Bona Lighthouse

Bona Lighthouse, Loch Ness

Our Loch Ness Kayaking trip takes you on water to the exceptional inland lighthouse at Loch End. Join our beginners kayak activity to see Bona Lighthouse.

Bona Lighthouse lies at the North end of Loch Ness, close to the settlement of Lochend, at the entrance to the narrows which links Loch Ness with Loch Dochfour (Little Loch Ness).

It was designed in 1815 by a superintendent of engineer Thomas Telford and was at one time the smallest manned in Britain. Bona Lighthouse is a good example of an early canal related structure designed by renowned engineer Thomas Telford and it is an interesting and rare example of an inland light. It is an important part of the early history of the Caledonian canal.

The 2-storey octagonal former dwelling and lighthouse. The buildings are predominantly all white rendered. There are shallow round-headed recesses to the octagonal ground floor with window openings in alternate bays. The channel at Bona, meaning white ford, was once a major crossing for drove roads. In 1844 canal engineers deepened and widened the Bona channel and raised the level of the waters on the loch, marking the transition from horses pulling barges to steam tugs instead.

Inland lights are uncommon in Scotland however a large proportion of those that are in existence are along the Caledonian Canal network: such as the pepper-pot lighthouses at Fort Augustus, Corpach and Gairlochy. Bona lighthouse may not have been purpose built for use as a light, but it was always intended to be a viewpoint even before it was adapted to hold light technology. In more recent times, this was altered to utilise two electric lights mounted on a timber pole to the left of the oriel windows, becoming an unoccupied beacon.

The Caledonian Canal is one of five canals surviving in Scotland but is unique among them as being the only one entirely funded by public money. The canal was part of a wider infrastructure initiative across the Highlands to facilitate trade and the growth of industry and, most importantly for the Government, to tackle the emigration problem resulting from the Highland Clearances, by providing much-needed employment

The original light is no longer in operation, and shipping is guided through this narrow stretch of water into Loch Dochfour by the later lights, which have been supplemented by additional lights in the lit and buoyed channel.

Join us for a kayak journey along the Caledonian Canal to Loch Ness and see the Bona Lighthouse.