Marches

Oh good. I quite like the idea of the canaries singing away in the cage as the boat cruises along.

Is council tax quite low then with you only using a mooring? What are they like to insure?

I'm not anti-fishing per se, it just pisses me off sometimes. My reasons: There's a lake around here in a country park, the rights belong to a fishing club in a nearby city as opposed to the town the lake is in. The fishermen have tents and fishing rods sprawled out all over the beaches (there's sand) and act as if they own the place. Despite it being a country park people often can't take their kids to the beaches beside the lake or let their dogs go for a swim because of a few out-of-twon fishermen giving them evil looks. Hence the locals are being turfed off what should be their "common land" if you like. The canals and rivers are often taken over by people fishing too On most rivers you can't row a boat or take a canoe because of fishing clubs and their water rights. What sort of a country are we where we give rights ownership of rivers to private clubs? I see it as largely pointless. Most anglers throw their catch back in either alive or dead. What's the point in that? If you're going to hunt then stop wasting your time and actually eat the damn thing instead of teasing it and playing with food. Sports hunting which most modern angling comes under is stupid, keep racing pigeons or something if you have a competitive side, if you fish to get outdoors then take up bird watching. On the other hand I do like this about fishing though: It gets people interacting with nature and into the countryside Angling societies maintain fish stocks and try to keep rivers clean which is good for all of us The land around waterways is often semi-woodland and preserved for the enjoyment of the anglers and often the public too. Without the fishing lobby our rivers would be a lot less clean.

Can stoves keep a narrow boat warm in the winter or are they only useful for a small area of it? Also has anyone ever used a back-boiler with one to heat water?

Are pets such as dogs or caged birds allowed on canal boats with the canals being British Waterways property and all?

I don't currently have a boat on the canal but would be interested in having one there. I have wondered in the past what the practicalities would be of living on a canal full-time. Houses cost a lot and even when they're bought there's still a lot of expense in their general upkeep. I did think maybe I could just buy a boat and live on that for a few years. I have a few questions: Where do you get electricity? Battery? Engine? British Waterways huck-up? Do you get fresh water from British Waterways and where would the places to refill be? Are they numerous or few and far between? Fuel - how do you get fuel for the boats? Do you use a PO box for post or does it go to a different address? TV license - do you have to pay it? Which taxes are you exempt from, is it just council tax? Is it any cheaper to live on a boat than a house? What's it like in winter? Do you find it hard to heat a narrow boat? Pros and Cons - what are your favourite things about being on a canal boat and what are the down sides? British Waterways - what are the charges for using the canals?

Good grief, the entire ecosystem of that stretch of the canal appears to have been killed.