I attended the Skipton Rally in support of SOW. The boats that attended were moored in the entrance to the Springs Branch and opposite on the visitor moorings. There were about a dozen in total, many having the large SOW poster in a window and further supporting documentation. A gathering of about 15 supporters mustered at just before 1000 and photos were taken beside the restaurant boats.
We all went to find good positions in the town (it's also market day and lots of visitors) to try and give an awareness of the problem and to get the petition forms signed. Numerous people had read the Craven Herald and had seen the article on Friday and many more had heard news on TV or radio, many others were aware but did not know the details. Many took fliers so that they could find out more. I had numerous people who signed my petition forms want to talk of their experiences on the water, some were fishermen who were woried about their costs for fishing going up, some were cyclists who were woried that the towpaths would go into disrepair and others wanted to talk of their holidays on the cut. One of the boaters was beside his boat and getting the towpath users to sign the petition, the towpath at this point gets many dog walkers and people walking to the shops. >From talking to some of the other supporters betwen us all we have got a good number of signatures on the petition, and will hopefully get some more to write to their MP's. Terry
