Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2020 14:58:48 GMT
Well this is one of those issues that you hear about every now and then, but I'd like to get an idea how much of a problem this is in the general lives of canal boaters, and how it influences your cruising decisions.
I'm referring of course to the creature known as the Scrote. Those youngsters- say 12 to 18, who are sometimes inclined to hang around canals, locks, bridges, etc.
I ask because my vague plan is to cruise most of the network, and that will involve going through some urban and semi-urban areas, which I understand are the home territory of the Scrote.
I've watched boating vlogs recently where they've spoken of having to get from the outskirts to the centre of Birmingham (for example) within a day, and if you get stuck for any reason you are at significant risk of intimidation, vandalism and maybe even assault from gangs of bored and antisocial youths.
Similarly, the last 8-10 miles of the L+L into Liverpool are effectively a 'no-stopping' zone, and there have been reports of problems around the big Wigan flight.
The impression I get is that if you want to cruise into any major town centre, you must aim to do the the final 10 miles or so in a day, and get into the secure moorings before they close for the night (if they close).
So do scrotes generally concern people, or is it just something you avoid from common sense, as you might avoid walking through a known problem housing estate with a bad crime record at 1am? Would the scrote issue stop you cruising into say Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham? are there other known hot spots, and how do people keep up to date with where the problems are?
I think London is a special case because of the sheer numbers of fellow boaters all around lots of the time, but I'm not interested in cruising there anyway.
In Robbie Cummings excellent and funny youtube vlogs he mentions how people had told him he should not stop in Blackburn centre, and then he adds that he was told he REALLY mustnt stop in Burnley, unless in a gated mooring. It does sound as if there are signficant areas of the L+L where you want to make sure you dont spend the night, which is a sad thought.
So I wanted to ask- do you folks avoid the big town centres anyway (e.g. because they're not particularly attractive to cruise anyway), and are scrotes a problem- or does the whole scrote thing not even get on your radar at all?
I feel as if I might have overused the S word now....
I'm referring of course to the creature known as the Scrote. Those youngsters- say 12 to 18, who are sometimes inclined to hang around canals, locks, bridges, etc.
I ask because my vague plan is to cruise most of the network, and that will involve going through some urban and semi-urban areas, which I understand are the home territory of the Scrote.
I've watched boating vlogs recently where they've spoken of having to get from the outskirts to the centre of Birmingham (for example) within a day, and if you get stuck for any reason you are at significant risk of intimidation, vandalism and maybe even assault from gangs of bored and antisocial youths.
Similarly, the last 8-10 miles of the L+L into Liverpool are effectively a 'no-stopping' zone, and there have been reports of problems around the big Wigan flight.
The impression I get is that if you want to cruise into any major town centre, you must aim to do the the final 10 miles or so in a day, and get into the secure moorings before they close for the night (if they close).
So do scrotes generally concern people, or is it just something you avoid from common sense, as you might avoid walking through a known problem housing estate with a bad crime record at 1am? Would the scrote issue stop you cruising into say Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham? are there other known hot spots, and how do people keep up to date with where the problems are?
I think London is a special case because of the sheer numbers of fellow boaters all around lots of the time, but I'm not interested in cruising there anyway.
In Robbie Cummings excellent and funny youtube vlogs he mentions how people had told him he should not stop in Blackburn centre, and then he adds that he was told he REALLY mustnt stop in Burnley, unless in a gated mooring. It does sound as if there are signficant areas of the L+L where you want to make sure you dont spend the night, which is a sad thought.
So I wanted to ask- do you folks avoid the big town centres anyway (e.g. because they're not particularly attractive to cruise anyway), and are scrotes a problem- or does the whole scrote thing not even get on your radar at all?
I feel as if I might have overused the S word now....