Loch Lomond

Infobox_lake
lake_name = Loch Lomond
image_lake = View of loch lomond.jpg
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
coords = coord|56|05|N|4|34|W|display=title|region:GB_scale:300000_source:GNS-enwiki
type = Loch, Ribbon lake
inflow =
outflow = River Leven
catchment = convert|696|km2|abbr=on
location = Dunbartonshire, Central Scotland
basin_countries = Scotland, United Kingdom
length = convert|39|km|abbr=on
width = convert|8|km|abbr=on
area = convert|71|km2|abbr=on
depth = convert|37|m|abbr=on
max-depth = convert|190|m|abbr=on
volume = convert|2.5|km3|cumi|abbr=on
residence_time = 1.9 years
shore =
elevation = convert|7.6|m|abbr=on
islands = Inchcailloch, Inchmurrin, Inchfad and dozens of others.
islands_category = Islands of Loch Lomond
cities = Balloch, Ardlui, Balmaha, Luss, Rowardennan, Tarbet
frozen =

Loch Lomond (pronEng|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

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 convert|39|km|mi long and between convert|1.21|km|mi and convert|8|km|mi wide. It has an average depth of about convert|37|m|ft, and a maximum depth of about convert|190|m|ft. Its surface area measures convert|71|km2|abbr=on, and it has a volume of convert|2.5|km3|abbr=on. Of all lakes in Great Britain, it is the largest by surface area, and the second largest (after Loch Ness) by water volume. [ [http://www.sepa.org.uk/publications/waterenv/html/5.html "Scotland’s Water Environment Review 2000-2006"] SEPA. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] Within the United Kingdom, it is only surpassed by Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. ["Whitaker's Almanack" (1991) London. J. Whitaker and Sons. p. 127.]

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 convert|23|km|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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/4735935.stm "Caves win 'natural wonder' vote"] BBC.co.uk Retrieved 10 December 2006.]

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

The loch contains approximately 60 islands, depending on the water level. [cite web| url=http://www.incallander.co.uk/islands.htm| title=Introduction to Loch Lomond Islands| publisher=Loch Lomond, Callander and Trossachs | accessdate=2008-09-25] 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.cite book| author=Worsley, Harry| title=Loch Lomond: The Loch, the Lairds and the Legends| isbn=978-1-898169-34-5| publisher=Lindsay Publications| location=Glasgow| date=1988] 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." [Morton, H. V. "In Scotland Again" (1933), Methuen London - p145]

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. [ [http://golf.visitscotland.com/repositories/courses/carrick-the "The Carrick] Visit Scotland. Retrieved 10 October 2008.]

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.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. [cite web| url=http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=SeeScot%20Places&vxClipId=1380_SMG881&vxBitrate=300| title=Cruise Loch Lomond| format=video| publisher=Scotland on TV| accessdate=2008-09-25]

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. [cite web| url=http://www.maidoftheloch.com/| title=Maid of the Loch| publisher=Loch Lomond Steamship Company| accessdate=2008-09-25]

Popular culture

The song

The loch is featured in the well-known song "Loch Lomond", which was first published around 1841. [James J. Fuld, "The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular and Folk", p. 336.] 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. [Fraser, Amy Stewart (1977) [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aY49AAAAIAAJ&dq=low+road+celtic+belief&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "In Memory Long"] Routledge. p. 54. Retrieved 10 October 2008.]

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. [cite web| url=http://www.lochlomonddistillery.com/| title=Loch Lomond Scotch Whisky Distillery| publisher=Loch Lomond Distillers| accessdate=2008-09-25] 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. [Elsie J. Oxenham, "Goblin Island", Collins (1907), p. 58.]

*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

* [http://www.loch-lomond.net/theloch/data.html Loch Lomond data]
* [http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/html/home.htm About the National Park]
* [http://www.visitscottishheartlands.com/famouspeople/index.html Notable people of this region]
* [http://www.robertburns.org.uk/lochlomond_dumbarton.htm Robert Burns (poet): links to Loch Lomond]
* [http://www.lochlomondsc.org Loch Lomond Sailing Club]
* [http://www.lochlomondassociation.co.uk The Loch Lomond Association]
* [http://www.streamdays.com/camera/view/loch_lomond_webcam_scotland Loch Lomond webcam]