Glenfinnan
Over breakfast we slipped our moorings at the top of the flight of locks at Fort Augustus and continued westward in our transit of the Caledonian Canal from North Sea to Atlantic Ocean. We had some scenic cruising, still gaining height until we reached the highest and arguably the most scenic section of the canal as we crossed Loch Oich and entered the narrow channel of Laggan Avenue.
For some, this had been a particularly adventurous morning, departing not on the ship but by kayak as far as Kytra and then following the ship in style aboard the Tobermory lifeboat. We had met the lifeboat crew the previous evening in Fort Augustus and invited them on board for cocktail hour; the lifeboat had been away for a refit and was returning home through the canal. We were invited to visit the lifeboat on Sunday next when we plan to be in Tobermory for the night.
With all back on board we had a presentation on the peoples who have contributed to the making of modern Scotland. Then, with the sky clearing, we went on deck to admire a rare view of the summit of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, beside which we were moored at Banavie, above Neptune’s Staircase, the final dramatic flight of seven locks down to the Atlantic sea lock at Corpach.
In the afternoon we visited the emblematic site of Glenfinnan with its imposing monument on the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard at the start of the fateful ’45 Jacobite Rising. We toured the tower and walked up to the viewpoint before returning to Corpach by train on the scenic West Highland Railway over the viaduct made famous by Harry Potter.
To the amusement to this historian, the visitor centre at Glenfinnan now promotes itself with a twin claim to fame, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Harry Potter!
