This is a lock on the Caledonian Canal.

The Great Glen divides the Highlands of Scotland with its series of lochs, and was therefore considered an ideal site for a canal from as early as 1726.

A series of surveys were carried out throughout the Eighteenth Century, but it was not until 1802 that any action was taken on the proposals.

The Caledonian Canal as we know it was designed by Thomas Telford, the greatest of Scotland's civil engineers. Funded by the British Government and constructed between 1803 and 1822, it was the first state-funded transport undertaking in British history, and remains under public ownership to this day.