Banavie to Craignure

Banavie is magnificently situated beside Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, and at the top of the famous Neptune’s Staircase, a flight of eight locks making a rapid descent to something close to sea level. Ben Nevis records over three meters of rainfall at its summit and the town of fort William at its base is one of the wettest towns in the United Kingdom. No great surprise, therefore, that a steady drizzle set in for most of the day. At the bottom of Neptune’s Staircase we had the pleasure of disrupting the local commuter traffic as the swing road bridge opened for us followed immediately by the railway bridge which closed behind us in time for the Jacobite steam train to puff by, giving us a friendly whistle, on its way up to Mallaig on the West Highland Line. After negotiating the sea locks at Corpach we entered Lochaber and turned to make for the Isle of Mull, one of the largest of the Scottish Hebridean Islands. The Canadian flag flying at the entrance to the canal references the Rideau Canal in Ottawa that shares aspects of the Caledonian Canal’s history and with which it is twinned.

A morning at sea provided an opportunity for talks on early Scottish history, focused on providing background for our eagerly awaited visit to Iona. Before lunch the Captain took us up close to Duart Castle, the ancestral home of the Clan Maclean, an imposing mediaeval castle strategically situated with commanding views along the Sound of Mull. Duart Castle was the object of our afternoon land excursion; a tour of the interior followed by time to enjoy the grounds and the spectacular views along the sound. A hardy group opted to walk back to the ship being rewarded on arrival with a warming wee dram of Scotch.

After dinner we had a most unusual presentation from Wings over Mull, a hospice for injured birds of prey. The owner brought a number of birds with him to view at close quarters, the most popular being a white barn owl.