Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond
Location	Dunbartonshire, Central Scotland
Lake type	Loch, Ribbon lake
Primary outflows	River Leven
Catchment area	696 km2 (269 sq mi)
Basin countries	Scotland, United Kingdom
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	2.5 km3 (0.60 cu mi)
Residence time (of lake water)	1.9 years
Surface elevation	7.6 m (25 ft)
Islands	Inchcailloch, Inchmurrin, Inchfad and dozens of others.
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 Great Britain, by surface area, and contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest in the British Isles. It is a popular leisure destination and 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 2.5 km³ (0.60 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 only surpassed by Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.^[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.

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.^[7]

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.

Boating and watersports

Loch Lomond is one of the UK's premier boating and watersports venues and the fantastic scenery draws people from all over the UK 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 90km per hour.

Other leisure activities on the loch include cruises from the town of Balloch, operated by Sweeney's Cruises.^[8]

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.^[9]

Popular culture

The song

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

Main article: The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond

The loch is featured in the well-known song "Loch Lomond", which was first published around 1841.^[10] 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. 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.^[11]

Other popular culture

• 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.^[12] 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.^[13]

• 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. During one of their performances, when they requested people to dance on stage, they actually broke the stage. At their next concert, a barrier was erected.

• Groundskeeper Willie, the Scottish janitor on The Simpsons, enters the kitchen whistling "Loch Lomond" in Episode 5F20, "Lard of the Dance".

• The lyrics from the song are used as key clues in the Smallville episode Quest. In the episode, the song is referred to as the "Birks of St. Kilda."

• Loch Lomond is one of the locations in the fishing computer game Matt Hayes Fishing.

References

External links

• Loch Lomond data
• About the National Park
• Notable people of this region
• Robert Burns (poet): links to Loch Lomond
• Loch Lomond Sailing Club
• The Loch Lomond Association
• Loch Lomond webcam