Loch Craignish is a sea loch on the mid-Argyll coast.

Geography

Loch Craignish lies between Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

 and the Crinan Canal

Crinan Canal

The Crinan canal is a canal in the west of Scotland. It takes its name from the village of Crinan at its westerly end. Nine miles long, it connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need...

. Its opens into the Sound of Jura

Sound of Jura

The Sound of Jura is a strait in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Gaelic name means "Sound of Disappointment". It is one of the several Sounds of Scotland....

 and provides a safe anchorage for small craft.

Several islands lie within the loch, the largest being Eilean Rìgh

Eilean Righ

Eilean Rìgh is an island in the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland. It lies in Loch Craignish, about 300 m off the Argyll coastline...

, Eilean Mhic Chrion

Eilean Mhic Chrion

Eilean Mhic Chrion is a tidal island sheltering Ardfern in Loch Craignish, Scotland....

 and Island Macaskin

Island Macaskin

Island Macaskin or MacAskin is an island in Loch Craignish, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.-History and wildlife:The island was formerly inhabited, and unusually for the Scottish islands, is quite well wooded, with some mature trees scattered about...

. The village of Ardfern

Ardfern

Ardfern is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the south coast of the Craignish peninsula, facing Loch Craignish....

 lies on its northwestern shore.

History

Loch Craignish was a crossroads for prehistoric settlers between Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 and the Great Glen

Great Glen

The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth, to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe.The Great Glen follows a large geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault...

. A stone pier on the south of the peninsula was used by drovers

Droving

Droving is the practice of moving livestock over large distances by walking them "on the hoof".Droving stock to market, usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs, has a very long history in the old world...

 from Jura

Jura, Scotland

Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...

 and Knapdale

Knapdale

Knapdale forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale....

.

Footnotes