The Locks at Fort Augustus

On our way to Skye, we stopped at Fort Augustus, which is at the south west end of Loch Ness. The Caledonian Canal, connecting Fort William to Inverness, passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness.

Through the gates and the water levels

Each change of lock takes 15 mins or so and there are 3 levels that boats have to negotiate, so it's a lengthy process, but interesting to watch.
The boats enter the lock and the water fills to equal the next level and the sailors, after the gates have opened, walk their boat through to the next lock, where upon those gates close and the process repeats itself.

Walking the boat through

There were 4 hire boats and one very upmarket yacht in this group. There were obviously some experienced and some not so experienced sailors in this group. One an Australian couple who had never done it before, but saw it on telly and thought they'd give it a go. Another Scottish couple, who looked like they knew what they were about, then promptly let their rope slacken and bumped into the expensive yacht amid squeals and yells from the owners.

Could happen to anybody, I guess, but I'm glad it wasn't me.
The crews were varied, from Australians, Scots, Swedes and others but the cutest were the mascots with their little life jackets.