Back in the 1800s, the great engineer Thomas Telford decided to finish what nature began 400 million years previously, and worked to connect the lochs to provide a practical sea-to-sea route.

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It immediately dismisses the sub-sea route and we've been told that it's unacceptable because of the cost.

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To opt-out of the drive and catch panoramic views of the scenery, the Sea-to-Sky Climb train travels the same route in three hours.

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So too is the hope that the North-East Passage above Russia, also known as the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as well as the North-West Passage from the Atlantic over the top of North America, will become navigable for several months each summer.

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Sailing along the coast of Siberia by the north-east passage, or Northern Sea Route (NSR), as Russians and mariners call it, cuts the distance between western Europe and east Asia by roughly a third.

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About half of the existing 70-mile (110km) route around the island is diverted away from the sea.

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Without this land route, the government can supply its troops in the Tamil-dominated peninsula only by sea or by air.

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