Crinan, Argyll

Crinan is a small village located on the west coast of Scotland in the region known as Knapdale, which is part of Argyll and Bute. Before the Crinan Canal was built, Crinan was named Port Righ which meant the king's port. The canal was named from the small settlement of Crinan Ferry on the edge of Loch Crinan where a small ferry landed. The name Crinan probably derives from the Creones tribe who lived in the area in 140 AD. The canal starts at Ardrishaig sea lock on Loch Gilp, and ends nine miles away at Crinan sea lock on the Sound of Jura. The canal was designed to provide a short cut between the west coast and islands at one end and the Clyde estuary at the other, and so avoid the long voyage around the south end of the Kintyre Peninsula.