History of the Caledonian Canal

Slicing through the Great Glen of the Scottish Highlands, Lochs Lochy, Oich, Ness and Dochfour lie in near-perfect alignment between Fort William and Inverness. Only relatively short artificial canals were required to link them together. The result? A 60-mile connection between western and eastern seawaters, with water supply guaranteed.

Various engineers were involved, but the names of William Jessop and Thomas Telford, who worked together until Jessop's death in 1814, usually head the plaudits for this spectacular feat of engineering - a feat in which their artistic inclinations were permitted to run riot. At more than 50 yards (46m) long, its locks were huge by the standards of the time. Many of them are arranged in 'staircases', interconnected locks in which the top gates of one lock are the bottom gates of the next.

The massive eight-lock flight at Banavie, known as Neptune's Staircase, is little short of breathtaking. The entire canal smacks of similar engineering feats on a grand scale, defying direct comparison with any other canal in Britain.

Its original purpose was to enable naval and other sailing vessels to avoid the treacherous Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath. Wildly overshooting Telford's estimates for both time and finances, it was partly complete in 1822, but a further 25 years were to pass before it was fully complete. By this time, the advent of bigger steamships had diminished the canal's role, and it was never a huge commercial success. It survived in part due to its importance in the Highland economy: indeed, it is still popular with cruisers, yachts and small naval vessels, eager to avoid the longer way round.

Although considered an inland navigation, the Caledonian Canal stands in a league of its own. At more than 750 feet (228m) the waters of Loch Ness are deeper than the North Sea and, quite apart from any concerns at encountering the eponymous monster, traversing it can be equivalent to a short sea-crossing - especially during inclement weather. In recent years improvements to lock operations and other modernisations have speeded passage and much has been done to promote the canal as a tourist attraction.

But it's not just canal history that you'll encounter on a journey along the Caledonian Canal. The Great Glen runs as a fault-line through Scottish culture and heritage, fought over for centuries and the scene of countless battles. Here are some of the locations worth exploring:

• **The Well of the Seven Heads

**On returning from France in 1663, the two sons of the dead McDonnel of Keppoch were murdered by seven kinsman left in charge by the old chief. Loyal clansmen revenged the sons, cutting off the traitors' heads before washing them in the stream now known as The Well of the Seven Heads. The clansmen presented the heads to McDonnel of Glengarry whose descendant erected one of the world's only monuments to an act of treachery and vengeance beside the stream, two hundred years later.

• **Invergarry Castle

**Once home to the McDonnel Chiefs, Invergarry Castle now stands in ruins on the loch shore. It was burned by Governement troops after the battle of Culloden in 1746, in retribution for the help given by McDonnel of Glengarry to Bonnie Prince Charlie. A distant descendant of that same chief lived in a mansion near the ruin, and was so displeased by the new canal that he went so far as to hold up the workmen and steal a boat! Even so, he was invited to the opening ceremony in 1822 at which he behaved impeccably!

• **The Dark Mile

**A great place to hide, this wooded glen leading to Loch Arkaig is steeped in Jacobite legend after Prince Charlie escaped along its 'dark mile' from the Battle of Culloden.

• **Urquhart Castle

** A Clan Grant stronghold when Montrose won his famous victory at Inverlochy, and still in Grant hands when Cromwell had a galley hauled to Loch Ness to quell turbulent Highlanders, Urquhart Castle stands with commanding presence guarding the Great Glen. Fought over by Robert the Bruce of Scotland and Edward I of England during the Wars of Independence in the 13th century, the castle was ruined when its own garrison blew it up to prevent it falling into Jacobite hands during the unrest that followed the Restoration of the Monarchy.