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There are good & bad & just plain unsociable boaters, cyclists, dog owners/walkers, fishermen, police officers, CRT wardens, parking wardens, politicians, clergy.........

http://gb7dl.co.uk/getpostcode Last time I was out on the boat I had a call from a friend wanting to come out and meet my by car, after a lot of messing around he finally found where we were but commented that it would have been a lot easier to have a postcode to enter into his satnav I have now made a tool that when you access it via a smartphone with GPS can work out the nearest postcode to you. it's searching through a list of just under 1.7 million uk postcodes with known Latitude and Longitude coordinates to find the closest match.

See, this is why I didn't join NABO..

He's a stupid heathen.Get the narrowboat stretched and keep the engine...

9 July2015 CANAL & RIVER TRUST ANNOUNCE NEW MOORINGS INITIATIVE TO REDUCE BANKSIDE DAMAGE The Canal & River Trust Head of Customer Services Manager, Ian Rogers,has announced itr's latest initiative to reduce bankside damage and erosion, along with protecting the flora and fauna of our waterways. This initiative supports the Trusts 10-year strategy to improve the environment for cyclists and dog walkers, and is part of a renewed focus on improving the service the charity offers to customers for voles, earthworms and nettles. From the start of August, mooring pins will no longer be allowed on any bankside on CRT waters. From extensive research conducted in the last two weeks, it has been concluded that mooring pins cause structural damage to our canals more than any other cause. Our partners the chandlerys have been given advance notice to run stocks down. Richard Parry, chief executive of the Canal & River Trust, said: Im delighted that initiatives such as nappy pins, bollards and other things to tie up to have been introduced to all our visitor moorings. Our future success requires us to continue to change how we do things; to generate income with all those who use or visit our waterways, or live alongside them, in a different way, and to make customer service and community involvement central to how we operate. There is no need for people to moor out in the countryside, our 48 hour moorings are of excellent variety and we are increasing their number every month. If you want to stay longer, you can easily pay our extended stay charge by invoice, although we cannot provide a book in advance service yet" Our partners the chandlerys have been given advance notice to run stocks down of the mooring pins.. Boaters will be encouraged to buy the CRT "Restitute the Bank" packs at a small cost of £9.99, which includes enough hardcore to fill 4 mooring pin holes. If you do get stuck somewhere and have to use these historically defunct implements, we do consider that you should respect the enviroment and purchase several packs to enure the towpaths longevity for all users. ENDS For further media requests please contact: Moo R E Pins, national press officer, Canal & River Trust m 07796 127737 e spoof@canalrivertrust.org.uk

So does that mean "constant cycling" is not allowed? Is there a limit to how far a cyclist may cycle before he has to stop cycling, dismount, and then remount and start again? Would cycling, non stop, back and forth between two barrirers, be considered constant cycling, or would that be allowed within the rules?

Interesting potential debate here but to address Higgs initial complaint regarding CRT unfairly using their position to manipulate agreements, I don't see it as massively unfair to be honest. If I were CRT my negotiating position would be that as a Private Marina owner you have every entitlement to make a large hole in the ground, fill it with water and sail whatever boats you wish on it. If however you wish to connect it to the Canal system via a NAA then one of the conditions will be that the boats in the marina should be licenced, if you don't wish to agree to that then you are fully entitled to retain your lake separate from the canal system. Since it isn't actually going to be a problem to the Marina owner why would he object to such a condition? He isn't paying anything extra it is merely the boats in his marina that have to pay (this is of course disregarding the historical marinas that have exemptions). To look at the 'Private Water' issue, I think I may take a similar approach to that on land based property. If there is open access then there would be an assumed right of entry (much the same as you walking or driving your car onto a private road). Obviously if you were asked to leave then it would be incumbent upon you to do so (again the same as on a private road). If that private marina had a locked bridge to gain entry and, because it was open you chose to enter, provided there was appropriate signage I would assume that the marina owner would have the right to close and lock the bridge and charge you a fee before re-opening it (much the same as parking your car on private land and then getting clamped). So effectively the only real sanction for trespassing in a private marina would be under the second example, if I trespassed onto an open access marina, other than asking me to leave, there is little else that a marina owner could actually do.

History by Fred Dibnah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiYOBq41ckw

Lots of points flying around but here is my suggestion for a plan of action. 1) Enjoy boating until someone gets serious hassle from CRT when they have done nothing wrong. 2) Start a topic to discuss what to do 3) Start a topic and get people who want to act to sign up/write to mp's etc. It doesn't work on a thread like this. So far as far as I know the only people getting hassle are those who are genuinely abusing the system. And all court attempts have been ridiculous. Nick Brown for instance. If someone has not paid their licence and gets their boat taken then thats understandable. And when Nick Brown takes CRT to court to argue that moving inches is within the law then that is also understandable that he lost. If someone gets their licence removed for making a genuine journey through different places moving every 14 days, whether or not that distance is within 1km or not, then that is when something needs to be done. (Preferably before it happens though harder to prove facts) CRT should be inviting boaters to work for them. It might work out better and look good on their behalf.

Send your complaints to: Sir Tony Baldry MP Chair All Party Parliamentary Group for the Waterways House of Commons London SW1AA 0AA As has already been posted. I have over the last 12 months built a dossier with pictures and statements etc on the whole subject. (maintenance, gardening, enforcement etc). I've attempted to build it from solid facts, and will in due course send it to the above person. It has been difficult, because many don't wish to be named obviously for fear of repercussions, (which in itself is pretty ridiculous, but understandable). However, at some point, perhaps someone may take on board what canal and river trust are doing, and hopefully ask for explanation.

I'm surprised the Braunston Volockies managed to make it further than the lock landing bollards. As far as I am aware they all have 10ft chains attached between them and the gates of the bottom lock.

This may be a bit but does anyone know how much authority (if any) the new Voluntary lock keepers actually have? Can they actually order people to do things which are unreasonble and inappropriate? We have met some very knowlegable and helpful volunteers, but unfortunately we have come across an almost equal number of unhelpful ones with little or no understanding or knowledge of canals or boating, most of the authoritarianism seems to have come from this latter group. In the past the paid lock keepers were god like and their word was disobeyed at your own peril, but they were all drawn from the working boat community. and carried an enourmous amount of experience and knowledge. They were also answerable to area superintendants who also came from the same background.Unfortuanatel almopst all the experienced staff seem to have been made redundant, and one has to ask where does the knowledge and experience come from these days

Mr Hogg, There used to be a time when I found your input into this forum both informative and interesting. Regrettably it has become clear that over the last few weeks or months you have become obsessed with knocking C&RT at every opportunity. Often making yourself look rather stupid in the process. This thread and your posts are a classic example. Paddle left open? Every one else can see it except you but you continue trying to blame C&RT for their lack of maintenance rather than an idiot in control of a boat when he clearly should never have progressed beyond a pond yacht. There is another site that delights on trying to decry C&RT (often wrongly) at every opportunity. Perhaps you should move there.

If you bothered to read my website you'd realise this behaviour by CRT/BW has been going on for years and I have been challenging them about it. Maybe if a few more people challenged them instead of just muttering on a forum it would not be so easy for them to target the few who do. Those of you who put up with, and endorse, their behavior are a disgrace. Probably a member of a boat club - who are the most active 'spies' Read what I've written. You will learn something and stop talking round and round in circles. It's boring and pointless. FFS wake up.

If you do that and go to Waitrose then back to Tesco as you forgot the 10 litres of "table water" you wanted will you then be a compliant continuous shopper or would you be putting yourself "on the radar" for enforcement as you were not out bona fide for shopping? This convenient shopping pattern may well be against the rules and you may for example have to visit Tesco in Wolverton followed by a trip back to Tesco in Tring before being allowed to shop at Tesco LB again. If you were to disappear and shop at Tesco in Reading or Bulls bridge while the gps logger is there you may then get away with starting your previous pattern but the days of convenient shopping are numbered

Anything that goes bonk bonk bonk not buzzzzzzzz.

Bastards! We had both our cars pinched when our house was burgled a few years ago. Sh!tbags need a hand chopping off and thief branding on their forehead thankfully those idiots were caught and did a bit of time, one also got a bit of rough justice on release. For any of the bleeding hearts brigade that don't agree, till its happened to you you have no right of reply whatsoever I have a feeling there was so something in the chron and echo this last week about a hoard of stolen bikes being found in the Daventry area As for 101, I would have called 999 I'm afraid, a crime had been committed and no matter how slim, a patrol car may have spotted the #### that pinched it. Feel for you

Spotted them at Lechlade two days ago.