B841

The B841 follows the route of the Crinan Canal as it crosses the top of Knapdale from Lochgilphead 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.

We start at Cairnbaan, about 3 miles west of Lochgilphead, the 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. We cross the first of these to run along the south of the canal. To our left, steep tree-clad slopes mark the start of Knapdale, but it is to the canal on our right that the eye is constantly drawn.

The terminal bridge at Crinan Ferry

Shortly before reaching Bellanoch we meet the B8025 which comes in from the right and multiplexes with us for a short distance before turning off to the left at the small village and marina, which the B841 runs round three sides of. We then run down into Crinan itself, briefly losing sight of the canal as the signposts lead you 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.