B841
| B841 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
| ||||
| From: | Cairnbaan (NR842907) | |||
| To: | Crinan (NR793937) | |||
| Distance: | 4.3 miles (6.9 km) | |||
| Meets: | A816, B8025, canal towpath | |||
| Highway Authorities | ||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||
| ||||
The B841 follows the route of the Crinan Canal as it crosses the top of Knapdale from Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne to Crinan on the Sound of Jura. When the Steamship was still the main form of transport in the Western Highlands, the canal was one of the most important routes, shortcutting the long and treacherous route around the Mull of Kintyre.
Although the canal starts at Ardrishaig, the B841 starts halfway along the canal at Cairnbaan, about 3 miles west of Lochgilphead, with the A83 and A816 following the first section of the canal. Cairnbaan is a pretty little place, with many cottages lining the towpath, connected by footbridges over the lock gates and a couple of metal swing bridges. The road starts at a sharp bend on the A816 on the north bank of the canal, with an unclassified road to the north forming a large triangle junction. Most of the route, however, is along the south bank, so the road crosses over at the first bridge to run along the south side of the canal. To the left, steep tree-clad slopes mark the start of Knapdale, but it is to the canal on the right that the eye is constantly drawn.
Shortly before reaching Bellanoch the road meets the B8025 which comes in across Islandadd Bridge on the right and multiplexes with the B841 for a short distance before turning off to the left at the small village and marina. The road hugs the bottom of the hill here, with the canal being built out over the 'beach' of Loch Crinan. This results in a pretty canal basin at Bellanoch, which the B841 runs round three sides of. The road then continues west into Crinan itself, briefly losing sight of the canal as the signposts lead traffic round an unofficial one-way system through the village. However, this is not the B841, although you would be forgiven for thinking it was. The B841 has already turned off, down an unsigned (except as a no-through-road) side road that stays close to the canal, terminating on a swing bridge over the canal. Beyond, a grassy slipway marks the site of the old ferry crossing the mouth of the River Add to Crinan Ferry. Today, however, this last section of the road is no more than an access to three or four houses and the canal towpath.
