The Crinan Canal, Crinan to Ardrishaig

08/9/25 to 13/9/25

With the very variable weather continuing, we were in no rush to leave the comfort of the canal and therefore enjoyed a slow but fun transit through.  Usually after a yacht club muster there is a mini-cruise in company, where boats follow a similar cruising route for the week following.  However, this year, due to weather conditions, the cruise had been stood down and therefore a few of us had similar plans to head through the canal shortly after the muster.  None, whom we were aware of, were opting for the longer route of going round the Mull of Kintyre!  And with other non-club boats with similar plans, it made for a busy Monday for the lock-keepers!

Given that each lock requires the filling and emptying of hundreds of cubic metres of water, a limited commodity even in the west of Scotland, the lock-keepers were keen for boats to transit in pairs where possible.  Luckily we were heading through with our friends, Mark and Asha aboard Altor of Down, and together we squeezed Evolene (Nauticat 42, plus davits and dinghy off the stern) and Altor of Down (Moody 44) into each of the lock chambers.  Mark and Asha have transited the Crinan canal on a number of occasions and together we were pretty slick at handling the boats, even if it did require Asha to fend off Evolene's bow and Altor of Down's stern occasionally!

Evolene and Altor squeezed in a lock

At one lock I was chatting to one of the lock-keepers who was very grateful for our 'can-do' attitude.  They were sharing their appreciation also for our boat handling skills, reflecting that using the winches for drawing in the bow and stern lines (as we were doing) was by the far the best way of maintaining control of the boat, particularly given the strength of water and ensuing turbulence, as the sluices were gradually opened.  They also shared that long lines are highly regarded.  We run a 20m length of rope from the hook on the lockside, through a fairlead on the bow, and then along the length of the boat back to one of the primary winches that we usually use for the genoa sheet.  A slightly shorter line is used for the stern onto the other primary winch.

After passing through the first two locks, the canal follows a longer stretch with stunning woodland rising steeply to starboard and the Crinan basin opening up to port.   I jumped onto the helm (forgetting just how tight some of the squeezes through the cuts and swing bridge openings can be but great for refining helming skills!) and Stuart started up the drone for his first flight underway.  He managed to get some great footage and, perhaps more importantly(?!), achieved a successful landing and retrieval of the drone once again.  As we wound our way eastward, despite being early afternoon, long shadows of the trees striped our path - a further reminder of the passing of seasons.

One of the most beautiful shortcuts in the world

With a number of boats and limited space ahead we stopped at Dunardry overnight and after dinner together explored the local countryside.  Asha is an exceptional mushroom forager and had found a number when out walking before dinner but they were proving elusive on our later walk.  Nonetheless it was great to get out and stretch our legs, the woodland providing great cover from the occasional ongoing showers.  Despite knowing that Asha has a comprehensive knowledge of mushrooms and has foraged with her family and enjoyed her pickings all her life, I still couldn't rationalise the fear of 'what if'!  (Probably not helped by the ongoing headlines of the current trial in Australia concerning mushroom poisoning!)  But I do think we (as a country) miss out on the beautiful, fresh and sustainable produce all around us through a loss of generational skill, confidence and expertise.

Rainbow between showers

Foraged mushrooms

Day two on the canal was slow!  Unfortunately there had been 'a leak' overnight and, as a result, the water level on the summit pass (highest point in the canal) was incredibly low (one lock keeper commented that they had never seen it that low before) and required topping up from one of the nine feeder reservoirs.  Therefore it was mid-morning before we were given the okay and could start moving again.  We passed through another couple of locks before reaching the summit pass but as we neared the next set of locks at Cairnbaan we could see the lock gates were closed and not ready to receive us.  Furthermore, it rapidly became clear that the summit pass was only just navigable, with the echo sounder showing 1.9m.  With Evolene drawing 1.9m in salt water and 2.0m in fresh water, it was perhaps no surprise that we could start feeling the gentle tug of the mud bottom of the canal below the keel.  Given the water level we were reluctant to leave the middle point of the canal and tie up to the now very exposed, holding pontoon and therefore Stuart manoeuvred Evolene to hold her mid-channel whilst we patiently waited for the advancing boats to rise in their chamber and exit to allow us in to 'lock down'.  

Fortunately we didn't have to wait too long until we were able to progress into the first of the Cairnbaan locks.  As we were now going down it was much easier for me to pop ashore from the outset and help the lock-keepers with securing lines and opening and shutting the lock gates.  This also helped with moving both boats along more quickly.... until we reached the swing bridge at the end of the penultimate lock on this flight.  This particular hurdle required the engineers as the bridge currently had a fault and could only be operated with their assistance, and they were on their lunch.  Not a problem but by now I was ashore and Evolene and Altor of Down were at the bottom of the lock chamber, staggered such that neither boat was alongside a ladder.  I didn't fancy the rather intrepid-looking descent down to the comfort of the boat and elected instead to hunker down behind a metal shed as the lunchtime showers passed over.

After half an hour or so, we could see Canal personnel on site and sure enough, the bridge was soon open and we were into our last lock chamber.  The lock-keepers asked our destination and we let them know that we'd like to stop just after the Oakfield swing bridge, which they were content with, and we were once more on our way.  We cruised gently down the canal and soon the Oakfield swing bridge was in sight.  Guess what... yes, it was closed and no lock-keepers in sight.  Thankfully, however, there was a serviceable pontoon available where we could tie up to and wait.  Initially we were advised this would be for half an hour but it ended up being over an hour before the bridge was finally opened.  Whilst we ended up stopping the far side of the bridge (and therefore no real difference in location) it did make the world of difference in terms of comfort.  The pontoons on the far side had an electricity source and when the weather is as damp as it was forecasted to be, a running dehumidifier on a boat becomes a God-send.  

We settled ourselves in to our new temporary home, set up the bimini to keep the worst of the rain off, and hot-footed it to the local Co-op for some much needed supplies!  We decided to write-off the next three days in terms of making any further progress.  High winds were forecasted and it was set to either be grey (some of the time), wet (some of the time) or very wet (most of the time!) and the forecast for the forthcoming weekend was not particularly enticing either.  Thankfully the trees around provided shelter from the wind and we made the most of accessible land living.  Both Stuart and I got out for some wet and boggy cross-country runs and I enjoyed a long and leisurely swim in the excellent local pool at Lochgilphead.  Stuart baked some more focaccia and we continued to enjoy Mark and Asha's lovely company in the evening.  With the darker evenings we can also now set up the projector and enjoy a 'movie night' on the big screen!

Movie night setup

Friday was to be our last full day together and we headed out for a walk in the afternoon, exploring the local countryside immediately to the west of Lochgilphead.  I had stumbled across a pretty waterfall during my explorations the day previously and gamely, Stuart, Mark and Asha followed me back up the hillside.  The bonus of the heavy rain over the past few days meant the waterfall continued to be in full flow and, this time with the help of OS maps, we were able to extend the route further along marked trails and see more of the very pretty waterfalls and woodland of Robber's den.

Forest wanderings

Forest wanderers

After drying and warming up back aboard our respective boats we joined up for one last very fun and enjoyable evening together, aboard Altor of Down, before going our separate ways after leaving the canal the following morning.

Sure enough, the following day continued in the same wet vein of the previous days but it was good to be back on the move again.  We were very grateful for the bimini and Stuart managed to stay mostly dry during the periodic deluges!  I was very content ashore in my waterproofs, helping to man the lines and the locks and after transiting a further three lock chambers we were in the sea lock that would be the gateway to our next phase of our adventures.  Cue goodbyes with Mark and Asha, stretching across the guardrails of both boats in the continuing rain, to wish each other safe onward travels and looking very much forward to when our paths may cross again soon!  The white horses of Loch Fyne in the rain were looking somewhat unappealing but on exiting the sea lock, we soon had our fenders and lines stowed away once more and were able to unfurl the genoa and feel that beautiful rhythm of the sea passing under the hull once more!

Evolene/Altor farewell (for now)