Meet the people

John Stafford has been supervisor of the Western end of the Caledonian Canal for 14 years and has been with Scottish Canals for a total of 16 years, having been a lock keeper prior to his current position.

Mr Stafford used to run a small supermarket in Corpach before he started working on the canal. ‘A friend had a friend got me into the job. He said it was an interesting job and a good job for me with my customer care background,’ he says. He is now responsible for overall operations of west district, which covers from Fort William and Corpach up to Loch Lochy, and is responsible for boat movement, general maintenance jobs, and anything else which pops up. Speaking about his role, Mr Stafford said: ‘Every day is different, there’s not really any parts of the job I don’t like.’ The highlights are all the events that take place on and around the Canal, such as: Go Wild On the Canal, Heather Walk (check), Three Peaks race. ‘You meet a lot of nice people and its all interesting, and you get to help these folk to ensure everything is organised properly.’ ‘Lock keeping is the best part of the job, putting the boats through the locks. In the winter there’s minor maintenance jobs but you are out in the fresh air. You meet people from all walks of life and from all countries. At the end of the day its down to the lock keeper to get people through safely with electricity and hydraulics involved.’ Over his time on the canal, Mr Stafford says not much has changed in terms of the operation of the canal and the locks but more the administration side: ‘I see a big difference with safety compliance’ he says. Looking to the future of the canal, Mr Stafford said: ‘There’s been an increase in commercial use in the last few years with boat trips and small cruise ships. The future of this depends on the economy, the strength of the pound etc. We’re very tourist orientated like everything else.’ He added: ‘The canal has been here for almost 200 years and I hope it will be here for another 200!’