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I offer talks about the waterways to any groups who may be
interested. Unless otherwise indicated, most of these talks are about
one-and-a-half hours long, but the length can be adjusted to suit. Apart from
the shorter ones, they work well with an interval in the middle, if that's
what's wanted. All are illustrated with slides.
Click on one of these to go
to the appropriate section :-
[Talks aimed at general
audiences]
[Talks aimed at audiences with some
previous knowledge of the waterways]
[Talks on
individual waterways or areas]
[Arrangements
for talks] 
TALKS AIMED AT GENERAL AUDIENCES
ENJOYING THE WATERWAYS
For
audiences who are meeting the waterways for the first time.
INTRODUCING THE WATERWAYS
A shorter version of the above -- about 45 minutes.
THE INLAND WATERWAYS
ASSOCIATION
Short talk (about 30 minutes) about the work of IWA.
OUTLINE OF WATERWAYS
HISTORY
Shorter 1-part version of the two fuller talks on the subject
listed in the next section.
WATERWAYS OF LONDON
A
short talk (an hour, or as short as 30 minutes, if you wish).
WATERWAYS AROUND LONDON
An extended version of the above to the normal 90 minute length. As well as the
waterways of London proper, it also includes the Rivers Wey, Lee and Stort.
LONDON WATERWAYS & THE LONDON
CANAL MUSEUM
Another variation on the same theme at my normal 90
minute length, or I've got a shortyer version at 45 minutes.
HOW THE CANALS
WORK
A look at waterway structures (locks, bridges, reservoirs etc) to
see what they are for.
PLANNING FOR A LIFE
AFLOAT
A brief historical introduction about living on narrow-boats
followed by the story of designing our current live-aboard boat.
LIVING AFLOAT - AT LAST
A
sequel to the above, this is a diary of our first year as live-aboard
continuous cruisers.
FLOWERS OF THE
CANALS
There's no real "story" to this one - it's just a slide-show of
waterside plants.
TALKS AIMED AT AUDIENCES WITH
SOME PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF WATERWAYS
WATERWAYS RELICS, ONE-OFFS AND
ODDITIES
Designed originally for IWA Branch Socials. The content
varies each time I give it, but centres on my own boating reminiscences from
the 1970s onwards. The length can be adjusted to suit your
requirements.
NB This talk overlaps very
substantially with the next-listed.
SOME BOATING IN THE
1970s
The story of my early years of boating, 1972-79, first in
hire-boats then in our own, highly idiosyncratic, first boat.
WORKING BOATS OF THE INLAND
WATERWAYS
A historical look at working boats from coracles through
sailing barges and narrowboats to modern hire-boats.
HISTORIC NARROWBOATS
Shorter (about 1 hour) and more limited in scope than the above, as the name
suggests.
OUTLINE HISTORY OF BRITAIN'S
WATERWAYS -
PART 1 : BUILDING THE WATERWAYS
From Roman times to the
mid-19th century
OUTLINE HISTORY OF BRITAIN'S
WATERWAYS -
PART 2 : RAILWAY COMPETITION, DECLINE AND RECOVERY
From
the mid-19th Century to the 1968 Transport Act and the modern age of
restoration. A good follow-up to the previous talk.
RAILWAY AND CANAL COMPETITION
AND COLLABORATION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
A more detailed look at
part of the subject of the previous talk.
TALKS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL CANALS OR
AREAS
(mainly historical in content)
THE BIRMINGHAM CANAL
NAVIGATIONS
From the beginning of the canal age
to the last busy working canals.
THE KENNET AND AVON CANAL
The story of two river navigations and a canal that linked them to form a
southern route across England.
THE GREAT GRAND UNION
An
outline history of all the waterways that became parts of the Grand Union Canal
in the merger of 1928 - 31.
THE GRAND JUNCTION CANAL
A shorter version of the above concentrating on the line from Brentford to
Braunston.
WATERWAYS TOWARDS LONDON
The history of the various canals and river navigations that meet in London.
THE LEEDS & LIVERPOOL
CANAL
A major cross-country route that took decades to build, with
many changes of plan on the way.
SOME FENLAND WATERWAYS
Shorter talk (about 1 hour) covering the Rivers Nene & Great Ouse and the
Middle Level Navigations : unusual for me as it's more travelogue than
historical.
THE SHROPSHIRE
UNION CANALS
History of a very diverse group of
canals which ended up amalgamating and flourished under railway
ownership.
LONDON'S EAST
END WATERWAYS AND THE OLYMPICS
London's least-known waterways, and the
cradle of London's industry.
This talk was up-dated in 2007 to take account
of the coming development of the Olympic complex in the area concerned.
THE OXFORD CANAL
History
and a photographic tour of one of England's most popular cruising
waterways..
ARRANGEMENTS FOR TALKS
My fee is negotiable, depending in part on the size of the
expected audience.
(No fee to IWA Branches or other waterway-related
charities).
Nowadays I'm a continuous cruiser, but willing to travel
to give talks. I try to arange dates that fit in with my cruising plans so that
I don't have too far to travel, but that's not always possible. If I have to
travel any significant distance for an evening meeting some way from where I'm
based at the time, then I'd welcome the offer of a bed for the night.
I travel by public transport, so my expenses will usually
be a rail fare.
I am in well advanced in the process of re-casting all my
talks using digital projection, and will bring my own projector & lap-top
computer. As I travel by public transport, I will rely on my hosts to provide a
projector screen.
If you would like to book me to give a talk,
click here to e-mail me.
Please book well in advance, in order to aim for a date when I'll be in your
part of the country.
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