blocked towpaths

[stagedamager]

having been bought up on the cut for most of my life, i remember the good old days of being thrown off the boat with a bike and pointed in the direction of the next lock and told to go set! now i quite like towpath cycling, especially when you manage a whole trip without a puncture! having relocated to milton keynes, i now only use the towpath for cycling to and from work, as i have no time or money for getting my own boat. there seems to be a trend happening recently, and i don't know if it is just related to mk or not, but there are little communities starting to spring up, towpath side, mainly just out of view of any road bridges, and people expanding their worldly goods all over the towpath and beyond, the worst one is just north of fenny stratford lock, where, tied up under a dual carriageway bridge are a few boats, who are obviously there for a long time ( been at least 1 year now) as the towpath is totally blocked, items tied up along the railings and rubbish down the embankment next to them, leading to their cars parked at the bottom. When there is a gap on the towpath, it is blocked by the owners' several dogs, which can be distressing at times, especially when they are hungry! i remember hearing of another one at braunston with signs up saying towpath closed! surely this shouldn't be allowed, i thought the towpath should be kept clear? anyone else had issues on this matter?

[alan_fincher]

I've often cycled towpaths, and never encountered anything of this sort.

 

The one thing that consistently slows progress is fishermen with those long fibreglass poles that they "retract" back across the towpath, and through the hedge behind. They seem to expect me to get off and carry ny bike over their 2 foot "high jump".

 

And fishing competitions...... You would be quicker walking!

 

Alan

[Liam]

Alan, have you seen the price of them poles?? I'd just keep on going as they are definately going to move them out of the way

[Tim Lewis]

having been bought up on the cut for most of my life, i remember the good old days of being thrown off the boat with a bike and pointed in the direction of the next lock and told to go set! now i quite like towpath cycling, especially when you manage a whole trip without a puncture! having relocated to milton keynes, i now only use the towpath for cycling to and from work, as i have no time or money for getting my own boat. there seems to be a trend happening recently, and i don't know if it is just related to mk or not, but there are little communities starting to spring up, towpath side, mainly just out of view of any road bridges, and people expanding their worldly goods all over the towpath and beyond, the worst one is just north of fenny stratford lock, where, tied up under a dual carriageway bridge are a few boats, who are obviously there for a long time ( been at least 1 year now) as the towpath is totally blocked, items tied up along the railings and rubbish down the embankment next to them, leading to their cars parked at the bottom. When there is a gap on the towpath, it is blocked by the owners' several dogs, which can be distressing at times, especially when they are hungry! i remember hearing of another one at braunston with signs up saying towpath closed! surely this shouldn't be allowed, i thought the towpath should be kept clear? anyone else had issues on this matter?

 

 

I was led to believe that Cycling was not permitted on the towpaths in Milton Keynes!

 

Tim

[Keeping Up]

At that particular point the parallel "Broadwalk" does not exist. Boats have been blocking the towpath there for at least 4 years now, if they stay that way for much linger they'll be able to claim ownership of the towpath under Squatter's Rights.

 

Further north where the Broadwalk does parallel the towpath beyond the hedge, there was a nasty accident a few years back when a fisherman retracted his rod through the hedge and took out a couple of cyclists.

[dave_2A_]

Bottom end of the Oxford is the same in places. It's one of the reasons some people refer to livaboards as 'Pikies'. They'd be living the same squalor if they were in a caravan or a bloody great house.

[stagedamager]

I was led to believe that Cycling was not permitted on the towpaths in Milton Keynes!

 

Tim

 

absolutely fine, even checked with bw just in case, as there are the wonderful redways running parallel, but sometimes they are in a worst state than the towpath!

[alan_fincher]

I was led to believe that Cycling was not permitted on the towpaths in Milton Keynes!

 

Tim

Just edited this post to completely change my mind.

 

I genuinely thought it was permitted.

 

It appears from latest documents on Waterscape that it is not.

 

Cosgrove Iron Trunk Aqueduct

to

Willowbridge (Bridge 99)

20.6 kms

No cycling permitted in Milton Keynes – alternative routes via the broadwalk and leisure routes along the canal.

 

I'm gob-smacked! There are not good parallel routes for the whole of that 20 kilometers.

 

I wonder where else they have now outlawed ?

 

Alan

Edited April 22, 2008 by alan_fincher

[alan_fincher]

absolutely fine, even checked with bw just in case,

Interesting! When did you check?

 

It rather sounds like whoever you spoke to doesn't know what's on BW's own web-site.

 

Alan

[Hairy-Neil]

Alan, have you seen the price of them poles?? I'd just keep on going as they are definately going to move them out of the way

 

I accidently (on purpose) tripped up on one once that was perched across the towpath like a hurdle. The guy said, "careful, do you know how much that rod cost?" I replied with, well you ought to look after it better then.....

[stagedamager]

Interesting! When did you check?

 

It rather sounds like whoever you spoke to doesn't know what's on BW's own web-site.

 

Alan

i stand corrected, you are indeed right, mental note, never speak to secretaries! it does beg the question though, like you have pointed out, what indeed do you do when there is no alternative redway / footpath? end up miles out your way, or pop onto the grid roads, which cyclists are also advised not to use!

[Keeping Up]

I'm gob-smacked! There are not good parallel routes for the whole of that 20 kilometers.

Absolutely! Heading Southwards, from memory the Broadwalk doesn't start until Giffard Park and finishes just north of the Plough at Simpson. From there to just beyond Fenny Stratford there is NO alternative route other than the road. There is an short section of parallel path from Water Eaton to Willowbridge.

[alan_fincher]

Usually I like to stick very firmly to laid down rules, if I can.

 

However in this case, if I didn't look at this forum, I would have been blisfully unaware that anything has changed.

 

I could take the view that as BW have not mailed or e-mailed me about changes, I didn't know

 

I'm a considerate towparh cyclist, but this is just bonkers....

[stagedamager]

Usually I like to stick very firmly to laid down rules, if I can.

 

However in this case, if I didn't look at this forum, I would have been blisfully unaware that anything has changed.

 

I could take the view that as BW have not mailed or e-mailed me about changes, I didn't know

 

I'm a considerate towparh cyclist, but this is just bonkers....

 

i agree, just been on waterscape.com and its amazing the amount of towpath you actually can't cycle on, unbelievable!

[Malarky]

i agree, just been on waterscape.com and its amazing the amount of towpath you actually can't cycle on, unbelievable!

 

A lot of the towpath BWB only have permissory access to, so this rule only applies to people who have entered into a contract with BWB. Some paths they registered as theirs a couple of years ago, that were not, I don't really undersand how the Land Registry can let them do that, although the L.R. can get out of being responsible in some cases, as they allow a margin of error of four feet in the boundry lines. Times certainly have changed, I just can't undersand why they resort to theft for the smooth running of the system; it's no way to behave and will backfire in the end; bringing us all down with them.

[stuart23]

I went past that 'community' at fenny last week....and in a boat it felt threatening....I couldn't imagine trying t walk/cycle through them.

I did notice that quite a few of the 'communities' that had been set up had disappeared ....does this coincide with the increased number of mooring wardens....I noticed new wardns at Grove Lock and at bridge 110 on the southern GU.....but there was one very messy area at Cosgrove wher it looked like the whole contents of a boat had been left on the towpath....and something similar a few yards further on...and as I passed a boat removing plastic from its prop, I was told that both BW and the local council claimed it was not their resposibility to remove the rubbish.

Edited April 23, 2008 by stuart23

[StoneHenge]

I think the breaking up of some of the communities is a lot to do with the end of winter check up. We have a lot of boats that have suddenly shuffled around. I bet they will be back t hough.

 

I've seen a few who have tied up make shift marquees from their boat to the hedge and it makes you feel very uncomfortable when you want to walk passed and they have taken over the space, got the b-b-q out and you are wanting to walk through the middle of their party.

 

Or the ones who take all the stuff of their rooves, leave it on the towpath for a couple of days, then move on, putting only what they want back on their rooves, leaving the carp behind (which muggins here then feels obliged to clean up).

 

I am amazed at the accuracy of timing these pole fisherman have. I've got the boat almost close enough to hit them, and they whizz them in quick as.

 

I do think it is totally wrong to lay your stuff on the towpath even if you had a long term mooring there unless express permission is given and that is usually on a private towpath, or non towpath side.

 

I am sorry you felt intimidated. It's people like that give the good boaters a bad name.

[Sir Nibble]

Well I'm familiar enough with the small groups of livaboards who own the towpath but I have never seen them actually block the way. I have often however seen the towpath blocked by dogs laying across the towpath. One boat in particular comes to mind with a golden retriever that would completely block the way whilst the owners would sit on their stern deck and totally ignore the pleas and protests of the dismounted cyclists who wished to cross the dog's land. Many people (me included) would not step over the animal feeling that to do so would invite a bite, but the owners gave the impression that embarassing as it was that was what the dog wanted and there's an end to it, sometimes retreating into the boat to escape polite requests for passage. More eccentric than nasty.

[Liam]

I tried to cycle past a couple of dogs once close to my home mooring. One of the little b*strds jumped up and bit me on the leg, ripping my new pants! I did go back and tell the woman who said that it was my own fault for disturbing her dogs with my bike. It is a good job the dog retreated onto the boat otherwise it would have found my boot up it's ass and would have got wet.