Caledonian Canal May 2016

[NickF]

as requested by Mrs Trackman in a previous thread I thought I would poat a few pictures and comments on my recent Caledonian Trip.

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=84283&hl=

 

What an amazing canal, so different to anything I have done before, three or four hours to cross Loch Ness it seems more like being at sea sometimes but you can have some tight moments on the canal section.

 

We found our Caley Cruiser really good and their hand over is exemplary. You set off from their base in convoy which is a bit weird but I think it is to reduce the number of openings on Tomnahurich Swing Bridge, once onto Loch Ness there is plenty of room to disperse! The only overnight mooring on Loch Ness is Urquart Harbour which is pay and display! £10 to moor and £4 for electric hook up, a bit pricey but it is I think the only place you have to pay.

We visited Urquart Castle which has its own pontoon

you have to moor on the North side of the pontoon as the trip boats use the south but its a spectacular spot and well worth the visit.

We also visited Foyers and walked up the hill to the waterfall and the cafe, even in a South west

wind the moorings were quite exposed and a bit rough, you certainly wouldn't want to be there overnight or in a North East wind.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Foyers+Falls+Power+Station/@57.2583432,-4.4883333,639m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x488f16f1086dc199:0xa5353573d4c685d8!8m2!3d57.2552153!4d-4.493723

 

At the far end of Loch Ness is Fort Augustus, Excellent showers and shore facilities and a huge pontoon below the locks, we had a really good meal at "The Boathouse" which is situated right at the end of the Loch with stunning views down Loch Ness. For Augustus has a staircase of five locks, they have a notice at the bottom telling you what time the next locking will be, the lock keepers are really friendly and efficient, the only odd thing is they make you pull the boat from chamber to chamber rather than motoring , I think it probably just keeps everything more under control. The Canal section above leads to Kyrta Locks and Cullochy Locks both of which are beautifully remote and have pontoons above and below for mooring.

 

After Cullochy you come onto Loch Oich which is much shallower than the others so you have to watch out for the marker buoys. (Leave green to starboard when heading North East), on our way back the wind was really strong down the Loch but we found the well of The seven Heads pontoon

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Well+of+the+Seven+Heads+-+Lochside+Larder/@57.052164,-4.7992147,619m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x488ed86996846a43:0x2d234a6ed5c9cf9a!8m2!3d57.052164!4d-4.797026

a bit more shelterd than The Great Glen Water Park which took the full force of the wind.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Well+of+the+Seven+Heads+-+Lochside+Larder/@57.046123,-4.7972525,641m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x488ed86996846a43:0x2d234a6ed5c9cf9a!8m2!3d57.052164!4d-4.797026

 

We also stopped at Glengarry Castle pontoon which is very sheltered but quite a tricky approach as you have to turn off the channel and exactly the right point.

 

At Fort William we moored at the top of Neptune's Staircase with views of Ben Nevis,

this was the only mooring that seemed busy and we had to squeeze in to get an electric hook up but there were plenty of moorings on the South Side without a hook up. We went on the Jacobite train and up into the Nevis range on the cable car.

 

 

All in all an amazing trip.

 

Mrs Trackman asked about shopping, there are suoermarkets in Inverness and Fort William but they are some walk from the canal, apart from that Fort Augustus is good with a supermarket and a butcher and lots of tourist shops, The well of the seven heads on Loch Oich claims to be The Lochside Larder but it doesn't have much in it! It does have a cafe though which is nice. In Foyers there is a small shop by the falls but that's a long walk from Loch Ness

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2016 by NickF

[rgreg]

Good stuff. This one's been on my list for a while.

[The Bearwood Boster]

We did this holiday last year but didn't get as far as Fort William as the weather was against us !☔☔Caley cruisers really are excellent and very friendly.Did you get a 'Well Done'sticker off a lady lock keeper for wearing your life jacket ? We also had a meal at the Boathouse where the food was yummy & the views fantastic.We did the steam train a few years ago & loved it.Glad you enjoyed your holiday,we certainly did.

Trina

[Alan de Enfield]

.Did you get a 'Well Done'sticker off a lady lock keeper for wearing your life jacket ?

 

 

 

It was 'Gold Stars' when we did it.

[Naughty Cal]

We are really looking forward to our trip up there next summer.

 

We have another boat the same as ours coming up at the same time as us now as well so we should have a fantastic holiday.

 

Looking forward to the canal, although Liam is not so keen on the idea of all the locks. But equally we are looking forward to the week on the West coast.

[haggis]

No need for Liam to worry about all the locks. They are all done for you.

 

haggis

[Naughty Cal]

No need for Liam to worry about all the locks. They are all done for you.

 

haggis

We know they are manned, he just isn't the greatest fan of locks. If I'm perfectly honest neither am I.

 

A picture of Neptune's Staircase nearly sent him over the edge!

[bizzard]

We know they are manned, he just isn't the greatest fan of locks. If I'm perfectly honest neither am I.

 

A picture of Neptune's Staircase nearly sent him over the edge!

Mmmm. Nearly sent him over the edge! Is it an afraid of heights thing with Liam or some kind of vertigo problem? Does he go all dizzy and wonky when peering down into a lock chamber? Could be inner ear trouble causing imbalance, does he suffer from partial deafness, his ears might need syringing out or even migraine. If he nearly goes over the edge but doesn't it might be best for him to creep up on the edge in case he does, on hands and knees to look over it, which one should always do when looking out from any high point or precipice with no hand rails to cling to, like the cliffs at Beachy Head. Or it might be best to blindfold him and lead him around the locks, yes, that should do the trick, what the eye doesn't see, and all that. Failing that he needs to perhaps gradually get used to heights, bit by bit like, like begin with standing on a chair for a few hours looking down like some folk do who are scared of mice, and then perhaps climbing into the loft without a ladder by using door knobs, lintels and pictures for hand and footholds. Once those are mastered then there's always cleaning the upstairs windows and roof repairs. If the symptoms still persist a trip in a hot air balloon is recommended or a spot of trapeze or high wire walking work in a circus, or ultimately become an astronaut, this should work, it cured the astronaut chap called Buzz Aldrins vertigo, which made him ever so pleased when he found that he could look down from a quarter of a million miles up in the air, when hitherto he couldn't look down whilst stood on his front door step!

Hope this helps with the problem.

Edited May 27, 2016 by bizzard

[NickF]

We did this holiday last year but didn't get as far as Fort William as the weather was against us !☔☔Caley cruisers really are excellent and very friendly.Did you get a 'Well Done'sticker off a lady lock keeper for wearing your life jacket ? We also had a meal at the Boathouse where the food was yummy & the views fantastic.We did the steam train a few years ago & loved it.Glad you enjoyed your holiday,we certainly did.

Trina

Yes I got one gold star, my son got two because the lockie was so impressed with his bollard capture as he captured (with his rope) a bollard about three feet higher than his head

[Mike J.E.W]

loved this trip when we did it 4 years ago with a Caley boat , lock ness was soooo rough though ,ride on the wild side !!!!!. great moorings and great food St Agut

 

would we do it again YES

[haggis]

We cruised the Caledonian canal (just having done the Crinan) on our little Sea Otter, GAMEBIRD several years ago. We launched in the sea a bit down the loch from the first lock and it took some sweet talking to get the lockie there to allow us to proceed. At that time there was a ban on narrow boats on the Caledonian. However, we convinced them that we were not novices and that as gamebird has a V bottom she was more stable than most narrow boats. It was a super journey with mixed weather and we had decided that if Loch Ness was not flat calm we would turn back. The forecast was for the wind to get up in 4 hours so we set off accompanied by a little cruiser who had volunteered to be our escort. Our speeds were evenly matched and we had a great trip with the wind just getting up for the last bit. We went right to the Inverness end (but not through the last lock) before going back up the flight and retrieving the boat at the boatyard there.

It was a memorable couple of weeks, cruising the Crinan for the second time (having been the first narrow boat to cruise the Crinan a few years before) then cruising the Caledonian.

 

haggis

[johnnie1uk]

I worked as a lockie for 3 years all along the Caley, I have fond memories of fitting 15 caley cruisers in the Fort Augustus locks at the same time. Give them my regards.

[Richard T]

Thanks for the info. We are going with Mr and Mrs Trackman next year. It will make a change to be on a fairly large cruiser instead of our normal tin tube!!

Sorry a quick question. Did you fit in the train trip into a one week hire or did you have 10days?

[NickF]

Thanks for the info. We are going with Mr and Mrs Trackman next year. It will make a change to be on a fairly large cruiser instead of our normal tin tube!!Sorry a quick question. Did you fit in the train trip into a one week hire or did you have 10days?

 

We fitted the train trip comfortably into a week. We spent two nights at Fort William so spent a whole dsy as tourists.