Aerial view showing Gairlochy East and West Locks on Caledonian Canal. Digital image of A 36770

Description Aerial view showing Gairlochy East and West Locks on Caledonian Canal. Digital image of A 36770

Date 1985

Collection RCAHMS Aerial Photography

Catalogue Number SC 801351

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 36770

Scope and Content Aerial view, Gairlochy Regulating Lock, Caledonian Canal, Highland, from north-east This shows the basin between the regulating lock (bottom), completed in 1813, and the west lock (top) which was built in 1844. The lock-keeper occupied the two-storeyed building with the hipped roof (centre) which had a commanding view over the locks. The small single-storeyed cottage to the right of this building was probably also occupied by canal workers. The swing bridge can be moved onto the pier-shaped structure when large boats are travelling between the locks. There has always been a risk of flooding at this point due to the volume of water in Loch Lochy and the close proximity of the River Lochy. The regulating lock was not strong enough to withstand the water's pressure and had to be partially rebuilt in 1826 and 1843. This led to the new lock being constructed to the west. 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/801351

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap