The Crinan Canal across the Kintyre Peninsula Scotland.

The Crinan Canal is one of the Scottish canals, which do not link up to the main UK network, but which enable Scottish canal enthusiasts to enjoy the pleasures of canal cruising.  The Canal traverses the Kintyre peninsula from the Sound of Jura in the west to Lock Fyne in the east and has been called "the most beautiful short cut in Britain"!  It was originally opened in 1801 and was intended to offer a safe passage for cargoes such as herring boats and other coastal shipping between the open waters of the Sound of Jura lashed by the Atlantic Ocean in winter and the relatively calm Loch Fyne. The canal was not properly finished until 1816 when the great civil engineer Thomas Telford redesigned whole sections of the canal.  As has happened over the whole of the canal network, the working boats have virtually disappeared from the Crinan Canal but it is well -used by pleasure boats.

The Crinan Canal at Ardrishaig - photo by Tom Richardson and reproduced by kind permission	The sea lock at Ardrishaig - photo by Jo Turner and reproduced by kind permission

The canal is very scenic and quite short, being only 9 miles long.  At the Loch Fyne end (the southern end) the canal leaves the Loch and enters the sea lock at Adrishaig.  This is a pretty little town which grew up as a direct result of the opening of the canal. Boats called "Clyde puffers" once regularly used the Crinan canal, and sometimes you can see one or two of these moored up in the canal basin. 

From the sea lock you pass through three wide locks which take the canal up towards Lochgilphead, around which the canal skirts before striking out in a north-easterly direction towards Cairnbaan.  This is an ancient place, where rock carvings and a Bronze Age burial mound have been found.  There are four locks here which raise the canal up to the summit level.  The summit offers a very short respite to boaters however, as within half a mile the canal begins its descent to the Sound of Jura.

The locks at Cairnbaan - photo by Dorcas Sinclair and reproduced by kind permission	The canal at Dunardry - photo by Chris Downer and reproduced by kind permission

Five locks at Dunardry take the canal downwards - at Lock No. 11 you will find a rolling bridge which runs on rails and is hand operated.  All around you are hills covered in trees, but you can also see Moine Mhor which is an area of open wetland bogs and a National Nature Reserve.
 

The canal at Bellanoch - photo by J Briscoe and reproduced by kind permission

The next structure of note that you reach is Bellanoch Swing Bridge which carries a road across the canal and the Nature Reserve.  Just beyond here is Bellanoch Marina, which is part of Bellanoch bay.  The canal continues north-westerly above the estuary of the little River Add, until it traverses through a rocky section and finally reaches its destination - the Crinan Canal basin.  From here you can reach the open sea. 

The canal at Crinan - photo by Ronnie Leaske and reproduced by kind permission	The end of the canal at Crinan - photo by Mym and reproduced by kind permission

Crinan has lots of visitors  especially in the summer - not surprising really as the views all around you here are superb.

I hope that this brief introduction to the Crinan Canal has created some interest and that you visit the canal for its unique beauty and peace and see for yourself why visitors - including Queen Victoria - find the views here "very fine indeed", to quote the Queen's own journal.

Jeannette Briggs