RockSodem

Take a cart horse and put it straight on the end of a rope and it will rear-up, step back and more than likely fall in the cut. As mentioned, they are used to getting an immediate reaction, which you don't get from a boat. Training will, over not too long a time, teach them though. It's quite a sight seeing a seasoned horse, plant all four feet squarely, and lean forward, waiting for the boat to react before taking a first step.

Warning Avoid the Croydon Cana! Unannounced closer. Spotted this morning.

It looks like the wheels are slowly turning on this one again! http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/all-districts/18289/Hungerford-Marina--work-due-to.html

Here's a little more detail http://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=426481

This guy originally wanted to do bicycle sales and maintenance on the old John Pinkerton trip boat which he'd moved to Hungerford.. Amongst other things, I gather the CRT weren't exactly helpful, saying they'd need to charge him extra for cycle wear'n'tear on the towpath. Not heard much since and not been in the area for quite a while so i'd be interest to hear if he got it going or not. http://www.basingstoke-canal.org.uk/headline/old-john-pinkerton-finally-sold-moves/

Maybe have a look at some of the pre-paid foreign travel debit cards?

Yawn

I only realised it was a satirical piece reading it the second time. Not a very good one and somewhat pointless I might add

Hopefully it has a happier future than this one that featured back in 2007 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/feb/02/beached-boat-a-triumph

Admittedly this may not help, but if you happen to have a smart phone with location services on, fire up google maps, and select "my timeline". Rather scarily it knows exactly where you have been each day.

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but aren't many of the locks on the system Grade II listed?, meaning they can't really change the mechanism of those locks?

Führer

I did walk by tobacco dock with two very odd ships in the drained dock. I was lucky enough to have a snoop around the shopping arcade a couple of years back and know a little of its history. Amazingly it is still spotless though I do gather they're opening it up for the odd event. Great area just dripping in history.

Thanks everyone. It does look like it's a new addition and follows the line of the old dock walls. The fact there are rightangles in it should probably have given it away to me! I've been in London on and off for 30 years and never walked it till now. So it may not be a canal but I would recommend walking it if you find yourself in the area

Yesterday I got myself blissfully lost on a long walk from Greenwich to St Katherine's docks and found myself in Shadwell Basin. From there on it was following a strange canal type thing! Now excuse my ignorance, but I have found scant information what it is?! Is it an ornamental canal more recently made using the old dock walls (as the name suggests) or are bits of it actually canal? Any pointers/links would be greatly appreciated from the great minds on this forum. Standard Google results don't really say much although with the advent of steam ships a canal was employed in that area.

A bad website immediatly puts a negative thought into the readers mind. Nice site. Money well spent and great on mobile.

Didn't i hear somewhere a while back that Tesco were thinking of using the canal to deliver goods to their stores? or was that a dream?

No problem. The BFI archive is fascinating as a whole

Thought this might interest a few, (assuming it's not already posted). The Grand Union in 1937 from the BFI archives http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-grand-union-canal-1937/

32. No person using the towing path on any canal shall obstruct, interfere with or hinder the towing or navigation of any vessel on the canal and such person shall permit any person engaged in towing or navigating any vessel and any horse or vehicle used for such purpose to pass on the side of the towing path nearer to the canal. "General Canal Bye-Laws"

It's partly to do with the horseboat on the K&A. I did witness a boater going at him for walking along their gunnels with the rope, but also I saw the fur flying between two boaters because one of them had moved the others boat a few feet. Both times there were citing trespass etc.

So am I wrong in thinking there's nothing in the bylaws regarding blocking access to the tow path for working boats etc?

Moving a boat isn't totally irrelevant to the post and brings to mind another question.... Can you move a boat of a lock mooring? Does the boat owner have a right to be angry? Obviously I'm not talking about a boat that's been there five minutes, but lets say half a day onwards?

I know this has come up a couple of times in other posts but I'm having trouble tracking down a definative answer... Are you allowed to touch, walk along someone else's boat? Examples could be bow hauling a broken down boat, breasting up or even Horseboat operators?

On the K&A you can still where the anti-tank defences were shorn off on many of the lock bridges.