Neptune’s Staircase to Loch Ness: a Brig RIB adventure through the Caledonian Canal

It’s 8am on a bright and very still Friday morning and we are bobbing gently on the water by Corpach with a couple of yachts waiting to enter the sea lock onto the Caledonian Canal. This is the start of our third week in Scotland, the first staying and cruising around the Firth of Clyde. The second based in Oban and enjoying all that Mull and the surrounding waters could offer us.

My wife Jules and I had originally planned to drive our Brig RIB ‘Hurricane’ up Loch Linnhe this morning, but the forecast a couple of days back suggested otherwise, so we towed her up instead and launched a day early into Thomas Telford Marina in Corpach. It did mean a drive back to Oban for our last night in the cottage we’d been staying at. But no problem with an early start this morning and empty roads back to Corpach, we were on Hurricane by 8am stowing our gear. I knew we had to be at the lock gates when they opened at 8.30am.

We slipped our mooring and purred gently into position outside the lock gates and enjoyed the peace and anticipation of the week ahead as we sucked in the beautiful scenery which was highlighted by a blue sky and brilliant sunshine. Not what the forecast had said thank goodness!

I’d booked hotels and rooms along the Caledonian and back and reckoned we should make it to each one as long as there were no major delays along the way. Frankly it was early May 2024 and the canal had only been opened a short while but what would it be like, would there be space to moor at each stop, would this wonderful weather hold?

Right on time, the radio crackled, and the lock master instructed us to make our way into the first lock and we all moved slowly in. I didn’t have a clue how this would work and neither did the yachts, but we moored up in a line and I threaded our lines through a couple of rings. The lock keepers were really helpful and told us to hang on as the flow would be extreme.

We did and it was!

Once through the sea lock, we entered a fairly large basin before going up to the next two locks where we were told to raft against one of the yachts we’d gone in with. Why? Well, the flow of water would be strong in every lock we went through, especially Neptune’s Staircase in a short while, and we would be better off alongside the rearmost yacht. A rather lovely and very solid Najad 37 called Eriskay with owners Jim and Lisa on board.

This made sense and I went ashore as from here on, we were instructed to pull the boats through by hand, no motors. So, Jules stayed on Hurricane and kept her trimmed on the way up. I took the stern line from Eriskay, and we started the haul through lock one and two then it was a short cruise to the start of the mighty Neptune’s Staircase.

Just in front of these extraordinary locks runs the A830 from Fort William to Mallaig. And right next door is the west coast mainline also running to Mallaig. Both crossings were down as we waited for the steam train to make its grand entrance, puffing its way gracefully across the canal. What a sight and an extraordinary bit of good fortune to watch this! Not for the locals though, it happens every day!

Once across, the railway swing bridge started its slow rumble to open and the road bridge alongside also started to swing open. When it was clear to go, all three of us tip toed through into the first of eight of these massive staircase locks. The bridges closed and the lock gates behind us slowly came together and that was it, the journey up was about to start.

It was huge fun walking the yachts through with little Hurricane attached to this burly yacht and we became canal buddies for the day enjoying some great laughs and lashings of coffee and tea from our newfound friends.

Even in May, there were plenty of sightseers watching us pull the boats through each lock. The lock keepers are expert at what they do, and the entire staircase took just 90 minutes to get to the top where we moored up for a quick comfort break. When you enter the canal system, you’re given a key to the various facilities dotted along the Caledonian Canal – very handy!

We were aiming for our first stop, Glengarry Castle Hotel on the side of Loch Oich around 20 miles further on, but we were restricted to the 4mph limit on the canal so it could have taken a while. Mind you, 10 miles of this was Loch Lochy where we could go at full chat!

Our journey along this first part of the Caledonian was serene, there were hardly any other boats and we sipped coffee from our flasks and grazed on food we’d brought with us as we watched Ben Nevis slip by in the distance. Nothing quite like this down south.

After about 5 miles, we passed under Moy Bridge and came to the two locks at Gairlochy – in fact one of them seems to be permanently open so we were through the next one in about half an hour. The lock keepers knew we were coming which is brilliant and again, they were happy to see us and super helpful.

Once through, we motored slowly up to the start of Loch Lochy stretching out in front of us. We gave Hurricane her head and flew up the loch leaving a couple of yachts and a hire boat in our wake. It really was fabulous to go from a calm and demure potter along the canal to roaring across this stretch of beautiful water with huge hills falling into its edges either side. And then, we were at the other end, slowing down ready to go through the Laggan Lock.

They were busy with another boat coming down, so we sat on the small pontoon watching the world go by waiting our turn. Once through, we started our short journey towards Loch Oich along a short stretch of canal they have named Laggan Avenue with trees dipping their branches and leaves into the canal, creating a curtain of green either side. It was achingly beautiful with perfectly still water confusing the horizon and a sight that has been etched into both our memories. Honestly, pop your boat on a trailer and do this!

From there, it was straight into Loch Oich and we only had a couple of miles before keeping an eye out for the rather small pontoon we were aiming for. And there it was, tucked away in Castle Bay with no one on it. Result!

We moored up and popped Hurricane’s covers on, grabbed our overnight bags and walked through some lovely woods and came to our bed for the night. Glengarry Castle Hotel. A lovely old house that has been re-purposed into a traditional Scottish boutique yet traditional hotel in some lovely grounds. We booked in and they were fascinated that we had arrived by RIB, something they’d not had before. Once settled, we took a drink or two in the lounge before heading in for a simply delicious dinner in their restaurant, where we reflected on the day we’d had and what was to come – Loch Ness.

The following day would be fewer miles, so the pressure was off, and we enjoyed a leisurely start and traditional breakfast before packing our bags and checking out. The short walk through the garden and woods brought us back to Hurricane which was snug on her mooring. After dropping our gear off, we wandered up to the ruin of Glengarry Castle, just a stone’s throw away which is sadly a ruin, but its history is epic.

Back on the boat, we started her up and set off on our journey to Fort Augustus – it was only around 7 miles. We’d booked a room there for three nights at the Canal Centre, itself by the bottom of the 5 staircase locks there. We really wanted to descend the locks today so that we would have a full day tomorrow on Loch Ness itself, so didn’t want to miss the last group going down.

It was a lovely hour or so meandering along the Caledonian, going through a few locks on the way before we approached the top of the flight at Fort Augustus only to see the lock closing with a couple of yachts in it starting their journey down. Although it was early afternoon, I was pretty sure there would be another cycle of boats coming up ready for us to descend.

We moored up and walked along the towpath to join the holiday makers watching the yachts being walked through each lock and we bumped into Jim and Lisa on Eriskay who were at the bottom for a short stop before pressing on to Inverness and then across the North Sea to Norway for a few weeks as you do! They certainly had the perfect boat for it.

I started chatting with the lock keepers, a really friendly bunch and they said they would probably break for a spot of lunch, then bring some boats back up and should be ready for us in an hour or so. That was a great excuse for us to grab a light bite ourselves before going back up to Hurricane to chill and wait for our call where we found Slipstream. We had also shared Neptune’s Staircase with Stuart and Ann on their lovely sailing yacht, Slipstream, and they invited us on board for a drink and catch up on our travels along the canal.

Gaz, one of the lock keepers came up and waved us in, and we were followed by a skiff with six ladies from Findhorn Rowing Club rowing the length of the canal. Because we had tubes and were easy to grab hold of, it was decided they raft up against Hurricane for the journey down and Jules and I walked us both through each lock just loving the whole experience.

The journey down these five locks was gentle and we got to know Gaz, Emily, Kay and their team leader Gemma. They were fascinated by our adventure and travels so far, as RIBs are pretty rare on the canal. By the time we got to the bottom, we had offered them a trip out on Loch Ness after they finished for the day which they thought was a great idea. They’d be finished in an hour so Jules and I moored up and booked into our accommodation which, by the way, was a lovely room overlooking the locks just a two minute walk from Hurricane. Better than hoped for!

So, our first experience of the mighty Loch Ness was with these four lovely folk who we’d just met. They’d not been on a RIB before, but they had their lifejackets, and I gave them a quick safety briefing before setting off.

How lucky were we. The conditions were perfect with the gentlest of ripples on the water and the sun still shining behind us. Even with 6 of us, Hurricane picked up and was on the plane quickly and we scorched along a stretch of water that had, for so long, been on my wish list. It was a fabulous hour on the loch allowing them all a go on the helm before heading back to our pontoon where we said our goodbyes and headed for a huge fish and chips at the Lock Inn. A great end to a perfect day and we couldn’t wait to get back onto Ness tomorrow.

A very comfy night and we were up early. Didn’t want to miss a single beat of our only full day on Loch Ness and best of all, the weather delivered. Something I simply couldn’t factor in when I planned this adventure all those months ago! Calm and sunny albeit with a sharp chill, but we layered up and headed out with a few snacks and a couple of flasks.

There was no particular plan, but with plenty of fuel, we knew we could do the length and back with no problem, so we just pointed for the far end over the horizon. Mountains tumbled into the water both sides and we pretty much had the whole loch to ourselves. Zig zagging our way along, we passed a couple of small fishing vessels and then a tourist boat lumbering along until we came to Urquhart Castle.

Here’s a place we have been to a few times over the years, but never viewed it from the water. We could just sense the history that we knew about this place, and we stopped to take it in with a couple of other boats doing the same. Time for a brew and we cracked open the flasks and Kit Kats (other snacks are available!) and enjoyed the moment.

Shame there wasn’t a pontoon or somewhere to moor up and walk ashore, but it gave us a chance to sit on the boat and look at our options for the day ahead. We had enough signal to Google a perfect stop for lunch called An Talla, Gaelic for ‘the gathering place’, just a couple of miles up the canal at the far end of Loch Ness.

Before charging off though, I wanted to head into the tiny Urquhart Marina close by just to have a look. No pontoons although used by the hire boats for mooring stern to during a busy season, but not a soul in there today.

So onwards, and we hugged the northern shore as I was also curious about another small inlet just by the Clansman Hotel. This tiny harbour is used by Jacobite Cruises as a pick up and drop off point for passengers on their tour boats and I had wondered if it could be used by a boat like ours overnight if we stayed at the hotel. Sadly not. It was perfect for the large tour boats but a lot of awkward and rusty metal around the walls would have given me a sleepless night!

We pressed on and shortly came to the end of Loch Ness passing the very grand Aldourie Castle and then Bona Lighthouse marking the start of the River Ness. A two mile stretch in glorious sunshine before the river splits with the Caledonian Canal taking over at Dochgarroch Locks where we were headed. There was an empty spot to moor, and we headed up to An Talla which was a busy spot for those on the tourist boats and anyone heading up and down the canal.

We had a lazy lunch in the cafe/restaurant watching people come and go before succumbing to the rather premium gift shop! It did have some lovely stuff and we tucked the bits we bought safely into our dry sack.

When we got back to Hurricane, Eriskay was moored up close by, but Jim and Lisa weren’t to be seen, so we left a note in their cockpit wishing safe travels and started our journey back down the canal to Loch Ness.

We passed the magnificent Dochfour House built in 1780 which forms part of the Baillie estate and overlooks Loch Dochfour shortly before slipping back into the north end of Loch Ness. Going past Aldourie Castle again and its seemingly pink facade, you couldn’t help thinking about its history. Starting with a rectangular main block in the early 1600s, it extended in all directions in the 1860s creating the marvel that it is today. Stunning.

The wind had picked up slightly and with the full length of Loch Ness ahead of us, we climbed into our wets and headed south taking in the vast wilderness of this magnificent loch. We passed a lone sailing boat heading our way and that was about it until we got close to Urquhart Castle with its obligatory tourist boat also heading towards Fort Augustus, but other than that, we had the loch to ourselves.

What a day! The weather had been superb, the waters mild mannered and we had seen everything we had wanted to…other than Nessie who remained a no-show! So you can imagine our surprise when a tourist RIB went soaring past us with about 12 excited people on board waving to us. We throttled up and followed them in to our respective moorings at Fort Augustus and tucked Hurricane up for the night.

It was haggis with neaps and tatties that night with a few glasses of our favourite followed by a gentle wander around the now deserted locks. Fort Augustus teems with people during the day but is a peaceful place in the evening. But we were shattered, and it was time to hit the sack. Tomorrow was time to head back.

We didn’t need an early start and wandered around the locks to grab some breakfast and then found the fab little shop where Emily worked as a glass blower. We chose some mementos of our trip and Emily made us a little glass model of Nessie, a perfect reminder of our trip to Loch Ness!

Before going back up the locks, we headed back out onto Loch Ness for one last time, still calm, still sunny and we so enjoyed an hour taking it all in. We had done it. Brought our boat up all the way from Christchurch, travelled along the beautiful Caledonian Canal and ended up in Loch Ness and all during a week of high pressure and perfect weather. Lucky us! And we still had our journey back to enjoy.

We had left the lock crew to have lunch before starting our journey up to find we were their only customer! It was hilarious walking Hurricane through each lock with gongoozlers wondering if there was even a boat in the lock. But it all went smoothly and we said our goodbyes to Gaz, Emily and Gemma – Claire was working Laggan, so would see us tomorrow.

We re-traced our journey along the Caledonian running alongside the River Oich where we both joined Loch Oich and we headed to the far end for another stop at the Invergarry Castle Hotel. This time, our little pontoon had three hire boats on it! But there was enough room one side to squeeze in and with the covers on, we set off for the hotel.

The walk through the woods is enchanting and the hotel delivered up exactly what it had a few days earlier. Lovely and reassuringly expensive. But worth every penny.

After breakfast, we packed and walked back to Hurricane to find all the hire boats had gone – probably aiming for the first trip of the day down the staircase at Fort Augustus! It didn’t take long to get underway and it wasn’t long before we were going along Laggan Avenue with its green trees either side almost bowing as we went past. Serene.

We met Kay at Laggan Lock and chatted away as we went through. It was a shame we couldn’t stop longer, but I wanted to get to Neptune’s Staircase and ideally down these locks by tonight. Loch Lochy arrived, and it gave us a chance to blow the cobwebs away for half an hour passing the odd hire boat before arriving at Gairlochy Lock with the gates just shutting.

I had a chat with the lock keeper who was stopping for lunch and said we could go through in an hour. With nowhere to grab a bite to eat, we just sat on Hurricane enjoying the peace and quiet and the odd slug of coffee from our flasks – glad we had bought them. The hire boat we had overtaken on Lochy chugged in a little later and then, when the time came, we both went into the lock together.

From there, it was 4 knots and a gentle hour and a half to Banavie and the top of Neptune’s Staircase. Remarkably, the lock keeper had seen us, the lock was ready to go and he ushered us in. I looked behind and there was no sign of any other boats and there we were, just us in this ship-sized lock! I felt a little guilty, but that was nothing compared to what happened at the bottom.

So Jules and I hopped out and took Hurricane’s lines, the gate paddles were opened and we started our journey down, lock by lock. Again, gongoozlers peered over the edge to see what we were doing, and we all chuckled at the sight of Hurricane being gently pulled through each lock by us. It was a memorable 45 minutes!

At the bottom, the railway and road turntable bridges blocked the canal and even we couldn’t squeeze underneath. So buttons were pressed, lights flashed and beepers beeped then both bridges started to rumble very slowly open…just for us. As we went through, I doubt anyone could see us pass by leaving the drivers probably wondering what had just happened. But a hilarious memory for us and we headed to the basin before the sea lock where we moored for the night.

We walked up to the Moorings Hotel on the side of Neptune’s Staircase for our last night here where a few drinks and hearty meal hit the spot and my mind started to drift to our journey back to Christchurch.

When we arrived back at the boat in the morning, I couldn’t understand why it was very tight on her lines, almost hanging. We were on a canal. No tides.

Mercifully, I let them off and no damage done and then the penny dropped. There had been a yacht in the basin last night which had now gone, presumably through the last remaining lock – the sea lock. Perhaps the water in the basin had dropped slightly when the gates opened. I’ll never really know.

But the time came for us to go through ourselves and exit the Caledonian Canal. The weather was again superb offering up perfectly still waters with an early sun beaming down against a blue sky. I handed back our ‘facilities’ key to the canal office and we were out. It was low tide, so rather than recovering Hurricane onto her trailer we decided to get onto Loch Linnhe which had evaded us a few days earlier.

It was divine, we shot past the Corpach wreck, the ex-fishing boat MV Dayspring, that sits on the beach just past the sea lock having been delivered there by a storm back in 2011. We glided past and headed into the loch and enjoyed giving Hurricane her head before we knew we had to head back. After an hour, it was time for a coffee and we headed in to the visitor mooring at Fort William. We had the place to ourselves, paid our dues through the honesty box and wandered into town for a well needed brew.

The time came and we fired up Hurricane for her short trip back to Corpach Marina and recovery onto her trailer. The slipway there is really good, and we had her hosed down ready to go within an hour. Brian was there to see us on our way, and we headed to The Isles of Glencoe Hotel on Loch Leven for our final night in Scotland. Frankly it was only an hour’s drive with plenty of space to park our rig and settle in for the night before our long drive home.

Sipping a beer and reflecting on our three weeks in Scotland it was tricky to agree a highlight of this epic holiday.

Actually, no it wasn’t. The Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness was a staggering adventure supported by simply perfect weather that delivered exactly what we had hoped for.

And as we pondered over this revelation, I spied some pontoons newly installed by this perfectly situated hotel – absolutely perfect for a RIB……