Balloch ( , ; ) is a village in

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, at the foot of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

Etymology

Balloch comes from either the Gaelic word ''baile'' that means village or hamlet, or the Gaelic ''bealach'' meaning "a pass". Using the former derivation, Balloch means "village on the loch", i.e. the nearby Loch Lomond, but this would be Baile Loch.

Geography

Balloch is at the north end of the

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

, straddling the River Leven itself. It connects to the larger town of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and to the smaller village of Jamestown, both of which are located to its south. It also borders the

Kilpatrick Hills The Kilpatrick Hills are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching from Dumbarton in the west to Strathblane in the east. Strathblane divides the Kilpatricks from the Campsie Fells to the east, while to the north is part of the Loch Lo ...

. To the east of the town lies the major local authority housing scheme in the area known as 'The Haldane' or 'The Mill of Haldane'.

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

is located around to the southeast. Balloch lies on the 56th parallel at about the same

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Tourism

With its accessible location at the southern end of Loch Lomond and just off the main road from

to the

West Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...

(A82), it is an important centre of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, especially from Glasgow. The village has a number of hotels, inns and pubs, and there are cruises from Balloch up Loch Lomond, and other services, including to nearby locations like

Luss Luss (, 'herb') is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. The village is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. History Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its original name is ''Clacha ...

, and the

Renfrew Ferry The Renfrew Ferry was a passenger ferry service linking the north and south banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. The service was last operated by Clydelink without subsidy, crossing between Renfrew and Yoker. The service ceased operations on ...

service. The largest number of boats cruising on Loch Lomond leave from Balloch. The village is also the home of Dunkirk vessel Skylark IX which helped rescue 600 troops during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It contains

Balloch Country Park Balloch Country Park is a country park on the southern tip of Loch Lomond in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It was recognised as a country park in 1980, and it is the only country park in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Scotlan ...

and Balloch Castle, and is at the southern end of the first Scottish national park,

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park () is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond and the hills and glens of the Trossachs, along with several other ranges of hills. It was the first of the national parks of Scotland, two nati ...

. There is a

Sea Life Centre Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the wo ...

in the village. The Loch Lomond Youth Soccer Festival used to take place in the village. "Lochfoot" in the Jean Robertson novels of

Jane Duncan Jane Duncan (10 March 1910 – 20 October 1976) was the pseudonym of Scottish author Elizabeth Jane Cameron, best known for her ''My Friends'' series of semi-autobiographical novels. She also wrote four novels under the name of her principal he ...

is partly based on the village. The PS ''Maid of the Loch'' is currently being restored at Balloch pier and the Balloch Steam Slipway is located nearby.

Transport

The A811 road (based on an 18th-century military road) goes from Balloch to

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, and the A813 goes from Dumbarton to Balloch. The Glasgow to Loch Lomond cycle path (part of

National Cycle Route 7 Route For mapping purposes, the route is split at Glasgow into Lochs and Glens (south) and (north) Sunderland to Carlisle This route follows the Sea to Sea (C2C) cycle route for much of its length before the C2C departs to Whitehaven and ...

) ends at Balloch. The West Loch Lomond Cycle Path also runs from Balloch. The village was formerly served by two railway stations on the

Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway The Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway (C&DJR) was a Scotland, Scottish railway opened in 1850 between Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, Balloch via Dumbarton. The company had intended to build to ...

: Balloch Central, and Balloch Pier, which closed in 1988 and 1986, respectively. The village now has one railway station opened by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

, which is a terminus of the North Clyde electric train service from

Education

Balloch is served by Balloch Primary School and St Kessog's Primary school, both located at the newly built Balloch Campus. Balloch Primary School is the result of a merger between Haldane Primary School and Jamestown Primary School In 2018.

Notable residents

* George Findlay,

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient *

Sharleen Spiteri Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and guitarist who has a contralto vocal range, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas (band), Texas, who rose to prominence in 1989 with the release ...

, singer-songwriter; guitarist; lead vocalist of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Morgan McMichaels Morgan McMichaels (born May 28, 1981) is the stage name of Scottish-American drag performer Thomas White, best known as a contestant on the second season of the reality television competition ''RuPaul's Drag Race,'' as well as the third seaso ...

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Ross Murdoch Ross Murdoch (born 14 January 1994) is a Scottish competitive swimmer who has represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics in 2016 and 2020, the FINA World Championships and the LEN European Championships, and Scotland at the Commonwealth ...

, swimmer, gold medallist at the 2016 European Championships

References

2
WWII rescue boat Skylark IX to be restored so she can sail to Dunkirk again
{{authority control Towns in West Dunbartonshire Loch Lomond Vale of Leven