Page published 1 July 2002 

Site History

It all started in November 1998. There had been a thread in news:uk.rec.waterways in which a poster had referred to the "diminished coverage" of the new Nicholson Guides.

This was a reference to the fact that there were now seven new-style guides replacing the three previous editions.

A brief post in a new thread appeared....

Messages flowed back and forth, not without some humour as found so often in postings to in the newsgroup, about missing locks and such. Disappointingly, quite a number of these errors were repeated from previous editions. Some thirteen messages later someone came up with the now fairly obvious point!

Both Michael Wooding, then busy with the NABO site, and I responded in similar vein.

He said "I'll offer the web space and do the page preparation provided that others give the material. Or even others can do the page preparation?"

Here's my posting...

A few days later I was to post the following and the site was born. Since then the URL, as my own address has changed a couple of times. I never have insisted that I get a confirmation before publishing the update. I quickly realised that someone will soon let me know if the update is inaccurate or incomplete!

I got enough dummy updates and could quickly tell people to start sending me the real thing! This they did, and have been doing ever since.

Within a few months I was approached by Canal Boat and Inland Waterways magazine and asked if the site could be used as the basis for an article they planned. As a result, in August 1999, the site was quoted from extensively in a two page story, trailed on the front cover, "Update Your Nicholsons".

By now I was able to provide a stream of articles to news:uk.rec.waterways with subject lines along the lines of "Another 60 updates at the Waterways Guides site" or "Another 100+ Updates for Nicholson Guides".

A major revision of the site took place in September 2000 and recorded on the then newly started What's New page. An Imray Update pages was introduced along with "reprints" of all the information that the Middle Level Commissioners published to aid boaters using their waters. This meant that the site now provided updates to all the main interconnected inland waterways of England and Wales.

I know not everyone likes crawling round web sites trying to find the information they need. The "What's New" page was never intended to do more than indicate which pages were updated on which date, so a Nicholsons Updates Mail List was created, followed later by a similar service for Imray Updates. These are used to announce, quoting the exact wording, of all material newly posted on the site. Over 120 people now subscribe these lists. Not only are they helpful for those who like to get the information as soon as it is made available, but it is also useful to me. I frequently get clarification from list subscribers to the initial version of the update, so further improving the site.

It was also in September 2000 that a new section reviewing alternative guides was also introduced. It has been pleasing to find that a number of authors and publishers have felt it worthwhile sending me copies of their work to review. I really do enjoy receiving these. I hope they find my comments useful. It was not intended that the reviews should be exclusively mine. I welcome contributions from anyone with later editions than those reviewed and, of course, reviews of any guides not so far mentioned on the site.

It's been a pleasure maintaining this site and great to hear from all those who have become "virtual friends" though their support of the site. I hope I have now got all the names of those who have made contributions listed on the Credits page. If your name isn't there, do remind me. And thanks again!

Greg Chapman
Webmaster