2 September 2009: Neptune's Staircase

The Caledonian Canal was designed by celebrated engineer Thomas Telford.  Built between 1803 and 1822, it links the east coast of Scotland at Inverness to the west coast at Corpach near Fort William.  Only a third of its length is manmade, the rest is made up of the lochs of the Great Glen – Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy.  Neptune’s Staircase at Banavie is the longest staircase lock in the Britain.  Comprising eight locks, it takes a boat around 90 minutes to be lifted 64 feet up from one end to the other.

Sadly the canal was never a commercial success because it was too shallow.  By the time it was deepened in 1847, most ships were too big and continued to use the sea route.  Today the canal is mostly used by pleasure craft.