THE Crinan Canal was created as an alternative route between the Clyde and the Atlantic to avoid the long, and often treacherous, voyage around the Mull of Kintyre.
The project was headed by a company led by the Duke of Argyll, and work began in 1794. It soon hit financial woes, however, and, in a story familiar to us today, quickly ran over budget and past its scheduled five-year completion target.
The canal opened in 1801, but was quickly beset with breaching problems which brought about closures; it was only the involvement and sage advice of engineering genius Robert Telford that saved the canal from oblivion. By 1817 it had come under the ownership of the Caledonian Canal.