There were only 3 boats going through the canal today. We saw both of the others. We started up the locks near Dunardry, with Pam steering the boat and me on the shore. After 2 locks we waited for the boat coming up behind us and passed a boat going the other way. We then went through the other 3 Dunardry locks together and stopped at the pontoon above Lock 9. Although it’s easier having 2 boats sharing the operation of the locks, we needed lunch. We are also not in a rush because the weather forecast was bad for today (Tuesday) and also for Wednesday, suggesting winds of 6-8, though the wind seemed light all day.
We eventually found the path to Dunadd, which is the ancient castle of the Dalriadan kings, who ruled this part of Scotland about 1500 years ago. There is not much left of the castle but it stands on an impressive rock lump overlooking miles of flat marshland. We found some of the markings on the stones but not the Oggam inscriptions which are supposed to be there.See
track to Dunadd.
Tomorrow we will go down through 4 locks to Cairnbaan, and hopefully leave the canal in reasonable weather on Thursday. Follow the
track on Google Maps.
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| Must stop before the antique bridge which crosses the lock. |
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| Going up in the lock. |
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| View over the marshes from Dunadd |
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| Top of Dunadd |
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| Do-it-yourself lock operation |
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| Special markings at the top of Dunadd |
