John Brightley

Thanks Athy. You may be interested to know that some of L&L's first boats, such as Pendle illustrated here, were built by Rugby Boatbuilders - you'll see the distinctive bow on the photo. Here is the next batch of pages.

Hi again. Here's another brochure which I hope you will enjoy looking at. This is the first batch of pages from the English and Welsh canals section and I'll post the rest over the next few days.

As regards the hire industry, Hoseasons have just changed their new bookings policy- they were until recently accepting new bookings for holidays after 4th June, but have now changed this to 15th June.

Probably because Kier were being a responsible company and being cautious as they weren't sure whether they could apply the social distancing rules. They have probably since worked out a safe way of working, like the construction company I work for, who closed sites on about 20th March, but have just announced they will be reopening them slowly and carefully from the middle of May.

Jannel Cruisers were using the Blakes agency in 1975,1978 and 1979, so probably Blakes !

Yes, where Rose Narrowboats are now. Maidboats were the Rolls-Royce of hire boats in the 60's and early '70's.

Thank you Athy. I was unsure whether anyone would be interested in the French section so nice to hear that. Thanks to everyone else for your kind and interesting comments as well. As a couple of you have mentioned Hoseasons, that will be the next brochure to come. Watch this space !

The base was by Oxley Moor Road bridge, where Google tells us Wolverhampton Passenger Boats and Oxley Marine are now.

Thanks Pete. I guessed you might be the one to come up with the answer ! Now you mention it, I do remember Elijah and Elisha, or at least their reputation.? Here is the last batch of pages, of the French waterways. Of some significance, as you will see there are only a few boats offered - I think this was perhaps Blakes' third year in France, and the number of boats increased significantly in future years.

It looks from this website http://jtimsandsons.co.uk/ that they are still in business. It might be worthwhile the original poster contacting them to see if they have kept any details of their old boats.

Thanks for people's comments, and especially to BilgePump for finding the other Blakes brochure page on the Jones Boatyard website, as it shows that Clubline moved to Coventry in '76. Here's the next batch of pages - hotel boats (motor "King Rhodri Mawr", but what was the name of the butty, and where are they now ?) , River Thames, Caledonian Canal and River Shannon.

I'd second Vale Royal and Tixall. I was amazed how beautiful the Weaver is when I went on it for the first time last year. It deserves more use. And Tixall/ Great Haywood has been deservedly popular with liveaboards for many years. With a decent pub and farmshop both close to the junction, as well as walks through the Shugborough estate, what's not to like ?

Yes, I've got some Hoseasons brochures from the '80's. I can't remember what year the earliest is, but I'll dig it out and scan it after I've finished uploading this one.

Here is the next batch of pages. I think you'll like these. How many of you knew that Clubline started out at Aylestone, Leicester, before moving to Coventry soon after this ? (I think 1975 was Clubline's 2nd year of operation) And here are Seymour Roseblade and Canal Hirecraft - both of these companies stopped hiring only a few years later.

Hi all. I have quite a large collection of hire boat brochures, mainly from the 1970's and '80's, and thought you might like to see some of them. Here is the first. The Blakes brochure of all their boats except for the Norfolk Broads - so English and Scottish canals, River Thames, River Shannon and French waterways. I shall post it in sections - here is the front cover and the introductory pages.

My first thought was maybe Pocklington, River Ouse or Ripon Canal. There's quite a few pantiled roof buildings around there. But it's not my local area, so it was a wild guess really.

Thanks very much JP. I think with any of us if we know an area well we recognise a location almost instinctively without many clues. I can't guarantee it's Tusses as I can't find any other photos, but think there's a good chance that it is. I've read somewhere the date of the bridge's rebuilding -I think it might be 1927 and there might be a date stone on the bridge somewhere.

I think this is almost certainly the cottages at Tusses Bridge, Coventry (north Oxford canal), photographed before the bridge was widened in the 1920's/30's. The buildings are very traditional Warwickshire in style and detailing (the diaper pattern brickwork is very distinctive) and the form of the buildings match (the row of cottages to the left were demolished in the 1970's/80's, but the two nearest the canalside survive, though rendered and with different windows. Here it is on Google streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/8XJEyDy4E6vH425v7

Well done for all your work. On the Lichfield Canal you've drawn the original canal line, but you might want to add the new proposed line of canal around the south of Lichfield, along Falkland Road. ( the canal east of the railway is being constructed this year, and the tunnel under Birmingham Road is already installed)

You suggest that there would be differences, even though they were not visible. It would be these differences which would spark the need for consent. You may find https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/listed-building-consent/listed-building-consent.htm interesting- it is from an authoritative source. In basic terms, it says that like for like repair should not need consent, but some councils have chosen to err on the side of caution and ask for it anyway. It may depend on the extent of material which needs to be replaced. My point above was that in the case of Figure of Three locks, CRT could potentially start repair work without consent being needed (thus saving time), though if as Pluto says a bridge needs to be built across one lock chamber, that itself is likely to require consent. Hope this helps.

Actually, that's not correct Pluto. Repairs to a listed structure using like for like materials do not require listed building consent or planning consent, so works could be started now on that basis. Consent would be required though for any non-original materials to be used, which you do mention as an option.

According to Google Maps (and my own experience), it's actually going to be quicker for you to get to Braunston or Brinklow than Milton Keynes.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do before making a final decision to buy a boat to live on is to spend as much time as possible holidaying on one (I'd say at least 2 weeks), experiencing every type of weather conditions and talking a lot to all the people you meet. Reading lots of books and looking at videos, however useful some may be is no substitute for actually experiencing boating.

Just to confirm that you should have no problems with the route via Camp Hill and Garrison locks. However as there aren't many pleasant places to moor on that route, Catherine-de-Barnes to Curdworth in a day is normally recommended. Both of those places are good to moor at and they both have decent pubs close to the canal.

Thanks Paul for posting the link to the article by Tim Coghlan which is very interesting. The article says that the boat was Byfield, it was owned by Jim Marshall at the time of filming, and it was renamed Virginia Rose for the film. Jim contributed to Tim's article so must have been quite certain that the boat had been Byfield.