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The Regeneration of Caol
pictures and story by Margaret Muncie
first published - Lochaber Life Magazine May 2006
Too long has Loch Linnhe been ignored as one of the major players in the immediate landscape in the greater Fort William area. The loch has just been ‘there’- not much more than a backdrop.
The wee bits of access to the loch that there used to be on the front at the Achintore end of Fort William were removed to make way for the West End Car Park. Fort William has had its back to the loch long enough. The new Fort William Waterfront Development will hopefully address this
Over at Caol, moves are afoot to regenerate the whole area, and in particular the Caol loch front. There is no other place in the immediate Fort William area at the moment with the attractions now available to everyone as on the waterfront at Caol.
Attractions like the views down the loch to Corran. The views to one side at Corpach; and to the other with Inverlochy, Fort William and Achintore spread out like a ribbon. Panoramic vistas of light and space. Attractions like the new sparklingly clean shore
It is quite wonderful this initiative which has transformed the shore, and which has ongoing plans to develop and improve the loch front here even more: Caol Regeneration Company Ltd, an offshoot of the admirable Caol in Bloom organisation, started cleaning the beach in 2005. The regeneration of the whole of Caol is their aim, but the improvement on the shore is immediately and particularly stunning
I visited the area recently, it was a day in early spring, the air was balmy, and people strolled on the beach, or along the newly constructed pathway designed to welcome not only walkers but also wheelchair users. The sun sparkled on the water all the way down to Corran, the view of the pulp mill and Loch Eil was just beautiful.
This pathway, 834 metres in length, starts at the spit road at the bottom of Glenmallie Road and stretches almost all the way to the Playing Fields at the far end of the shore, a small path then linking it all to the canal. A great walk for a sunny day!
The clearing of the shore area was not a simple task. Carpets, tyres, bottles, tins, boxes from Marine Harvest and sundry other delightful items blown up the loch were scoured off the shore, revealing not only shingle but a good sandy beach as well. Dead sheep and dogs have also found their way here on tide and flood over the years, and with the mountains of uncleared rubbish, made the shore a ‘no-go’ area.
No more. The shore is pristine now. Caol Regeneration Company Ltd have plans to buy a tractor and beach cleaning equipment so they can continue to keep the beach clean, now that it has been freed of the straightjacket of unwanted rubbish.
Of course, with the floods of last year still in mind, when floodwater swept over the shore and disastrously into many homes, the ideal would be to construct a barrier to keep the loch away from the housing, especially with the global-warming predictions of rising sea levels. But this is a massive project which would cost many millions of pounds and is something outwith the remit of Caol Regeneration Company. Holyrood will have to deal with this, and with similar floods on many of Scotland’s hundreds of miles of shoreline, when this will happen is sadly problematical.
Nevertheless, to do what can be done to open up this truly beautiful area to people again is one that does not need to wait for the protective sea-wall to be built. To have a regenerated village and shore frontage will be a wonderful boon to not only Caol but to the surrounding areas. And the cleaning up has not undermined the limited natural protection against high tides and floods.
A restaurant is planned to stand proudly on an area near to the shopping square. It will have souvenir and craft outlets on the ground floor with the restaurant upstairs offering the unmatchable views down the loch as a unique dining accompaniment..
Other plans for the shore area include sea-sports, wind surfing, yachting, barbecues, beach parties – the ideas are exciting! SEPA has confirmed that the loch is clean now compared to what it was.
SNH, Whelk Leader, Lochaber Enterprise, CERS (Community Environmental Renewal Schemes) and Caol in Bloom were all instrumental in providing grants and funding for this regeneration of Caol, with contractors dealing with the massive task of cleaning up the beach and constructing the pathway.
In 1999, when Caol in Bloom started, inspired by Councillor Olwyn MacDonald, and facilitated by the two remaining founding members - Margaret Clelland and Dr. Su Sen, the canal bank on the Caol side of the bank was cleared by the hard working volunteers in Caol in Bloom. It was planted up with shrubs that would attract butterflies, birds and wildlife to the area. Hanging baskets and the annual Caol in Bloom gardening contest has resulted in a wonderful range of floral delights throughout Caol. Vic Macpherson, a retired stone mason, has constructed well over a dozen attractive raised flower beds all over Caol; more are being built by Vic, providing permanent enjoyment for everyone.
A spokesperson for Caol in Bloom and Caol Regeneration Company said to Lochaber Life, “Community spirit in Caol is good.”
An eight foot high illuminated cairn to “Caol Caring Community” is being completed in the grassy area in the shopping square.
We hope to return in September to get a keek at the gardens and meet some of the gardeners who annually turn Caol into a sea – of colour.
This regeneration programme is an initiative which makes us all proud that we are living in Lochaber, and is hopefully a foretaste of more to come all around the area.
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