Loch A'an is a remote freshwater

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

set deep within the central

Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...

plateau, in the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

, located in the eastern

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Loch A'an, also called Loch Avon, is the source of the River Avon. Loch A'an is oriented southwest–northeast and is bounded on three sides by precipitous mountains, cliffs and crags, with the North-East opening out to provide an outflow for the river through Glen Avon.

Geography

To the north of the loch, rising almost vertically, lies the

Cairn Gorm Cairn Gorm () is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. It is part of the Cairngorms range and wider Grampian Mountains. With a summit elevation of Height above sea level, above sea level, Cairn Gorm is classed as a Munro and is the sixt ...

, the sixth highest mountain in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Southwest of Cairn Gorm, at the head of the loch, lies the imposing peak of

Ben Macdui Ben Macdui (, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest Mountains and hills of Scotland, mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level an ...

, the second-highest mountain in the UK, and to east lies Beinn Mheadhoin, the thirteenth-highest mountain in the UK, again rising almost vertically from the Loch A'an basin. Lying south of the loch and higher up the range at an elevation of , lies Loch Etchachan.

Poem

Nan Shepherd Anna "Nan" Shepherd (11 February 1893 – 27 February 1981) was a Scottish modernist writer and poet, who authored the memoir, ''The Living Mountain'', based on experiences of hill walking in the Cairngorms. The work was has been cited as influe ...

wrote a short poem about the loch in her 1934 anthology ''In the Cairngorms''.

Gallery

File:Loch Avon in Springtime - geograph.org.uk - 683700.jpg, The Loch in springtime before the thaw File:Loch Avon in Cairngorms - geograph.org.uk - 10129.jpg, Photo taken from just east of the Saddle on the SW ridge of A'Choinneach File:View towards Loch A'an and Beinn Mheadhoin - geograph.org.uk - 866001.jpg, View towards Loch A'an and Beinn Mheadhoin The 'Middle Hill' from Shelter Stone Craig. File:Burns tumble towards Loch Avon - geograph.org.uk - 2598831.jpg, Burns tumble towards Loch Avon

References

A'an A'an Cairngorms Strath Avon {{Highland-geo-stub