Loch Muick (; Gaelic: Uisge Muice ()) is an upland, freshwater loch lying approximately south of Braemar,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

at the head of Glen Muick and within the boundary of the

Balmoral estate Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought fr ...

Geography

Loch Muick trends in a southwest and northeast direction and is approximately in length. It is surrounded on both sides by steep hills. The loch is fed by many small streams, the largest being Allt an dubh Loch in the west which flows down from Dubh Loch. The outflow is the source of the River Muick. The name of loch, glen and river is pronounced "mick". The loch was surveyed on 8 July 1905 by T.N. Johnston and L.W. Collet and later charted as part of the Sir John Murray's ''Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909''. Drinking from the waters of the Loch is ill-advised. The early 21st century produced several reports of walkers and cyclists alike developing strains of E.coli and campylobacter which, if left untreated, can be fatal.

Flora and fauna

A wide variety of bird and animal life can be found in and around the loch including red squirrel,

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

Eurasian oystercatcher The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widesp ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

trees can be found around the edge of the loch.

Glas-allt Shiel

Glas-allt Shiel, the hunting lodge originally built for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and completed in 1868, lies at the western end of the north shore of the loch. The queen had previously used the lodge further north in the glen at Allt-na-giubhsaich but after the death of Prince Albert could no longer bear to stay there, with its associations. The cottage at Glas-allt Shiel was extended and became her new retreat. It is also known as the Widow's House or the Widow's Hut.

Recreation

The loch is popular with walkers as it is picturesque, has a fairly flat path around its perimeter and is accessible by road. The bothy behind Glas-allt Shiel is now maintained by ''Dundee University Rucksack Club''. Fishing on the loch is restricted and not available to the public. The ''Ballater Angling Association'' has permission from the Balmoral Estate to fish and it maintains a boathouse and slip at the north end of the loch.

went on numerous fishing excursions on the loch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muick Lochs of Aberdeenshire Freshwater lochs of Scotland Dee Basin