Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond
Location	West Dunbartonshire, Central Scotland
Coordinates	56°05′N 4°34′W / 56.083°N 4.567°W / 56.083; -4.567Coordinates: 56°05′N 4°34′W / 56.083°N 4.567°W / 56.083; -4.567
Lake type	freshwater loch, ribbon lake, dimictic
Primary  inflows	River Endrick, Fruin Water, River Falloch
Primary  outflows	River Leven
Catchment  area	696 km2 (269 sq mi)
Basin  countries	Scotland
Max. length	39 km (24 mi)
Max. width	8 km (5.0 mi)
Surface area	71 km2 (27 sq mi)
Average depth	37 m (120 ft)
Max. depth	190 m (620 ft)
Water volume	2.6 km3 (0.62 cu mi)
Residence time	1.9 years
Surface  elevation	7.6 m (25 ft)
Islands	60 (Inchcailloch, Inchmurrin, Inchfad)
Sections/sub-basins	north basin, south basin
Settlements	Balloch, Ardlui, Balmaha, Luss, Rowardennan, Tarbet

Loch Lomond (pronounced /ˈloʊmənd/), (Scottish Gaelic Loch Laomainn) is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in mainland Britain, by surface area, and contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh water island in the British Isles. It is a popular leisure destination and is featured in song.

Geography

View across Loch Lomond at the waterline looking North at Ben Lomond

Loch Lomond is a freshwater loch lying on the Highland Boundary Fault, the boundary between the western lowlands of Central Scotland and the southern Highlands. It is 39 kilometres (24 mi) long and between 1.21 kilometres (0.75 mi) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) wide. It has an average depth of about 37 metres (120 ft), and a maximum depth of about 190 metres (620 ft). Its surface area measures 71 km² (27 sq mi), and it has a volume of 2.6 km³ (0.62 cu mi). Of all lakes in Great Britain, it is the largest by surface area, and the second largest (after Loch Ness) by water volume.^[1] Within the United Kingdom, it is surpassed by Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland only.^[2]

Traditionally a boundary of Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, Loch Lomond is located in the current council areas of Stirling, Argyll and Bute, and West Dunbartonshire, and its southern shores lie approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of Glasgow, the country's largest city.

Loch Lomond is now part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Ben Lomond is on the eastern shore: 974 m (3,195 ft) in height and the most southerly of the Scottish Munro peaks. A 2005 poll of Radio Times readers named Loch Lomond as the 6th greatest natural wonder in Britain.^[3]

The main arterial route along the loch is the A82 road which runs the length of its western shore. For a long time this was a notorious bottleneck, with the route clogged with tourists during the summer months. It was upgraded in the 1980s and 1990s, although the stretch north of Tarbet remains unimproved.

Islands

From the summit of the island of Inchcailloch to Torrinch, Creinch, Inchmurrin and Ben Bowie

The loch contains approximately 60 islands, depending on the water level.^[4] Several of them are large by the standards of British bodies of freshwater. Inchmurrin, for example, is the largest island in a loch/lake in the British Isles.^[5] As in Loch Tay, several of the islands appear to be Crannogs, artificial islands built in prehistoric periods.

English travel writer, H.V. Morton wrote:

What a large part of Loch Lomond's beauty is due to its islands, those beautiful green tangled islands, that lie like jewels upon its surface.^[6]

One of the loch's islands, Inchconnachan is home to a colony of wallaby.^[7].

Leisure activities

The Loch Lomond Golf Club is situated on the south western shore. It has hosted many international events including the Scottish Open. Another golf club, "The Carrick" has opened on the banks of the Loch adjacent to the Loch Lomond Club.^[8]

The West Highland Way runs along the eastern bank of the loch. The West Loch Lomond Cycle Path runs from Arrochar and Tarbet railway station, at the upper end of the loch, to Balloch railway station, at the south end. The 28 kilometers (16.5 miles) long cycle path runs along the west bank.

In 2002 Loch Lomond Shores opened its doors to the public. It is on the southern most tip of Loch Lomond, reached by taking the Balloch cut off on the A82. It is a shopping, food and visual complex, complete with a Jenners of Edinburgh store and a Thornton's amongst other retailers. An aquariam has taken over the impressive Dumkinnon Tower building which resembles an ancient fort. There are a selection of restaurants and coffee shops at the Loch Lomond Shores Complex with views of the loch and nearby Ben Lomond. Apart from a number of big events that are advertised on the Loch Lomond Shores website, every second Sunday there is a Farmers Market along the promenade of the Loch Lomond Shores Complex and this is always very popular.

Boating and watersports

Loch Lomond is one of Scotland's premier boating and watersports venues and the fantastic scenery draws people from all over Scotland and beyond. The loch is open to every kind of watercraft including kayaks, canoes, wind-surfers, jetskis, speedboats and cruisers and they are all very well represented. Loch Lomond Rescue Boat provides 24-hour safety cover on the loch.

Maid of the Loch at Balloch pier

The National Park Authority have tried to achieve a balance between land-based tourists and loch users, with environmentally sensitive areas subject to a strictly enforced 10 km per hour speed limit, but the rest of the loch open to speeds of up to 90 km per hour.

Other leisure activities on the loch include cruises from the town of Balloch, operated by Sweeney's Cruises.^[9]

The Maid of the Loch was the last paddle steamer built in Britain. Built on the Clyde in 1953, she operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years. She is now being restored at Balloch pier by the Loch Lomond Steamship Company, a charitable organisation, supported by Dumbarton District Council.^[10]

Popular culture

Loch Lomond from just below Beinn Dubh and Creag an t-Seilich

The song

The loch is featured in the well-known song "Loch Lomond", which was first published around 1841.^[11] The chorus is:

Oh, ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

The song has been recorded by many performers over the years including the Mudmen. Both Runrig and Quadriga Consort used to perform Loch Lomond as their concert's final song. While the original author is unknown, it is widely believed that he may have been a Scottish soldier who awaited death in enemy captivity. In his final letter home he wrote this song, portraying his home and how much he would miss it. Another tale is that during the 1745 Rebellion a soldier on his way back to Scotland during the 1745-6 retreat from England wrote this song. The "low road" is a reference to the Celtic belief that if someone died away from his homeland then the fairies would provide a route of this name for his soul to return home.^[12]

Another interpretation from NPR is that during the trials of those in the rebellion the wives and families came to London on foot. The rebels were executed....there is an entire audio file about this here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4766584

Other popular culture

This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (October 2009)

A TV advert for Captain Haddock's favourite brand of whisky (Tintin and the Picaros)

• In The Adventures of Tintin cartoon book series, Captain Haddock's and Snowy's favourite drink is the Scotch whisky brand "Loch Lomond". This is a fictional creation; there is, however, a real Loch Lomond Distillery.^[13] Sydney Krukowsi, a character in the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, also drinks Loch Lomond.

• The village of Luss ("Glendarroch") on the shores of the loch was the location for the TV soap Take the High Road, and the loch itself was given the fictional name Loch Darroch for the purpose of the series.

• The village of Luss, named therein as "Lios", and the islands nearby were used as the setting for E. J. Oxenham's first book, Goblin Island, published in 1907.^[14]

• Loch Lomond is featured in the song "Almost Like Being In Love" from the Lerner and Lowe musical Brigadoon. The opening lyrics are: "Maybe the sun gave me the power/For I could swim Loch Lomond and be home in half an hour/Maybe the air gave me the drive/For I'm all aglow and alive!"

• The song "Loch Lomond" by the The Borderers is a popular tune with many Australian Gaelic and Folk music fans.

• In the Goon Show episode The Treasure in the Lake, the characters Grytpype-Thynne and Moriarty persuade Neddy Seagoon to drink Loch Lomond in order to recover the treasure of a Spanish Galleon sunk in the lake.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Loch Lomond

• Loch Lomond data
• About the National Park
• Loch Lomond walking routes
• Robert Burns (poet): links to Loch Lomond
• Loch Lomond webcam