Samantha

Thanks Marc, £1800 pa sounds fantastic - you probably don't want to know how much we pay here ... We actually picked our boat up from Sawley Marina - we had a 100 tonne mobile crane in to put her on the back of a lorry - some sight that was! So we know a little bit about the area. We've got a friend who lives in Derby who's going to send us some local papers, so we can look at job possibilities ... After rowing with my boss yesterday, I'm definitely looking forward to a change. One of the directors told me I'd get the sack if I hit him - but he was very lucky not to get something slung at him!

Thanks again - I'll drop them an email. Sam xx

Thanks Stephen. Are there many private marinas/moorings in that area? Most of the moorings around here are privately owned.

That's not good then

Hi all, We currently live in North Somerset on the River Avon, and our options are severly restricted boat-wise. Neither of us are happy in our current jobs, so we are seriously considering moving to a more boat-friendly area. When we were looking for our boat, we used to travel to the Midlands to look - as that's where they all were! I wonder if any of you live in the Nottingham/Derby/Leicester sort of area, and could give us some advice about the availability of residential moorings, cost of living compared to wages available, job availability (we're both office-based sort of thing) and any other advice/pointers greatly received! If any of you happen to have horses, I also have a ned to place in a livery yard or suchlike, so any ideas along that line too would be appreciated! Thanks very much. Sam xx

Perhaps I've totally missed the point of this thread, but why shouldn't I expect to be able to sail the waterways without fear of abuse or missiles, why shouldn't I expect to be able to walk my dog along the towpaths without worrying about broken glass or discarded needles? I am more than happy to talk to other river users, be they boaters, cyclists, walkers or lookers-on. We frequently get help at locks and suchlike, where we stand around having decent conversations with like-minded people, but I would like to think that I can take my children for a trip without worrying about them hearing foul language and being assaulted from bridges. I wouldn't call the police unless some injury or damage occurred - neither would I dignify such behaviour with a response, however expecting a little respect from others is not too much to ask. Perhaps I'm living in cloud cuckoo land. That's very sad.

Urgh, don't get me started on Marina services! (Hi, by the way, I'm new!) Our marina is run by 4 people - a husband and wife, their daughter and her boyfriend. So they all go away for TWO WEEKS over Christmas. And we have NO post for those entire two weeks, the boiler packs up so we do not have hot water in the facilities block (which includes the washing machine and the sinks - thankfully the showers are power showers so don't run off the boiler). If this wasn't enough, we ordered plenty of diesel for our heating system before they went, we ran out the day before their return. Obviously we put in an order for immediate delivery - but they'd run out of diesel. Thankfully, we have a dual heating system so just had to run off gas for a few days. But there are other people that don't have this! We are on the River Avon, and the marinas and moorings are few and far between - there are long waiting lists for all locations. If you complain, they'll simply give you notice and ask you to leave, and it's nigh on impossible to find anywhere else! We haven't had our renewal notices yet - but I'll betta the fees have gone up over and above the rate of inflation. (Take a deep breath) Sorry for the rant. Good to get it off my chest! Sam xx