Oban to Corpach via Loch Linnhe and Glenfinnan
We cast off from the pier at Oban at the relaxed hour of 10:00 a.m., after a night “alongside” in the bustling main harbor of the western seaboard, and set sail along the south side of the Isle of Lismore in calm and sunny weather. As we cruised, Rick recounted his personal memories of adventures sailing small vessels in the Western Isles and showed us images which illustrated his stories magnificently. After a coffee break it was Iris’s turn to speak, this time on the history of how Scotland and England became united to form the country of Great Britain. The printed handouts were useful in disentangling the tale of kings and queens, wars and conquests, particularly when we investigated the issue of the Jacobite cause and the uprisings/rebellions of 1715 and 1745.
Travelling up Loch Linnhe we saw Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles (4,406 feet) looming over Fort William before we turned into the mouth of the Caledonian Canal at Corpach. The Captain and crew inched the Lord of the Glens into the first of a series of locks which will take us eventually to 106 feet above sea level at the highest point of the canal, Loch Oich.
After lunch we disembarked and took a 30-minute coach ride along the “Road to the Isles,” viewing Loch Eil on our way to Glenfinnan and Loch Shiel. At Glenfinnan there were several choices of things to do. Some of us walked down to the loch edge to admire the stone column topped with a statue of a Highlander which was erected in 1814 to commemorate the Scots who fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie who began and ended his attempt to regain the throne for the Stuart dynasty at this spot. Others were more interested in the pioneering engineering of the Glenfinnan railway viaduct, the masterpiece of “Concrete Bob” (Robert McAlpine) in 1901. Two steam locomotives passed over the viaduct while we were there, providing superb photo opportunities, especially for fans of the “Harry Potter” series who remember the Hogwarts Express using this route. Rick, Konya and David offered nature walks, some of which proved unexpectedly slippery and muddy!
To round off the day we all boarded the regular train at Glenfinnan station and rode over the viaduct to Corpach where the ship was waiting for us. Pre-dinner, the re-cap session touched on the history of the Caledonian Canal, the geology of the Great Glen, and the importance of Scottish engineers in world history. After dinner musicians entertained us in the forward lounge.
