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 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 |
| Ending coordinates | 56°00′43″N 05°26′44″W / 56.01194°N 5.44556°W |
The Crinan Canal is a nine-mile-long (14 km) 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.
Today the canal is operated by Scottish Canals and is a popular route for leisure craft, used by nearly 2,000 boats annually. The towpath is part of National Cycle Route 78.
The canal is a two-part scheduled monument. Loch a' Bharain, which serves as a feeder reservoir for the canal, is also a scheduled monument.