8 lock staircase from NE Digital image of A 57648.
SC 804856
Description 8 lock staircase from NE Digital image of A 57648.
Date 1983
Catalogue Number SC 804856
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of A 57648
Scope and Content Banavie Locks, Caledonian Canal, Highland, from north-east This shows part of Banavie Locks, which are a series of eight locks rising almost 19m in just under half a kilometre. There are 18 lock gates, surmounted by pedestrian walkways, for these locks. Part of the house occupied by the lock-keeper and his family is just visible in the trees. This three-bayed building has a bowed central bay which allows the lock-keeper a panoramic view of the locks. Prior to the locks being mechanised in the mid-20th century, 12 men were responsible for opening lock gates by rotating capstans by hand. This was a time-consuming process and queues of boats often formed. In 1870 there were at least 512 east coast fishing boats using the locks because fishermen were trying to reach exceptionally large herring shoals which had been spotted in The Minch. 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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Attribution: © RCAHMS
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