The sea-lock at Corpach has much to interest the visitor. The location is stunning with Britain’s highest mountain rising over 4,000 feet from sea level at Lochaber, itself a beautiful stretch of water with the Morven peninsula beyond. A cluster of buildings for the lock-keeper is little changed since Thomas Telford’s time, the characteristic pepper-pot lighthouse at the entrance to the sea-lock still directing traffic and capstans and winches from the days, not so long ago, when the canal locks were still manually operated. A Canadian flag flying beside the Saltire references the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, with which the Caledonian Canal shares a common history and a contemporary twinning arrangement. After allowing the Scottish government survey ship Sir John Murray to enter the canal at the turn of the tide, Lord of the Glens made its exit having completed a two-day transit from the North Sea coast to Atlantic waters.
Passing Fort William on our port side, a town with the dubious distinction of having the highest rainfall of any town in Britain, we continued along Loch Linnhe in fine conditions keeping an eye out for marine life between presentations from the staff.
Oban came into view at lunchtime, the Hutcheson Monument on the offshore island of Kerrara acting as a navigation marker as well as commemorating the man who inaugurated regular steamer services in the Hebrides back in 1835. Today Oban is a busy ferry terminal for Caledonian MacBrayne, the company operating the overwhelming majority of such ferry routes today. At the heart of Oban is its whisky distillery, built by Thomas Stevenson at the end of the eighteenth century and still occupying its original premises. Our tour of the distillery was a highlight of the day for many, especially for those who followed the tour with a hike up to McCaig’s Folly, an extravagant memorial to a banker built in the form of a Coliseum from which fine views can be had over the town and out to sea. Oban is a bustling place with good opportunities for retail therapy, whether buying expensive tartans or snacking on fresh seafood.
