Scanned image of photograph showing oblique aerial view of Fort Augustus Locks and village

Description Scanned image of photograph showing oblique aerial view of Fort Augustus Locks and village

Date 1985

Collection RCAHMS Aerial Photography

Catalogue Number SC 799688

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 36820

Scope and Content Aerial view, Fort Augustus Locks, Caledonian Canal, Highland, from east This aerial view from the east shows the five locks which were rebuilt in 1837 and lie in the centre of Fort Augustus. In front of the locks there is a 1932 swing bridge which can be opened to allow large ships along the canal, whereas the 1934 bridge over the River Oich (right) is fixed. The canal flows parallel to the river from Loch Oich at Aberchalder to Loch Ness at Fort Augustus. Several paddle steamers operated on the lochs in Victorian times. The 'Glengarry', originally called 'Edinburgh Castle II', had been on the canal since 1846 when it was broken up in 1927. Latterly this boat had been used for transporting mail, cargo and passengers from Fort Augustus to Inverness. 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/799688

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap