Locks and lochs

It was a wet and windless start to this morning in Cromarty when we left the mooring at 0700. We motored out of the entrance to Cromarty Firth against a slight tide, but once on our way to Inverness we had a good tide with us - a knot a a half most of the time, but passing Chanonry Point we had 4 knots of tide with us.

Chanonry point is one of the best places in the UK to go dolphin spotting from the land, and even at around 0830 in the morning there were a small group of people out to see them. We weren't disappointed either, with three groups of dolphins around Pixie as she passed by.

We slowed to 4 knots, but we were still making 6 knots over the ground, and we were in danger of getting to the sealock of the Caledonian canal too early, when a strong cross tide would be flowing over the entrance. We arrived at 1030 ish.

In the end we had to wait until 1045 for a 50 foot boat to arrive before we could enter the lock. We were welcomed by the Clachnaharry lock keeper who talked us through what to do and how to do it. Giving us a gentle induction into the process of rising in a lock. With the water at canal height we were all invited inside to pay for the transit permit to allow Pixie to travel on the British Waterways Canal. At £16.80 per metre for an 8 day pass, it's not cheap, but it will take us to the west coast of Scotland to the point where we were almost two months ago. So in that respect £160 odd pounds seems quite reasonable.






Before we entered the canal it had been raining, but once in the sea lock it stopped. Initally our plan was to stop at the marina and explore Inverness, but with the sun out and a couple of boats going up the Muirtown flight, it made sense to continue up with them, otherwise we would have had to wait for a boat coming down before we could climb the flight. A lock is two lock gates that enable a boat to travel up or down different levels of water, like getting into a lift. A flight is where the top lock gate is the bottom lock gate of the next lock.






We got to the top of the Muirtown flight at 1300 ish and carried on until the last lock before Loch Ness. The speed limit in the canal is 5 knots, but we slowed down to 3 knots so Kirsty could cook bacon, lettuce and tomato rolls for lunch, before we had to moor.

The canal offers a complete change of pace. No tides to worry about, no rush, just a chance to take is some great scenery, and relax.