ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Caledonian Canal in Inverness has its place in history books as walk marks 200-year anniversary
For years, I’ve wondered about the remains of a wooden hull that can only be seen at low tide in the mud flats close to the Clachnaharry sea lock on the Caledonian Canal.
There must be a story behind the few wooden remnants of whatever vessel came to its demise in the Beauly Firth at some point in the distant past.
It’s now 200 years since the canal was officially opened – on October 23, 1822, to be exact – and there are many hidden tales along the route of this 60-mile waterway that links Corpach near Fort William to Clachnaharry, on the edge of Inverness.
Using the natural waterways along the Great Glen, including the length of Loch Ness, the Caledonian Canal was built wide and deep enough to accommodate Royal Navy gun frigates during the Napoleonic Wars. It meant that ships were able to avoid the stormy Pentland Firth as well as keeping clear of the French fleet.
It helps to explain why we have such a stunning canal in the Highlands, almost river-like, compared to some of the narrower ones seen around the central belt.
Consisting of 29 locks along its length, the lock at Clachnaharry Works – not the sea lock – was the first to be completed, in 1807, followed by the short staircase at Muirtown in 1809. The sea lock posed a more formidable challenge, being built on soft mud, but it was completed in 1812 and, while the full length of the canal was not opened until 1822, the stretch from here to Loch Ness was in operation from 1818.
On Friday, I joined Andrew Lucas of High Life Highland (HLH) libraries and John Orr, one of HLH’s countryside rangers, as they led a group walk around the Muirtown basin on the canal.
The event was part of celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the scheduled monument, which is largely credited to the illustrious engineer Thomas Telford, though early designs for the canal were first produced in 1773 by James Watt, and Telford worked alongside his consultant William Jessop when work finally began in 1803.
Even on this short circuit of the basin – a walk of no more than a mile-and-a-half – there is so much to discover about the history of the canal and of Inverness. And Andrew is keen to share his well-researched knowledge of the area, much of which comes from the excellent resources available at Inverness Library, where a display about the canal and Telford can be seen, as well as a Lego model of this part of the canal.
The first thing I learned on the walk was about an innocuous wall that I have cycled, run and walked past on countless occasions. Apparently, this is all that remains of a whisky distillery, one of two that were once situated on Telford Street – namely the Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor distilleries.
A number of historic buildings remain along the waterway, and Andrew pointed out some of the few houses that would have existed as the workmen toiled away to create this artificial shipping lane. Beside the railway box at Clachnaharry, the rather grand ‘cottage’ is where Telford would stay on his visits to oversee the construction work on the canal. Further along at Tomnahurich, the bridge keeper’s cottage dates from 1813.
On our way down the west bank of the canal, after pausing to take a look at the sadly crumbling scale model of the Titanic which was once a unique little tea room, John shared some knowledge of the wildlife that can be spotted on this part of the canal.
Otters are a regular on the canal (I’ve spotted them myself in the past) and John tells us about grebes and other visiting birds that enjoy this water. As he speaks, a sparrowhawk darts over the water, seeking to escape the close attention of a chasing crow with some nimble moves until it finds solace in the bushes beyond.
The canal is a real corridor for wildlife in this growing city – 200 years after it was built to bring economic prosperity and growth to the Highlands, it now offers a peaceful place for city dwellers like myself to enjoy a spot of nature on our doorsteps.
We stop at the Clachnaharry Works lock and look over the railway bridge to the sea lock. The 19th-century solution to the problem of building the sea lock was to use the spoil from the inland excavations and dump it on the mud to create a spit out into the firth – then, once it had settled, dig out this stretch of canal on its now firmer foundations.
The question of the nearby shipwreck comes up as we are close to the spot where it can usually be seen. We learn that an incident on April 2, 1881, saw two schooners get entangled when entering the sea lock. The Regent, carrying coal from Northumberland to Inverness, and Progress, taking potatoes from Cromarty to Cardiff, both became wrecked and sank as the tide went out.
Three weeks later they were raised and left on the mud flats close to the entrance to the canal, where their remains intrigue the unknowing passer-by to this day.
Top stories
-
Time limit call after high radon levels discovered at Inverness Justice Centre
-
Calls for urgent work at Nairn Harbour as locals worry popular tourist spot is being ‘neglected’
-
WATCH: Nairn MP calls for UK Government to support Scotch Whisky industry
-
New community-run café is perfect starting point for Loch Morlich walk
There’s just time on our return up the far bank to stop at the Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, where a variety of paths offer a chance to spot some wonderful wildlife including otter, deer, herons and even dolphins. Today there are dozens of herons standing in the swamp as we continue along the towpath, past the new Treehouse building, which will add another dimension to the community offering in this part of the city.
Inverness has changed massively in the last 200 years, but a look back at the history of the Caledonian Canal shows its value to the city – its people and its wildlife – continues to this day.