Crinan Canal

Crinan Canal
The Crinan Canal at Cairnbaan
Location	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	56°03′27″N 05°27′57″W / 56.05750°N 5.46583°W / 56.05750; -5.46583 NR 84306 90378
Specifications
Length	9 miles (14 km)
Status	Open
History
Current owner	Scottish Canals, Scottish Government
Principal engineer	James Paterson, James Watt, John Rennie and Thomas Telford
Date of act	1773
Construction began	1794
Date completed	1801
Geography
Direction	west to east
Start point	Crinan
End point	Lochgilphead
Beginning coordinates	56°05′28″N 05°33′23″W / 56.09111°N 5.55639°W / 56.09111; -5.55639
Ending coordinates	56°00′43″N 05°26′44″W / 56.01194°N 5.44556°W / 56.01194; -5.44556

The Crinan Canal is a nine miles (14 km) long navigable canal in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It opened in 1801 and connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with Crinan on the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Firth of Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need for a long diversion around the Kintyre Peninsula, and in particular the exposed Mull of Kintyre.^[1]

Today the canal is operated by Scottish Canals and is a popular route for leisure craft, used by nearly 2,000 boats annually.^[2] The towpath is part of National Cycle Route 78.^[3][4]

The canal is a two-part scheduled monument.^[5][6] Loch a' Bharain, which serves as a feeder reservoir for the canal, is also a scheduled monument.^[7]

Route map