What is Scottish Canals?

Scottish Canals is the organisation that manages Scotland's canal network, and scottishcanals.co.uk is its official website. The site serves three main purposes: helping boaters with licences and moorings, helping visitors plan trips and activities, and publishing business, governance, and project information. If you want to boat on a Scottish canal, plan a day out or holiday along one, or find out who runs and maintains the network, this is the starting point.

What the site covers

The website is organised around the canals themselves and the things you can do on and around them.

The canal network

The network pages cover:

• Caledonian Canal — the Highland route linking the east and west coasts
• Crinan Canal — the shortcut across the Kintyre peninsula
• Forth & Clyde Canal — the lowland route between the two Scottish coasts
• Union Canal — connecting Edinburgh to the Forth & Clyde
• Monkland Canal — listed under the Visit section

A network map is available if you want to see how the canals connect before deciding where to go.

Boating

If you plan to bring a boat onto the canals, the Boating section is where the practical information lives:

• Buy a Visitor Licence — for boats visiting the network
• Short-Term Licence Terms and Conditions — the rules attached to short-term licences
• Moorings — mooring locations, mooring prices, a waiting list, and FAQs
• Important Information — rules and compliance, boat launching, the Boating Customer Charter, boater facilities and services, and how to boat on the canals
• Report an Issue — for problems encountered on the water

Licence and mooring details sit behind these pages rather than on the homepage, so start there if your question is about cost, eligibility, or availability.

Visit and things to do

The Visit section is aimed at people who are not boating:

• Boat tours — if you want to be on the water without owning a boat
• Running, walking, hiking and cycling — canal towpaths as routes
• Canoe and Kayak Trails, including the Great Glen Canoe Trail
• Fishing and magnet fishing
• Water play activities and wildlife spotting
• Canal holidays — boating holidays, hotels on water, and motorhome stopovers, including motorhomes at The Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel has its own section, reflecting its status as one of the network's best-known attractions.

Events, business, and governance

• Events — upcoming events, event spaces including The Treehouse, hosting your own event, and lighting up landmarks
• Filming and photography — including filming with drones
• Business and Governance — business opportunities, third-party works, procurement and tendering, freight and harbour operations
• About us — maintaining and developing the canals, the winter 2026/2027 stoppages programme, projects, environment and heritage, health and wellbeing, education, and canal societies and industry partners
• News, Shop, and Podcasts

How to decide whether to keep browsing

One practical note: the site separates boating information from visiting information fairly strictly. If you are looking for licence prices, mooring prices, or waiting list details, they are not on the homepage — follow the Boating menu. If you are looking for a day out, the Visit menu is the faster route.