The Caledonian Canal, engineered by Thomas Telford, was built between 1803 and 1822, linking Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east along the Great Gen. It comprises 22 miles of excavated canal and 38 miles of loch – Lochs Locky, Oich, Ness and Dochfour. It was sized to enable 32-gun frigates to cross the country while avoiding the hazards of the Pentland Firth and the North Atlantic.

Carol and I travelled the length of the Canal aboard Ros Crana, a 1962-built Dutch barge originally used to carry cement. It has been shortened by 3m to fit in the locks, equipped with six comfortable, en-suite double cabins, a saloon and dining room and is operated by a crew of four.

We had travelled up to Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper and joined Ros Crana at 2.00pm on Saturday. Summer had clearly left Scotland, though the morning rain was drying away. We met the crew and our fellow guests and got under way. The 5 mph pace would be familiar to any narrow boat owner, but the space on board threatened us with agoraphobia.

The cruise lasted seven days, an average of only 8½ miles per day which gave lots of time for the various activities, there being opportunities to walk or cycle the Great Glen and, weather permitting, canoe or sail in the lochs. All meals were provided and the quality was excellent, from the breakfast porridge to the after dinner cheese board and Chef Martin was perhaps the most important member of the crew!

All crew members were friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and did their best to ensure everyone enjoyed the cruise. Which brings me to the feature which distinguished this holiday: the eleven guests blended like long-lost friends and developed a real team spirit.

So would I recommend the company? Yes, of course, although we didn’t see Nessie this time. More information can be found at www.caledonian-discovery.co.uk .

Mike Jones
nb Farndon
25 August 2014