Caledonian Canal Day 4: Best day so far

 It's beautifully calm with no sign of rain when we start the day at Cullochy Lock.

Morning!

By the time we've had breakfast the lock is operating and the two women who run it call us in.

Cullochy Lock

 I've learned something from my throwing failures yesterday, and the lock keeper tells me that my bow line throw is the best throw she's had all week. Once through the lock we head toward a swing bridge and have to wait a bit mid-canal for it to open. Now we enter Loch Oich, the smallest of the three main lochs in the Great Glen, shallow, narrow in places but very pretty. For once we don't need the windscreen wipers going and we can take photos without having to stand in the rain.

Scenery, without rain

We are about to tie up on a pontoon as we approach Laggan Swing Bridge when we realise that it's opening and get a thumbs up from the bridge keeper. In the process of not-quite-tying-up we finish up at right angles to the canal, but Peter executes a neat 270 degree turn to bring us back in line with the bridge opening. We head through and find there is a big barge on the other side who should have had right of way (as the bridge opened towards us), but it's too late and no one seems to care.

Laggan Avenue

From here we go through one of the loveliest sections of our journey, Laggan Avenue. When this canal was dug, they had problems with the sides and trees were planted along the length to stabilise the banks. We have this green corridor all to ourselves, so we can go through at a leisurely pace. We have to wait for the locks at the other end, and we have time for a coffee ashore before we go on through tiny Ceann Lock and into Loch Lochy. This seems a strange name for a loch, rather like calling a boat Boaty MacBoatface. It's big enough for a bit of wave action, but not as rough as Loch Ness was - minimal spray on the windscreen. I love the colour of Scotland - the steep hillsides rising from the lochs are covered in a tapestry of muted greens, with occasional bright green fields at the water's edge.

The muted greens of Scottish hills

Kayakers on Loch Lochy, with sail up

At the other end of Loch Lochy is another lock and swing bridge. When we tie up we're told by the lock keeper that the swing bridge is stuck, and until an engineer comes to fix it, we can't go through. Several of the convoy of boats that got ahead of us yesterday when we missed a chance to go into Kytra lock are now in the Gairlochy lock, where they have been for some time. Once again, we're pleased we were too slow yesterday - we had Laggan Avenue to ourselves, and now we can tie up at a pontoon and make ourselves lunch while we wait for some action. Eventually the lock-keepers fill the lock again so that the boats in it can reverse out and also moor while they wait, rather than being stuck in the lock. As they come out and more boats come from Laggan, the mooring places fill up - we're glad we had an easy option when we arrived.

Some time later when Peter has just gone below to have a post-prandial zizz and I'm not paying attention, Peter realises that the boats around us are moving. Clearly the bridge problem has been resolved and boats are re-entering the lock. We rapidly organise ourselves and are just in time to be the last boat into the lock. When the lock opens we happily let the other five boats go ahead. For a little while we try to keep pace with them because there is one more bridge ahead, but when we get there we find it open and it looks as though that's its normal state. So we slow down and let the other boats disappear from view - why do people have to rush?

Another pleasant stretch of canal lined with greenery and we come to Banavie, where there is a famous 7-lock sequence called "Neptune's staircase", which takes you down to Loch Linnie and sea level. The pontoons near the locks are full, but there is room for us between two yachts a bit further back. We're just about to go in to tie up when we realise that a boat coming the other way is heading for the same space. We feel it would be a bit rude to go ahead of him, as he has clearly turned around to come back to it, so we also do a turn and come back to where there is still room behind him. It's a bit tricky to get into a space that's just long enough, but the people who went in ahead take our lines and help us in.

As soon as we're secure we walk to see the staircase. It's too late in the day to see anyone going through, but it's still an impressive sight. We go down one side, watch a train crossing the canal on its way to Fort William, then back up the other side, with a splendid view of Ben Nevis to the south. There is even a tiny patch of sunlight on the hills.

Train at Banavie

Neptune's staircase, from the bottom

Ben Nevis

Look! Sunlight on the hills

Even though it was cloudy and the maximum temperature was only 16 degrees, today was our best weather. Sadly, it goes pearshaped again with lots more rain starting at 10pm tonight and continuing for the next three days. On our last day the forecast maximum is 11 degrees. Let's hope they're wrong!