A point of order

[Harvestman]

Hi all. Having a fancy for a spot of outdoorsy activity tonight, i took my Bushbuddy stove (and the dog) out along the canal. I set up on a wooden bench, and got a fire going in the stove. Moonlight through the trees, very nice.

Now, my question is this: I wasn't camping, since all I did was sit on the bench until I ran out of fuel (oak and chestnut, brought with me for the purpose), so I didn't need permission to be there from British Waterways, but if I had been challenged, is there a difference in law between setting a fire (as in making one on the ground) and lighting a stove? Does it depend on the stove type (woodburner, gas, etc)?

(Incidentally, I always use a fibreglass mat under my stove, as it prevents heat damage to whatever is underneath, and makes handling the hot stove a lot easier. No trace was left, and the embers went into the canal)

Not worried, just curious.

Thanks.

 

[Bushwhacker]

It's a big cigarette lighter.

 

[sapper1]

I have made a brew on the main shopping street in swansea .I was passed by policemen, city wardens and litter wardens all of whom asked if I had a spare cup.None of them commented about having a brew on a bench in town.

 

[shaggystu]

I have made a brew on the main shopping street in swansea .I was passed by policemen, city wardens and litter wardens all of whom asked if I had a spare cup.None of them commented about having a brew on a bench in town.

i once watched a man cycle into the middle of the roundabout at the end of the queensway at midnight with his golf clubs and a bag of golf balls and start using the road as a driving range, the police ignored him, so i imagine that making a cup of tea in the city centre would be ignored as being completely irrelevant! i miss living in swansea, it's a crazy place!

 

[ged]

Some waterways authorities specifically mention fires in their byelaws because of particular dangers such as setting fire to peat ground or the proximity of flammable materials such as fuel or industrial chemicals. Otherwise you're probably OK with a stove or a fire. To my knowledge no distinction is made between a stove and a fire because the danger is the danger, not the appliance.

Throwing the embers into the canal was probably an offence, as would be throwing anything into (or even over!) a canal.

 

[Shewie]

I'd say you were okay, even though you were having a fire it was contained in a stove. I've read similar guidelines on the FC website I think.

Like Ged says, it's not a case of you having an open fire but more the fact that it is actually a stove, regardless of the fact that it's a flame produced from burning wood rather than gas/petrol/meths etc.

I suppose you might get grumbled at by a passing warden but they would have a hard time prosecuting you for it.

 

[resnikov]

If you get caught just apologise and offer them a nice hot cup of tea. Very hard to be cross when someone is handing you a nice warming brew.

 

[jackcbr]

more likely to get in trouble for polluting the canal with your ashes.