Since 2021, photographer and historical researcher Estelle Slegers Helsen has been wandering around Lochaber in the footsteps of the Scottish photographer W.S. Thomson MBE (1906-1967). She takes photographic remakes roughly 70 years after Thomson initially captured the landscape and talks to local people along her journey. Every fortnight, Estelle takes our readers to various places in Lochaber. This week, she focuses on the River Lochy.
When I arrive at Ronald Cameron’s house in Banavie, I immediately get into his car. “It will be a short but adventurous run to our destination,” says Ronald. “We will pass under the Caledonian Canal via one of this area’s remarkable features.”
After crossing Allt Sheangainn, he turns right onto a minor road. A few hundred yards later, he stops briefly. In front of us, I see a massive stone structure - a wall with three arched entrances.
“This is the Shengain or Torcastle aqueduct, one of four aqueducts that carry the canal over local rivers. The two arches on the left allow the Allt Sheangain to flow through, while the arch on the right was designed for carts and is still used as a roadway to the dwellings constructed on the old Tor Castle site.”
Ronald’s electric car hums as he slowly drives through the 240-foot tunnel. I’m curious whether vehicles can use this tunnel when the adjacent river floods.
The other three aqueducts are the Glen Loy, Muirshearlich and Mount Alexander aqueducts. All are masterpieces of early 19th-century engineering by Thomas Telford and are situated on the southern section of the Caledonian Canal, between Gairlochy Bottom Lock and Neptune’s Staircase or Banavie Locks.
As Ronald exits the tunnel, he parks his car on the verge. “We have to walk from here,” he says. “If you ever intend to return, you must park your car on the main road. The locals might be somewhat upset if they see a car they don’t know.”
The area between the Caledonian Canal and the River Lochy is rich with mature trees and scrubs. We head north along the Great Glen Way for a few minutes and then look for a place to descend the slippery river bank.
The scene from this vantage point offers a beautiful view over the River Lochy. Halfway down the river, a sizable rock formation is visible, and Ben Nevis towers in the background.
W. S. Thomson captured this setting about 75 years ago. The photograph was featured on the cover of a late-1940s edition of Let’s See Fort William and Lochaber.
Thomson used the same image on the menu card for the annual dinner of the Lochaber Mountaineering Club (LMC) in 1951.
Between 1945 and 1961, when Thomson lived in Fort William and Corpach, he was an active member of the LMC, also known as the Lochaber section of the Junior Mountaineering Club Scotland. Every year, one of his colour photographs illustrated the annual dinner card. It was traditional for the members and their spouses to sign the cards at the end of the dinner.
Mountaineer Noel Williams discovered the menu cards in the archive of the late Jimmy Ness, a lifelong mountaineer and one of the founding members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team.
Taking on a remake is always more complex than it may at first seem. Over time, the water has eroded the outer bend in the river, and the six-foot-high river bank is overgrown with scrub. The spot where Thomson stood is now completely hidden by trees. I decide to position my tripod in the muddy river bed.
Thomson’s photograph shows the river when the water was low. A man stands on the solid riverbed, facing the rocks. I can’t know who this man is. Fishermen call these rocks The Gorge. The part of the river in front is known as Falls Pool and is a popular fishing beat. The late John Ashley-Cooper, a renowned salmon fisher, once called the River Lochy the “Queen of Scottish Rivers”.
Before the mid-19th century, only locals would fish with a rod. However, from the 1850s, affluent anglers began to pay high fees to fish in the rivers of the Scottish Highlands. The sport of salmon fishing, along with deer stalking, has been a significant source of income for estate owners.
For more than 150 years, rod fishing has conflicted with net fishing, where fish are typically caught downstream in rivers and lochs. Although modern legislation and conservation policies have helped, the debate between anglers and net fishermen is ongoing.
* Travel in Time - Lochaber Series was supported by the West Highland Museum and the Year of Stories 2022 Community Fund. Estelle has published a 64-page book with 30 side-by-side then-and-now photos, which you can find in local shops or buy online at www.travelintime.uk.
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