Aerial view of Cullochy Lock

Description Aerial view of Cullochy Lock

Date 1985

Collection RCAHMS Aerial Photography

Catalogue Number SC 1675819

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 36812

Scope and Content Aerial view, Cullochy Lock, Caledonian Canal, Highland, from north-north-east This aerial view from the north-north-east shows Cullochy Lock (foreground) with the Caledonian Canal joining Loch Oich in the background. Aberchalder Swing Bridge spans the canal (top centre) with the 1932 Oich Bridge (top right) and the older suspension bridge in front spanning the River Oich. The lock-keeper's cottage (right foreground) is opposite two semi-detached houses for canal workers with a small storehouse to the left of the lock. This lock is very isolated with the nearest village being Fort Augustus about 6km away. Boats would move into the centre of the lock and water would either be added or drained till the water level was at the desired level for the boat to continue its journey. The lock-keeper would be responsible for opening the lock gates and controlling the flow of water into the lock. The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000. It was the first example of a transport network funded by the government in Great Britain. The 96.5km-long canal provides a route for boats travelling between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean as it runs from the Beauly Firth at Clachnaharry, Inverness, to Loch Linnhe at Corpach. Only 35.4km of this length is man-made while the other 61km runs through four lochs: Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Unfortunately at 4.2m deep the canal was too small for most sea-going ships which led to it being altered and deepened between 1844 and 1847. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1675819

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap