Let us introduce ourselves
Our Story
The modern story of Corpach Marina is a community success built on a decade of local ambition and careful investment. The project grew from plans first developed by local small-boat interests and was championed in later years by Caol Regeneration Company (CRC) as a community-owned development to improve waterfront access at the western entrance to the Caledonian Canal.
Work on the current, fully sheltered marina began in earnest in 2020 as a phased regeneration project supported by a mix of public and third-sector funding; the overall scheme was reported to be a multi-million pound development delivered in stages to create an all-year facility. The design-and-build contract delivered modern floating pontoons, breakwaters, visitor and seasonal berths, a public slipway and onshore facilities including showers and parking — transforming a formerly underused stretch of Loch Linnhe into a safe, sheltered harbour for local and visiting boats.
Operated by Thomas Telford Corpach Marina Ltd on behalf of the community, the marina offers 45 berths and services designed to support local leisure, tourism and marine businesses while reinvesting in the area. Crown Estate Scotland was instrumental in securing the funding and delivering the necessary infrastructure for the marina’s later phases, ensuring its operational success while community ownership arrangements were established.
The completed marina was formally opened by HRH The Princess Royal in April 2023, marking the culmination of years of volunteer effort, fundraising and partnership between local stakeholders, contractors and funding bodies. Today the marina provides sheltered moorings, a slipway, a café and visitor facilities that link Corpach more closely to Fort William and the Caledonian Canal boating network.
Engineering a Path Through the Highlands
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford (1757–1834) left an enduring mark on Britain’s landscape, shaping the nation with roads, bridges, harbours, and canals on a scale few had attempted before. Rising from modest beginnings in rural Dumfriesshire, he became the foremost civil engineer of his age, earning the nickname the “Colossus of Roads.”
Among his boldest undertakings was the Caledonian Canal, a vast Highland waterway designed to link the Atlantic with the North Sea and spare ships the treacherous northern seas. Stretching 60 miles from Inverness to Fort William, the canal stitched together natural lochs—most notably Loch Ness—through carefully engineered cuts and immense masonry locks. As chief engineer, Telford brought order and precision to a rugged landscape, creating structures whose durability still commands respect.
The canal was only one part of a remarkable career. Elsewhere, Telford transformed travel across Britain with more than 1,000 miles of new roads, including extensive improvements in the Scottish Highlands. His Menai Suspension Bridge in Wales, completed in 1826, was a triumph of daring design, while the elegant Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carried canal boats high above the River Dee. Though some projects outpaced their original purpose, Telford’s legacy endures in the confidence and ambition of an era that believed engineering could remake the world.