Messing about on the canal

The morning was spent walking up the Steall Gorge and through the meadow to see the Steall falls. The gorge section was steep and carried a warning about fatalities which seemed a bit excessive. Although it was raining heavily it was less noticeable under the trees. Once out in the open meadow it was really driving and by the end we are pretty wet despite the goretex. After a trip into Fort William for a coffee and time to dry out we drove to Banavie on the Caledonian canal. Banavie is home to Neptune's staircase a flight of 8 locks. The most surprising thing was seeing large ocean going yachts coming through the locks. To complete the uniqueness of this location there are two swing bridges at the bottom which have open to allow the yachts through. One bridge carries the road and the other the rail - photo in extras. Mr B was busy getting some shots of the locks when the Jacobite steam passed through on its way to Mallaig over the Glenfinnan viaduct. I tried hard to catch his attention, shouting and gesticulating wildly but he either didn't notice or chose to ignore me so he missed it completely.

Once the excitement of all the locks and bridges opening and closing had abated we walked down to towpath to Corpach which is the start of the canal and the next station down the line. It's a lovely setting on both the canal and the loch with superb views over to Fort William and Ben Nevis (shrouded in cloud as usual today). Whilst in Corpach another Jacobite steam train came through and this time Mr B managed to see - shot in extras.

Finished a lovely day with an excellent meal in a seafood restaurant on the shores of Loch Leven.