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 Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) afte ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

, Scotland.

History

The loch is a natural feature, a post-glacial

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or 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 ...

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 Dictionary
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 Hessilhead is in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Hessilhead used to be called Hazlehead or Hasslehead. The lands were part of the Barony and Castle of Giffen, Lordship of Giffen, and the Barony of Hessilhead, within the Baillerie of Cunningham ...

, 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 near the Bungleburn Bridge outside Burnhouse.

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

. 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 Sport governing body, governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC ...

. A club medal is still in existence.

Geology

The solid geology is macroporphyritic

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

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 from

Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () 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 actual surve ...

'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.Thomson's Map
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 46,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its fi ...

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 ''Carex aquatilis'' is a species of Carex, sedge known as water sedge and leafy tussock sedge. It has a Circumboreal Region, circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern reaches of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in many types o ...

. 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), 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 t ...

)."

Birds

Bird species recorded here include

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus''), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of bird of prey, predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family (biology), family Falconidae. ...

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old High German, ...

water rail The water rail, western water rail or European water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this ...

robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, know ...

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. Distribution and habitat The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution li ...

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It 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 Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

. Rare species are

, 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 (

), 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). Since '' ...

), ivy-leaved water crowfoot ( Ranunculus hederaceus), and bay willow (

salix pentandra ''Salix pentandra'', the bay willow, is a species of willow native to northern Europe and northern Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . The scientific name refers to the male flowers having five stamens. The Engli ...

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.

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 Kettle lakes in the United Kingdom