The summer sailing season of 2023 has turned into the summer of canals.  After transiting the Kiel Canal in May on our way north to Scandinavia, we took the Trollhattan Canal in June into Lake Vanern, and back to sea level, in western Sweden.

After entering the Caledonian Canal via the Clachnaharry Sea Lock we tied up at Seaport Marina in Inverness for the first night
With Oso tied up at the dock we walked back along the canal to check out the locks we had just transited
Just after Seaport Marina we passed through a swing bridge and then a set of four locks called the Muirtown Flight
Urquhart Castle on the shore of Lock Ness
Anchored in Loch Ness – the bottom was quite steep so we took a line to shore to keep the anchor pulling ‘uphill’ and to keep from swinging into deep water
Peaceful motoring across Loch Ness- always on the lookout for Nessie

Now in Scotland, the next canal adventure is the Caledonian Canal.  Running about 60 miles roughly northeast to southwest, the Caledonian Canal traverses the Great Glen in the Scottish Highlands.  Designed by Thomas Telford (also responsible for St Katharine Docks in London), about a third of the canal is man-made, while the other two-thirds traverses a series of natural lakes (or lochs, since we’re in Scotland) that lie along the fault line that forms the Great Glen.  The most famous (and probably prettiest) of the lochs is Loch Ness, but we also crossed Loch Dochfour, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy.

Five lock flight at Fort Augustus
Mike chatting with the friendly lock keeper in Fort Augustus
Refueling Oso’s crew at the Lock Inn after the Fort Augustus Flight
Sharing Kytra Lock with several rental boats
Angie handling the bow line
Cullochy Lock

The practice that we got in managing a boat in locks while in the Kiel and Trollhattan Canals paid off in the Caledonian, as there are a total of 29 locks to navigate, in addition to passing 10 opening bridges.  Luckily for us, the locks are all manned by friendly lock-keepers who are happy to help with shorelines and share local knowledge.

Heading through the open Aberchalder Swing Bridge into Loch Oich
A beautiful day in Lock Oich
Driving Oso through the forest
Lovely tree lined section of the canal
Enjoying a pint on the Eagle Barge before entering Laggan Locks into Loch Lochy

The scenery through the canal is outstanding, with the rounded mountains of the Scottish Highlands looming over the tree-lined waterway.  We had mostly good weather during the transit, and the few misty mornings we had just added to the mystique of the surroundings.  The pace of travel is also nice – we took a full week to transit the canal, so averaged only 10 miles per day.

Gairlochy Lock
Going down in Gairlochy
Waiting for the doors to open to exit Gairlochy
Neptune’s Staircase – set of eight locks in Banavie
Corpach Sea Lock- where Oso exited the Caledonian Canal
Back at anchor with a view of Ben Nevis after a successful transit of the Caledonian Canal

The only thing we missed during our transit was a glimpse of Nessie – perhaps next time!