Loch Maree
Encyclopedia
Loch Maree is a loch
in Wester Ross
in the Northwest Highlands
of Scotland
. At 20 km (12.4 mi) long and with a maximum width of 4 km (2.5 mi), it is the fourth largest freshwater
loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness
. Its surface area is 28.6 km² (11 sq mi).
Loch Maree contains five large wooded islands and over 25 smaller ones, many of which have their own lakelets. Isle Maree
has the remains of a chapel
, graveyard, holy well, and holy tree on it, believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Máel Ruba
(d. 722), who founded the monastery of Applecross
in 672. The same island also contains ancient stands of oak
and holly
which have been linked with ancient Scottish druid
s. The waters of the loch were also thought to have curative effects, with being submerged in the water thought to be a cure for lunacy. All of the loch's islands are conservation area
s. The largest is the only island in Britain
to contain a loch that itself contains an island.
Like Loch Ness, Loch Maree has its own monster
in the form of the muc-sheilch
. The loch is often referred to as the most beautiful loch in the Highlands.
fishing
after Queen Victoria visited the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale in 1877, a visit which also led to the naming of 'Victoria Falls', an attractive waterfall feeding the loch from Beinn Eighe
on its south side.
Sea trout and salmon
are an important part of Loch Maree's ecosystem
providing food for Black-throated diver
and Otter
(Lutra lutra) for which the loch is a designated Special Area of Conservation and Special Protected Area under the EU Habitats Directive. Juvenile trout can be an important part of the diet of Black-throated diver.
The loch also has two separate populations of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) about which little is known. One form of charr, with a big eye which feeds on the bottom in deep water matures at less than 15 cm. The other form grows to over 32 cm and can sometimes be seen in shoals ruffling the surface when the loch is calm.
Loch Maree was designated a Ramsar site on September 19, 1994.
The area also hosts the Golden Eagle
.
The loch is bounded to the east by Slioch
, a mountain over 3000 feet high, and which dominates its surroundings. It is composed mainly of Torridonian sandstone of Precambrian
age. It is a popular for hill walking, scrambling
and climbing
. The main peak to the west is Beinn Eighe
, a Torridonian mountain capped with quartzite
.
topped the Scottish pop charts in 1966 with the tune "Loch Maree Islands" which pays tribute to the views of the Loch, and vocal versions have been recorded by many artists over the years, notably Calum Kennedy
.
In the 2009-10 series of the BBC
's Natural World, episode 6, Highland Haven, stayed closer to home than usual, with a year-long look at the environment and wildlife of the UK's oldest National Nature Reserve
, Beinn Eighe
, along the southern shores of Loch Maree.
Loch
Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...
in Wester Ross
Wester Ross
is a western area of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland, notably containing the villages on the west coast such as:* Lochcarron* Applecross* Shieldaig* Torridon* Kinlochewe * * * Aultbea* Laide* Ullapool* Achiltibuie...
in the Northwest Highlands
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. At 20 km (12.4 mi) long and with a maximum width of 4 km (2.5 mi), it is the fourth largest freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
. Its surface area is 28.6 km² (11 sq mi).
Loch Maree contains five large wooded islands and over 25 smaller ones, many of which have their own lakelets. Isle Maree
Isle Maree
Isle Maree is an island in Loch Maree, Scotland.It has the remains of a chapel, graveyard, holy well, and holy tree on it, believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Maol Rubha , who founded the monastery of Applecross in 672. The same island also contains ancient stands of oak and holly...
has the remains of a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, graveyard, holy well, and holy tree on it, believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Máel Ruba
Máel Ruba
Máel Ruba , Máelrubai , Maol Rubha , or Malruibhe , sometimes Latinised as Rufus, is a saint of the Celtic Church...
(d. 722), who founded the monastery of Applecross
Applecross
The Applecross peninsula is a peninsula in Wester Ross, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1300 years old and is not used locally to refer to the 19th century village with the pub and post office, lying on the small Applecross Bay, facing the Inner Sound, on...
in 672. The same island also contains ancient stands of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
which have been linked with ancient Scottish druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s. The waters of the loch were also thought to have curative effects, with being submerged in the water thought to be a cure for lunacy. All of the loch's islands are conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
s. The largest is the only island in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to contain a loch that itself contains an island.
Like Loch Ness, Loch Maree has its own monster
Lake monster
A lake monster or loch monster is a purported form of fresh-water-dwelling megafauna appearing in mythology, rumor, or local folklore, but whose existence lacks scientific support. A well known example is the Loch Ness Monster. Lake monsters' depictions are often similar to some sea monsters...
in the form of the muc-sheilch
Muc-sheilch
The Muc-sheilch or Muc-sheilche is a loch monster reported to live in Loch Maree, and its neighbouring lochs.Mr Banks of Letterewe tried at great expense to drain Loch-na-Bèiste near Aultbea, in the 1850s, but failed. He also tried to poison it with quicklime. Loch-na-Bèiste is Scottish Gaelic for...
. The loch is often referred to as the most beautiful loch in the Highlands.
Tourism
Because of its remote location there is little industry and tourism surrounding Loch Maree, despite being near to the sea. Early on, it became a popular spot for troutTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
after Queen Victoria visited the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale in 1877, a visit which also led to the naming of 'Victoria Falls', an attractive waterfall feeding the loch from Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...
on its south side.
Ecology
Loch Maree is of international importance for its special wildlife and biodiversity. Until recently, thousands of adult sea trout (Sea going Brown trout Salmo trutta) and salmon (Salmo salar) returned to the loch from the sea every summer. Sea trout gathered in huge numbers in certain bays, providing some of the most exciting angling in Scotland for which the loch had an international reputation. A British record sea trout of 19.5 lb was caught on a 'dapping fly' in the loch in 1952. The sea trout fishery collapsed in the 1990s and has yet to recover fully.Sea trout and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
are an important part of Loch Maree's ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
providing food for Black-throated diver
Black-throated Diver
The Black-throated Loon is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The species is known as an Arctic Loon in North America and the Black-throated Diver in Eurasia, its current name is a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee.-Taxonomy:The...
and Otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
(Lutra lutra) for which the loch is a designated Special Area of Conservation and Special Protected Area under the EU Habitats Directive. Juvenile trout can be an important part of the diet of Black-throated diver.
The loch also has two separate populations of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) about which little is known. One form of charr, with a big eye which feeds on the bottom in deep water matures at less than 15 cm. The other form grows to over 32 cm and can sometimes be seen in shoals ruffling the surface when the loch is calm.
Loch Maree was designated a Ramsar site on September 19, 1994.
The area also hosts the Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
.
Mountains
Slioch
Slioch is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands situated in Wester Ross, eight kilometres north of the village of Kinlochewe. Slioch reaches a height of 981 metres and towers above the south east end of Loch Maree to give one of the best known and most photographed sights in the Highlands...
, a mountain over 3000 feet high, and which dominates its surroundings. It is composed mainly of Torridonian sandstone of Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
age. It is a popular for hill walking, scrambling
Scrambling
Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. It is an ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hillwalking and rock climbing. It is often distinguished from hillwalking by defining a scramble as a route where hands must be used in the ascent...
and climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
. The main peak to the west is Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...
, a Torridonian mountain capped with quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
.
Trivia
Button-box accordionist, Fergie MacDonaldFergie MacDonald
Fergie MacDonald is a Scottish accordionist who specializes in ceilidh music and plays the button key accordion. A trained physiotherapist and an international clay pigeon shooter, MacDonald is considered to be the man who popularised the West Highland style of traditional Scottish dance music...
topped the Scottish pop charts in 1966 with the tune "Loch Maree Islands" which pays tribute to the views of the Loch, and vocal versions have been recorded by many artists over the years, notably Calum Kennedy
Calum Kennedy
Calum Kennedy was a Scottish singer.Kennedy won a gold medal at the Mod , singing in Scottish Gaelic...
.
In the 2009-10 series of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Natural World, episode 6, Highland Haven, stayed closer to home than usual, with a year-long look at the environment and wildlife of the UK's oldest National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
, Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe
Beinn Eighe is a complex mountain massif in the Torridon area of the Highlands of Scotland. It forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros. The name Beinn Eighe comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning File Mountain...
, along the southern shores of Loch Maree.