Fort Augustus is a lovely small village situated between Fort William and Inverness on the shores of Loch Ness. It is often referred to as the ‘Gateway to Loch Ness’. The village takes its name from a fort built after the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite uprising. Today nothing remains of the original structure, although some parts were incorporated into the Benedictine Abbey, which dated back to 1876. Alas, the abbey has since been converted into luxury apartments situated on the shore of Loch Ness.

The Caledonian Canal actually cuts the village in two. To the north the canal joins Loch Ness via an impressive flight of locks that cleverly assist the water traffic from one level to another.

Originally designed by the civil engineer Thomas Telford and opened in 1822, the lock system is part of the 60-mile Caledonian Canal that links Inverness to Fort William. The canal was originally built to provide a short cut for merchant skippers between the east and west coasts of Scotland.

The canal is still very much in use today, we spent a very pleasant couple of hours sat outside one of the public houses adjacent to the loch gates having a pub lunch, during that time there was a constant flow of river traffic passing through the lock gates.