The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-13221, in the name of Dave Thompson, on Caledonian canal—world first. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament appreciates that the Caledonian Canal, in the parliamentary constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, was the most technically advanced trans-sea ship canal when it fully opened in 1822 and was unsurpassed in scale until the Panama Canal opened 92 years later in 1914; acknowledges that the canal, which is now seven years short of its bicentenary year, took 17 years to complete, providing employment to some 1,800 Highlanders, and is currently used by ships to avoid perilous routes around the north of Scotland; understands that its construction advanced engineering knowledge and that it remained the preeminent canal of its kind until the Panama Canal, which is 12 miles shorter than its Highland rival, opened, and celebrates that the canal, from the Moray Firth to the Atlantic, remains a major Highland tourist attraction to this day.
12:34
It is a great pleasure to lead today’s debate on the Caledonian canal, which is a fantastic asset to my constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and, indeed, the Inverness and Nairn constituency of my colleague, Fergus Ewing.
This majestic canal is considered by many to be one of the greatest waterways in the world. Running from Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east, the 60-mile coast-to-coast channel passes through peaceful settlements, spectacular lochs and beautiful countryside. The scenery is awe inspiring along the canal’s whole length, which is dominated by Scotland’s highest mountains, including the United Kingdom’s highest, Ben Nevis, which dominates the skyline above Fort William. The canal makes full use of Loch Ness, the UK’s deepest loch, as well as utilising the natural waterways of Loch Lochy and Loch Oich.
Of course, it had been predicted. The famous Highland seer, Kenneth Mackenzie, known as the Brahan seer, prophesied that
“full-rigged ships will be seen sailing eastward and westward by the back of Tomnahurich.”
Tomnahurich hill in Inverness is a mile or so from the sea.
The canal took 17 years to complete. At its peak, its construction provided employment to some 1,800 folk, including Scottish, English and Irish labourers. It remained the pre-eminent, most technically advanced, trans-sea ship canal of its kind until the Panama canal opened in 1914. Of course, the Panama canal is 12 miles shorter than its Highland rival.
When Neptune’s staircase was built at Banavie locks, it was the longest length of masonry on any canal in the world. The poet Robert Southey, a friend of Thomas Telford, said that it was
“the greatest work of art in Britain”.
Does Mr Thompson recall, as I do, that the late Charles Kennedy singled out Neptune’s staircase as his own favourite special place and visitor attraction in Scotland, and that he was a great champion of the Caledonian canal?
I do indeed recollect that. My wife Veronica and I met Charles, his wife Sarah and his son Donald on a number of occasions in the constituency over the years, and we were very saddened indeed to hear of the death of a very fine man.
The highest part of the Caledonian canal is at Loch Oich, which is 106 feet above sea level. There are a total of 29 locks, four aqueducts and 10 bridges along the canal.
On 3 October 1817, the Inverness Journal reported:
“On Saturday last a sloop and a barge, laden with coals, went through the Caledonian Canal to Fort-Augustus, having lain for some hours below the Muirtown drawbridge. The inhabitants of Inverness were apprised of the circumstance, and the novelty soon attracted a vast concourse of all ranks and ages; the banks were literally lined with spectators”.
After 17 years, the canal fully opened in 1822, with the Inverness Courier of 24 October enthusiastically reporting:
“At ten o’clock on Wednesday morning ... the Lochness steam-yacht ... departed from the Locks of Muirtown, on the first voyage through the Canal amidst ... loud and enthusiastic cheerings ... and firing of cannon.”
In 1834, another Scot, James Walker from Falkirk, who had worked for years designing the Surrey commercial docks, succeeded Telford as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He secured £300,000 in Government funding so that he could head for the Highlands to enhance and deepen the canal. That required the canal to be closed until 1847 but, once repaired, enhanced and deepened, it began to attract upwards of 500 vessels a year, including ships bound for the Baltic trade. The Caledonian canal, as completed by Telford, is only seven years short of its bicentenary.
What of the canal today? From the Beauly Firth to the Atlantic, it remains a major tourist attraction, with families able to sail its length on cruisers. It is also used by ships to avoid perilous routes around the north of Scotland.
There will soon be a network of Alpine-style camping pods, commissioned by Scottish Canals, sited along the route, offering walkers, water users and cyclists a unique overnight stay in a distinctive, compact, modern structure that allows them to sense the unique nature of their location alongside the canal. The pods are inspired by the box beds used in old Highland croft houses. They are micro rooms that contain just the bed, with vertical sides, a lid and wooden doors, and are helpfully designed to mirror staying in a snug croft house or bothy.
Recently, one of the canal’s most iconic buildings was brought back to life as unique holiday cottages. Officially opened by the transport minister, Derek Mackay, in December last year, Bona lighthouse was designed in 1815 by Telford and was the smallest manned inland lighthouse in Britain, guiding vessels between the waters of Loch Ness and the great canal. The cottage offers visitors to the area the perfect spot from which to explore the spectacular landscapes of the Highlands or somewhere simply to relax and watch the world—and maybe a boat or two—pass by.
Once an example of cutting-edge technology, Bona guided ships into the canal for more than a century before technological advances rendered it obsolete and it fell into disuse. However, the refurbishment means that we now have another tangible link to our Highland heritage that will benefit the visiting public; it will also secure additional income for Scottish Canals, helping to maintain the asset for future generations. I will visit Bona tomorrow with Andrew Thin, who is the chair of Scottish Canals, and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing its restoration for myself.
What of the canal’s future? Might we see a rotating boat lift, such as a Muirtown wheel to rival the Falkirk wheel—the millennium link project that connects the Forth and Clyde canal with the Union canal? Perhaps such a venture is worth delving into a little deeper—I will hand it over to my colleague Fergus Ewing. The central belt has not only the Falkirk wheel, but the fantastic Kelpies, and there is no reason why we should not try to emulate all that at the Caledonian canal. I am sure that there will be countless other suggestions as to how we can maximise the canal’s undoubted appeal well into the future.
I like to think of the many Highland folk involved in the construction of the Caledonian canal and its resulting success, all of whom have long since passed away. I hope that, when they allow themselves a break from tending their crofts and their livestock to muse nostalgically, those historical shadows of the original project, who brought and learned a great many skills in bringing the world famous canal to life, will be looking on and nodding with satisfied approval.
12:42
I congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate, and I associate myself with his remarks, and those made by Fergus Ewing, about the late Charles Kennedy.
As we have heard, the Caledonian canal is the largest of the Scottish canals, linking lochs Oich, Ness, Lochy and Dochfour over a distance of 60 miles along the line of the awe-inspiring Great Glen. As Dave Thompson said, the canal was built to provide a safe passage for ships travelling from the North Sea to the Atlantic coast. In the early 19th century, the journey through the Pentland Firth and around Cape Wrath was long and dangerous, and was made worse by the war with France. The building of the canal was important because it meant that our shipping could avoid the dangers of the Pentland Firth in getting from east to west, and vice versa.
The building project had the added advantage of providing much-needed work for the population of the Highlands and beyond. William Jessop and Thomas Telford were appointed as project engineers, and construction began in 1803. The canal was expected to take just seven years to complete. To link the lochs of the Great Glen, 22 miles of artificial waterway had to be dug by hand, and 28 huge locks—large enough to take a battleship—had to be constructed. Vast basins were also dug at each end to promote trade and industry. At the time, the canal was one of the largest civil engineering schemes ever undertaken in Britain—it was the Queensferry crossing of its day.
The canal was finally completed with a great ceremony in 1822. I note that it was completed at twice the projected cost—we have been there with large projects. As we heard from Dave Thompson, by 1844 major repairs were needed, and the canal was closed for three years. Nevertheless, I stress that the canal was and still is a great feat of engineering, as has been acknowledged across the globe.
Some may say that it was sad that, when the canal was built, it never fulfilled the grand design for which it was formed, which was to carry sea-borne vessels from sea to sea. However, there was an upsurge in commercial traffic during the first world war, when components for the construction of mines were shipped through the canal, on their way to Inverness from America. Ownership passed to the Ministry of Transport in 1920, then to British Waterways and subsequently to Scottish Canals.
Members might be surprised to know that the canal is now a scheduled ancient monument that attracts more than half a million visitors per year. When Queen Victoria took a trip in 1873, the surrounding publicity resulted in a large increase in visitors to the region, and the numbers have grown ever since.
Dave Thompson touched on Bona lighthouse, which is one of the key issues on which I have campaigned over the past decade. It was designed by Thomas Telford, as we have heard, and was built on the site of a tolbooth that was there many hundreds of year before.
With your indulgence, Presiding Officer, I will make a six-degrees-of-separation point. As members know, we are only six steps away from anyone on the planet. My current office is at 3 Gordon Terrace in Inverness, which was a hotel in the 1880s, and it was in that building that Thomas Telford resided when he carried out the work on the canal—I am sure that he probably shared a room with Stewart Stevenson. I am campaigning to have the building recognised as having an historic connection and I hope that I can get cross-party support for that. I will be approaching Historic Scotland about its blue plaque award to make sure that that bit of history is recognised.
After 10 years of campaigning, I am delighted to have the lighthouse restored. Scottish Canals took up the challenge and commissioned the work to turn Bona lighthouse into two holiday cottages. Work was completed last year, just in time for the 200th anniversary.
I probably beat Dave Thompson to it, because I have visited the lighthouse many times. It is a first-class piece of workmanship. The light that once guided ships from Loch Ness into the canal has been retained in what is now the master bedroom of one of the cottages, with the lamp now acting as an unusual bedside illumination. A number of period features have been retained in both cottages, adding to the building’s historic nature and further adding to the whole experience for tourists on a visit to the canal.
The Caledonian canal is rightly deemed to be one of the greatest waterways in the world. Who would have thought, more than 200 years ago, that it could have achieved that accolade? There is a lesson here for all of us. As others have said, we are at our best when we are at our boldest. To paraphrase Walter Scott, we need the will to do and the soul to dare. The time has come to open a new chapter in the life of the Caledonian canal, to mark the outstanding features and beauty of this iconic landmark and to build on the tourist attraction that it already is.
12:47
David Stewart is right. The Caledonian canal is considered by many—correctly, in my view—to be one of the greatest waterways in the world. All of us can marvel at the inspired efforts of the great Thomas Telford and his colleague William Jessop in their pioneering engineering works that have truly stood the test of time. We should not underestimate the difficulties of the challenges that they faced, with 22 miles of new canal and 29 locks through difficult terrain, without the mechanised and advanced technology that civil engineers take for granted today.
The Inverness Courier said at the time of the canal’s opening in October 1822 that it had transformed Scotland’s geography, with the
“Western joined to the Eastern sea.”
The history of the Caledonian canal is genuinely fascinating. Conceived as a way of providing a shortcut for trawlers and cargo ships seeking to avoid the long and treacherous voyage around the north of Scotland, it was also envisaged as a safe transport route for naval frigates during the Napoleonic war and it also helped bring employment. Sadly, like many public sector projects in the almost two centuries since, it came in 12 years late and massively over budget. It was the first ever state-funded transport project in the UK.
The Caledonian canal was much used militarily in the first world war, especially in shipping components for the construction of mines through the canal on the way to Inverness from America. Fishing boats used it to avoid the route around the north of Scotland. It was used in a similar way in the second world war.
Today, as Dave Thompson said, the canal is a very significant tourist attraction in my region. Visitors flock to what is a stunning location for a canal boat holiday or any kind of cruising, or indeed to catch a glimpse of Nessie. Walkers and ramblers can walk the full length of the canal on the Great Glen way. Those many hundreds of thousands of visitors contribute a great deal to the economy and they can all be sure of a very warm Highland welcome. I encourage colleagues who have not visited the canal to do so.
During the never-to-be-forgotten year of foot-and-mouth, which was devastating to Scottish farmers and crofters, I became involved with a sortie of 140 small French and Dutch boats taking part in what was called the Great Glen raid on the Caledonian canal. That was a tremendous event that was made all the more difficult by the foot-and-mouth regulations—but still, it took place. I made a speech in French to the assembled throng of sailors at the social club in Fort William and pointed out how useful the canal had been in defeating Napoleon. That went down very well with the Dutch, but not so well with the French.
The canal is revered by boating enthusiasts from many countries. From the tourism angle, I am well aware of the two independent boat hirers: Caley Cruisers, in Inverness, and West Highland Sailing, which is based at Laggan. The latter incorporates Le Boat, which is a pan-European company. Those companies have 34 cruisers between them. The Le Boat contingent is worldwide and is mostly from outside the UK, so the companies bring in very valuable tourism from the UK and the rest of the world.
On a slightly sour note, it is rumoured that Scottish Canals wants to turn the Laggan car park, which has always been free, into a fee-paying car park. That is counterproductive. Is using public money to build a cafe there when there is one there already also not perhaps a little counterproductive? Scottish Canals should improve the infrastructure facilities for the cruises, and the Scottish Government should make that possible through better funding. I do not believe that there is any canal in Europe that does not rely on state funding—and there is no other that has a built-in monster. Maintaining the canal in good condition requires constant work by Scottish Canals and is costly.
Incidentally, on the monster front, I asked a visiting primary school class from Fort Augustus yesterday whether anybody had seen the monster. A young man called Roland said that he saw it recently near Urquhart castle. I was very glad to hear that.
I am delighted that repairs are being done to the towpaths by Scottish Canals, as I am honorary president of the Highland Disabled Ramblers Association, whose members have been known to ramble with their scooters along the canal towpaths. I am sure that they will be delighted with the upgrade so that their rides are safer and less bumpy and there is less chance of any of them ending up in the canal.
12:52
I congratulate Dave Thompson on giving us the opportunity to debate this important topic.
As invited by Dave Stewart, I tell him that my wife and I were married in Bona kirk in 1969, and my mother-in-law and my now wife lived at Lochend, which is a mere 400m to 500m from Bona lighthouse. Indeed, the canal contributed to the good eating in the Pirie household because, whenever a fishing boat came through, my mother-in-law used to dash up and persuade the fishermen to provide her with free fish, which was excellent nutrition.
I am delighted to hear that Mr Thompson will meet Andrew Thin shortly. Mr Thompson should give him my regards. He was always one of the most effective public appointments to a chair, and I am delighted to hear of his continuing contribution.
Jamie McGrigor said that the canal is the only one with its own monster. That is almost certainly true, but an interesting little footnote to that is that 1,000 new species of marine animals have been discovered in the past 12 months alone. Given that the body of water is the deepest, longest and biggest in the UK—in fact, in aggregate, it exceeds the sum of all the bodies of water in the UK—there is plenty of space for even large animals to be discovered if we turn our minds to that.
We have heard that the canal led the world for 100 years. It was not the earliest canal by any manner of means, of course. In my constituency, for example, the Saint Fergus and North Ugie canal was provided. It never seems to have delivered very much, and all sign of it has disappeared.
The Caledonian canal had a broader context. Thomas Telford undertook something that we now think of as a modern invention: a master plan of transport in the Highlands. That included revising parts of the Crinan canal, building 920 miles of new roads and more than 1,000 new bridges, and improving the harbours at Peterhead and Banff, which was critical for my constituents. It was part of a programme of public works that benefited the Highlands, created employment and, by creating new infrastructure, laid the future for important developments that we continue to exploit today through tourism.
Thomas Telford, who came from the Borders, from Dumfriesshire, in founding the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1818 and being its first president, contributed to the intellectual life of Scotland as well. He was also recognised as an effective poet, so to be an engineer is not to disconnect one from the world of the arts.
The canal remains a significant part of our infrastructure, with 29 locks. As we have heard, it is an important part of our defence infrastructure. Indeed, the parliamentary debates that preceded the passing of the act on 27 July 1803 majored on providing the then wooden ships that we had with protection from Napoleon’s marauders around the coasts of Scotland. That is one of the reasons why work on the canal slowed down a bit after the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo, because once he was defeated some of the urgency seems to have gone out of the construction of the canal.
I will close by saying that the least remembered loch on the canal, Loch Dochfour, is the smallest one but the one on whose shores, in the adjacent market gardens, my mother-in-law used to work, so I have a wheen of connections with the canal, which I am delighted to bring to the attention of Parliament. As for the Brahan seer, poor soul, he was burnt in oil at Chanonry Point in sight, across the firth, of the entrance to the canal.
I congratulate Mr Thompson.
12:57
I thank Dave Thompson for lodging the motion for today’s debate on the Caledonian canal. The canal has a great history that links some of the major elements of Scotland. It is a great piece of engineering that goes through some of the most stunning landscapes in the world.
As a feature of engineering and design, the Caledonian canal was extremely ambitious. Linking the lochs of the Great Glen with 22 miles of artificial waterways was an achievement in its own right. The canal connected the Highlands to the rest of Scotland and linked Inverness with places such as Glasgow, which is my home town.
Scotland can be proud of its recent achievements in promoting and developing the canal as a great community space, not only for those who are on the water but for those who enjoy a walk or a bike ride—or a buggy ride, for that matter—on the canal paths. The most iconic addition to the regeneration of Scotland’s canal system is the Kelpies, which I recently visited with my mother, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I hope to take my grandchildren there this weekend if I get the opportunity.
The Kelpies, which have become an iconic public artwork, were created by Andy Scott, who is from my home town of Glasgow. You will notice that Glasgow is featuring a lot in my speech, Presiding Officer. Those two tall horse heads made of steel now stand alongside the Forth and Clyde canal near Falkirk in the outdoor recreation park between Falkirk and Grangemouth.
My region, Glasgow, has a major canal redevelopment project, including plans for our own Bigman bridge in Maryhill, which will also be sculpted by Andy Scott. That is coupled with several other projects in the Maryhill transformational regeneration area, which will focus on building a mixture of affordable homes as well as creating training and job opportunities for local people, so the canals still continue to play an important role for us.
The Kelpies have quickly become a well-loved landmark. Many of my constituents are excited by the drawings of the sculpture on the bridge in Glasgow. However, many people have been saying that, before we spend £4.5 million on a bridge, we should spend money on cleaning the canal and making the paths more user friendly.
Mr Malik, in your last minute, could you relate some of your speech to the Caledonian canal, if you do not mind? Thank you.
It would be my pleasure, Presiding Officer.
I have no wish to take anything away from all the people who are working hard on all the regeneration projects all around Scotland, so I pass on my good wishes to everyone who is connected with the canals and those who are working hard to make a difference by identifying our heritage and building on our new-found culture and arts.
13:01
I am delighted to respond on the Scottish Government’s behalf. I congratulate Dave Thompson on securing the debate and focusing our minds on the Caledonian canal.
Constructive contributions have been made by members, including Hanzala Malik, who was clearly making a funding application for Glasgow canal projects. He made a helpful point about the importance of regeneration packages coming together around canals, which moves us on from the perception that canals are areas of dereliction and abandonment to the idea that they are areas for regeneration and economic activity.
The Caledonian canal, whose structure has such wonderful potential, is an important historic asset. At the time of its construction, it was a groundbreaking project, and it is one of the legacies of the great Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. It is difficult to imagine the Great Glen without that magnificent thread running through its length.
There has been a revelation in the chamber today. It will be in the Official Report that the Loch Ness monster exists. How do we know so? Because Jamie McGrigor met someone who said that they saw it. The issue will now be an official matter for the Scottish Parliament. The media will be standing by ready to report that around the world.
Will the minister take an intervention?
I have competition. I will take an intervention.
The minister will be aware that, at the end of the year, the proceedings of the Scots Parliament are bound and placed as a legally enforceable document in the National Library of Scotland, which gives added force to his remarks.
Indeed. The matter is now official. My greatest accolade in the Scottish Parliament is that I have made the Loch Ness monster a real being.
Does the minister share my view that the Loch Ness monster is probably looking for floating voters?
I am not quite sure how to respond to that—the ministerial briefing notes have not prepared me for this light diversion.
On the subject of diversion, I noticed that Dave Stewart challenged Stewart Stevenson to make a personal connection, and Stewart Stevenson managed to make two. I am sure that he has some relation to the Loch Ness monster, too, going by the speeches thus far.
Since we have departed from chamber etiquette, I am sure that the Presiding Officer will allow me to welcome to the Scottish Parliament our visitors, the singing children of Africa, who are our guests from Kenya. I am delighted that they are present. They, too, will feature in the Scottish Parliament’s Official Report.
I will return to the Caledonian canal for a couple of minutes. The canal has made a huge contribution to tourism. It accounts for around 14 per cent of total Highland tourism and supports around 500 jobs locally.
Scottish Canals, which owns and manages all our canals on behalf of the people of Scotland, works with a number of businesses and public sector partners to deliver a wide range of activities, which some members have touched on. I met the board of Scottish Canals only last week on, as it happens, the Caledonian canal. It was my first-ever meeting on a barge.
The canal’s core users are boaters—yachts and, partly, fishing vessels. It still attracts users from across mainland Europe. It is reported that, last year, more than 1,000 vessels transited the canal. That is a substantial and impressive figure.
The Great Glen has always been a natural route for travellers and the Caledonian canal has been a magnet for such activities. The towpaths are also used by walkers and cyclists. Substantial towpath improvements have been delivered along the canal’s length. More than 20km has been upgraded, which attracted £1 million of Scottish Government and other public investment. I was delighted to meet pupils from Dochgarroch primary school as they enjoyed the improvements that have been made to the towpath.
There is also work on the canoe trail that Scottish Canals launched in 2007. The paddlers have greatly enjoyed the improvements in that as well. In the past two years, paddle activity companies have located businesses and bases on the canal.
Other investments are being made along the canal corridor. At Laggan locks, investment totalling £360,000 is being made in establishing a bothy location, an outdoor activities hub and a kiosk. Of that, £155,000 comes from the Scottish Government scenic routes initiative to create a visitor facility at Laggan. Young architects have designed an eye-catching kiosk that will complement its spectacular location. In addition, Scottish Canals is committed to developing new tourism infrastructure at Fort Augustus, which is the busiest tourist spot on the Caledonian canal. I look forward to those developments.
As part of the Scottish scenic route programme, a brief is being developed for a viewing platform at Neptune’s staircase at the western end of the canal. Scottish Canals is developing plans to celebrate that spectacular location, which has arguably the best view of Ben Nevis.
Scottish Canals has redeveloped a number of its historic buildings along the canal and made them available as high-quality holiday lets. They include the Bona lighthouse on Loch Ness, which a number of members mentioned and which I was delighted to open as the appropriate minister. I am sure that it will have a fantastic future.
The Caledonian canal is a historic monument that is, unusually, still fully operational. A structure of such age will continue to have a future if it is properly maintained. However, members will all be aware that, in March this year, a major breach occurred at Cullochy to the east of Loch Oich, with the height of the loch dropping by 1.5m. We require Scottish Canals to hold reserves to manage such incidents, but I was delighted to be able to intervene with financial support to the organisation.
Scottish Canals has attracted the world canals conference to Inverness, where it will be held in September 2016. That will be a great opportunity to show the Caledonian canal to an international audience. It will also be a platform for Scottish businesses that are involved in innovative areas of engineering, water asset management and tourism to showcase products and services.
Again, I congratulate all those who have contributed to the Caledonian canal’s success—past, present and future.
13:08 Meeting suspended.