mabe's recording back for them.  Click Here to listen.  

   
This sort of independent market research is conducted almost everywhere. Its even used to establish visits and visitor numbers to the canal system. For a long time I have been deeply suspicious about published visitor numbers to CaRT's controlled waterways.  There is also quite a subtle but significant difference between visit and visitors. Where both words are sometime loosely  interchangeable. Moving around on the canals and rivers, I find that there are large sections where we see very few people using the towpath. I have often remarked that we have seen more boats than people on the towpath. However, I suppose for every visitor hotspot there must also be a quite large sections that form visitor coldspots. 

My partner in life worked in a university mathematics department for 27 years. She says when you do a survey, its easier if you know what what you want the answer to be. So you might conclude she knows how many beans make five. But we also have a friend that used to head up a statistical research department. When I asked him about the process. He said what you need to know is, what are the questions being asked. Because its very little to do with the number of people being interviewed. But the outcome is everything to do with the questions being asked. I could see where he was coming from. 

Now call me old and cynical, but I think that if it was possible to monitor the usage of the towpath and at the same time establish who was a real visitor attracted by what the canal has to offer. The number would be quite low, certainly not the astronomical figures we see bandied about. 

Quote CaRT: Our waterways play host to 10.5 million visitors a year.

Quote CaRT  During August, 5.4 million people visited a canal or river over our busiest fortnight.

Simon Salem, marketing director of the Canal & River Trust, comments: “The nation’s canals are great places to visit and it is fantastic to see more people using them. This summer we’ve seen more people walking along their local towpath, running and cycling, taking advantage of the nice weather to ditch the car and travel canal-side instead, or just enjoying the calm and tranquillity offered by our waterside environment. With half term approaching, there is still plenty to see and do at this time of year as the seasons change and autumn’s colours are displayed. I’d encourage people to come and enjoy it for themselves.”

So more than half the number of visitors to the canal actually come in a two week period. However, I recognise Simon's comment as a nice 'puff piece' of marketing spin when I see it. Most people would think that the number of 'real' visitors attracted to the canal because its a nice place to be, would be quite small. It would be small for many reasons. The biggest reason would be the vast number of other real visitor attraction for a family to visit. Theme park or the Canal - its an easy choice for a family day out. The weather would also discourage most people other than boaters and fishermen from spending anything other than the warmest of summer days on the canals. The overgrown sections of towpath would also discourage a lot of families because of the problem of mud, potholes, dog droppings and other such infectious, tripping and slipping hazards. Most adults also enthusiastically encourage their children to stay away from canals, for very obvious reasons. So I believe that in the main, Joe Public and his family are unlikely to want to spend time walking on or around the canals for pleasure. 

The canal in its current state just doesn't stack up as a real visitor attraction. Well if you are interested in canal art such as graffiti, as an artistic appreciator or as a vandal, then you might want to visit. If you are interested in how many different coloured plastic bottles you can find in an hour, then you might want to visit. A canal museum might be a real attraction, but even then only for the odd visit. The canal is not somewhere that you would come back to visit week in week out. The towpath is quite bland, unless you have other reasons for being there. So who are the key visitors to the canals. If someone cycles, jogs or walks to work every day and part of that journey takes in a section of the canal. Are these individuals - actually 'genuine' pleasure visitors to the canal.  Or are they only on the towpath as a convenient short cut to their place of work.

So to find the true visitor/visits data would require a long complex questionnaire. Unless you are not interested in why the individual is there and just want a simplistic headcount. But what value could there be in a basic visitor/visit headcount.  To make matters even more complex you would have to filter out visits to non CaRT controlled waterways. Plus a whole raft of other things like ponds and lakes.

The Canal and River Trust has conducted on their behalf, a regular two weekly telephone survey into the number of visitor/visits to the canals under its control. Conducting telephone interviews with around 12,000 people each year.  The reason for this is because part of the DEFRA funding requirement requires the trust to reach certain 'target figures' to maintain the funding.

So, you can imagine that I was rather interested when I happened upon some research done by a research student into the value of telephone surveys. Steve Earlich is a Phd research student who produces a regular podcast about his Phd studies. A recent podcast covered the topic of conducting random telephone surveys. According to Steve's research from all the people who are called. Only 6% will agree to answer the questions. However only 2% will actually finish the survey. Apparently, the greater the number of questions asked, the less the number of people who will continue to answer until the end of the survey.

Well I have digressed away from the main point. So I wonder what your favourite ploy is for getting rid of cold callers?

Canal Cuttings (36)

This is just one of a series of around fifty old newspaper articles that I have been reading. I have been researching from old newspapers and magazines. Covering the last 200 years or so of life on the inland waterways. With particular interest in the major issues of the day that were effecting the canals. The most active periods for evaluation and change, has always been just prior, during and shortly after the two world wars. It should be remembered that between the wars the ownership of some of the canals changed hands as the railway companies bought up the waterways to get reduce competition. What is not clear is the effect this early form of asset stripping had on the viability of the inland waterways. Its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Most surprising of all are some of the problems that beset the canals back then - are still prevalent today. Reading old newspapers can throw up some rather interesting stories. Here is what we would call today a public interest story. 

Caveat: Some of the articles are difficult to read and even using modern electronic scanning and text conversion methods. The odd punctuation, word or character may have been transcribed in error.

The Canberra Times. 

Sunday 25th July 1993. 

Turn Gongoozalar on Britain's Relaxing Canals. 

Robin Mead discovered a 200-year-old secret world of peace and solitude on England's inland waterways. 

AWAY from the rush and bustle of Britain's towns and motorways there is another, secret, world of peace and solitude where nothing moves faster than 4 mph and where the inhabitants speak a 200-year-old language of their own. Stay there for more than a few days and there is a serious danger that you will turn into a gongoozalar. You may find this strange, almost fairytale, world by diving through a hole in a hedge. On the other side, Mabel and Forget-Me-Not are waiting. Mabel and Forget-Me-Not are traditional English canal barges which have been converted into a floating hotel and spend each summer touring the 2000 miles of inland waterways that are part of Britain's industrial heritage.
 

This year the canals are celebrating their 200th birthday. Nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine the work that must have gone into planning and creating the waterways net work. In the eighteenth century the only way to dig the canals was by hand and rivers had to be diverted to fill them. But, at a time when roads were often impassable mud tracks and rail ways were no more than a gleam in the inventors' eyes, the canals provided the lifeblood of Britain's burgeoning industries. It is only recently that this vast, half hidden, holiday playground has been rediscovered. Visitors can hire a self drive boat on the canals if they wish but it is more fun, and certainly less strenuous, to holiday on a hotel boat.
 

But it must be stressed that canal hotel boats are like no other hotel boats. For a start, England's canals are less than 14ft wide: and in order that two boats can pass one another, canal "narrowboats" are indeed narrow. They are a maximum of 6ft 6in wide, but may be up to 70ft long. So, just as you may join your boat by way of a hole in the hedge rather than meeting it on a smart jetty, the cabins are small, en suite facilities are rare, the bar non-existent (although the boats do tie up beside a friendly pub most lunchtimes and every evening) and the atmosphere homely.
 

You will not need your tiara for this trip. In fact you won't need formal clothes at all the accent is on casual, comfortable, weatherproof gear around the clock. What you will need is a willingness to join in the fun, and perhaps the ability to learn how to be a gongoozalar. For just as the canals have their own historic architecture including barrel shaped little cottages for the lock keepers, and strange curly bridges that somehow enabled the horses which once drew the boats to cross the canal without getting tangled up in the tow rope so they have their own word for things. The canal itself is the "cut", and the stretch of water between two locks is the "pound". And anyone who spends long periods of time gazing fixedly at nothing in particular is a "gongoozalar".
 

There are a lot of gongoozalars on the canals because, although they can sometimes be a trifle unkempt in towns, they mostly drift through some of England's most attractive and least spoiled countryside. The ride is extremely relaxing. If you want to tour Shakespeare country, try taking the slow lane. The once-derelict Stratford-on-Avon canal, which has been restored and reopened by the National Trust, wanders through the Forest of Arden, near Warwick, on its way to the bard's birthplace and is much-loved by canal enthusiasts. The long flight of locks near the village of Lapworth can be an adventure: some of the lock walls are bowed with age and nobody is ever quite sure which is widest the lock or the boats.
 

Canal hotel boats, which are a lot more comfortable to live on than they look, travel in pairs because they have only one engine between them. The motorised boat tows its less agile companion the "butty". Each vessel contains half-a-dozen single or double cabins, there is a roomy saloon in the motorised boat, and the butty includes a kitchen and dining-room. Enthusiastic youngsters make up the crew: a husband-and wife team plus a couple of waitresses cum-chambermaids who also look after such nautical duties as steering the boats and opening and shutting lock gates. Volunteers who want to help with the latter tasks are welcomed, but of course there is no pressure on people who are, after all, paying customers. Hotel boats are particularly popular with visitors to Britain, but : those with their "sea legs" might prefer to hire their own narrowboat, or rent a cabin cruiser on one of the major rivers, like the Thames or on a man-made cruising ground like the Norfolk Broads, in East Anglia, where miles of ancient peat diggings have flooded and become a very popular and safe network of interlocking lakes.
 

All self-drive narrowboats and cruiser hire companies give an hour or so's tuition when you pick up your boat, and provide charts and maps as well as a "starter pack" of basic foodstuffs. Hire boats can cost, as little as $42 per person for a week.

CaRT comes 3rd out of 150,000

Public trust and confidence in charities: analysis of findings - See more at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/about-the-commission/our-research/research-reports/public-trust-and-confidence-in-charities-2008-analysis/#sthash.LxjyuytX.dpuf

Public trust and confidence in charities: analysis of findings - See more at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/about-the-commission/our-research/research-reports/public-trust-and-confidence-in-charities-2008-analysis/#sthash.LxjyuytX.dpuf

Public trust and confidence in charities: analysis of findings - See more at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/about-the-commission/our-research/research-reports/public-trust-and-confidence-in-charities-2008-analysis/#sthash.LxjyuytX.dpuf

The Canal and River Trust is a relatively new Charity. Rightly or wrongly it comes up for some criticism for many different reasons. Now criticism in itself is not a bad thing - as long as the criticism is constructive and appropriate. I think when you take on the mantle of charity - that has to be recognised as a real change from being a quango. The problem has been that the change to the third sector was achieved without also recognising the need to accept a new set of public perceptions. The transitional team were still in the previous mindset when it came to dealing with the public and had no experience of the mindset needed to perform in the third sector. 

I attended the 'gloss and glitz' which made up the CaRT public meeting in Birmingham. As I expected there was little in the way of change - other than CaRT has seemingly had a change of mind and seems now to be on something of a lightweight charm offensive. It appears that the answer to all problems is to get more people on the towpath as either visitors or volunteers. When the meeting was thrown open to the floor a question was followed with a petition containing five and a half thousand names being presented. Tony Hales acknowledged  it was very nicely bound. 

The most radical proposal from the floor was to allow constant cruisers to overstay on moorings if they were doing voluntary work. Otherwise there was little else to comment upon.

The trust has a poor record of the management of its public profile. By way of an example, CaRT has not let the grass grow under its feet. Because according to the Charity Commission. The Trust is already the third most complained about charity in the country. Leaving around 150,000 other charities, trailing in their wake! I hope the unwelcome league position has also proved to be something of a wake-up call. 

The subject of the petition that was submitted was a exemplar of CaRT's ability to garner a million pounds worth of bad publicity, by evicting vulnerable boaters onto the towpath. It was stated that a welfare officer would be in place to render a level of support when evicting vulnerable boaters onto the towpath.

A further exemplar demonstrates what a wonderful place the inland waterways are. Sustrans says that cars make the roads too dangerous for cyclists, Whilst cyclist in turn make the pavement too dangerous for pedestrians. Not wanting to be left out of this two wheeled arms race, the Cycling and River Trust are now making the towpath too dangerous for walkers, boaters, joggers and fishermen.

Now, its the 48 hour mooring fiasco. First Richard Parry assures NABO that there will be no more changes made without consultations. Then thick and fast come in the reports that 14 day moorings are being changed to 48 hour moorings almost everywhere. A man and his word is as good as .... as.... bugger all apparently.

Induction Day

Most people know that I enjoy poking fun at CaRT, if I did not poke fun, then I would only end up crying into my beer.  So in the spirit of being a bit more upbeat, I decided to do some fractured motivational posters.  As a kid I had a few motorcycle posters on my bedroom wall. So I decided to hang a few inland waterways posters on my blog wall.

As we all know, volunteers are coming in droves to rescue the canals and rivers. There are so many volunteers that the truss is now having to be selective by testing the volunteers ability to deal with traversing the towpath. Here is the first battalion of canal litter pickers and mud puddlers on induction day.

Canal Cuttings (35)

This is just one of a series of around fifty old newspaper articles that I have been reading. I have been researching from old newspapers and magazines. Covering the last 200 years or so of life on the inland waterways. With particular interest in the major issues of the day that were effecting the canals. The most active periods for evaluation and change, has always been just prior, during and shortly after the two world wars. It should be remembered that between the wars the ownership of some of the canals changed hands as the railway companies bought up the waterways to get reduce competition. What is not clear is the effect this early form of asset stripping had on the viability of the inland waterways. Its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Most surprising of all are some of the problems that beset the canals back then - are still prevalent today. Reading old newspapers can throw up some rather interesting stories. Here is what we would call today a public interest story.

Caveat: Some of the articles are difficult to read and even using modern electronic  scanning and text conversion methods. The odd punctuation, word or character may have been transcribed in error. 

Examiner Launceston, Tasmania
7th March 1927

TRADE WITH U.K.
Claims of Hull
MAJOR COLE IN LAUNCESTON 

Advocating increased distribution of Australian products through Hull, and other ports on the East Coast of England. Controlled by the London and North Eastern Railway Company, Major H. Shenton Cole is at present in Launceston. Major Cole represents the L.N.E.R. In Australia, and in conversation with an "Examiner" representative at the Brisbane Hotel last night gave interesting particulars of his mission. "Everything, happily, is tending towards a closer relationship between the people of the world claiming the citizenship of the British Empire, and that between Australia and England in particular is becoming more intimate year by year," said Major Cole. "Aided by the activities of the Empire Marketing Board, the interchange of commerce is on a far greater scale than was the case a few years ago and this, of course, reacts upon Individual travel as reflected in the number of visitors from Australia to England in the course of a twelve-month. 

DOCK OWNING RAILWAY. 
"With these considerations in mind, the London and North-Eastern Railway Company, one of the four new rail groups formed since the war, and serving the whole of the east of Great Britain between London and the north of Scotland, in addition to extensive central and western areas, have sent me out to Australia as their representative to aid in this movement of traffic and tourists, to the best of my power. The company owns and operates 16,000 miles of track, and its traffic comprises annually nearly 400,000,000 passengers (exclusive of periodical ticket holders). 130,000,000 tons of freight traffic, and 9,500,000 head of live stock. The capital of this huge concern exceeds £350,000,000, and it employs number over 200,000 persons. In addition the L.N.E.R. is the largest dock owning railway in the world. owning 30 docks with a total water area of 800 acres, and 35 miles of quays. The company's chief ports are Hull, Immingham, Middlesbrough, the Hartlepool, and Newcastle-on-Tyne. Over 50 per cent of the home-grown and imported foodstuffs consumed in Great Britain pass through the docks or over the rails of the L.N.E.R railway, and the company without doubt forms a principal factor in the handling and distribution of foodstuffs for the people of England and Scotland. A large proportion of the imports at the company's docks come from foreign countries, but my company realises the importance of encouraging the development of Imperial resources with the object of ensuring a self-supporting Empire as regards food supplies, and raw materials for essential industries, and it is hoped that in the future Empire products will be more in evidence in the markets of Great Britain. The area served by the L.N.E.R. contains a very large and growing population, which can only be reached economically through the ports of Hull, Newcastle, and others, and we look to increased business with Australia resulting through these ports in the future. 

ECONOMICAL MARKETING. 
"Tile question of economical market. Ing is of the greatest importance to the Australian producer, who has to compete in the English market with countries which are much nearer to England, and with countries which employ cheap coloured labour, and It is therefore a matter of importance to 'him to adopt the most efficient and economical means for the distribution of ihis produce 'in England. Therefore, it should be the aim of Australian producers to continue to develop a judicious use of the out ports of Great Britain which will enable economies to be effected in the distribution and transportation of Australian I produce, and so place it in a better position to compete with other countries producing similar commodities. Over centralisation in marketing causes higher prices for the consumer, and lower prices for the producer. If the Hull or Newcastle merchant has to go to London to buy butter he cannot give such a good price for it as he could in Hull or Newcastle because of the cost of transshipment from London. The port of Hull is an ideal centre for an increasing distribution of Australian produce. It stands at the threshold of the greatest coalfields in England, and serves economically the important manufacturing districts of the North of England, Yorkshire, and the Midlands, with a population of over 12,000,000. Hull is the third largest and the cheapest port in Great Britain, and its trade exceeds £100,000,000 per annum in value. Already the imports of wool through the port of Hull exceed that of any other port in the United Kingdom, and in addition to being in, close proximity to a large population of consumers in 'the North of England, Hull, owing to its geographical position, is the natural port of entry for the distribution by transshipment of overseas produce to the northern Continental ports. Steamers leave nearly every day, of the week for Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, and Scan dinar2-n and other ports, and having regard to the growing demand both for Australian and New Zealand produce In these countries, the position Hull occupies merits the attention of Australian shippers. Dock and rail charges at Hull are on a lower basis, and an illustration of the advantages Hull holds out to the Australian exporter may be found in the following comparative rates: Butter, to Sheffield, rail and dock charges per ton: From Hull, 67/5 from London, 94/5 Australian beef, mutton and lamb, to Leeds rail and dock charges per ton, from Hull, 29/11 from London 66/5 Wool to Bradford, rail and dock charges per ton, from Hull 27/0 from London 35/8 These examples can be multiplied many times. 

ATTRACTIONS FOR TOURISTS. 

"I am also concerned in stimulating the interest of Australian tourists to England in the beauty spots and centres of historic and artistic attraction served by the railway I represent. As already indicated, matters of commerce obviously govern the movements of individuals, but apart from purely business considerations, the prospect of a visit to the Mother country is in itself fascinating. The London and North-Eastern Railway Company in this connection can carry the tourists, after London itself has been explored, to many scenes of beauty, historic interest and holiday character. Along the whole length of Eastern Britain, the coast is dotted with an infinite variety of seaside resorts popular and quiet. Scarborough has justly earned the title of the queen of watering places. Staithes and the nearby more popular resort of Whitby are of especial interest on account of their association with Captain Cook. East Anglia is fortunate in possessing a series of extensive lakes linked together by about 200 miles of navigable waterways known the world over as the Norfolk Broads, a favourite resort of enthusiastic yachtsmen. Then there are the Inland resorts and spas, chief among which is Harrogate, far in front of most Continental spas in the number and varieties of its baths and social attractions. As for the great cathedrals, castles, abbeys and other historic places, nowhere in all the world can be found such a glorious array as within the territory of the London and North-Eastern Railway. Scotland's coast, lochs, mountains and moors are worth going a long way to see, and readily reached from London by the "Flying Scotsman," one of the world's most famous trains, while Edinburgh carries one back to the earliest days of the history of this romantic country. 

Mention must also be made of the important passenger and continental services maintained by the L.N.E.R. The services between Harwich and the Hook of Holland or Antwerp, while in the summer months a thrice-weekly service operates between Harwich and Zeebrugge. From Grimsby and lull, too, my company runs regular passenger services to Hamburg, Rotterdam and to Belgian ports. These L.N.E.R. steamship services form connecting links between England and all parts of Continental Europe.' Major Cole went on to explain the excellent market Hull and contiguous districts offered for Australian fruit, and chilled meat. The strike last year was a staggering blow to England, and had a very serious effect on the fruit shipments. Tills year, the understood, the export of apples from Tasmania would be reduced because of the probability of an increased market existing in Australia. Therefore, the prospects of marketing fruit oversees were much brighter. Hull was the second largest fruit importing centre in the United Kingdom. Continental buyers operated to a great extent there. He understood that there was a tendency to ship larger quantities of fruit to Hamburg this season, but he considered that exporters would be safer if they shipped to English markets. Major Cole will meet Mr. Nell Campbell. M.H.A., while In Launceston, and discuss with him various aspects of the apple-export Industry. 

Tank Tops and Custard Creams.

Things are changing at the canal and river trust. It's been some time since I last felt so up-beat about the senior management profile. When David Evans decided to take to the corporate lifeboat and abandon ship. I felt for the first time in years, a positive change for the better. I understood how Fletcher felt, when he saw Bligh sail away.  Though, I still had some misgivings, because I thought Evans might have already anointed his successor from amongst his minions. It came as another pleasant surprise that a new chief evangelist would have a guiding hand on the helm of the foundling trust.

With the arrival of Richard Parry, I welcomed the possibility of a significant change away from the bland ex British Waterways mindset. But even then, I still had those niggling doubts. However, during the honeymoon period that most new senior managers get.  I think Parry would have done some fact finding in the interim while waiting to take office. He could not have failed to see the level of distrust that boaters felt. To his credit, and a good bit of PR. Richard has been down on the towpath engaging in conversation with whoever he happened to find there.

This was where I first met him. I have always been a keen observer of body language and I liked what I saw. He was relaxed and at ease, which is always a good sign. But he did not stop after walking round a few marinas, he continued to engage with people who cared enough to turn up to his open meetings. But most of all he seems to have listened and I hope that he has benefited from the many and varied opinions. I can't, even in my wildest dreams have imagined this level of engagement being done by the previous management incumbent.

Its not all rosy in the garden, there are still some serious issues still to be addressed. Issues such as the wrong kind of public profile.  The litigious mindset that has garnered continuing distrust and suspicion. Looking back over the last year or so. I have observed a few changes as people have moved on or retired. Now the trust has created a couple of new roles and appointments. With these appointments have come some very significant changes in the reporting structure.  

But there is still one one final and very significant change that needs to be made. The Chairman of the trustees needs to go. Tony Hales said he was going and then went back on his word. More than anything else, the trust needs a strong and committed chairperson. Not someone who does not know if he will stay or if he will go. I am usually reluctant to recommend someone for such a role. However, Lynne Berry is in place and is one trustee who would be the ideal candidate. She has all the background credentials to make a significant contribution to the role of chairwoman. If only to bring about a gender balance, it would be good to have a class act right at the top.

There is however, an ill wind blowing along the canal. Its down to the IWA team of representatives that like last moment political candidates, were almost parachuted into place. Along with a capitulation notice called a memorandum of understanding. Which to me was as worthwhile as the letter Chamberlain's waved from Hitler. I think the main reason that the 'election' failed, was by not having the correct calibre of candidates.  I remember thinking at the time, some of the people I thought would have made excellent candidates, were noticeable by their absence. Which actually proved to be quite an astute move in the 20-20 vision that comes with hindsight. After all, real winners know how not to be losers.

It would be no good someone like me being nominated, I'm far to old, crusty and grumpy for such a role. Anyway, I like my custard creams far to much. What's needed is some young fresh blood, you know, someone below pensionable age. The trust needs a new perspective if only to address the age demographic. It's no good electing someone's granddad when what is needed is someone that can appeal to the younger generation. No matter how the future of the trust is to be shaped, its not going to be achieved by anyone comfortable wearing a tank top! 

Maybe the representative roles should also be shared across the gender divide. At risk of sounding like an old misogynist. Maybe one or two ladies would like to consider leaving the kitchen sink and providing the cucumber sandwiches, for what I think would provide a much more rewarding role.   Like everyone else reading this, I love the inland waterway. I want the trust to be successful and one way would be to loose the image of a club for port drinking gentlemen of a certain age. 

Which gets me nicely on to my last topic of the day. Call me old and cynical if you must. But I thought that one of the key roles for the creation of the waterways partnerships was to act as a catalyst for raising funds for the trust. Looking across the range of partnerships, I find its quite a mixed bunch. Apart from seemingly being a cash sink for much needed lucre from CaRT's depleted coffers. Has any of them actually moved from the red and into the black yet. Or is the fund raising just a smoke and mirrors notional one, like those often conjured up for matched funding.

Answers please on the back of a friends £3 note..... No, now that I think about it, lets not go there....

Towpath Velodrome

The Canal and River Trust (CaRT) is on a mission to encourage another charity called 'Sustrans'  to provide some cash for repairing and upgrading the towpath. Sustrans are a leading charity enabling people to choose healthier and safer journeys which including some routes along the canal towpath. At first sight you might think that this is a laudable cause because, as we all know, much of the infrastructure including the towpath is in a poor state of repair. 

Sustrans places a great deal of emphasis on reducing the danger of accidents for cyclists. However in this instance and in this scenario a problem for all none cyclist towpath users is being created and their safety is being compromised.

By way of an example, I heard a story recently, where a cyclist came off his bike when he came into contact with a boaters mooring pin. I'm loathe to speculate about the situation, because, I don't know the full facts. Now in the great scheme of things, I would have imagined that this was something of an unusual scenario. But it was also reported that the cyclist has made a claim against the boater which was apparently successful. So it seems that we are at risk of no-win-no-fee claims from using pins on the towpath. So maybe we should all check that our boat insurance contains third party liability that extends to mooring along the towpath.

Sustrans places a great deal of emphasis on reducing the danger of accidents for cyclists. However in this instance and in this scenario as an unintended consequence, it's creating a problem for all none cyclist towpath users and their safety is being compromised.

Then I remembered that last year, I come into conflict with another cyclist. Who passed through the small gap between me and our boat at a very high speed. After racing with his friends down the Bingley Five Rise towpath. This then reminded me that the year before we came across a cyclist who had fallen from his bike elsewhere on the Leeds Liverpool canal. He had a clearly broken collar bone and possibly a broken shoulder. He was in considerable pain and unable to move. Being a NHS trained first-aider (now lapsed) I could see the level of distress he was in. I even had to restrain his companions from trying to pick him up by the arms! We had to summon the emergency services to help evacuate the cyclist to hospital. The pro's took half an hour to get him ready for transport.

Sunday evening, I am just in the process of stepping off my boat, which is attached to mooring bollards. When a group of three cyclists attempted to pass between myself and a  pedestrian walking the towpath. In an effort to avoid hitting the pedestrian, the cyclist hit the mooring bollard and was thrown from his bike. He narrowly missed his head going through my boat window. We picked him up off the floor, after removing his bike which was on top of him. He was quite shaken and it turns out that two of the group of three are father and son. To which  the father says - 'Now will you slow down - not much good passing the cycling proficiency test. Then he adds 'I might not be able to keep up, but at least I ride safer.'

Monday morning, there are three boaters including myself all stood on the towpath having a conversation and the topic is as you might have guessed - the speed of cyclists on this section of towpath.   At the same time we are being passed with inches of clearance by cyclist after cyclist on their high speed run to work. Their speed along the towpath has to be seen to be believed.  At 08:39 I wrote an email to the trust asking if someone was available to come and witness the danger that walkers, joggers and boaters were being placed in. I thought it might be of some use to discuss the situation and explore what could be done to at least mitigate the risk with the problem of speeding cyclists. I had an acknowledgement of my email in the afternoon.

Tip: We put a fold up chair at the side of the boat which the cyclists move over to avoid. It makes it a bit more safe getting on and off.

Now, I don't consider myself to be an unusual boater. But it seems that I come across at least one incident a year involving cyclists coming into conflict on the towpath. Add to this, rescuing two people within a few days from the canal in Gas Street. Then another lady who had fallen into a lock. There was also an old man who had managed to extricate himself from the water but was suffering from hypothermia, the air temperature was below zero at the time. Or maybe as Mrs Brown might say 'I'm a flipping Jonah'.

There are several very obvious safety issues. The first one is the apparent lack of any care being paid by almost every cyclists to avoid other towpath users. Then there is the seeming lack of any ownership or of the ability to even ring a bell. Though it should also be remembered that not all pedestrians have good hearing. We all know that there has been a take over of the pavements in the street by many cylists. Another is their inability to see a red traffic light. Or to observe one way systems on the road. 

What a wonderful place the inland waterways are. Sustrans says that cars make the roads too dangerous for cycles, Whilst cyclist in turn make the pavement too dangerous for pedestrians. Not wanting to be left out of this two wheeled arms race, the Cyclist and Racing Trust are now making the towpath too dangerous for walkers, boaters and fishermen.

This Laissez-faire attitude by cyclist seems to be becoming the norm on the towpath. I wonder what the trust is planing to do about this ever growing issue. Well there is the CaRT's Cyclists Homepage Where the 'route of the month' is published by CaRT for cyclists. There are also the 'cycling tips' that are published. Possibly the most annoying of all. CaRT only recommend rather than require that cyclists on the towpath obtain third party liability insurance and equip their bike with a bell or equivalent. Makes me as a boater feel like something of a second class citizen. And it feels that I am impinging upon the passing cyclists, by slowing their high speed progress on their towpath velodrome. So like cyclists have done with the pavements in our streets, they are now taking over the towpath.

Another boater moored with us engaged a CaRT employee about the problems on the towpath at this point. He was informed by one of the team that CaRT are 'well aware' of the issue. But there was nothing that could be done about it, 'until a serious accident occurs'. Now that is a pretty awful statement to make. I am somewhat skeptical of the attitude displayed - but it was freely given advice to the boater and would also be presumably be freely given to anyone else who raises the issue. 

Late Monday night we were jolted awake by a crashing noise. I expected to find that someone had come off their bike. On investigation, a team of three 40 something's were trashing the boat moored next to us. I immediately rang for the police to attend. I was able to guide them in to the correct place on the towpath. In the mean time, after also cutting the mooring ropes the vandals had by then turned their attention to another boat. Several other boaters further along the cut had also had mooring lines thrown off the bollards. On seeing the police arrive the brave gang of thugs took to the nearby trees. However, a few moments later I had the pleasure of seeing one of the group taken away in handcuffs. I heard from an officer on the ground that another had been apprehended and another was being tracked. 

Tip: If you find someone messing around with your mooring lines. Blow your boat horn continuously. It has the effect of moving opportunistic idiots along. We have a big loud 'ooo argh' klaxon which seems to work quite well.

Today, we had the expected return visit from the two officers. Afterwards while chatting on the towpath outside the boat, there were cyclists whizzing past. One of the officers said it actually feels quite dangerous standing here.  In a matter of moments a police officer had investigated the scale of the problem. 48 hours later, even after a follow up email about the vandalism of boats - I'm still waiting for the trust to get back to me.

Now, if it seems like a rant against cyclists - well it is. There is after all, a blanket speed limit along the towpath. But to be honest, along unoccupied sections of the towpath. I'm not bothered what speed cyclists travel at, after all its their neck on the line. I have picked them up off the ground before and I'm sure I shall be doing it again. However, its  not rocket science to slowdown where people in all age groups are walking or boats are moored - because then it could be my or your neck that's also on the line. 


Maybe this is a problem that the  waterways partnerships could address as part of their role to work with local councils and focus on local issues. One thing I have noticed is that sections of tarmac encourage high speed while sections that are gravelled seem to reduce speed. Maybe when there is an imminent danger  of suffering 'gravel rash' if you come off your bike is one way to curb speed.

We enjoy cycling and we have an electric fold up bike on the boat, which is used almost every day.  Its even fitted with a sissy bell. 

However we have resisted wearing the 'Lycra and Spandex Uniform' of the T4 crew. That's our new found friend - The Towpath Two-wheeled Terrorist.

Remember: CaRT are 'well aware' of the issue. But there was nothing that could be done about it, 'until a serious accident occurs'. Well I for one don't want to be included in that statistic.