Northern canals - reputation

[Guest]

I was in Middlesborough recently for a football match and it has to be the most GRIM place I have ever been In my life (and I've been to Bagdad).

 

Like any town that has lost the bulk of it's employers principally in heavy industry and ship repair/building Middlesbrough has indeed struggled over recent years/decades.

 

However if you are basing your opinion on the area around Middlesbrough FC's Riverside Stadium, an area devastated by the decline referred to above then you are providing a distorted view of the town and local area. It is no better or worse than many similar towns that have been similarly blighted and in fact to say it is comparable with Baghdad whilst obviously intended to be humorous is very wide of the mark.

 

There is a slow but steady regeneration taking place that has to a degree recently stalled due to the economic situation.

 

http://www.visitmiddlesbrough.com/

Edited June 16, 2013 by The Dog House

[Doorman]

I've seen some TV programmes that show whole streets of un-occupied and boarded up houses up north that nobody wants to buy or live in.

At least it is possible to buy and re-sell a house down here.

 

 

I too have seen such examples first hand and quite frankly I wouldn't wish to live there either. The most grimmest place I have ever been to is Burnley in Lancashire, where the constant rain adds to the general lack of ambience. Possibly, the reason no one lives there is because they've moved up the ladder after realising that there are lunatics down South whom are willing to pay stupid pounds to have basic work carried out on their homes.

 

An example.

 

A builder in our village has recently returned from fitting a new bathroom suite in a London house and re-tiling the same room. He remarked that the customer was more than happy to pay £7,000 for a job that would have commanded a price in the region of £3,000 up here.

 

Whilst in business we used to contract in London for a Sheffield based firm. As soon as we finished one job there was another waiting for us, again in London or the Southern counties. The contracts manager would often muse at how valued we were given that we were prepared to do an honest day's work for a fair price. 'Fair price?' After factoring in the travelling time from the North West and hotel accommodation costs, we would then multiply our normal rate by 2 and still be well below the local boys.

 

If you ask me, there are thousands of mugs down South waiting to be ripped off. In fact, friends of ours who operate a marine engineers business up here, once commented on when carrying out repairs for Southern based boaters, at how nonplussed they were when they saw how reasonable their bills were!

 

Charge outrageous prices and other services, retailers etc., will follow suit. That is why you all pay stupid money for your goods down there. Greed has a culmutative effect on people, just look at how the Southern based investment bankers brought this country to its knees.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Doorman

[John Holden]

The clue is in the word 'bath', and the presence of the hot spring bath...

 

Ok... Donning my pedant hat:

The original settlement was christened 'Aqua Sullis', by the Romans, who build the bath house. It was later named bath by the locals, after the Romans left. The buns were named after the place where they come from, not the other way around.

 

Bath Olivers are bisquits, not buns!!

 

Humour transplant needed?

[Tuscan]

. Greed has a culmutative effect on people, just look at how the Southern based investment bankers brought this country to its knees.

That would be the Royal Bank of Scotland I assume !!!

[Doorman]

That would be the Royal Bank of Scotland I assume !!!

That would be investment bankers based in Canary Wharf I believe!

Edited June 16, 2013 by Doorman

[jonathanA]

Back to the topic.

 

Currently on the eastern half of the L&L and the jury is out. Plus factors, lots of cheerful people on the cut and some excellent scenery. Minus factors, too many half empty pounds with paddle faults that have clearly been long outstanding, according to the locals and the failure of towns like Blackburn to recognise that there is more to valuing your canal than putting up fancy bridge numbers.

 

A boater from Burnley has just advised us to get through Blackburn and Burnley as fast as possible!

 

I don't know who advised you to get through blackburn and burnley as fast as possible... but they are doing you a disservice. blackburn is not too great admittedly, but Eanam wharf is fine and there are some lovely spots to moor up between burnley and blackburn. Also some great bits of canal such as the burnley mile and Gannow tunnel (500M). I assume your heading west and i would say that your on the western side well before burnley, Not sure where these half empty pounds are either...

[Doorman]

I don't know who advised you to get through blackburn and burnley as fast as possible... but they are doing you a disservice. blackburn is not too great admittedly, but Eanam wharf is fine and there are some lovely spots to moor up between burnley and blackburn. Also some great bits of canal such as the burnley mile and Gannow tunnel (500M). I assume your heading west and i would say that your on the western side well before burnley, Not sure where these half empty pounds are either...

We had a call from Nick Norman after he had ventured onto the River Weaver recently and he commented how the town of Northwich appeared to be so appealing from the river, whereas by car it's quite forgettable in my humble opinion.