![Loch of the Lowes from the Bridge to Tibbie Shiels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Loch_of_the_Lowes_from_the_Bridge_to_Tibbie_Shiels.jpg)
St Mary's Loch is the largest natural
loch in the
Scottish Borders, and is situated on the south side of the
A708 road between
Selkirk and
Moffat
Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town.
...
, about south of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
Description
It is long and wide, and was created by
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
action during the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
. The loch is fed by the
Megget Water
Megget Water is a river in the parish of Yarrow, Selkirkshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The Water rises at Broad Law (2,760 ft), passes through Megget Reservoir and empties into St Mary's Loch. Places in the vicinity includ ...
, which flows in from the
Megget Reservoir
Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest, in the Scottish Borders. The reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland. The reservoir collects water from the Tweedsmuir Hills, which is then ...
, and is the source of the
Yarrow Water
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal.
The ...
, which flows east from the loch to merge with the
Ettrick Water above Selkirk.
It connects by a short section of river to the Loch of the Lowes, immediately to the south. Between the two, connected by an old arched bridge, is
Tibbie Shiel
Tibbie Shiel (1783–1878) was a Scottish figure who ran Tibbie Shiel's Inn on St Mary's Loch in the Scottish Borders and was known to many authors and poets, and the subject of numerous literary works.
Life
She was born Isabella Shiel in ...
's Inn, an 18th-century
coaching inn, which was frequented by the Border poet
James Hogg
James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...
(1770–1835). The inn is now privately owned.
A statue of James Hogg is located opposite the turning to the former inn.
The loch takes its name from a church dedicated to St Mary which once stood on its northern shore, although only the burial ground is now visible. The loch is around 27 metres deep at its centre.
[Edinburgh and its Environs: Ward Lock Travel Guide 1939] As the loch is sheltered by steep hills on all sides it is often very still, providing excellent reflections in its waters.
The
Southern Upland Way
The Southern Upland Way is a coast-to-coast long-distance footpath in southern Scotland. The route links Portpatrick in the west and Cockburnspath in the east via the hills of the Southern Uplands. The Way is designated as one of Scotland's ...
and
Sir Walter Scott Way
The Sir Walter Scott Way is a long-distance footpath in the Scottish Borders. The route broadly follows the waymarked Southern Upland Way, except for in a few sections. It commemorates Sir Walter Scott, one of Scotland's most renowned writers, ...
long-distance walking routes both pass the shores of the loch. The small settlement of
Cappercleuch is located at the north-west corner of the loch.
Sport
St Mary's Loch Sailing Club (StMLSC) is run from premises at the south end of the loch (east of Tibbie Shiels). It is affiliated to the
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for i ...
. Brown trout, pike, perch and eels are all found within the loch and its smaller neighbour, Loch of the Lowes. Arctic charr once also populated the loch but exploitation likely led to their disappearance before the mid-18th century.
[Maitland P. S. (n.d.) The status of Arctic Charr, ''Salvelinus alpinus'' (L), in southern Scotland: A cause for concern. Fish Conservation Centre: Stirling.]
Literary references
Many of the 71
Noctes Ambrosianae in
Blackwood's Magazine
''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...
refer to Tibbie Shiel's Inn and St Mary's Loch. Tibbie Shiel aka Tibbie Richardson died in 1878 aged 95.
Also mentioned in William Wordsworth's poem, Yarrow: "The swan on still St. Mary's Lake
Float double, swan and shadow!"
See also
*
List of places in the Scottish Borders
''Map of places in the Scottish Borders compiled from this list'':See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties.
This list of places in the Scottish Borders includes towns, villages, hamlets, castles, golf courses, historic ...
*
List of places in Scotland
This list of places in Scotland is a complete collection of lists of places in Scotland.
* List of burghs in Scotland
* List of census localities in Scotland
*List of islands of Scotland
** List of Shetland islands
** List of Orkney islands
** L ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Freshwater lochs of Scotland
Lochs of the Scottish Borders
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale
Yarrow Valley
LStMarys