Scotland Overnight - Caledonian Canal

LOCHS

CALEDONIAN CANAL ROUTE

The Eastern End	The Moray Firth connects with the Caledonian Canal via the "staircased" Muirtown locks. These four locks connect the sea basin at Inverness with the River Ness, raising any ship 35 feet.Although no hired boats are allowed through the sea lock, the first place to hire is only a few hundred yards from the Muirhead Locks.
Lcoh Ness	The canal travels 3 miles along the River Ness into Lcoh Dochfor, and then into the celebrated Loch Ness. Along the 24 miles of this 800 feet deep loch (deeper than the North Sea), you can see the ruins of Urquhart Castle, and the mountains of the Highlands. It is, however, unlikely that you will see the Loch Ness monster.
Loch Oich	5 large locks take the canal up to the level of the River Oich, and views can be had of the beautiful Benedictine Abbey, and the traditional houses and shops of this town. Parallel for 4 miles to the river Oich, the canal then travels along Loch Oich for 5 miles through the imposing Laggan Cutting. The loch was deepened to allow large ships continuous throughfare along the canal, in an attempt to boost profitability.
Loch Lochy	The 2 locks here can incorporate a visit to a canal side pub, the difference being that this pub is actually in the water. After 11 miles of Loch Lochy, two more locks take you onto a stretch of canal parallel to the River Lochy, over the river Loy via a beautiful aqueduct, and your first view (if it is clear!) of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK. To protect this part of the canal from flooding due to the run-off from the sides of the mountains, you will see sluices and culverts.
Neptune's Staircase	Just north of Fort William, at Benavie, is the unique sucession of 8 locks, known as Neptune's Staircase. At the top there is a basin which is the best place for a view of Ben Nevis, and this is the end of the road for the hire boats. There is a shop and museum in the old saw mill, and then the final sea lock, hewn out of rock and over 200 feet long. This flows into the sea Loch Linnhe, which in turn flows into the Firth of Lorn and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean.