Wednesday was a repeat of our journey here to Dunstaffnage from the Caledonian Canal…. cold, gloomy, grey and lots and lots of rain. Brother John had sent a message …. having read something about the marina at Dunstaffnage … to quote John … “a 5 star berthing facility, enjoy”.

T went for his shower early Wednesday morning…. along with a number of fellow sailors. Very impressive, shiny and modern facilities… showers, toilets, family bathroom etc etc… at first glance… a welcome respite from the Scottish  Waterways out dated and sparse provision on the Caledonian Canal.

Undressed, stepped into shower…. tried all the possible tap configurartions…. no hot water! Then dressed and went to wash basins to shave…. no hot water. Checked with the other three sailors in the other showers…. definitely no hot water. Lots of grumpy mutterings about the berthing fee and the failure to provide hot water in the facilities. So definitely not a “five star  berthing facility”.

Spent the morning doing the laundry…. basically getting all the wet clothes dry from yesterdays sail down from Banavie. Then into the business with the office as to whether we would have to move the boat.

On arrival Tuesday afternoon,  we had noticed that many berths had nameplates attached to the adjacent pontoon…. and in particular ours on the outer breakwater… the name “St. Hilda” was writ large. The lady in reception finally settled the issue for Wednesday by informing us that St. Hilda would not be returning until Thursday. Thus we stayed put on a “blow off berth” at the outer edge of the marina…. so in the full force of the south westerly wind.

At 5pm ….. a weather break…. the rain stopped… so we walked into the

village of Dunbeg…

about half a mileaway along the very busy A828 Oban to Fort William road. Looked around the Premier Stores shop which was open until 10pm… a few folk inside buying lottery tickets. On the walk back we got caught in a heavy down pour…. so just happened to be passing the “Wide Mouth Frog” hotel cum pub cum restaurant… so went in and had a welcome evening meal… and watched the rain continue in swathes as it crossed the bay.

Wednesday night was wild! The wind screamed and the rain hammered down. Fortunately the bows were pointing into the wind so the aft cabin where we were, did not experience the “slapping” as we call it… caused by the small waves coming under the stern and breaking on the rudders and underside of the transom.

There had been a red line and a strong wind warning out for Wednesday. Thursday was no different…. force 7 winds and heavy rain. So Thursday arrived with screaming banshees in the rigging. It was a horrible morning.

At 9am we were told we would have to move Poli Poli as St. Hilda was returning at 12 noon. Fortunately I liaised with one of the young guys who worked in the marina… Jack. He had taken our lines when we first arrived on Tuesday afternoon.

We agreed to wait for a “lull” in the wind speeds… Poli Poli had already recorded speeds of up to 30 knots that morning… Force 6 plus on the Beaufort scale. The weather pattern that morning was…. a heavy rain shower would be preceeded by a sudden gust and an increase in wind speed…. which once the rain had started, the wind would abate somewhat. Then a lull and then the cycle would be repeated.

Poli Poli was prepped as per the routine for going to sea. At about 11.15am the lull occurred during a heavy downpour…. so we moved the boat  and moored behind two huge Discovery yachts on the inside of the breakwater…. but unfortunately, stern to wind. Jack was excellent in taking the lines and quickly cleating off midships and stern. Poli Poli was safe. Margaret remained downstairs in the saloon with “eyes closed” ( quote from M’s travel diary ).

Photo ….Poli Poli on her new berth, the inside of the breakwater . Look at the skies.

Whilst putting the cockpit tent up…. in wet oilies…. we watched the arrival of St. Hilda at about 12.15pm…. it turned out to be a small coaster which operates as a tourist wildlife spotting boat for six paying passengers…. and very expensive it is too. We spoke to one of the passengers, a lady from Whitstable in Kent….who told us they had been to Skye, Eigg and Rhum and had viewed many varieties of wild life….. a six day trip.

St. Hilda arriving on her outer breakwater Berth12.15pm.

To celebrate our successful move, we adjourned to the Frog pub for lunch… our main meal of the day. As we walked along the pontoon, the “move the boat” problem having been resolved….almost as a reward for our endeavours….. we got absolutely soaked with a huge deluge. From the boat to any kind of shelter, along and off the pontoons, is over 2,000 steps…. so caught out as we were, M and T arrived at the pub looking like drowned rats. Starting to “loathe” this part of Scotland for this continual rain, wind…. and bearing in mind it is mid- August…. the cold!

On the way back to the boat…. checked on the “five star luxury”…. a notice had been pinned up on all the doors in the facilities… ” we have called in a plumber…. now we have to call in an electrician…. sorry no hot water in showers and basins.”

Not a great night on our new berth… the “slapping” on the stern was worse  as a consequence of the boat now pointing the other way…. stern to wind. The wind joined in …. howling and in heavy bursts, the incessant rain hammered down.

Ever since Margaret and Christine got off the train from Glasgow in Oban…. on the 27th July…. three weeks ago today to join Poli Poli on Kerrera Island…. it has rained on most days, temperatures have been below average and on many occasions, there have been strong wind warnings published by the Met Office. Over the 83 days of the circumnavigation to date, we have not experienced such a long sequence of poor weather conditions.

Each day continues in the same vein…. strong winds and rain. We have had a series of deep depressions forming way out in the Atlantic bringing low pressure cells to north west Scotland, whilst much of the remainder of the country enjoys high pressure and much more seasonal weather including the heat wave. So three weeks of quite awful weather… day by day.

The forecasts today continue with strong wind warnings and heavy rain. We are even now being warned that the remnants of a tropical storm may be arriving in north west Scotland sometime over the coming weekend.

Today, Friday…. after a bad night… we find that the hot water problem has been resolved… so the notices were removed…. and what do we discover…. luke warm, tepid water temperatures in the showers and wash basins. Nowhere near the five star luxury that is promised in all the advertising literature.

This afternoon we caught a taxi into Oban…. in the rain of course… the taxi was a Merc “E” class, 220 saloon ( good ) driven by a guy from Poland. The taxi back to the marina was a Merc “E” class 220 estate ( to carry our Tesco shopping ), driven by a guy from Hungary.

Apart from visiting Boots, WH Smith and finally Tescos… we had a nice lunch at our favourite seafood restaurant at North Pier in Oban. We reported on this establishment in a previous blog… when we were “weather bound” first time round in the wet, wet, rainy, rainy Oban. Nothing seems to have changed… still wet, wet. Todays lunch focussedon haddock and fresh crab… thanks to Abi again for telling us to pay Eeusk a visit. A splendid lunch.

First course at Eeusk …nice chips! Different

T’s favourite…a sort of bread and butter pudding…M stole the little pot of ice cream to add to her Pavlova.

Just before bed and a lot of “slapping” on the stern…. Met Office for tomorrow Saturday… “gales developing in the far north”… strong wind warning… force 6 west or south west. No storm yet then.

 

Up at 6am, showers then boat prep’, a cup of tea but no breakfast. A dark, gloomy morning with a temperature of no more than 12 deg C! After removing the shore power cable, the cockpit tent, and other prep’ jobs …. Tommy the nice lock keeper arrived to tell us to leave our berth at 7.55am and head for the first lock …. the top lock of eight …. the famous Neptune’s Staircase.

Tommy informed us that we would be in the same lock as a largish fishing boat, a huge French catarmaran and a Dufour 38 sailing yacht. Needless to say it started raining the moment we entered the first lock and rained all the way down to the bottom.

It took over two and a half hours to descend the eight locks…. moving from one to the other, tying up from the bow and the stern, keeping the boat still as the water emptied out, letting the lines go slack as the boat went down, retrieve the lines…. then motor slowly and carefully into the next lock to start the whole procedure again.

Poli Poli was in each lock with three other vessels…. a large fishing boat with an all Welsh crew taking the boat to Milford Haven in Wales all the way from Aberdeen…. and because it was flat bottomed it rolled all over the place…. but by half way the skipper had it under control. We were at the front with the fishing boat and behind us were the other two boats… a giant of a cat and a much smaller Dufour 38 sailing yacht.

 

Poli Poli on the left in the foreground, the Welsh fishing boat on the right of us. The boat with the number 5 on the bow is the Dufour 38. Behind us you can just see the two hulls of the French cat. The locks are enormous.

Anybody who moans about how hard the Sovereign Harbour lock is back home in Eastbourne, needs to experience this…. it is that lock eight times over!!

This is a photo of Tommy the Neptune’s Staircase senior Lock Keeper…. we found him to be a thoroughly nice gentleman…. kind, considerate and very professional. Tommy, along with Gillian were marvellous in the emergency with Chris’s accident about a fortnight previously. In the background is the Moorings Hotel where on different days, we had mid-morning coffee, breakfast, a couple of lunches and one supper. The service and the food was very good.

 

Margaret, over the course of the eight locks…. managed to control the stern line sitting on the starboard helm seat and working the line through the guard rails. Vasco had all sorts of problems with the bow line…. often not able to pass it correctly to the lock keeper, sometimes dropping it in the water…. and not able to release the line when the boat motored to the next lock.

Margaret in charge of the stern line in the lock at Neptune’s Staircase.

We finally arrived in the bottom lock where we then had to wait for the main road and the railway bridge to be swung open…. it was now gone 10am…. and still raining. We were all wet through.

After a short stretch of canal we all proceeded to the final lock…. a double lock…. before then entering the great big sea lock at Corpach at the top of Loch Linnhe at 11.10am. The weather worsened at this point as we felt the full force of a South Westerly Force 5.

 

It was clear from our entry into Loch Linnhe with the wind and rain head on, that Vasco was not enjoying matters. Visibilty was not good and the navigation lights were switched on. We proceeded in a well spread out convoy…. the Welsh fishing boat with the largest engine out front, Poli Poli followed after overtaking the Dufour. The French Cat had been held back in the canal below the Staircase as it had to take the double locks before the final sea lock on its own.

All around was grey and various dark shades of gloom. Three hundred and sixty degrees around the horizon of grey gloom…. not a single brighter patch…. nothing but heavy rain in all directions. Brave Margaret went down below…put the kettle on the gas and made three big pots of chopped banana and porridge …. a real treat and a raising of the spirits! Well done M!

 Poli Poli approaching the Corran Narrows in Loch Linnhe.

Halfway down Loch Linnhe we had to pass through the infamous Corran Narrows … a tidal gate where there are cross currents, eddies, whirlpools and overfalls. Arrive here at the wrong time and it could be disastrous…. we had to be through by 1pm with the tide behind us.

From an average speed of 7 knots heading south, we navigated the Corran Narrows at 11 plus knots…. and then once through. came the very disturbed sea state of  short white crested waves and peculiar swirls either side of the boat. Now into a much wider Loch Linnhe, the wind blew and rain intensified….. ever since our departure from Corpach and the final sea lock, we had faced a wind over tide situation which makes for a choppy sea state.

Looking back after passing the Corran Narrows.

Once abeam of Shuna Island, we turned to port and in calmer waters entered the Lynn of Lorn and past the lighthouse at Port Appin.

 A study in concentration…

The long thin island of Lismore gave us a degree of shelter from the south westerly winds. Further south it became a little ‘rough’ ( moderate for the Met Office ) whilst visibility was distinctly iffy.

 

 

 

Is this rough ??? A video Margaret made.

Poli Poli, once into the Firth of Lorne, turned to port and entered the calmer Ardmucknish Bay….. and prepared the boat for mooring in the marina opposite Dunstaffnage Castle…. just north of Oban on the Scottish mainland. Mooring was difficult as a 20-25 knot  SW wind blew and a strong tide ran under the pontoons.

In the murk, sea spray T eats his cheese rolls.

At 3pm we finally tied up on the outer side of the long breakwater at Dunstaffnage Marina. And it continued to rain!

Looking at forecasts for NW Scotland for the next three days, these promise little beyond more rain and strong winds. There is already a gale warning for this evening.

Distance for the day: 32.0 n.miles from Banavie and Dunstaffnage.

Total distance from Eastbourne to date: 1,559.2 n.miles.

 

 

This should be our last full day on the Caledonian Canal.

Vasco took this photo. It is the original little lighthouse that marks the entrance to Gairlochy from the north..the southern end of Loch Lochy. A good photo …Vasco wants it made into a post card!

An early start in the very quiet and peaceful lock basin at Gairlochy…. the southern end of Loch Lochy. Dawn broke after the usual and now too familiar heavy rain. Margaret and I sleep in the aft cabin which is directly below the cockpit at the stern end of the boat. Above the cockpit is the canvas cockpit tent…. and rain hammering down on canvas… like in a tent or even worse, in a caravan…. or camper van, or motor home for that matter.

Toby signalling thumbs up …ready to depart Gairlochy for the last time. The facilities shed in the background!

I think we woke the Gairlochy lock keeper up, by radioing in at precisely 8am…. that we were ready to enter the lock! He was ok…. just said he would be ready by 8.30am…. so we sat out in the lock basin holding station for half an hour. It was a very grey and gloomy sort of morning…. but still and very calm all around.  Watched a large fish jump nearby with a big splash…. trout? Near the lock, a group of young hardy folk had set up camp the day before…. I say hardy…. after a wet night in a tent and now a very cold, chilly early morning.

Vasco on the helm in Loch Lochy the day before.

We covered the 6.5n. miles to Banavie in quick time after passing through two swing bridges…. holding up all the early morning traffic on the A82 again! The forest trees almost falling into the canal on both sides!!

After the Moy swing bridge we admired, for the second time, the lovely countryside, hills, woods, forests and mountains that came rolling down to the canal side. So so green …. but that’s no surprise with all this rain!! Boat traffic was light so we managed a steady 4 knots all the way to Banavie.

We were able to moor up on the same pontoon that we left last Friday morning…. so we had shore power and water connections. We had radioed in to the lock keeper Tommy…. a very nice man who had helped and assisted Chris when he had that dreadful accident in lock two of the staircase some ten days ago. He, and the accompanying lady lock keeper,  gave us the go ahead, to occupy a good empty berth that was reserved for a permanent berth holder.

Having been up at six that morning with only a cup of tea…. we went swiftly to the Moorings Hotel for breakfast…. not a hundred yards down the staircase. For a tenner each we had a feast!

That is not a half pint of lager for breakfast…it is apple juice!

Vasco decided not to join in…. he paid £1.80 on the bus to visit Fort William. From the Tesco Metro in Fort William high street, Vasco had a chicken and rice dish plus 4 chocolate eclairs…. two of which he ate for dessert! This evening he has now just gone to the local pub….called the Lochy Pub. He has befriended a Portugese waiter who works there. They talk footie! Needless to say, it has been raining on and off all evening.

At 8am tomorrow Saturday, we depart Banavie and “do” the staircase of eight locks…. then two swing bridges, a further two locks and we reach Corpach. Here we hand our toilet/shower keys back in, redeem our deposit….. and if all is well, exit the Corpach Sea Lock into Loch Linnhe…. then southwards.

However, the weather forecast for North West Scotland for the next three days is absolutely rubbish. The words “wind” and “rain” occur a lot.

Total distance for the day: 6.5 n.miles

Total distance from Eastbourne: 1,527.2 n. miles.

After a night of drizzly rain and a northerly wind, breakfast on the boat…then food shopping.. we prepped Poli Poli for departure from Fort Augustus.

We had now been on the Caledonian Canal for ten days..a prolonged stay due to unforeseen circumstances. We made the decision not to proceed any further north …as the lock Staircase at Fort Augustus going north and then returning…with the big boat queues we had witnessed …would have taken up a whole day just to descend and then ascend the staircase.

We need to get out of the canal and return to the sea so that we can make a start on recovering our schedule time wise. We had enjoyed for the most part the experience of one of the great Canal systems of the world. Time to call it a day and get back out to sea.

We departed Fort Augustus at 11.10am in breezy, cool, grey conditions. Before we left we had seen the huge big white super yacht Monaco ascending the Staircase of five locks. We even spied the owner aboard.

Monaco…the super yacht exiting the top of the Staircase at Fort Augustus and passing Poli Poli on her berth in the upper basin.

Monaco was to cause traffic jams behind her …at Cullochy Lock we had to hold Station in front of the lock whilst Monaco went through. …..for nearly an hour.

Every lock we passed through was busy…six boats all packed in together. Many of the boats were hired motor boats where there had not been a lot of pre-lock training. Yachts and motor boats all mixed up …and then also the occasional super yacht.

Vasco standing on the helmsman’s seat to see over the top of the spray hood …up to keep Margaret dry!

We stopped for lunch in Loch Oich ..on a single pontoon by the side of the very busy A82 main road. Just round the corner from the so-called Monument …The Well of Seven Heads.

I mentioned this in the last blog…somewhat mystified as to its meaning. Well no sooner had I published yesterday’s blog …our lovely niece Sarah who lives with her family in Madrid popped up out the blue with the answer…the actual needle like monument is topped by a sculpture of a hand holding a dagger and another hand holding seven severed human male heads. Pretty gruesome by any stretch of the imagination.

This is allegedly all to do with 16/17th century Scottish clan history and the fierce rivalry between them. The seven severed heads belonged to Alexander McDonald and his six sons …and had been washed in the waters of Loch Oich …by the poet/bard name of Iain Lon or Bald Iain..from another clan. His family had been wronged by the Macdonald clan …and in particular by those seven men/boys so he just took the law into his own hands…hence “Well of the Seven Heads” monument on the shores of Loch Oich. Thanks Sarah…

Margaret keeping out of the drizzle..on lookout for Monaco trying to overtake us!

Finally we motored down the big Loch Lochy to the place we first stayed at on Friday night …an excellent pontoon berth next to the   facilities block. After supper in the saloon that seemingly Scottish tradition …the rain came down !

Tomorrow Monday we will return to the start of the Caledonian Canal …where we first ascended Neptune’s Staircase at Banavie. Then hopefully the next day we will exit the sea lock at Corpach and then sail south down Loch Linnhe. …. en route to the Isle of Mull and Tobermory.

Wow a whole day…. over 12 hours without a single drop of rain…. well up to 7.30pm when we had a few sprinkles! It seems rain is forecast for tonight instead.

We left Gairlochy at just after 9am this morning…. everything was flat calm and very peaceful. Then with no introduction…… coming from  behind us, a Caley Cruiser…. hired motor boat appeared and attempted to moor up in front of Poli Poli. The guy on the helm lost control and very nearly backed into our bow. Blowing his own trumpet… T rushed out and helped to retrieve the situation…. taking the bow line from the frightened wife at the pulpit… who said “Nobody has shown us how to do this…” whilst T asked the husband on the helm to throw the stern line onto the pontoon. Two very silent young children watched on from inside the saloon. Goodness knows how they were going to cope… they were about to go    into the 8am Gairlochy lock.                .

Look closely at the bow of the motor boat in front of Poli Poli …blowing his own trumpet!!

From our mooring immediately outside the “facilities” bothy like tiny house…. we headed north east into our first big loch…. amusingly named Loch Lochy. This loch is, like many of the Scottish locks….finger thin in shape, long and narrow…. about ten miles from the south west to Laggan in the north east.

This could be the toilets and showers building!

On the north side we passed the big, wide bay of Bunarkaig on Loch Lochy…the wartime training ground for British Commandos in 1942-45  where live ammunition and explosives were used in the final training exercise known as an “opposed landing.” The HQ for the commandos during 1942-45 was Achnacarry Castle which is to be found higher up in the great woods overlooking the bay on Loch Lochy.

Passing small hamlets along the way, noticing the spread of the Scottish log cabins for holiday lets, the serene landscape and quiet somewhat spoilt by the roar of traffic on the A82 main road as it paralled the loch from Fort William to Inverness. On the eastern side of the the loch we studied a mammoth fish farm…. huge circular metal cages potruding out into the loch…. no doubt full of hand reared salmon to be sold in Tescos and Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

You have to explain in the photo above why Vasco is thoroughly enjoying himself on the helm and some bloke …er is that the skipper behind him doing crew type work adjusting the fenders??

We passed through our first lock of the day at Laggan…. then into the much smaller Lock Oich… we spotted on the western side a monument titled… “Wells of the Seven Heads”…. maybe something to do with the seven deadly sins mixed up with the waters from seven heads of streams or rivers? Who knows?

Vasco our new crew guy signalling to the skipper that he has everything under control at the bow…his first experience of Scottish locks!

At Aberchalder we not only held up all the traffic on the Fort William to Inverness main A82 road by requesting the opening of the swing bridge as we passed from Loch Oich into the final section of the Caledonian Canal up to Fort Augustus …. but we also noted the famous Bridge of Oich. This used to be the road bridge carrying the A82 across the River Oich… and is famous for its special design… a taper principles suspension bridge 1854 to 1932. Of course everybody knows this!

We passed through three sets of locks today plus two swing bridges. The locks were at Laggan, Cullochy and Kytra. The first at Laggan raised us up…. and the other two lowered us down in levels…. so we had crossed over the highest point of the Caledonian Canal… before then starting our descent to the north east.

Our final berth in Fort Augustus.

We have now completed 30.50 n.miles of the Caledonian Canal from Benavie to Fort Augustus. The second half of this famous canal is largely made up of passage through Loch Ness…. so more or less the half way point.

We arrived in Fort Augustus just before 2pm this afternoon. We firstly moored at the big transit jetty on the north side of the small town…. but after a lot of deliberation and calculation, moved over to a better berth on a pontoon with shore power and within 50 or so yards of the facilities “bothy” building. So our exact position is at the top of the “staircase” of five locks which leads down to Loch Ness.

We are now 1,504.5 n.miles 77 days from Eastbourne which is roughly the halfway point of the Circumnavigation.

The “break out” photo..the small motor boats race out of the fifth and final top lock of the Fort Augusta’s Staircase …after moving from lock to lock for over two hours!!

 

 

 

 

After early morning deluges of heavy rain, and a short familiarisation rope training session with Vasco, Poli Poli finally slipped her lines from the Banavie mooring and headed up the Caledonian Canal North eastwards. 10.30am was a late start but there had been a lot of boat prep to do beforehand including showers and a porridge breakfast aboard.

Traffic for the first hour was virtually non-existent except for three canoeists who we spoke to in passing…they were canoeing the 60 miles to Inverness! The most colourful and exciting event was that we passed Puffer Vic 32 coming down back from Inverness. The black coal smoke from her prominent chimney stack was very “smelly” to say the least!

On our way to the big single lock at Gairlochy  the scenery either side was magnificent…huge green hills forest clad and very occasionally bathed in sunshine …between the very occasional rain showers. The route the canal follows is called the Great Glen Way and is really the valley of the River Lochy which runs parallel to the canal.

Poli Poli carefully navigated through two swing bridges before reaching the top lock at Gairlochy. Here we reacquainted ourselves with the lovely Gillian …the excellent lock keeper lady we had met first at Neptune’s Staircase where the accident to Chris had taken place. Gillian certainly remembered Poli Poli.

We decided to finish our sailing at the start of Loch Lochy . Just outside the lock we found an excellent pontoon ..empty as well.. so we moored up by early afternoon. Right next to the toilet, showers and laundry and as it has turned out…a very secluded and peaceful spot. That was until a flock of floating Canada Geese came and had a look at Poli Poli!

Our mooring at Gairlochy…early afternoon…some blue sky !! To the left the lock and behind Poli Poli the Loch!

After a late lunch of filled rolls we tried to organise a taxi to take us to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge…about three miles away. This did not work out as the single taxi driver in Spean Bridge ..well his motor was off the road and he was waiting for a new licence from the Council.  Other taxis were available but would have to come out from Fort William at great expense.

T decided to do the walk…a round trip of nearly six miles..and got absolutely soaked to the skin after plodding through three torrential downpours.

The National Memorial to the Commando soldiers who first trained in this area of Scotland was both a moving and memorable experience.

Youngest brother Roger who sadly died earlier this year served in Northern Ireland with the Royal Marine Commandos and brother John, also a Royal Marine Commando serving in both Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands. My visit a tribute to both brothers.

Gairlochy is a quiet, peaceful part of the Caledonian Canal disconnected from our usual expectations of bus routes, shops, pubs, etc etc… unusual and long may it remain so.

We are now 7 miles further up the Canal …progress yes…not a bad first day with new crew in training.

A morning of extremely heavy showers and strongish southerly winds…. as usual. Big Sister Bridget exclaimed that it was also raining in East Sussex…. possibly for the first time. Trust Richard has laid the new lawn in?? Cricket at Lords in London was also rained off…. must be a first in August?

Out of the wet, T did battery checking on the boat which then necessitated a bus ride into Fort  William to purchase more topping up special battery water…. and got soaked again in the process. M did laundry work…. getting wet each time on the various trips to the laundry room ( which is also the warmest room ).

Vasco, from Oporto in Portugal flew into Edinburgh yesterday just before Ryan Air pilots went on strike. Today, he caught a train to Glasgow and then one to Fort William and got off at Banavie Station which is at the bottom of Neptune’s staircase. Vasco is a PE teacher in a state school in Lisbon and will be with us on Poli Poli until the 22nd August…. when Mike and Christine will return.

After a supper of lasagne and salad, Margaret and Vasco walked down the eight locks of the staircase to Banavie Station to watch the 8.15pm arrival of the Jacobite Steam train from Mallaig, stopping at Banavie on its way to Fort William.  T did the washing up!

 

The signal box at Banavie Station…Margaret and Vasco await the arrival of the Jacobite Steam train.

The train finally arrives ….would have been better if it had been the right way round! Hey ho…can’t have everything!

So Dad in Rusthall..what is the name of this engine??? Margaret and Vasco said hello to the driver/fireman?

Tomorrow, after boat prep’ we will depart Banavie and head north eastwards up the Caledonian Canal to Gairlochy and then onwards into Loch Lochy. Just hope the weather forecast is a little more favourable. A big, warm welcome to Vasco.The scarlet red carriages…the train did not actually stop at Banavie. It went through the station very slowly. The 8.15pm whistle blowing took place as the train arrived.

The Jacobite departs into the evening light towards Fort William. Ben Nevis in the background.

Tuesday…. heavy rain during the early hours before breakfast…. then miraculously cleared up and sunshine for the rest of the day until the late afternoon.

Just before 8am the “Puffer” departed blowing her steam whistle …. went chugging past Poli Poli up the canal in the direction of Inverness…. and billowing black smoke trailing behind her. We noticed a group of people near the foredeck having an early morning briefing. Something to do with the “working holiday” they were participating in no doubt. M says they were all having a cuppa!

After breakfast the sun came out…. and seemed to dry the decks of Poli Poli. What a difference a bit of sun makes…. thus work on boat maintenance jobs commenced…. T kneeled and lay on the sole boards ( nautical for floor boards ) in the saloon and other places and cleaned out/checked all the bilges. The new water pump ( from Bristol ) was carefully examined as was the engine ( oil dip stick, gear box oil level, alternator belt tension etc ). The new fender boards that Richard had made back in May were checked over and one or two bent “eyes” were replaced and new lashings attached.

Whilst all this activity was taking place… M went for a walk…. down to the Moorings Hotel where, amazingly, people were sitting outside! As was the case on another occasion M went for a “walk” and just happened to call in at the hotel cafe for a “magnum”! This time it was for a quick latte.

Lunch was aboard… a salad meal with syrup sponge and custard for dessert. M went walkies afterwards, T was asked by a guy from Alsager in Cheshire, if he would not mind taking a photo on his Samsung Galaxy Super dooper phone…. of his wife …. doing the Titantic bow pose on their hired motorboat up stream of Poli Poli. Mister Alsager also posed along with Mrs. Alsager…. you know…. arms wide apart etc. T duly obliged. The couple did not fall in over their pulpit!

Tuesday was also the very first occasion for Ben Nevis to show itself bathed in sunshine.

The evening…. well a few new boats arrived from the direction of Inverness. We have worked out that most evening arrivals at Banavie are for the 8am next day, eight locks of Neptune’s Staircase… and then exit out to sea ( actually into a loch ) at Corpach. the southern exit.

On each and every evening that Poli Poli has been moored in Banavie…. at exactly 8.15pm we hear the “chuff chuff…. chuff, chuff” and the steam whistle of the Jacobite Steam Train …. pulling into Banavie railway station after its 40 or so mile journey from Mallaig on the north west coast, back to its depot in Fort William. If you walk from the boat on its mooring to the upper locks on the staircase, you can actually see the black engine ( No. 45157 ) pulling a quite lengthy number of scarlet, red carriages heading across the level crossing in an easterly direction. For train enthusiasts, M’s Dad in Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells will be able to tell you all the details of the black and barrel shaped engine pulling the carriages.

The Jacobite Steam Train departs Fort William every day for the 84 mile return trip to Mallaig. One famous image of the Jacobite train, is that of the engine hauling the scarlet carriages across the iconic imposing arched viaduct at Glenfinnan. The train was also used as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films.

We also learnt from our visit to the West Highland Museum in Fort William, that it was at Glenfinnan, that Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard and rallied his forces prior to his ill fated march on London. So we listen out each evening for the 8.15 pm whistle of the big, black engine at the bottom of Neptune’s Staircase.

Poli Poli is the second boat along this long pontoon at the top of Neptune’s Staircase…Margaret took this photo on one of her walks between showers. Look at the swirling sky in the south west. T is talking to the man from Alsager on the canal footpath …the Titanic poseurs!

 

 

Needless to say it rained nearly all night…. and today, Wednesday has been punctuated every half hour by really heavy showers…. blown in by a strong south westerly wind of some force. The showers have been noticeably heavy and on one occasion, there were hail stones. At present the cockpit tent acts as the drying room for all our “wetties”!

This morning we caught the 47 bus into the town of Fort William …. and visited the West Highland Museum after taking coffee in a High Street refreshment emporium. The museum in Oban was pretty good… even though they denied all knowledge of the assertion made by the ‘Rough Guide’ that there was a piece of the Berlin Wall on display.

The museum in Fort William was one of those experiences….not to be quickly forgotten. Not only were there exhibits of virtually every aspect of Highland life presented in a traditional way….. but extremely well done over eight rooms on two floors. We spent the best part of an hour in Room One… a detailed and moving section on the World War II Commandos , who were established nearby in 1942 and did their training in Lochaber.

It absolutely chucked it down outside for the near two hours we were in the Museum…. once back in the High Street M bought a pair of waterproof trousers and we went to the same Tesco Metro as before to get our food supplies. Taxi back to the boat.

We have heard that Chris was or is about to be, airlifted back home to Northamptonshire by Medivac from Inverness…. by means of his travel insurance. We have wished him a safe journey and a speedy recovery at home.

Amazing ….blue sky over Ben Nevis…in the blink of an eye!!

Our new crew member Vasco will be arriving tomorrow Thursday by train from Edinburgh. We will greet him at Banavie station at, hopefully, 4.25pm. We will then depart Banavie Friday morning, heading north eastwards up the canal to Gairlochy. Just hope the rain does not follow us!!

 

A rainbow over the Caledonian Canal ..M got very excited and took this photo through the saloon window starboard side.

Rain hammered down on Poli Poli all night…. and then on and off throughout the day…. sometimes a shower and sometimes a heavy burst. Looking at the fields on the lower slopes near Banavie, looking at the neatly tended gardens here in the village, looking at the oh so green lawns of the houses along the canal banks…. very very difficult to believe there has been a drought in Scotland! Well not here anyway.

South of Benavie, we were informed that there had been no rain since May… and further more, a less than plentiful supply of rain over the winter period. Considering what gardens and farmer’s fields must look like in the south and east of England…. well difficult to comprehend.

One garden we walked past today… the grass was the most verdant green you could imagine…and was cut in beautiful stripes. Lush would be the only word to describe the lawns of this small, unobtrusive canal side house. A drought???

So where are we? In the small village of Banavie shown on the map above… just north of Fort William. We entered the Caledonian Canal at Corpach and if all goes well, we should be on the move again on Friday ( 10th August )…. going north east towards Gairlochy.

In an interesting e-mail from brother John in Devon today, he picked out all the local landmarks as he had been located in this area for his Royal Marine Commando training. You will see on the map above the Commando Memorial near Spean Bridge which we shall endeavour to visit. This memorial is dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised here during World War Two. It overlooks the training areas established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle.

We did wonder why we saw this Royal Marines Beret and badge in the museum during our prolonged recent visit to Oban…. of all the Scottish regiments who took part in World War Two. I am sure brother John will enlighten me.

So today Monday was another wet day…. and lo and behold for Scotland… it was August Bank Holiday. Typical. So we have watched all the hill walkers, hikers and semi Nordic mountaineers…. many with their special walking sticks… go past….striding along the canal footpath…. dressed in tarpaulins, wet weather gear of all descriptions, anoraks from camouflage to flourescent high vis yellows and orange…. even a large party of what looked like the University of the Third Age… led by a guy dressed like a traffic warden!

Nearly the half way mark on the Circumnavigation… so time for a deep clean of the insides of Poli Poli. Out came the boat hoover, the dusters…. fluffy and cloth, the dettol surface wipes and all manner of cleaning substances. We cleaned for over three hours and despite face time from Hilary and Lorna in Tenterden, plus lots of texts and messages flowing in and out of Poli Poli during the deep clean, managed to keep M on task!

 T on the job….. hoovering!

After a face time session with two Swabbetts celebrating their birthdays in sweltering temperatures of 30 deg C in Kent, we adjourned to the local hotel for a snack lunch.

Photo above …our view at lunchtime and the Beef sandwiches.

The Moorings Hotel sits on the western side of the canal overlooking Neptune’s Staircase of eight locks. The Beef sandwiches were tasty and good value. And a nice view of the Staircase. Back to work ….. more cleaning…

Yachts entering the first lock at the bottom of Neptune’s Staircase this afternoon.

Readers will recall that we had to move Poli Poli from the wharf berth by Monday as one of the few remaining Scottish “Puffer” boats was arriving up the staircase in the afternoon. The Puffer known as Vic 32 duly arrived and took up station on the berth Poli Poli had previously occupied. We have since discovered that Vic 32 is the last working steam puffer in all of Scotland.

Vic 32 is a coal fired, steam driven, single masted small cargo ship built in Thorne, Yorkshire during World War Two on the banks of the River Don and Stainforth and Keadby canal.. She was built in 1943 …. as at the time the Admiralty needed 100 of these “puffers” as victualling boats to service the British naval vessels on the west coast of Scotland.

Before the war the “puffers” had connected the remote communities of north west Scotland carrying all manner of commodities between the mainland and the islands. They were seen regularly in both the Caledonian and Crinnan canals. There was even a television series made.

Vic 32 is now puffing out black smoke not 100 yards from Poli Poli. And as we are downwind of her mighty funnel… we can smell her! We have discovered that Vic 32 takes guests on 5 day working holidays up and down the Caledonian…. starting here in Banavie! Fancy that…. a holiday where you shovel coal into a raging furnace deep in the bowels of Vic 32.

We ended Bank Holiday Monday…. with a nice supper of chicken and lots of fresh greens… plus of course we end where we started…. more and more rain.

Late update on Chris…. just come in….

“Hello both, feeling woooosy after my operation this afternoon. surgeon said all went well, but need to be aware of the metal detectors at airports! They had to put screws in the kneecap to fix the sutures to.”

Sadly Chris has had to cancel his late August holiday to Canada… he will need physio and a lengthy recuperation period. We wish him well.

 

 

On Saturday morning, Chris our injured crewman was transferred to Inverness General Hospital for a knee operation to correct a torn tendon. We have been in constant touch with Chris by text messages and he remains in good spirits ( well England did beat India in the Test Match at Edgbaston ). I am writing this on Sunday evening listening to the rain hammering down on the cockpit tent upstairs in the boat… and so far it seems Chris is in some sort of queue for his op’…. maybe Monday. He is in good hands and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Margaret….. Ben Nevis in the background…. on our way to catch the 47 bus into Fort William.

We spent Saturday morning having a good tidy up on the boat as well as doing two big loads of washing in the Scottish Canals Facilities block not 30 yards from the boat. Now the laundry event on Poli Poli has its own league table…. as to how far you have to walk back and forth to change from the washing machine to the drier, to put the washing in at the start, to collect the finished dry laundry and so forth.

Well top of the league in terms of distance walked is Dun Laoghaire ( Dunleary near Dublin ) where I walked some 16,000 steps ( over 7 miles ) to do two loads of washing back in early July. Second is Portland in early June, where it was just over 10,000 steps. The shortest distance to date… the winners are the YHA in Bristol and the Scottish Canals laundry at Banavie, Caledonian Canal… where it is has been hardly any leg exercise at all! You really need to know this sort of stuff!

Photo above…. T…. our Wharf berth at the top of the Staircase of eight locks … note Monaco motor yacht still there…. left Sunday morning.

Saturday afternoon… well we walked down Neptune’s Staircase of eight locks to the A830 road from Fort William to Mallaig…. and we caught the 1.36pm No. 47  bus into Fort William. In an exchange of e-mails with brother John he kept referring to a town called ‘Fort Bill’….. took a while for us to cotton on. Fort William sits on the side of Loch Linnhe and very much right below the mountain mass known as Ben Nevis. This of course has always been in cloud…. either white, grey or a menacing black.

Fort William’s position between loch and mountain means that the town attracts many hill walkers, mountaineers, and sightseers from all over the world. There seems to be but one long high street full of the usual shops ( Boots, WH Smiths, Costa etc ) plus a good number of tacky type tourist gift shops, factory shops, and usual run of outdoor activity  cheap and expensive clothing stores…. mountain warehouse to name but one. Between the rows of unspectacular shops the street is fully occupied by hundreds of tourists of all nationalities…. often attired in hill or mountain garb…. rucksacks galore plus the now common sight of those telescopic special walking sticks…. which you use to do pretend skiing.

We did our victualling ( going to Tescos and buying provisions for the boat ) in a Tesco Metro ( bigger than a ‘Express’ I suppose, but smaller than an ‘Extra’…. or is it ? ). Victualling is a posh nautical word for the uninitiated into matters marine. Then a taxi with two bags of shopping back to the boat at Banavie.

Reading Saturday paper on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier on in the day we had a chat with the lovely Lock Lady Gillian about our berth on the wharf  after she had enquired as to how Chris was progressing in hospital. We had decided to remain at the top of the Staircase in Banavie until next Thursday when our next crew member would appear. Gillian informed us that we were ok on the wharf berth until Monday morning but then a ‘puffer’ boat would arrive and require the berth for tourist trips up and down the canal. So we had to keep an eye out for a vacant berth on the long pontoon just upstream from our wharf spot…. where shore power and water were both available. Full up with boats on Saturday night… a much sought after mooring.

Sunday commenced dry and quite chilly, the thermometer only struggling to reach 14 degrees C.  What a difference to the 25-30 degrees down south, and so so different from Spain and Portugal where temperatures of 40 plus are being recorded in heatwave conditions. So far Scotland has been a steely grey gloom, incessant rain and temperatures in the low teens. Margaret has just gone to bed with a hot water bottle for goodness sake.

Sunday…. third lot of washing done…. all bed linen. But…. after washing had finished… noticed that two small boats had left the long pontoon with shore power… and a gap big enough for Poli Poli suddenly appeared… about 9am’sh this morning. So a very rapid prep’ boat for sea routine done…. and in doing so a couple from Southampton suddenly appeared from nowhere…. started chatting…. they turned out to be retired sailors from the Hamble and volunteered to take our lines at the new berth about two hundred yards upstream from the wharf. Excellent news!

Margaret accompanied them to the new berth…. Jill and Ian from Swanmore, Southampton. Ian took the stern line from me as Poli Poli drifted in to the pontoon, Margaret ( get this ) did rope work and took the midships line and held it expertly on the cleat, whilst Jill , just as expertly, cleated off the bow line…. then she told me that one of the port side fenders needed to be adjusted!!! Lovely couple working as a team with the now named…. ‘midships queen.”

 

Photo above…is our new pontoon berth for Poli Poli…looking eastwards away to Fort William and Ben Nevis. This is where the “Midships Queen” did her rope work.

Lunch Cornish pasty from our gas oven and salad…. followed by reading Saturday papers… then pm washing boat with hose, cleaning cockpit, and filling water tank. At precisely 8pm this Sunday evening…. guess what…. heavy rain. Oh well…. at least we have an excellent pontoon berth with water and shore power…. we can relax. New crew arrives on Thursday until 22nd August… then Mike and Christine return. Despite the rain, still smiling and planning the rest of the Circumnavigation.

The photo below…Poli Poli on her new pontoon berth in Banavie..this time looking westwards. Pretty depressing how the skies look in all these photos!!