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Linlithgow Loch lies immediately north of the town of
West Lothian Council. NB: the Hatchery Burn is shown unlabelled in the top right corner of the map. and drained by the Mill Burn on its western side, which eventually joins the Avon. The loch is the source of the town of Linlithgow's name; the
Linlithgow Loch was once famed for its brown trout, but most of the sport today comes from stocked rainbow trout, regularly released by the Forth Area Federation of Anglers.
The Low Port Centre, which was run by West Lothian Leisure, provided facilities for sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and windsurfing on the loch prior to the closure of the building in 2021. The future of the LPC site is currently uncertain.
Map, with depths
Linlithgow Loch lies immediately north of the town of Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
in West Lothian, Scotland. 1.3 kilometres in length and 0.4 in breadth, its area of 41 hectares makes it the largest natural freshwater loch in Lothian. It is, however, shallow, with a mean depth of 2.3 metres and a maximum depth of 9.2 metres. The loch is fed by four small streams, the Hatchery Burn, the Bonnytoun Burn, the Springfield Burn, and Bell's Burn,"Linlithgow Loch and its wildlife"West Lothian Council. NB: the Hatchery Burn is shown unlabelled in the top right corner of the map. and drained by the Mill Burn on its western side, which eventually joins the Avon. The loch is the source of the town of Linlithgow's name; the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
''llyn laith cau'' translates to "lake in the damp hollow". Two islets in the loch, Cormorant Island and the Rickle, are thought to be the 5,000 year old remains of crannog
A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...
s.
Fishing and boating
Linlithgow Loch was once famed for its brown trout, but most of the sport today comes from stocked rainbow trout, regularly released by the Forth Area Federation of Anglers.
The Low Port Centre, which was run by West Lothian Leisure, provided facilities for sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and windsurfing on the loch prior to the closure of the building in 2021. The future of the LPC site is currently uncertain.
Conservation
Urban and agricultural runoff makeeutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...
a concern. Algal bloom
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...
s have affected the loch's value for wildlife and recreation.
Linlithgow Loch is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to it being an example of a lowland eutrophic loch and supporting representative examples of aquatic and emergent plant communities.
External links
Map, with depths
References
{{reflist Lochs of West Lothian Protected areas of West Lothian Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Scotland Linlithgow Freshwater lochs of Scotland