Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond is the largest expanse of inland water on mainland Great Britain. It is the 3^rd deepest loch in Scotland at 623ft, behind Loch Ness and Loch Morar which are over 1000ft deep.  The Loch is globally renowned for its beauty and for centuries the Loch has been visited by day-trippers and holidaymakers.

Once described by Sir Walter Scott as the “Queen of Scottish Lakes”, the Loch stretches from Ardlui at the craggy fjord end in the north 22 miles south to the rolling undulating hills surrounding the Ettrick River and Balloch.

Balmaha, the ‘Village on the Edge’, on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond is located on the Highland Boundary Fault line where the Highlands and Lowlands meet. The village marks the dramatic change in the landscape that can be clearly viewed from Conic Hill.

There are 23 islands on the Loch, four of which are still inhabited and the largest Inchmurrin has a hotel, self catering accommodation and a farm, as well as a naturist reserve!

The loch and surrounding area has an abundance of wildlife and fish.  The Atlantic Oakwoods on the eastern shore are home to wood warblers, redstart and tree-pipits; osprey and eagles are frequently seen in the skies above; and some islands provide home to Scotland’s most southerly population of Capercaillie.  The Loch has a number of freshwater species of fish as we all as the ‘powan’ which can only be found here, Loch Eck and Loch Ney in Ireland.

The area is steeped in history dating back to the arrival of St Kessog in Luss at the beginning of the 6^th century; pillaging Vikings in the 13^th century; and home to the feuding local clans Colquhoun, MacGregor, MacFarlane, Lennox, and Buchanan. Scotland’s most celebrated outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor plied his trade as a cattle dealer on the West Highland Way, originally a cattle drovers trail from the north of Scotland to the markets in Stirling and Glasgow.