adam1uk

David King appeared at South Cheshire Magistrates Court this morning, charged with stealing a conveyance. he did not submit a plea. His solicitor asked for more time, because it was an unusual case and becase of the value of the boat. Mr King was released on bail, and the case was adjourned until June 25th.

It's got nothing to do with free speech, it's the law. There are strict rules on what the media can say about cases once a case becomes active (usually when an arrest is made). Unfortunately, the internet is a form of media. So I think your idea is a good one: if you want to discuss the subject, best do it elsewhere.

Also sometimes abbreviated as PMSL (which I prefer to PSML, because myself could kind of be thought of as two words, while p*ss couldn't be). Anyway, glad Holly's back, and I hope not too many more people will have their holidays disrupted.

Plus it was first on TV at least a week ago, with no result. And yesterday's TV coverage was in the north west, which as far as I know doesn't cover Oxford!

Have a look at this thread: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7882

Similarly, we normally get close to the boatyard by lunchtime and give them a ring to see whether the boat might be ready early. If it is, they're often glad to get a boat away before the rush starts. If it's not, we go and have lunch before turning up slightly less early. Incidentally, harleyj, I notice you've got Great Haywood on your list of overnight mooring places. A really attractive place to moor in this area is Tixall Wide, where the Staffs and Worcester becomes more like a lake. It's very beautiful.

It's now running on PA: SEARCH FOR MISSING MAN AND NARROW BOAT By Simon Baker, PA Staff watching over Britain's 2,200-mile network of canals were today keeping their eyes peeled for a holidaymaker who has gone missing with a 47ft narrow boat. David King, 52, failed to return the #40,000 boat called Holly on March 23 after renting it for a canal holiday from a company in Cheshire. His family in Hertfordshire reported him missing the following day and canal staff have been scouring the waterways, where boats move at only 4mph, ever since. A spokesman for British Waterways said: "We have only ever known one other boat to go missing. "The reason for that is that if a car went missing it could go anywhere but a canal boat is confined to the waterways. "Although there is a 2,200-mile network it is limited in the places it could go. "If you want to get away from it all you can certainly do that on the canals but if you want to hide that is a different proposition altogether." He said staff across the network were keeping an eye out for the boat and reporting sightings to the hire company. Adam Foskett, manager of hire firm Middlewich Narrowboats, said there had been only one "concrete" sighting of Mr King, on March 19 in Market Drayton, Shropshire. Since then they have had various possible sightings, including one in Foxton, Leicestershire, earlier this week. He said: "People have been phoning up to say they have seen a green boat, or a boat called Holly, but there are 27 boats across the system called Holly. "Either he is continually moving or he is hidden on a branch of canal that is not too busy." Mr Foskett added that the fact Mr King had left his credit card details with the company suggested he had not set out to steal it. But he added: "It is not the value of the boat it is the loss of earnings that is the problem." Hertfordshire Police, who are leading the missing persons inquiry, said Mr King is described as white, around six foot tall, with grey hair and of slim build. Detective Inspector Duncan Sales said: "We are keen to establish the whereabouts of Mr King and would ask him to contact us or his family and, obviously, to return the narrow boat as soon as feasible." end 131628 APR 07

It depends how you like to spend your holiday. I like being on the boat, and find I'm always awake early and ready to go, and fall asleep early at the other end of the day. I never find the book estimates of how long a journey will take tend to be on the pessimistic side. It's probably because they allow 20 mins for a lock, and narrow locks in particular don't take 20 mins (unless you find yourself in a huge queue...)

Why not keep a blog, posting as you go round? It's a great way for your friends and family to keep up to date with where you are and what you're doing (and plenty of other people will enjoy reading it too). I subscribe to quite a few. Here's a selection, so you can see the sort of thing I'm talking about: http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/blog/noproblem.html http://nblyra.blogspot.com/index.html http://nbsanity.blogspot.com/index.html http://seyellas-journey.blogspot.com/index.html

Those BW staff costs (not my figures, by the way; they're from the BW annual report), include all staff, not just those involved in maintenance. But surely the main point is that BW gets invloved in other areas to make money, which is spent on the canal system. There's an argument to be had about how much the maintenance should cost -- but it strikes me that a lot of canal related things probably cost quite a bit. For example, how much does a pair of lock gates cost? And what's in worth (not necessarily in monetary terms) to have skilled craftsmen making them? And I'm not convinced that putting maintenance out to tender is such a good idea. After all, on the railways it's proved such a disaster that maintenace has been brought back in house.

Your lack of knowledge of where I live is beginning to show. No street lights here, no traffic lights for miles, no white lines, the road floods whenever it rains, the verges are seldom mown, signs are obstructed by vegetation, no footpaths so no drop kerbs!!! Actually, I'd be interested to know where you got the figure of £3000 per mile for road maintenance. I've just looked up the current year's budget for West Sussex. It says there are 2500 miles of road for which the county is responsible, and the highways maintenance budget is £20,554,000. That gives a cost per mile of £8221. Of course trunk roads an motorways aren't included, because they're maintained by the Highways Agency (and I'd guess -- although I wouldn't claim to know -- that they'd cost more to maintain).

Well I guess some things cost a lot to maintain, particularly when they're a couple of hundred years old. I'd imagine that tunnels, aqueducts, embankments etc push the cost up. How much does a pair of made-to-measure lock gates cost? And one-off problems can add to the figure -- the breach on the Rochdale apparently cost well over £1 million to repair. Bearing in mind that most of the road maintenance round here consists of slapping in a bit of tarmac so it almost fills a pothole, or spraying some sticky stuff on the road then throwing a load of stones on top, I'm not surprised that canal maintenance is most expensive.

Spot the difference:

I always think you can tell more about people's priorities by looking at where they spend their money, rather than where they make it. In fact, licence income accounts for only 9 per cent of BW's trading income (it's about £11 million from licences), and if you take the government grant into account that proportion falls to under 6 per cent. A similar proportion (about another £11 million) comes from mooring fees and marinas. But if you look at what BW spends on the canals, the total is far higher than the £22 million raised directly from boaters. Maintenance and dredging on the leisure canals came to nearly £30 million, with another £5.5 million spent on what BW calls "multi-use" waterways (such as the Trent, the Aire and Calder, and the Weaver). Then there were staff costs of around £58 million. So while BW makes very little of its money from boaters it spends rather a lot on the things they benefit from. (All figures from the 2006 annual report) Average BW salary is £27,000. And the pension fund has a deficit of £56 million. Could it be that the same high water levels which have kept you tied up prevented the recovery of this boat?

Steering is just a matter of practise: the more you do, the better you get. I'm assuming you're planning to get to Fazeley via Hawkesbury -- and it's true that that's the easier half of the circuit as the locks are narrow. However, I'm afraid I'm at a loss to understand why anyone would choose to go halfway, then turn and go back the same way rather than carrying on and finishing the Ring. But then I've never understood the appeal of lock free cruising. For me, locks are one of the main attractions: the ingenuity, the surroundings, the achievement of working efficiently through them. By missing out Birmingham and Warwick you won't get to experience some of the highlights of the canal network: Farmer's Bridge locks are undoubtedly one of the most fascinating flights in the country, and there's no better way to arrive in Birmingham than by boat; and while the Hatton Flight is hard work, it's an impressive sight. You could always make things a bit easier by waiting for another boat to come along, and do them together. If you're still not conviced, rather than go to Fazeley you could always do the Ashby canal instead, and maybe head for Coventry basin too. That way you won't have to tackle the Atherstone Flight (where the locks seem to take an age to fill) and you'll have only four locks in each direction.

I'd suggest doing the Warwickshire Ring, so you get new scenery all the way round.

The Llangollen was the first canal we did too, although not in peak season. I'm sure you'll love it. And if your wife is having trouble with the locks, you'll have to let her steer and do the hard work yourself!

We made a diversion into Coventry whilst doing the Warwickshire Ring a couple of years ago. It's true that the few miles from Hawkesbury Junction into the city aren't the prettiest in the country, but Coventry Basin has been beautifully restored, and offers good moorings. There's a ranger who'll deliver an information pack to your boat, and the basin is just a short walk to the city centre. It's only a couple of hours each way, so I'd say that if you have the time give it a go.

Enjoying the diary -- and looking forward to the next instalment. Allie hired from Rose narrowboats, didn't she?

CanalplanAC suggests this will take just under 31 hours, so especially now we've got lighter evenings four days looks entirely possible.

I'm glad I'm not alone. People usually look at me strangely when I say I really like the Farmers Bridge flight. But there are some very attractive bridges and I think there's something very appealing about going right underneath buildings and passing so close to people at work in their offices!

There are already two threads in the General Boating Forum on this news, started on Wednesday: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7921 http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7928

There are already two threads on this news, started on Wednesday: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7921 http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7928

I always enjoy Birmingham by boat, so try not to think of it in terms of "getting through" the city. True you'll probably be down the weed hatch more than once, but moorings in the city centre are great and the shops and attractions are only a short walk away. We've done the Stratford Canal route a couple of times, but I can't comment on the Grand Union route, not having done that stretch. The Lapworth flight is very pretty, and there are good moorings at Kingswood Jct and by the cricket ground up the flight. There's a long lock free pound from the top of the Lapworth right into Birmingham, but the approach to the city on the Worcs and Birmingham isn't a very good place to stop. In the city centre, there are plenty of good moorings. Arriving late on one occasion, we ended up outside a nightclub near Gas Street Basin which was very noisy. Another time we stopped near Old Turn Jct, by some flats at the start of the main line. Being residential, it was much quieter. It doesn't really matter if you end up facing the wrong way here, as there are several loops you can use to turn round. Heading out of Birmingham on the Birmingham and Fazely Canal, it's probably best not to stop for the night until you're beyond Minworth. Having said that, we made a water stop at some secure moorings at Cuckoo Wharf, at the bottom of the Aston Flight. They're residential moorings, but were empty when we were there. It may be different now. I know lots of people don't like urban canals, but personally, I loved the Farmer's Bridge Locks, some of which are right underneath buildings. You also go right under spaghetti junction, completely un-noticed by the drivers above. Enjoy your trip.

Thank goodness you mastered perspective -- it must make up for never getting the hang of counting!!