Crinan Canal

The Crinan Canal has had a chequered history and more than its share of problems. It was surveyed around 1771 by James Watt, of steam engine fame, and cutting started in 1793 but due to recurring financial problems the canal could not open until 1801. Even then, it was opened in a very poor state of completion with a very much reduced water depth and soon after opening, the canal had to be closed due to a breach in an embankment.

When the embankment at Oakfield Moss subsided in 1805, the canal had to be realigned away from the moss on to firmer ground and this resulted in further closure until 1806 and, indeed, it was 1809 before the canal was fully complete. Two years later saw the canal closed again due to the collapse of a dam at Clachaig Reservoir which caused very considerable damage to the canal structure.

In 1817 Thomas Telford inspected the canal and suggested important improvements which saved the canal from closure and, along with the opening of the Caledonian Canal and the coming of the steamship, allowed it to become an important link in the route from the Clyde to the West Highlands.

Traffic continued to improve and all seemed set fair until 1859 when the Cam Loch Reservoir’s dam was breached and the resulting flood filled the Cairnbaan summit reach of the canal with boulders, stones and mud. After reopening the canal settled down to become a useful and reliable waterway and in the 1930s new sea locks were constructed at Crinan and Ardrishaig and new powered swing bridges were installed at all “A” and “B” road crossings.

The canal which is nine statute miles long has fifteen locks, including the two sea locks, and there are two long reaches on each side of the summit with no locks. The water supply has always been a problem and in dry summers or after a dry winter, there has had to be a convoy system for vessels to conserve water. Sometimes there have been complete closures. The canal scenery is quite pastoral at the eastern end and west of the summit it becomes very highland with views over to Scarba and Jura.

One of the beauty spots at this end is Bellanoch Lagoon or Bay which is now a mini yacht marina.
Vessels using the canal are restricted to an overall length of 88 feet and a maximum breadth of 20 feet. Indeed when Ross & Marshall’s Sealight was being planned in 1930, she was designed to fit Lock 11 which was the narrowest as it had subsided during construction.

Unfortunately, the designers overlooked Lock 5 which had a different cill arrangement from the other locks and Sealight was never able to load her full cargo deadweight when transiting the canal from east to west.

Over its history the canal has had several owners starting with the original investors who lost everything, followed by the Commissioners of the Caledonian Canal, the Ministry of Transport and latterly British Waterways Board (Scotland).