[1] Dingwall was of sufficient importance to be included on the map, and when James VI awarded it a burgh charter in 1587, it mentioned cobles and small boats.

However, there was a problem caused by the deposition of alluvium from the rivers Conon and Orrin, which made access more difficult, and by 1773 the burgh was in a depressed state.

The project was designed by the canal engineer Thomas Telford and involved diverting the river through a temporary cut so that a new course for it could be constructed.

In 1828, Telford estimated that repairs were needed which would cost £800, and so the town council asked the Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges to take over responsibility for it.

[2] The route of the canal still forms a pleasant walk from the town to a picnic site on the Cromarty Firth, although there is a firing range nearby, which fires over the canal, and so there are red warning flags and signs to indicate when it is unsafe to use this route.