The waterway in the north of the British Isles stretches for 97 kilometres through the Scottish Highlands, from Inverness on the North Sea coast to Fort William in the west, where the Atlantic is not far away. There are 29 locks and ten bridges to negotiate along the way, as well as the odd narrow passage on the approach to the canal, through which the water flows mightily.
Those who take it all in will be rewarded with a journey through a magical landscape: unspoilt, partly deserted and sometimes a little spooky. The canal connects several elongated lochs and finally reaches Loch Ness halfway along the route.
Johannes Erdmann, who travelled the canal following his Atlantic crossing, tells us what monstrous things await you there.