• Date: 26th - 29th June, 3rd -5th July 2015
• Price: 2 day £280.00 (per person) , 3 day £420.00 (per person)

Great Glen Sailaway – Caledonian Canal

The canal was built to provide a safe passage for ships travelling from the North Sea to the Atlantic coast. In the early 19th century it was a long and dangerous journey through the Pentland Firth and around Cape Wrath, made worse by the war with France. The building project also had the added advantage of providing much needed work for the highland population. Linking the lochs of the Great Glen, the Caledonian Canal provided a safe route for naval and merchant ships to avoid the treacherous Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath.

William Jessop and Thomas Telford were appointed as project engineers and construction began in 1803. It was expected to take just seven years to complete. To link the lochs of the Great Glen, 22 miles of artificial waterway had to be dug by hand and 28 huge locks constructed, big enough to take a battleship. Vast basins were also dug at each end to promote trade and industry.  At that time the canal was one of the largest civil engineering schemes ever undertaken in Britain. The canal was finally completed with great ceremony in 1822 but at twice the projected cost. The quality of the work was poor however – by 1844 major repairs were needed which closed the canal for three years.

This cruise was added to the 2014 programme when we were approached by 2 tall ship sailors who had the canal transit on their ‘bucket list’ and we were happy to help them tick this boat journey off, it proved very popular so we decided to add it to the 2015 programme also.

Please click the link below to read an article that was recently published in The Scotsman, Richard Byatt joined us for a Caledonian Canal Voyage and wrote an article about his adventure on Lizzie May.

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/travel-sailing-through-the-caledonian-canal-1-3633705