It was a drizzly day and I had a couple of hours spare, so I caught the train round to Banavie on a recommendation. To be honest, its what it says on the tin. Its a series of locks, which in Engineering terms are pretty impressive, but thats it. Its not so overwhelming as to merit a big visit, but its not terrible, and if you know what to expect you'll enjoy, probably only worth 15/20 minutes.

The walk back to Fort William along the last couple of miles of the Great Glen Way was more enjoyable and memorable than the locks themselves.

We were lucky enough to stay at a B&B right on the canal where Neptunes Staircase is. What a beautiful view and a fantastic bit of engineering!

Worth a stop. The car park is free but is not signposted and is hidden from the main road. When you get there,not much to do except look at the boats and the view.

If you are in the area then it is worth 15 minutes of your time to look at the locks. If you are lucky then you will see some boats travelling up the locks, but these are controlled by electronics no manual pushing involved.