Caledonian canal with kids

+1 for the steam train, but nothing much to do in Malaig to fill the time before the return trip. You can always use the canal to teach steering and boat handling (under close supervision). Your kids can't be any worse than some of the hire boat people!!
 
Thanks everyone for the great info, the kids are pretty use to boating hols so should enjoy it, time to get planning my move north.
 
Loch Oich which most in transit race through is worth a look-tie up to the floating jetty by the Well of seven heads at the south end.
There is a swimming pool at the time share and various alternative water sports including white water rafting are on offer.
Invergarry Castle Hotel and the old castle are well worth a visit-try their afternoon teas-and they also have a floating public jetty.
Loch itself and its Islands are worth a trip round in the tender.
 
Leave the steam train well alone!
To quote from my seven year old grandson"harry potter without the magic"
Its very expensive about £70 for two adults and a child;you are more than likely to find you selves in a 1960s commuter carriage held together with British standard Woolworths nuts and bolts and car body filler roughly plastered on the outside.
And if very unlucky you will ride on the landward side in both directions.
Take the schedules scotrail for a far better and considerably cheaper trip along this beautiful route and note the first use of construction concrete in the modern world-hand mixed and hand poured.
 
ffiill said:
Leave the steam train well alone!
To quote from my seven year old grandson"harry potter without the magic"
Its very expensive about £70 for two adults and a child;you are more than likely to find you selves in a 1960s commuter carriage held together with British standard Woolworths nuts and bolts and car body filler roughly plastered on the outside.
And if very unlucky you will ride on the landward side in both directions.
Take the schedules scotrail for a far better and considerably cheaper trip along this beautiful route and note the first use of construction concrete in the modern world-hand mixed and hand poured.
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Was the flying car grounded due to bad weather the day your grandson was there? :confused:
 
ffiill said:
Leave the steam train well alone!
To quote from my seven year old grandson"harry potter without the magic"
Its very expensive about £70 for two adults and a child;you are more than likely to find you selves in a 1960s commuter carriage held together with British standard Woolworths nuts and bolts and car body filler roughly plastered on the outside.
And if very unlucky you will ride on the landward side in both directions.
Take the schedules scotrail for a far better and considerably cheaper trip along this beautiful route and note the first use of construction concrete in the modern world-hand mixed and hand poured.
Click to expand...
That is cheap considering rail prices in Englandshire...

I digress.
 
I have sailed the canal both ways and it was a fantastic experience in all respects. The canal staff were excellent, luckily the weather was sunny, the midges were absent and Inverness was interesting for the two days I was there. I imagine it will be a great adventure for a transit with kids, although as others have said, some of the lock walls are high and kids will require much supervision/careful selection of tasks for them. I was in company with many other nationalities throughout the trip, there was plenty of social interaction and I would recommend it as a great trip (even without the kids).
 
My grandaughter, 8 years old, has helped me bring our boat back through the Crinan Canal twice including a (totally unecessary) sleepover on the boat. She enjoys steering in the Canal, while at sea she soon gets bored, I think this is because of the closer points of reference and the greater concentration demanded, we do stand close by when meeting another boat or if circling while we wait for a lock, and like her grandmother, she insists on handing over control for entering and leaving locks. In the Caley I would suggest that younger kids stay aboard, perhaps with a roving fender to manage, the lock keepers discourage rope handling by youngsters and the large number of spectators peering into the locks can be a hazard when walking ropes. Falling into a lock with lumpy boats in it is more dangerous than falling in to water.
 
Dave-Shafa said:
Twice in Inverness, tourists have asked me where the City Centre is.
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FishyInverness said:
I hope you directed them into the Ferry, a time honoured pastime which would provide much amusement.... ..;)
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A1Sailor said:
Indeed. Particularly when they discovered it was replaced by a bridge years ago! :D
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I wonder if A1Sailor is aware that "The Ferry" is an area of Inverness characterised by low amenity and which is overrepresented among those who appear in the local Sheriff Court.

In this respect it differs from Dundee where "The Ferry" refers to Broughty Ferry, an area of solid middle-class respectability.
 
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alan_d said:
I wonder if A1Sailor is aware that "The Ferry" is an area of inverness characterised by low amenity and which is overrepresented among those who appear in the local Sheriff Court.
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I was about to say the same, I was referring to "The Ferry" as oppose to the less mortally interesting and more nautical meaning of the term.. ;)
(Which, incidentally, is where our head office is based, :eek:)

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Inverness
 
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alan_d said:
I wonder if A1Sailor is aware that "The Ferry" is an area of inverness characterised by low amenity and which is overrepresented among those who appear in the local Sheriff Court.

In this respect it differs from Dundee where "The Ferry" refers to Broughty Ferry, an area of solid middle-class respectability.
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Ah. I actually wondered if The Ferry was a hostelry...
 
A1Sailor said:
Ah. I actually wondered if The Ferry was a hostelry...
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Ahhh no, that would be "The Nip Inn" guaranteed to never let you do the opposite...

...at least not standing up...

...breathing optional...

Aaanyway, back to topic.
Have to say that, as a child, I used to get taken by the parents to some lock or other Down South next to a pub, where us kids would spend hours having fun with the boats, helping them with the gates, etc, etc. Had I been offered the chance to sail the Caley at that age, I would have been the most excited kid ever, I can't imagine any youngsters not enjoying the varied landscapes, sights and locks that the canal has to offer. Fort Augustus on a Sunny Summer day is crowded, vibrant and has all kinds of little diversions.

I think too many people overestimate youngster's boredom thresholds, either that or assume that they've become so de-sensitised to anything non-electronic that they can't appreciate a stunning place and wild surrounds....that actually makes me a wee bit sad.
 
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