Don't know it's there

WATERWAYS Trust Scotland believe that many people living near the Caledonian Canal don't even know it is there, so have appointed a canal officer, who the Trust hopes will increase awareness.

Stephen Wiseman has been appointed as canal officer, to 'increase involvement and knowledge of the waterway', with his first task to recruit and train local people to be 'Canal Custodians', encouraging them to create practical conservation projects, including helping other local people to research and record the history of the canal, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Many more people

He will try to get many more local people to explore, use and care for the  waterway, which stretches from Inverness to Fort William, so over the next two years Stephen will be running a series of projects and activities to help people in the area discover more of the canal's heritage, scenery and wildlife, explaining:

"The Caledonian Canal is relatively unknown locally. While visitors come from far and wide to cruise along the waterway, there are few opportunities for people living in its vicinity to experience the canal."