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The Blae Loch is a small freshwater loch situated in a hollow in a low-lying area beneath Blaelochhead Hill in the Parish of Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
The loch is a natural feature, a post-glacial
Retrieved : 2011-03-19 The first known description in circa 1604 gives the name as 'Blaa-loche' and states that ''quhen the firmament is moft ferene and cleir then its is palide and dead coloured contrair to all wther vn-corrupt and fueit vatters.Dobie, Page 96 A 'Bungle' in Scots is a “Big clod of earth turned up in harrowing.'' The New Statistical Account of 1845 refers to it as having been partially drained. In 1874 it was part of the estate of Hessilhead, owned by William Ralston-Patrick of Trearne. In 2011 the loch ownership was owned shared between the owners of Blaelochhead Farm and Lochend House. The Bungle Burn outflow runs on down country, past the old mill site, Mossend and Tandlehill Farms, before making a confluence with the
Ordnance Survey maps of the mid 19th century show that a substantial water mill with a square garden area once existed near Wester Highgate; it had a large mill pond associated with it, fed by the Bungle Burn running from the Blae Loch. The name is also recorded in the former limestone 'Old Mill Quarry'. Roy's map of 1747 shows the mill and even then marks it as an 'old' mill, suggesting that it was out of use at this time. An old lane ran up to the old mill site from the hamlet of Hessilhead.
The loch is recorded in 1604-1608 as being well known to many weavers in the neighbourhood due to the abundance of reeds that grew there and the fact that they were used for making pirns.Dobie, Page 97 In 1874 it is recorded that the loch margin had an edging of water-lilies (Nymphaea species).Paul, Site 78 A pirn was a weaver's spool for holding his weft yarn in the shuttle, originally made from a quill or hollow reed, in later times they were made from wood.
A Blae Loch Curling Club existed in the 19th century as recorded by the
Thomson's Map
Retrieved : 2011-03-19
The site is a designated 'Local Wildlife Site' following a survey in 1981 by the
History
The loch is a natural feature, a post-glacial kettle hole
A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...
once of a greater extent, fed mainly by local springs, the Highgate Burn which itself arises as a spring near Little Highgate and field drainage. The loch is recorded in the placenames of Blaelochhead, Lochend, and Blaelochside.
The name 'Blae' is Scots for 'dark, livid, or black'.Scots DictionaryRetrieved : 2011-03-19 The first known description in circa 1604 gives the name as 'Blaa-loche' and states that ''quhen the firmament is moft ferene and cleir then its is palide and dead coloured contrair to all wther vn-corrupt and fueit vatters.Dobie, Page 96 A 'Bungle' in Scots is a “Big clod of earth turned up in harrowing.'' The New Statistical Account of 1845 refers to it as having been partially drained. In 1874 it was part of the estate of Hessilhead, owned by William Ralston-Patrick of Trearne. In 2011 the loch ownership was owned shared between the owners of Blaelochhead Farm and Lochend House. The Bungle Burn outflow runs on down country, past the old mill site, Mossend and Tandlehill Farms, before making a confluence with the
Lugton Water
The Lugton Water, the largest tributary of the River Garnock, runs from Loch Libo (395 feet above sea-level) in Uplawmoor, through Lugton and the parishes of Neilston, Beith, Dunlop, Stewarton and Kilwinning. The Lugton joins the Garnock belo ...
near the Bungleburn Bridge outside Burnhouse
Burnhouse, sometimes known locally as The Trap from "Man Trap", is a small village or hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Beith, Scotland. It lies on a crossroads of old B706 and the more recent A736 Lochlibo Road, between Lugton and Torranyard.
...
.
Usage
Ordnance Survey maps of the mid 19th century show that a substantial water mill with a square garden area once existed near Wester Highgate; it had a large mill pond associated with it, fed by the Bungle Burn running from the Blae Loch. The name is also recorded in the former limestone 'Old Mill Quarry'. Roy's map of 1747 shows the mill and even then marks it as an 'old' mill, suggesting that it was out of use at this time. An old lane ran up to the old mill site from the hamlet of Hessilhead.
The loch is recorded in 1604-1608 as being well known to many weavers in the neighbourhood due to the abundance of reeds that grew there and the fact that they were used for making pirns.Dobie, Page 97 In 1874 it is recorded that the loch margin had an edging of water-lilies (Nymphaea species).Paul, Site 78 A pirn was a weaver's spool for holding his weft yarn in the shuttle, originally made from a quill or hollow reed, in later times they were made from wood.
A Blae Loch Curling Club existed in the 19th century as recorded by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC was founded on 25 ...
. A club medal is still in existence.
Geology
The solid geology is macroporphyriticbasalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
with carboniferous limestone at the Middleton Quarry site and these are both overlain by low river terrace and lake alluvium. A whinstone crag and old quarry site sit close to Lochend Farm.
Cartographic evidence
Blaeu's map of 1654, dating fromTimothy Pont
Rev Timothy Pont (c. 1560–c.1627) was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an ...
's survey of circa 1604, shows the loch as a significant body of water, extending almost as far as the old Whitestone Mill (Coldstream Mill). Herman Moll's map of 1745 marks, but does not name the loch. Roy's map of 1747 clearly shows the loch, situated without two inflow burns and the habitations of Loch End and Blea Loch Head. Armstrong's map of 1775 does not show the loch. Thomson's map of 1832 marks and records Blae Loch.Retrieved : 2011-03-19
Natural history
The site is a designated 'Local Wildlife Site' following a survey in 1981 by the Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.
Description
The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first ...
and others. The survey recorded that the site is a 'Phragmites dominated area with open water'. The surveyors record that ''"The loch is surrounded to a great extent by bed of reed canary grass with a dense zone of the sedge Carex aquatilis. There is a good admixture of marsh species, and an admixture of willow (Salix) species in the north-east section. In the surrounding fields there is an interesting interaction between the field ragwort (Senecio jacobaea
''Jacobaea vulgaris'', syn. ''Senecio jacobaea'', is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.
Common names inc ...
) and the marsh ragwort (Senecio aquaticus
''Jacobaea aquatica'' or ''Senecio aquaticus'', the water ragwort or marsh ragwort, is a plant of the family Asteraceae. It is a perennial or biennial plant: young plants form a rosette near the ground, eventually producing a taller flowering sh ...
), giving rise to a substantial amount of the hybrid Senecio x osterfeldii. There is a good floristic structure at the site and it is also of real importance due to the presence of the very rare Cowbane (Cicuta virosa
''Cicuta virosa'', the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of ''Cicuta'', native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America.
Description
It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up ...
).
Birds
Bird species recorded here includecommon kestrel
The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where n ...
, reed bunting
The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...
, water rail
The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the Rallidae, rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are bird migration, migratory, but this species is a perma ...
, robin, starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
, common snipe
The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World.
The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ...
, mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
, and mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
. Rare species are Carex aquatilis, brown sedge (Carex disticha
''Carex disticha'' is a Eurasian species of sedge known as the brown sedge or, in North America, tworank sedge.
Distribution
''Carex disticha'' is native to parts of Northern and Western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habit ...
), cowbane (Cicuta virosa
''Cicuta virosa'', the cowbane or northern water hemlock, is a poisonous species of ''Cicuta'', native to northern and central Europe, northern Asia and northwestern North America.
Description
It is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows up ...
), white water lily (Nymphaea alba
''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir).
Descript ...
), ivy-leaved water crowfoot (Ranunculus hederaceus
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
), and bay willow (salix pentandra
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
).
Micro-history
Lochend Farm was partly constructed from whinstone taken from the nearby quarry. Middleton Quarry was for a time used as a site for testing explosives by Nobel Explosives, Ardreer. The quarry has been infilled. Several other Blae Lochs are located in North Ayrshire and elsewhere in Scotland.See also
* Broadstone Castle and Barony, Ayrshire *Barony and Castle of Giffen
The Barony of Giffen and its associated 15th-century castle were in the parish of Beith in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire. The site may be spelled Giffen or Giffin and lay within the Lordship of Giffin, which included the ...
* Greenhills, North Ayrshire
*Lugton
Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo Ro ...
*Gateside, North Ayrshire
Gateside is a small village in North Ayrshire, Scotland about east of Beith on the B777.
The village
Gateside Primary School was opened in 1903, and nowadays it has 74 pupils (2009). The school has an extension built in 1998 which provided indo ...
References
Notes
Sources
# Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices''. Glasgow : John Tweed. # Paul, L & Sargeant, J. (1983). ''Wildlife in Cunninghamme.'' Vol II. Edinburgh : SNH, SWT, CDC & MSC. # The New Statistical Account of Scotland. 1845. Vol. 5. Ayr - Bute. Edinburgh : Blackwood & Sons. {{commons category, Blae Loch Lochs of North Ayrshire History of North Ayrshire Former lochs Freshwater lochs of Scotland Lakes of North Ayrshire