Gairlochy, Caledonian Canal, Swing Bridge General view of bridge and canal from south west

Description Gairlochy, Caledonian Canal, Swing Bridge General view of bridge and canal from south west

Date 6/5/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number D 48089 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 801404

Scope and Content Gairlochy Swing Bridge, Caledonian Canal, Highland, from south-west This shows the south-west face of Gairlochy Swing Bridge, built in the early 20th century, with the open lock gates of the 1844 lock in the foreground. Boats would be unable to travel into or out of the lock unless the swing bridge is moved into an open position. White-painted walkways top the lock gates and a black-and white-painted mooring hook used for securing boats is in the foreground. The bridge-keeper has to operate the controls for this bridge in the open air unlike other bridges on the canal which have adjacent bridge-keeper cabins. This lock was constructed because the nearby regulating lock was unable to cope with the large volume of water from Loch Lochy. 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.

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