057:03.089 N
004:47.796 W

Loch Oich

Bol and Harry walked to the shore of Loch Ness late last night and found a totally different scene to the short, white-topped chop we’d motored through all day; a beautiful mirror-like calm.

This morning a very sweet sight greeted us in the cockpit; proud Mrs Mallard and her five ducklings were at eye level right on the quayside, gentle chatter going on between them all.

Clear skies first thing so we headed off after breakfast, after a couple of single locks to work through we headed into Loch Oich.

Loch Oich was a very different to Loch Ness being full of small islands of trees, as a result we had red and green marker buoys to follow. It was all very straight forward and we wove our way through without any issues, it looked like this area might have been a flooded woodland to create this waterway. It eventually opened up and we spotted a lone pontoon a short way before the next swing bridge where we are moored for the night.

The rain came half way through but we could still enjoy the view from under our bimini. The hilly sides of the canal had areas of deforested pines, other areas had young trees. It was clear that this area of pine trees are being harvested and replanted, all very neatly done with enormous piles of tree trunks along the way.

Close to where we are moored is the “Well of the Seven Heads”, a gory monument which on close inspection reveals a hand holding a dagger and seven severed heads, sitting atop an ancient well. It gives a nod to an extraordinarily brutal episode in Scottish clan history; a revenge murder from the 1660’s. It is worth checking out online to read more about it because to expand it here will go to several pages!

We then had a damp walk up through the pine forest following a gravel track, almost into the cloud line, it was a fine view from the top looking down into Loch Oich.

We have just watched a youtube video about Achnacarry Castle and Estate being used as the Commando Basic Training Centre in the 1940s, preparing for D-Day. As it is in the next Loch, we plan to visit the museum tomorrow; Bol’s father Harry Minchin attended training there and so Bol has heard about this place all his life. We are very much looking forward to visiting.