Morat

Interesting! I don't know much about the case for/against the River Derwent and can't find much online.

River Derwent, anyone?

Foxes are OK, but I prefer dogs.

Is this one of those situations where you're better off not asking?

Ok, that is understood but I still think that it is harder to make the case in the UK than in France because of the shorter distances, higher population density (compared with rural France) and different planning laws which could well mean a lot of public enquiries, land sales, Swampy building a new treehouse, etc. I'm also not convinced that building HS2 will make normal rail travel any cheaper, and the cost of rail travel needs to come down to compete with road travel even with petrol going through the roof. edit: I just checked on the East Coast site and a York-Kings Cross return is £166 standard class for an "EC Advance" while for some reason an anytime return is £105. It is still cheaper by car, with the added advantage that you can take your wife, kids and dogs for free.

Ok, so with the extra capacity will ticket prices fall to affordable levels?

Your point ref political backing is well made. I just feel very sorry for those who will suffer as a result of a railway being slapped in their garden. I'm also unconvinced of the need to get to Birmingham from London any quicker than is possible now.

I wonder if it's cheaper in France because you have absolutely no recourse if they decide that a project is in the national interest? If you don't move they'll just build the railway/motorway/runway/nuclear power plant right over you!

OK, that all sounds very positive thanks very much for the advice!

That has got to be worth it for the cost of a day or two's license. Mooring by the Folly Bridge is entertaining. I did enjoy watching the rowing crews getting ready and setting off for their early morning sets as I leant out of the side hatch with a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich.

Here here, has no-one heard of video conferenceing?

Hello, we're taking a hire boat out in a couple of weeks time and were planning to go up to Market Harborough from Clifton (and back) in a week. I've just checked out the basin at Market Harborough on Google Maps and it looked both small and full! What do you think my chances are of mooring there in the middle of the first week of May? It'll be a 70ft boat... If we can't moor there, are we scuppered or is there an alternative? Thanks for your advice! Miles

Crew training video!!

The problems we have with the railways are not caused by age but by poor management. I can see no reason to believe that HS2 will be run any better than the current railway network, and it will therefore be just as crap and useless - so, for that reason.... I'm out

I did it from Clifton two years ago with my wife and another couple who came on for the first 3 days. I would imagine it's easier when the canal is busy because the big flights are all double locks but we ended up doing most of it on our own and it was quite a lot of work even for under 40s. On the plus side, it was very interesting and we did enjoy it!

If you're into real ale, You MUST try The Swan (http://tinyurl.com/3kfa5xd) It isn't far from the river (you can see in the map where the foss/ouse join) and has many interesting real ales. The staff are enthusiasts and keep the beer beautifully.

Definitely get a canal guide! I moored up the night before handing a hire boat back and fell into conversation with someone who had hired from the same company. He was moaning how hard it was to find shops and pubs on the canals and how he resented coughing up for a guide. The plonker soured a holiday that cost him probably £750 by scrimping on a guide. I sympathised only because my wife had sensibly bought a Stephenson's guide behind my back after I'd questioned her "sense of adventure" before our first trip

I find the term "Black Humour" offensive and demeaning. Please use the term "Humour with potential to offend the moral and sensitive majority if used without the correct disclaimers" in the future.

I thought it was fun and mildly informative. It's not exactly Panorama or Blue Planet but hey, the standard of Victorian porcelain was outstanding! Guy is a funny and engaging character. I've got an idea for a program that will make this forum explode - "The boat that the Top Gear team built"

Please forgive my ignorance of boatbuilding but if you had a top heavy narrowboat, wouldn't you just add more ballast? I realise there's a limit to "how low can you go" but there looks to be plenty of freeboard left on that one....

Dog poo? You've got it easy! There's a livery stable just down the road from us....

Reading this thread gives the impression that if you gave boaters free reign to self regulate, they'd just start a civil war between continuous cruisers and residential moorers. How depressing. No wonder BW were able to get away with whatever they wanted. Divide and Conquer really isn't very difficult is it!

Was the pipe sealed? It could have been a Heat Pipe as described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe They're very common in computers where heat needs to be moved away from the CPU and other hotspots - but they're easy to make and apparently first cropped up in the steam age.

The usual measure is a multiple of the lowest paid people in the company. The multiple has increased in recent years! I'd say 10x but there are many different views. I think the anger is justified in this case. The BW bosses were not just offered the pay rises - they manufactured them. Or they were in the same lodge, eh?

and some relevant cases would be nice to see....