Loch an Eilein
Loch an Eilein | |
---|---|
Location | Badenoch and Strathspey, Scotland |
Coordinates | 57°08′49″N 3°49′27″W / 57.14694°N 3.82417°W[1] |
Type | freshwater loch |
Primary outflows | Milton Burn |
Basin countries | United Kingdom |
Max. length | > 1 mi (1.6 km)[2] |
Max. width | < 0.5 mi (0.80 km)[2] |
Surface area | 56.1 ha (139 acres)[1] |
Average depth | 25.5 ft (7.8 m)[2] |
Max. depth | 66 ft (20 m)[2] |
Water volume | 144,000,000 cu ft (4,100,000 m3)[2] |
Surface elevation | 256 m (840 ft)[1] |
Islands | 1 island with ruined castle[3] |
Loch an Eilein is a small irregular shaped, freshwater loch in the Rothiemurchus Forest about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Aviemore, Scotland in Cairngorms National Park. Loch an Eilein comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means 'Loch of the island'.[4] The loch is considered to be beautiful[5] and walks around it are popular.[6]
History of usage
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the loch was used mainly for two things. On the banks of the loch there is a limestone kiln where the limestone was collected from a rockface looking over the loch. Also loggers used the connecting river to float logs down to the wood-treating factories downstream.
Loch an Eilein castle
On an island in the middle of the Loch are the ruins of a small 14th century castle.
The castle was the site of conflict. The
The castle may have originally been connected to the shore by a causeway.[4] The causeway became submerged when the water level in the loch was raised by estate work and the building of a dam in the 18th century.[4][8] The castle was used as the site of the island graveyard in BBC TV’s ‘Monarch of the Glen’.
About the park
Located in Cairngorms National Park, the loch and the forest around it are popular with birdwatchers, walkers, mountain bikers and day-trippers.
References
- ^ a b c "Loch an Eilein". www.britishlakes.info. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909, Lochs of the Spey Basin". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Loch-an-eilein Castle". Gazetteer of Scotland. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Lochs of the Cairngorms National Park". Cairngorms National Park. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Loch-an-eilein voted Britain's best picnic spot". www.rothiemurchus.net. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Loch an Eilein, Rothiemurchus". www.walkhighlands.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Eat, Drink, Shop Detail | Visit Cairngorms". visitcairngorms.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Loch An Eilein". Rothiemurchus. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Eilein, Loch an". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Activity Detail | Visit Cairngorms". visitcairngorms.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Loch an Eilein and Creag Dubh: Top 5 Walking Routes in the Cairngorms". Wilderness Scotland. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2019.