I'm sure there's a lot of people on here who as part of their bushcrafting activities enjoy a good paddle in an open canoe. What I'm not sure though is how many of you are clear as to the legality of the water you are paddling.
There has been and on-going campaign in an attempt to clarify the legal position and currently over on SOTP there is a dedicated section to it, I urge you to have a read of some of the posts on there. Especially the what can I do and writing to your MP posts.
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?136-Access-Campaign
You may also remember recently the campaign to prevent the sale of various woodlands around the country. This campaign was run by a group called 38 Degrees. http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests#petition
Well there are a bunch of worthy campaigns running on 38 Degrees and one of them is for the opening up of access rights in England to reflect those found in Scotland which means access to waterways.
http://38degrees.uservoice.com/foru.../suggestions/1265611-access-rights-in-england
This is not just for canoeists but anyone who wants to use the waterways for recreational purposes.
If you believe the waterways should be open access as is the case with open land as a result of the Right to Roam act can I ask that you visit this campaign and add your vote to the case. You can vote three times for any cause and leave comments as you wish. Just one note however, leaving a comment does not automatically mean you have voted. There is a separate button to click which adds your votes.
In the last two weeks the campaign has moved from 300th to 7th so lets see if we can move it higher.
There has been and on-going campaign in an attempt to clarify the legal position and currently over on SOTP there is a dedicated section to it, I urge you to have a read of some of the posts on there. Especially the what can I do and writing to your MP posts.
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?136-Access-Campaign
You may also remember recently the campaign to prevent the sale of various woodlands around the country. This campaign was run by a group called 38 Degrees. http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests#petition
Well there are a bunch of worthy campaigns running on 38 Degrees and one of them is for the opening up of access rights in England to reflect those found in Scotland which means access to waterways.
http://38degrees.uservoice.com/foru.../suggestions/1265611-access-rights-in-england
This is not just for canoeists but anyone who wants to use the waterways for recreational purposes.
If you believe the waterways should be open access as is the case with open land as a result of the Right to Roam act can I ask that you visit this campaign and add your vote to the case. You can vote three times for any cause and leave comments as you wish. Just one note however, leaving a comment does not automatically mean you have voted. There is a separate button to click which adds your votes.
In the last two weeks the campaign has moved from 300th to 7th so lets see if we can move it higher.