Loch Leven (Kinross)
Loch Leven | |
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Loch Leven Castle, St Serf's Island, Reed Bower, Alice's Bower, Scart Island, Roy's Folly, Green Isle | |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Loch Leven (
There are seven islands on the loch, the largest being St Serf's Inch. Lochleven Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1567, lies on one of these islands, and it can be reached by a ferry operated from Kinross by Historic Environment Scotland during the summer months.
NatureScot describe Loch Leven as "one of Scotland's top natural assets", due to its rich ecosystem that supports many different species of plants, insects, fish and birds.[4] It is of particular significance to migrating birds, who use it as a stopover when flying between their breeding and wintering grounds, due to its lowland location, shallow nutrient rich waters, large water surface, and islands (which provide safe nesting sites).[5] Loch Leven holds numerous national and international conservation designations, including being a national nature reserve (NNR).
Flora and fauna
As the largest lowland loch in Scotland, Loch Leven is an important site for
Loch Leven is also important for breeding birds, and hosts one of the largest concentrations of breeding ducks of any non-coastal site in Europe. The most numerous species are tufted duck and mallard; gadwall, shoveler, shelduck, pochard, teal, pintail and wigeon are also present.[8] The loch is also used by birds such as mute swans at the end of the summer for moulting, as the loch is large enough to allow them to avoid predators during a period when they are flightless as the shed their summer feathers and grow new winter plumage.[9]
The two main fish species present in Loch Leven are
The loch supports many species of invertebrates, which provide a food source for many of the species of birds, fish and mammals. During the summer months large clouds of small flies form a vital part of the food for ducklings. Some rare species of beetle are present, including the carrion beetle Thanatophilus dispar, the reed beetle Macroplea appendiculata and the ant beetle Anthicus scoticus. Other invertebrates found at the loch include aquatic snails and several species of dragonflies and damselflies.[11]
The Loch Leven NNR hosts a wide assemblage of vascular plant species that grow around the loch shore, including three species listed on the IUCN Red List (coral root orchid, Loch Leven spearwort and lesser water-plantain) and other species rated as "nationally rare" or "nationally scarce" such as holy grass, threadrush and mudwort. Lesser water plantain, Loch Leven spearwort, mudwort and threadrush live on areas of mud, sand or gravel around the lochside. They require sites that are intermittently exposed, and either natural erosion or active management is needed to prevent reeds or other aquatic plants from out-competing them. Coral-root orchid is found at only one location on the reserve.[13]
History
The area around Loch Leven has been inhabited for millennia, and the remains of a crannog (a dwelling constructed on an artificial island, probably during the Iron Age) have been found off Kirkgate Park.[14][15]
Visitors to Loch Leven have long noted the abundance of wildlife here:
In this lough is fish every day gotten for store, none in Britain like, and consider the bigness of it as also for fowl. There is a river they call the Leven running out of it eight miles to the sea, and in it is salmons... there be great store of all kinds of wildfowl, of wild geese there being continually seen 3,000 or 4,000, and swans many.
— Sir Christopher Lowther, 1692.[18]
What appears to contribute most to the redness and rich taste of Loch Leven trout is the vast quantity of small shellfish, red in colour, which abound all over the bottom of the loch especially among the aquatic weeds.
— Statistical Accounts of Scotland, 1793.[10]
In 1827 an
Leisure and visitors
There is an all abilities path around the loch, known as the Loch Leven Heritage Trail, which can be accessed from seven different car parks around the loch at Kinross Pier; Kirkgate Park; Burleigh Sands; Loch Leven's Larder; Findatie; RSPB Loch Leven car park; and the car park at the Cashmere Factory. The trail was completed in 2014, and as of 2016 NatureScot estimated that 200,000 people were using it annually.[20][7] The RSPB run a visitor centre on their section of the reserve which as of 2016 was receiving around 70,000 visitors each year. The centre has facilities including a shop, café, observation room, educational facilities, toilets, and marked trails leading to three bird hides. A further three open hides are provided at locations around the loch.[21]
Loch Leven is strongly associated with the sport of
Conservation designations
Loch Leven National Nature Reserve | |
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Area | 1,823 ha (7.04 sq mi)[25] |
Designation | NatureScot |
Established | 1964[24] |
Loch Leven NNR | |
Official name | Loch Leven |
Designated | 5 January 1976 |
Reference no. | 72[26] |
Loch Leven forms the main part of the Loch Leven national nature reserve (NNR), which covers 1,823 ha (4,500 acres) of loch and islands.[25] The NNR is managed by NatureScot, with the wetlands on the southern shore being managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the fishing and shooting managed by Kinross Estate. Castle Island is managed by Historic Environment Scotland, who also run the ferry to the island. Loch Leven was first declared a National Nature Reserve in 1964 and re-declared in 2002, when it was extended to include the RSPB Loch Leven section.[12] The NNR is classified as a Category II protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[24]
As an internationally important site for wildlife Loch Leven holds a number of different conservation designations, being designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),[27] a Special Protection Area (SPA),[28] and a Ramsar site.[29]
There are also sites designated for their historical value surrounding Loch Leven. Loch Leven Castle and St Serf's Priory are
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: John, Murray; Lawrence, Pullar (1910). Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909 Lochs of the Forth Basin Volume II - Loch Leven. National Library of Scotland: National Challenger Officer. p. 20. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Loch Leven". British Lakes. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Loch Leven". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 5.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 6.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 7.
- ^ a b The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 8.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 13.
- ^ a b c The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 18.
- ^ ISBN 0-09-463270-7
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 20.
- ^ a b The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 32.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 19.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Loch Leven (27881)". Canmore.
- ^ a b The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 25.
- ^ "Ancient Relics". Bell's Weekly Messenger. 3 April 1831. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Kinross House (Category A Listed Building) (LB11200)". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 1.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 27.
- ^ Loch Leven Heritage Trail
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 36.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 26.
- ^ The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. p. 31.
- ^ a b c "Loch Leven". Protected Planet. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Loch Leven NNR". NatureScot. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Loch Leven". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Loch Leven SSSI". NatureScot. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Loch Leven SPA". NatureScot. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Loch Leven Ramsar". NatureScot. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Lochleven Castle (SM90204)". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "St Serf's Priory (SM90271)". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Kinross House (GDL00247)". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
Bibliography
- "The Story of Loch Leven National Nature Reserve" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
External links
- grid reference NO145017
- Scotland's National Nature Reserves
- RSPB Loch Leven
- Loch Leven Heritage Trail - Scotland's National Nature Reserves