Should We Stay or Should We Go?

Should We Stay or Should We Go? Laggan to Banavie!

The morning dawned with rain teaming down – a truly miserable sight. We found ourselves in a classic cruising dilemma: neither wanting to stay put in this dismal weather, nor particularly keen to move. We mooched around for a while, eventually pulling out our well-thumbed copy of the Skippers Guide to the Caledonian Canal to review our remaining potential stopping places. That settled it. As much as we loved the tranquil beauty of Laggan, we had to move on. There was still so much more of the canal to see, and we were eager to discover what lay ahead.

Around 1 pm, we slipped our lines from Laggan and headed towards Loch Lochy and our next overnight stop in Gairlochy. Laggan marks the highest point of the canal, so this was our first lock taking us down. We had two chambers to descend before entering Loch Lochy itself. This loch is the third deepest in Scotland, plunging to 162 meters (531 feet), surpassed only by Loch Morar (310 meters) and, of course, Loch Ness (227 meters). Given its proximity to Loch Ness, Loch Lochy has its own alleged history of monster sightings – perhaps Nessie has cousins!

The area around Laggan also holds a fascinating historical footnote: the Battle of the Shirts, fought here in July 1544. This skirmish was a brutal clash between two powerful Scottish clans, Clan Donald and Clan Fraser. Legend has it that the day was so exceptionally hot that many warriors shed their heavy armour, fighting instead in just their shirts – hence the rather evocative name!

Gairlochy's Charm and Ben Nevis's Majesty

As we approached the end of Loch Lochy, it appeared as though the water simply ran out. But in the distance, we spotted the second of the canal's three distinctive Pepperpot Lighthouses, highlighting the way into Gairlochy. Once through the small, narrow waterway, a compact basin opened up, with inviting pontoons on the port side. We executed a neat 180-degree turn with Halcyon Sea; we didn't want (or couldn't be bothered!) to swap all our fenders over.

Behind us, the magnificent Ben Nevis created a stunning backdrop, its summit shrouded in a mystical veil of mist. Ben Nevis, standing at 1,345 meters (4,413 feet), is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It's the eroded remnant of an ancient volcano, and its imposing presence dominates the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. While its peak is often cloud-capped, on clear days, it offers breathtaking panoramic views.

There was only one other boat in the basin, though a few others were clearly permanent residents. One of them, "Rosie," is owned by one of our Facebook followers, who had kindly asked us to check on his boat – or at least ensure it was still there and not just a mast sticking out of the water! We spent a peaceful night, and the next day, we moved on to Banavie. Our guide stated we had two locks to go through, but in fact, there was only one, followed by a swing bridge. The second swing bridge is conveniently open all day, one less obstacle to contend with. We meandered through the canal, enjoying the tranquil passage. We passed a very large vessel, the Bessie Ellen, a majestic tall ship listed on the national historic ships register as an important vessel to conserve. Built entirely of wood and 116 years old, she was coming towards us, and we had to slow down and move close to the bank to allow her to pass.

Banavie Buzz and a Marvellous Reunion

We reached Banavie, which was by far the busiest spot we had seen in the entire canal, and it initially seemed there was nowhere to berth. We pulled up alongside a wall normally reserved for much larger vessels. It wasn't long before a gentleman approached to chat. He had recognized Halcyon Sea, having followed our journey on Facebook – the power of social media never ceases to amaze us! We chatted for a while, and he very kindly offered to drive us to the supermarket.

A bit later, Nick spotted a motor cruiser coming alongside the same wall. He recognized the boat name: Marvellous! This was a boat we had been following on AIS since Chatham. We knew they were also circumnavigating the UK, but being a power vessel, they were well ahead of us. They had passed us further down the canal, heading towards Inverness, and we had thought we wouldn't actually get to meet them. It turned out they had gone through the canal and back again, just to say they had done it! Nick invited John and Mandy aboard Halcyon Sea for drinks that evening, and they readily accepted. It was fantastic hearing about their plans and where they had been, and a truly enjoyable evening was spent reminiscing about our own trip. They were taking the first run down Neptune's Staircase the next morning; we, being decidedly not early morning people, had opted for the later run. At the end of a wonderful evening, we bid farewell after asking them to sign our guest book, a growing collection of memories from our journey.Leia mais