Fort Augustus

Finally we got through the bridge at Gairlochy this morning. The mechanism to open it is still broken but they devised a way to move it by jacking it up so a few boats could go through. There seemed to be lots of Scottish Canal staff there working on the problem.

The picture shows us going past this venerable but troublesome bridge. We then had a fine journey down the canal. We had a fair wind and sailed down Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. Lock Oich is the highest point in the canal, about 100 ft above sea level. We had intermittent rain all day  with an exceptionally heavy rain squall on Loch Oich.

However the scenery in the Canal is spectacular and we were pleased to be making progress at last. We are now at Fort Augustus, about half way down the canal, and on the edge of Loch Ness. The lock keepers go home at 5pm so we can make no further progress today. We had a pleasant supper in a restaurant overlooking the Loch.