Jump to content

Crinan Canal

Coordinates:56°05′28″N05°33′23″W/ 56.09111°N 5.55639°W/56.09111; -5.55639
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromCrinan canal)

Crinan Canal
The Crinan Canal at Cairnbaan
LocationArgyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Coordinates56°03′27″N05°27′57″W/ 56.05750°N 5.46583°W/56.05750; -5.46583NR 84306 90378
Specifications
Length9 miles (14 km)
StatusOpen
History
Current ownerScottish Canals,Scottish Government
Principal engineerJames Paterson,James Watt,John RennieandThomas Telford
Date of act1773
Construction began1794
Date completed1801
Geography
Directionwest to east
Start pointCrinan
End pointLochgilphead
Beginningcoordinates56°05′28″N05°33′23″W/ 56.09111°N 5.55639°W/56.09111; -5.55639
Endingcoordinates56°00′43″N05°26′44″W/ 56.01194°N 5.44556°W/56.01194; -5.44556

TheCrinan Canalis a nine miles (14 km) longnavigable canalinArgyll and Bute,west of Scotland. It opened in 1801 and connects the village ofArdrishaigonLoch GilpwithCrinanon theSound of Jura,providing a navigable route between theFirth of Clydeand theInner Hebrides,without the need for a long diversion around theKintyre Peninsula,and in particular the exposedMull of Kintyre.[1]

Today the canal is operated byScottish Canalsand is a popular route for leisure craft, used by nearly 2,000 boats annually.[2]The towpath is part ofNational Cycle Route 78.[3][4]

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

Map
Route map

History

[edit]

The canal was built to provide a shortcut for commercial sailing and fishing vessels and laterClyde puffersto travel between the industrialised region aroundGlasgowto theWest Highlandvillages and islands. It was designed by civil engineerJohn Rennieand work started in 1794, but was not completed until 1801, two years later than planned. The canal's construction was beset with problems including finance and poor weather. Landowners demanded high prices for their land andnavvieswere reluctant to leave jobs in more accessible parts of England and Scotland. The construction cost £127,000[8](equivalent to £12,220,000 in 2023).[9]

On Saturday 8 August 1801, theCarlisle Journalreported that:

On Monday, a boat laden with fish, arrived at the Broomielaw, Glasgow, from one of the Western Isles, being the first vessel that has passed through the Crinan Canal[10]

The canal bank near Lochgilphead failed in 1805 and the canal's course was diverted to avoid the marshy ground. The canal's reservoirs were finished in 1809 but two years later a storm caused one to burst releasing its water and sending boulders and mud along the canal in both directions wrecking locks, the canal banks and the nearby roads.[2]Repairs cost £8,000[8](equivalent to £733,200 in 2023).[9]

The canal company, headed by theDuke of Argyll,had to seek help from the government, who askedThomas Telfordto assess the problems. He suggested improvements to thelocks,and some parts of the canal were redesigned including the swing bridges which were replaced incast ironin 1816.[11]The government paid for the work but the canal company lost control and it was handed to the Caledonian Canal Commissioners.[12]

Passage of Her Majesty on the Crinan Canal from theIllustrated London News28 August 1847

Queen Victoriatravelled along the canal to Crinan during a holiday in the Scottish Highlands in 1847. She was greeted at Ardrishaig and her boat was towed by four horses, two of which were ridden bypostilionsin royallivery.At Crinan she boarded theroyal yachtVictoria and Albert.[13]Her journey made the canal a tourist attraction and gave the canal an added purpose. Passenger steamer companies operating out of Glasgow advertised the canal as the "Royal route" and by the late 1850s more than 40,000 passengers passed through Ardrishaig each year and were met by steamers to Oban at Crinan.

A disaster occurred on 2 February 1859 when the Camloch reservoir supplying the canal burst, and the ensuing torrent of water and rock damaged the banks of the canal and seven of the gates forming the locks which were swept into the valley below.[14]The canal was closed for through navigation until 1 May 1860 although the wider repairs to paths and road had not been completed. Although Parliament had authorised £12,000 (equivalent to £1,420,000 in 2023)[9]for repairs the company reported that the expenditure had exceeded the budget by around £3,500 (equivalent to £415,300 in 2023)[9]as the damage included large boulders of rock which were found in the bed of the canal.[15]

In 1866 a steam-powered passenger boatLinnet[16]replaced horse-drawn boats for tourists.[2][12]Linnetremained in service until 1929.[2]

Between 1930 and 1932, new sea locks were built at either end, making the canal accessible at any state of tide.[2]The swing bridge at Ardrishaig was installed at this time.[17]The canal became the responsibility ofBritish Waterwaysin 1962. It closed for nine-week period in October 1987 to allow some refurbishment.[18]On 2 July 2012 the British Waterways functions in Scotland were transferred to Scottish Canals.[19]

Features

[edit]

The Crinan Canal has 15 locks and is crossed by seven bridges: sixswing bridgesand aretractable bridge.Stone for the 15 locks was brought fromMull,theIsle of ArranandMorvern.From Ardrishaig, three locks raise the canal's 4-mile-long (6-kilometre) east reach to 32 ft (10 m) above sea level. The 1,100 yd (1,000 m) summit reach, between Cairnbaan and Dunardry, is 64 feet (20 metres) above sea level. The west reach between Dunardry and Crinan is 18 feet (5.5 metres) above sea level.[1]The canal is 10 ft (3 m) deep, although the declared maximum draught for a vessel is 2.5 m (8.2 ft),[20]and has essentially no height limit, but there are signs quoting 30m maximum due to the recent power lines that cross the canal.

The retractable bridge at Lock 11 replaced the original swing bridge in 1900. It is operated by a rotating handle and a cogged wheel which causes the bridge deck to roll forwards and backwards on rails and comes to rest across the lock chamber. It is no longer is use.[21]The canal has towpaths on both sides from Ardrishaig to Crinan Bridge (no longer) and horses assisted unpowered craft until 1959.[22]


Feature Location Type
Lock 1 (sea lock) Ardrishaig Lock
Ardrishaig Swing Bridge Ardrishaig Swing bridge
Ardrishaig Basin Ardrishaig Basin
Lock 2 Ardrishaig Lock
Lock 3 Ardrishaig Lock
Lock 4 Ardrishaig Lock
Lock 4 Bridge Ardrishaig Swing bridge
Oakfield Bridge Lochgilphead Swing bridge
Lock 5 Cairnbaan Lock
Cairnbaan Bridge Cairnbaan Swing bridge
Lock 6 Cairnbaan Lock
Lock 7 Cairnbaan Lock
Lock 8 Cairnbaan Lock
Lock 9 Dunardry Lock
Lock 10 Dunardry Lock
Lock 11 Dunardry Lock
Dunardry Bridge Dunardry Moveable bridge
Lock 12 Dunardry Lock
Lock 13 Dunardry Lock
Bellanoch Bridge Bellanoch Swing bridge
Bellanoch Marina Bellanoch Marina
Crinan Bridge Crinan Swing bridge
Lock 14 Crinan Lock
Crinan Basin Crinan Basin
Lock 15 (sea lock) Crinan Lock
[edit]
  • Ardrishaig lighthouse
    Ardrishaig lighthouse
  • Ardrishaig basin.
    Ardrishaig basin.
  • Dunardry locks
    Dunardry locks
  • Bellanoch Bridge
    Bellanoch Bridge
  • The sea lock and Crinan Lighthouse
    The sea lock and Crinan Lighthouse
[edit]

A song sung by Dan MacPhail inThe Vital Spark:

Oh! The Crinan Canal for me,
I don't like the wild raging sea,
It would be too terrific to cross the Pacific,
Or sail to Japan or Fiji.
A life on the Spanish Main,
I think it would drive me insane,
The big foaming breakers would give me the shakers,
The Crinan Canal for me.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abBurrows 1981,p. 4
  2. ^abcdeHistory of the Crinan Canal,Scottish Canals, archived fromthe originalon 12 August 2014,retrieved3 June2014
  3. ^Route 78,Sustrans,retrieved3 June2014
  4. ^"Lochgilphead to Crinan".Sustrans.Retrieved19 February2017.
  5. ^Historic Environment Scotland."Crinan Canal,Crinan to Cairnbaan (SM6500)".Retrieved25 February2019.
  6. ^Historic Environment Scotland."Crinan Canal,Cairnbaan - Ardrishaig (SM6501)".Retrieved25 February2019.
  7. ^Historic Environment Scotland."Crinan Canal,Loch a' Bharain canal feeder (SM6502)".Retrieved25 February2019.
  8. ^ab"Busting of the Crinan Canal".Glasgow Herald.Scotland. 3 January 1860.Retrieved17 October2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^abcdUKRetail Price Indexinflation figures are based on data fromClark, Gregory (2017)."The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)".MeasuringWorth.Retrieved7 May2024.
  10. ^"Edinburgh. August 5".Carlisle Journal.Scotland. 8 August 1801.Retrieved17 October2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^Hutton 2003,p. 18
  12. ^abHutton 2003,p. 3
  13. ^Hutton 2003,p. 9
  14. ^"Partial Destruction of the Crinan Canal".Inverness Courier.Scotland. 10 February 1859.Retrieved17 October2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^"Crinan Canal".Inverness Courier.Scotland. 2 August 1860.Retrieved17 October2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^"Screw Steamer LINNET".Scottish Built Ships.Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.Retrieved17 October2021.
  17. ^Hutton 2003,p. 47
  18. ^McCallum, Andrew (6 October 1987)."Canal will come to life as the money pours in".The Glasgow Herald.p. 11.Retrieved3 January2017.
  19. ^Our Structure and Governance,Scottish Canals, archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2015,retrieved19 June2014
  20. ^Crinan Canal Restrictions: Update 10 October'The Crinan Canal is now operating as normal... maximum draft is 2.5m fresh water.' 10 October 2018www.scottishcanals.co.uk,accessed 29 April 2021
  21. ^Hutton 2003,p. 23
  22. ^Hutton 2003,p. 33

Sources

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Burrows, George W. (1981),Puffer Ahoy!,Brown, Son and Fergusson,ISBN978-0-85174-419-3
  • Hutton, Guthrie (2003),Crinan Canal The Shipping Short Cut,Stenlake Publishing,ISBN978-1-84033-257-5
  • Paterson, Len (2005).From Sea To Sea: A History of the Scottish Lowland and Highland Canals.Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing.ISBN978-1903238943.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Lindsey, Jean (1968)The Canals of Scotland,The Canals of the British Isles8,Newton Abbot: David & Charles,ISBN0-7153-4240-1
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toCrinan Canal.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crinan_Canal&oldid=1232556393"