Corpach - the end of the canal

Today we said goodbye to Diane and to Madeline and Rob. I helped Diane to take her bags to the station and waved her goodbye as she boarded the train to Glasgow with Madeline and Rob. I felt very sad to see her go, but pleased to have the company of new crewmates, Jean-Francois and Joan.

We booked our time with the lock-keeper for descending the famous ‘Neptune’s Staircase’ of eight locks that let us down almost to sea level at Corpach on the west end of the canal. The rain started as we slipped our lines at the top end of the staircase and persisted all the way down until we tied up at Corpach. There were lots of tourists watching our descent, many from America and Canada, and several asked about our boat, our charity and our project, which was gratifying.

Joke:
 A Scotsman was heading out to the pub? He turned to his wee wife before leaving and said, 'Jackie - put your hat and coat on lassie.'
She replied, 'Awe Iain that's nice - are you taking me to the pub with you?'
'Nah, I'm just switching the central heating off while I'm oot.'

Moored at Bonavie, at the top of Neptune's Staircase

Looking down the flight of locks that make up Neptune's Staircase

Diane catching the train to Glasgow with Madeline and Rob