No General Towpath Moorings this winter

I'M NOT sure if the announcement—No General Towpath Moorings for 2015/16, eluded me, or perhaps there wasn't one, writes John Howard.

After investigating CaRT's Winter Moorings web page this afternoon, I was confused as to how locations that don't currently have defined Visitor Mooring sites could be included in the Winter Moorings listings.

Lower priced General Towpath mooring permit

I queried why anyone would buy a Winter Mooring Permit, when a General Towpath Mooring permit could be (albeit previously) purchased at a lower price to stay on these General Towpath sites. I therefore asked if the affected locations were to be reclassified as Visitor Moorings—thereby falling outside of the General Towpath Mooring permit as defined in previous years.

The lady at CaRT informed me that as the General Towpath Mooring .... "Had not worked very well last year," there would in fact be no such permit available this year, and therefore the only places continuous cruisers will be able to legally moor over the winter period for longer than 14 days will be in those locations specified by CaRT—and no doubt at a premium price (however to be fair, this price has yet to be announced!).

Why dropped?

I wonder what motivated the dropping of the General Towpath Mooring Permit and what it was that 'had not worked very well last year'.

Perhaps by attempting to corral as many continuous cruisers into a few specific areas, this will limit the need for the enforcement team to cycle quite so many miles of towpath during the cold weather? It seems to me that it may also further restrict continuous cruisers access to some of the better general towpath moorings during this period.

I suggest that we had all better get down to B&Q to purchase a good sharp scythe, some waders and a decent length gang plank. After all it may be a case of having to carve out a new space in the reeds on one of the increasingly neglected stretches of canal bank, as some of the better mooring locations are taken up by those who can afford to sit tight for the winter period.

Enjoy moving around

Every winter we actually quite enjoy moving around the generally quieter system, but it's always nice to be able to moor up with our chains for a fresh 14 day period against a nice steel edged bank, especially when the wind and rain start loosening and tugging at your mooring stakes in some of the less popular, and less well maintained, locations.

It will be interesting this winter to see if this apparent change will improve anything for anyone, or if it will further tighten the noose around the necks of continuous cruisers. No doubt we will hear in April's Boaters' Update what a great success the new system has been .... even if the actual statistics prove otherwise, when they eventually get dragged into the light by someone's Freedom of Information request.

Cynic? Me? Surely not!