UK, Feb 20. 2010 — Thames Water has successfully appealed against a £125,00 fine for polluting the River Wandle with toxic chemicals, killing £7,000 fish. The fine was reduced to £50,000 after the company said it had pledged to pay £500,000 towards restoring the river’s eco system and in aid to the Wandle Trust conservation group. The Environment Agency said the spill had reversed 20 years of conservation work on the River Wandle.

The National Trust has been ordered to pay more than £10,000 in a fine and costs for breaching passenger boat safety regulations in Poole Harbour.

A successful businessman who has pioneered City commuting on the Thames may pave the way for river transport.

UK, Feb 15. 2010 — The debate over whether the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Skipton has become a no-go zone for the boating community rumbles on – police and  Chamber or Trade says no. Canal users say ‘yes’ and claim young criminals are ‘terrorising’ the area.

The Caravan Club has been busy posting a both a driving and web users guide to staying green.

And while on the subject of the web, the Camping and Caravan Club has published  an improved wi-fi policy document and price list. If staying connected is your idea of a perfect holiday, the club says most of its main sites are now online for £42-a-year.

UK, Feb 12. 2010 — Anti-social wild campers in Scotland may force a ban on some lochs. Proposals already under consideration to restrict campers from Loch Lomond’s shore may be extended. Tory MP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Murdo Fraser, is supporting the call. Ramblers though have withdrawn initial support for a ban amid fears it could undermine wider land access laws.

 

 

Think being a caravan owner might cramp your cool image. Something here on caravans with pulling power.

Employees from Northamptonshire County Council’s Longtown Outdoor Education Centre, in Herefordshire, have set off on a 150-mile sponsored canoe trip for charity.

The trip, along the Grand Union Canal, River Avon, River Severn and Severn Estuary, is expected to last seven days, and should be completed on Monday.

To sponsor them visit www.justgiving.com/n2w.

UK, Feb 8. 2010 — For anyone that wants to get into Wild Camping proper a Forum will will be held on Friday March 26 at the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris, Snowdonia, to discuss all the good stuff like how to do it, the law, access and where to go; cracking little piece here on Tom Rolt, the man who saved our canals in 1944 when he published his hugely influential book, Narrow Boat. And a Loch Ness boot-camp.

 

 

OK it’s not tents at dawn. But anyone who commits to a shoreline training at 5am in the morning deserves a mention – even here. Even if they are staying in a hotel. Wimps!

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Avon (Bristol)

14 miles / 22km

The River Avon travels from Hanham Lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal to the Bristol Channel.

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Avon (Stratford)

96 miles / 154 km

Known as the Upper Avon or Warwickshire Avon, it rises in Northamptonshire at Naseby and flows southwest through Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Evesham.

Passing through southern England, it meets the River Severn near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

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Bure

50 miles / 80 km

Merges with the River Yare at Yarmouth, passing through the Norfolk Broads.

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Calder

45 miles/ 72km

Rises northwest of Todmorden, West Yorkshire, on the Pennine moors, and links the River Aire at Castleford.

The Aire and Calder Navigation provides an important link to other rivers and canals, which include the River Mersey to the River Humber.

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Calder

10 miles / 16 km

Flows through Cumbria southeast of Whitehaven into the Irish Sea.

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Calder

15 miles / 24 km

Joins the River Ribble, near Whalley, central Lancashire.

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Cam

40 miles/ 65km

Its source is at Ashwell, Hertfordshire, in the south, flowing north through Cambridgeshire, and into the River Ouse. Joins the River Granta at Hauxton, which rises in Essex.

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Coquet

40 miles / 64 km

Rises in the Cheviot Hills, Northumberland, traveling north to the North Sea at Amble.

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Dee (Cheshire)

Passes from Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) to Llangollen through Chester and into the sea.

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Dee (Scotland)

Travels from the Cairngorm Mountains to the North Sea at Aberdeen.

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Derwent

57 miles / 92 km

Flows south from the North Yorkshire moors, through Malton and joins the River Ouse south of Selby.

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Dove

40 miles / 65 km

Rises 4 miles from Buxton and flows south to join the Trent, near Burton.

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Fal

Flows into the Fal Estuary, Falmouth, Cornwall.

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Great Ouse

160 miles / 250 km

Its source is close to Brackley, in Northamptonshire, flowing eastwards through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, before meeting the Wash just north of King’s Lynn.

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Hamble

8 miles / 12 km

Travels from Botley to Southampton Water, at Hamble Point and Warsash.

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Manifold

Situated at the southern part of the Peak District in Staffordshire, England.

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Mersey

70 miles / 112 km

Formed by the merger of the Goyt and Tame rivers at Stockport, in north west England.

Flows west through Manchester, joining the Irwell at Flixton and the Weaver at Runcorn. Finally meets the Irish Sea at Liverpool Bay.

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Nidd

17 miles / 27 km

Flows through Yorkshire Dales National Park, in North Yorkshire, into the River Ouse near York.

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Nith

70 miles / 112 km

Flows from East Ayrshire, through Dumfries and Galloway, and into the Solway Firth.

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Severn

208 miles / 336 lm

The UK’s longest river rises in Ceredigion, west Wales, and flows east and then south into the Bristol Channel.

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Shannon

240 miles / 386 km

Ireland’s longest river starts in the Cuilcagh Mountains in County Cavan, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

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Spey

107 miles / 172 km

The 2^nd longest river in Scotland passes through Highland and Moray to the Moray Firth, near Buckie.

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Taf

31 miles / 50km

Flows through Carmarthenshire, in southwest Wales. Rises in the Preseli Hills and entersCarmarthen Bay, at the village of Laugharne.

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Tawe

30 miles / 48 km

Flows from the Black Mountain, south Powys, and enters the Bristol Channel at Swansea.

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Tay

120 miles 193 km

The longest river in Scotland, passes through Loch Tay and Perth to the Firth of Tay, meeting the North Sea.

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Tees

80 miles/ 130 km

From the Pennines in Cumbria, to the North Sea at Tees Bay, Middlesborough.

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Teign

30 miles / 48 km

River on Dartmoor, west of Chagford, and flows east into the English Channel at Teignmouth, Devon.

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Teme

Rises in Bryn Coch mid Wales, the Teme is the second largest tributary of the River Severn.

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Thames

210 miles / 338 km

The longest river in England flows through London. It is tidal as far as Teddington and rises in the Cotswold Hills.

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Trent

170 miles / 275 km

England’s 3^rd longest, rising in the south Pennines by the Staffordshire-Cheshire border, it flows through Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, joining the Ouse and entering the North Sea below Spurn Head.

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Truro

The River Truro travels from the Fal Estuary into Truro.

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Tweed

97 miles / 156 km

River rising in the southwest Scottish Borders, enters the North Sea at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. From Coldstream it forms the border between England and Scotland.

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Tyne

45 miles / 72 km

Formed by the coming together of the North Tyne and South Tyne near Hexham, Northumberland, and exiting the North Sea at Tynemouth.

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Tywi or Towy

Rises in the Cambrian Mountains of central Wales and moves southwest, finally entering Carmarthen Bay.

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Ure

50 miles / 80 km

Rises near the borders of North Yorkshire and Cumbria, and joins the River Swale near Boroughbridge to form the Ouse.

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Wear

67 miles / 107 km

Flows from Wearhead in the Pennines in County Durham to Bishop Auckland and then northeast past Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.

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Wye

130 miles / 208 km

Flows southeast and east through Powys and Hereford and Worcester, from its source in northeast Ceredigion, Wales.

Follows the Gwent-Gloucestershire border before joining the river Severn.

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Wye

9 miles / 15 km

Through central England, the river rises in Buckinghamshire’s Chiltern Hills and flows southeasterly into the Thames.

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Wye

20 miles / 32 km

Through Derbyshire, central England, rising near Buxton and meeting the Derwent, at Rowsley, in the south.