Lake of Menteith, also known as Loch Inchmahome (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig''), is a

loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

located on the

Carse In Scottish geography, a Carse (the modern form of older Scots ; Scottish Gaelic or ) is an area of fertile, low-lying (typically alluvial) land occupying certain Scottish river valleys, such as that of the River Forth. Carse of Forth The C ...

of Stirling (the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

and Teith, upstream from

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Name

Until the early 19th century, the loch was more commonly known by the Scottish name, “Loch of Menteith”, although, on the 1654 map, ''Blaeu Atlas of Scotland'', it is identified as “Loch Inche Mahumo”. The only settlement of any size on the Loch of Menteith is the

Port of Menteith Port of Menteith ( gd, Port Loch Innis Mo Cholmaig) is a village and civil parish in the Stirling district of Scotland, the only significant settlement on the Lake of Menteith. It was established as a burgh of barony, then named simply Port ( gd ...

Geography

There are a number of small islands in the loch. On the largest,

Inchmahome Inchmahome, an anglicisation of Innis Mo Cholmaig ("my-Colmac's island"), is the largest of three islands in the Lake of Menteith, in Stirlingshire. History Inchmahome is best known as the location of Inchmahome Priory and for the attendant p ...

, is

Inchmahome Priory Inchmahome Priory is situated on Inchmahome, the largest of three islands in the centre of the Lake of Menteith, close to Aberfoyle, Scotland. The name "Inchmahome" comes from the Gaelic ''Innis MoCholmaig'', meaning island of St Colmaig. The ...

, an ancient

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. The

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

served as refuge to

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, in 1547. She was only four years old at the time and stayed for three weeks after the disastrous

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

in September of that year. The loch is not particularly deep and can freeze over completely in exceptionally cold winters. If the ice becomes thick enough — at least — an outdoor

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

tournament called the

Bonspiel A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...

(or the

Grand Match The Grand Match, also called The Bonspiel, is an outdoor curling tournament, or bonspiel, held most recently on the Lake of Menteith in Stirling (council area), Stirling, Scotland, when the weather is cold enough. Traditionally it is a match bet ...

) is held on the loch. The event can attract thousands of curlers even though it is held very infrequently. (The last Grand Match was held in 1979. The Bonspiel that had been planned for 2010 was abandoned on health and safety grounds.) Curling on Lake of Menteith - geograph

The Lake of Menteith is often thought of as the only body of water in

that is referred to as a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. Actually, there are several others, some of which have been artificially created:

Pressmennan Lake Pressmennan Lake is a lake in East Lothian in Scotland. It is an artificial reservoir constructed in 1819 by a Mr Nesbit who dammed the streams flowing into the gully, it was said to be well stocked with carp, perch and trout. It lies in a gully ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

; the

Lake of the Hirsel The Lake of the Hirsel or Hirsel Lake is an artificial body of water and Site of Special Scientific Interest near Coldstream in Berwickshire in Scotland. It is set in the grounds of The Hirsel, home of the Home family and of the late Alec Dougla ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

; Lake Louise (within the grounds of

Skibo Castle Skibo Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Sgìobail'') is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although largely of the 19th century and early 20th century, when it was the hom ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

); Raith Lake,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

; Upper Lake and Kelly Lake (both near

Haddo House Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately north of Aberdeen (). It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1979. The Gordons, who later became the Earls of Aberdeen and Marques ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

); Pitfour Lake and Cally Lake (near

Gatehouse of Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet ( sco, Gatehoose o Fleet gd, Taigh an Rathaid) is a town half in the civil parish of Girthon and half in the parish of Anwoth divided by the river Water of Fleet, Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the district council region o ...

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

). There is also a sea bay near

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

known as Manxman's Lake. Nearly all other major bodies of water in Scotland are known as

s. The unusual name “Lake of Menteith” is believed to be due to the UK Government's Ordnance Survey in 1838 who mapped the area for the first time, and identified it as a “lake” because it was referred to as a lake in literature that was prominent at the time.

Malling Roman Fort

There was a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

at a site associated with the

Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of fortifications, built by the Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by the Roman Gask Project, with Birgitta Hoffmann ...

, to the west of the lake. (The Romans may have referred to the site as "Lindon".) It was discovered by David Wilson and

Kenneth St Joseph John Kenneth Sinclair St Joseph, (13 November 1912 – 11 March 1994) was a British archaeologist, geologist and Royal Air Force (RAF) veteran who pioneered the use of aerial photography as a method of archaeological research in Britain and Irel ...

in 1968 when they were conducting an aerial survey of

Flanders Moss Flanders Moss ( gd, A’ Mhòine Fhlànrasach ) is an area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Forth in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. The villages of Thornhill and Port of Menteith lie to the north with the villages of Kippen and Buchlyvie lying ...

. After taking aerial photographs, they assessed the site by measuring resistance and magnetic susceptibility at ground level. Gask Ridge

In popular culture

In 2020, the lake was featured in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Name

Geography

Malling Roman Fort

In popular culture

External links

References