The 'visitor' con

I CAN assure your correspondent Gillian Moore that the Canal & River Trust do state that its canals and rivers get 360,000,000 visitors a year, which is clearly shown in its 'propaganda', writes Terry Palmer. [We have received a number of such emails, using this one as an example.]

It is indeed to convince MPs that they [canals and rivers] are very popular, and I expect there are those MPs who believe anything that is fed to them, you only have to listen to them spouting their statistics on radio and television.

Impossible number

But anyone with an ounce of common sense must realise just how impossible that number is, for as the correspondent points out it equates to 493 visitors to every mile of navigable canal and river every day, which is totally impossible, as any boater cruising the waterways will be aware.

For a while I moored my narrowboat on the Chesterfield Canal and during the two summers often took to the Trent heading up to Cromwell to the canals, which is 30 miles according to my log, then back again after an average of four weeks. And discussing it with the other two of the crew we can assure those at the Canal & River Trust that there were nowhere near the 14,790 visitors to those 30 miles, even allowing for any in the few and far between pubs, even 90 (the last two figures) would be stretching it. So that must mean that somewhere, perhaps in Birmingham or Manchester, there are double that number to 986 visitors a mile to make up the shortfall.

But as it is hissing it down with rain today, there will not be any, so that must mean there has to be double the number again to make up the further shortfall.  It really is crazy!