Caledonian Canal Picspam

More holiday pics! Caledonian Canal this time. The canal, which runs from Inverness to Fort William, was built by Thomas Telford and was commissioned at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in order to provide a safe shipping route for naval and commercial vessels, avoiding the dangerous waters of Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth. However the project took much longer to complete than intended, by the time canal opened in 1822 the wars were long over and the new steam ships were too large to use the waterway. Despite the canal's lack of commercial success it became a popular tourist route as it links together the four lochs of the Highlands' spectacular Great Glen: Loch Ness, Loch Oich, Loch Lochy and Loch Linne.

This is the second time we've sailed the canal, and both times we've hired cruisers from Caley Cruisers who are quite fabulous people. Last time partner and I did it, there was just the two of us in a skittish little cruiser with no keel and an outboard propeller. This time we had two friends and three kids with us (two ships mice and a midshipman) and we had a large and very swanky cruiser that sailed like a dream. Bow thrusters are very handy for getting in and out of locks I can tell you!

(Link to gallery here)



( Caledonian Canal )