An Engineering Marvel
Over 18 years in the making, 22 miles of man made canal and a lots of manual labour.
Shortcut Across Scotland
Taking only a few days to sail coast to coast saved time, money and lives from the more dangerous Pentland Firth route.
Job Creation Scheme
The local workforce soon learned the the tools of the trade. Even today the canal workforce are highly skilled.
Scheduled Ancient Monument
British Waterways Scotland are responsible for managing and maintaining the beautiful waterway.
A Working Waterway
Today the canal is used mainly by recreation and leisure boats but you will still spot fishing boats and freight ships passing through.
The Trail
The Caledonian Canal has brought life to the Great Glen. By opening up the waterway a whole range of industries became possible. The Great Glen Ways offers the outdoor enthusiast three ways to cross the country coast to coast - by boot... by bike... by boat!
The Great Glen Canoe Trail is yet another example of what adventures await outdoor enthusiasts. With the number of paddlers taking on the Great Glen by boat (canoe and sea kayak), the trail required to be formalised to forward plan and manage both current and future usage.
Approx 4,000 paddlers took on Scotland's first formal Canoe Trail in 2010 and that figure will surely rise with the new infrastructure complete.
