Ground Based VLBI Facilities -- the European and Global VLBI Network

There are at least four well known Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) networks that provide open access to astronomers around the world. These include the EVN, VLBA, CMVA and APT/LBA. In this paper I have chosen to focus on a sub-set of these facilities, in particular the European VLBI Network, both in stand-alone mode but also as a major component of a Global VLBI Network, involving MERLIN and the VLBA.