Wi-fi at Blisworth and Gayton Marina

Granny Buttons was outside Blisworth Marina overnight, outside and it's basking in a strong 3G signal from an O2 transmitter. 

I had my boat upgraded with a fair bit of communications equipment over the weekend, and technically it's working well, but I can't go into detail until I've sorted out all the teething problems. 

Since I last came this way in February BW has removed most of the visitor moorings outside Blisworth Marina, presumably to make egress easier (pictured right).  You aren't allowed to moor there any more, except for one single space at the end, by the bypass bridge.  Even that was perhaps an oversight. 

I think they've gone too far - I reckon there's still room for a couple more 60ft spaces there, one either side of the entrance.

Blisworth Marina has wifi, but if you are passing through it's nothing to email home about; it's for moorers only.  I don't know how strong, nor how fast it is.  However, it is free to moorers, which is as it should be.

The nearby Gayton Marina has an expensive 3rd-party wifi service (from www.ineedbroadband.co.uk, with one of those rip-off 0870 contact numbers),  but  handily there's a mobile phone mast looming over the marina and it's got a strong O2 3G signal.  

Wireless internet is the great frustration of boating.  I still think it should be free - like toilets and tap water and towpath walks - and one day it inevitably will be, because the marginal cost is zero and the social benefits are huge. 

But you try telling that to marina owners, who as a breed don't know their internet access from their elbow.   Of course, they know about the benefits of making toilets free, because they are acutely aware of the bottom line.

Anyway, after a day of on-off rain, it was good to see a glorious sunset, one of those classical 'old master' twilights where the sun peeks out from distant layers of clouds. 

I can't help it; never mind the sunset itself, the light it casts on the rest of the landscape always drives me to run inside and fetch my camera.

Comments

[Andrew Denny]

Pete,
Either you are winding me/us up, tongue in cheek, or you don't understand what it does.

It's not a leisure thing. It's not for idle social use. It's what allows me to work and earn my living. It's a modern tool of my trade.

I suspect many horse boaters would have scoffed as you do, about the pointless obssession of diesel engineers with their engines.

I don't watch TV, and I've no idea what those other things are that you mention, sorry.

(sent via phone - tel 07788 973733)

[Pete Brotherton]

I cannot for the life of me see why people get so obsessed with WiFi on the cut! Surely the whole point of time away on a boat is to get away from all the stress of life and unwind, relax, refresh etc, who needs internet access.If you cannot live without all the gear,large plasma tv's internet, wii games then why not just stay at home for the holiday and use all the kit there?

[Dave Edwards]

When we had a mooring at Blisworth Marina, the WiFi signal was so weak you had to sit at the picnic table outside the office to get a signal. Maybe they now have a bigger aerial. They also had a net-nanny barrier to prevent us from accessing subversive sites such as Facebook.

Fantastic photos as usual Andrew.

[eeyore]

Lovely picture. I missed it, unfortunately, behind the hedges here on the S Oxford.