Loch Lomond (pronounced LOW-mond) is a Scottish loch (or lake) located in the western lowlands of Central Scotland. It is located in the administrative districts of Stirling, Argyll and Bute, and West Dunbartonshire, and its southern shores lie approximately 14 miles north of Glasgow, the country's largest city.
It is approximately 37 kilometres long, and up to 8 kilometres wide, with an average depth of about 37 metres, and a maximum depth of about 190 metres. It has a surface area of approximately 71 million square metres, and a volume of about 2.6 km3. It is the largest of the lochs, and indeed the largest body of inland water in Great Britain, although contrary to popular belief it is not the largest in the British Isles - this distinction belongs to Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.
The loch is now (since July 2002) part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
The loch famously features in Andrew Lang's verse, The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, published around 1876. The chorus is well known:
- Oh, ye'll tak the high road, and I'll tak the low road,
- And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
- But me and my true love will never meet again
- On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.
Lang's poetry became the basis for a famous song entitled "Loch Lomond" which has been recorded by many performers over the years in styles ranging from traditional Scottish folk to rock and roll.
Today, the loch is also well known for the Loch Lomond Golf Club which lies next to it, and which has hosted international events.
January view of
Ben Lomond from the village of Luss
The village of Luss, on the shores of the loch was the location for the TV soap Take the High Road.
Ben Lomond, on the eastern shore is 974 metres in height and is the most southerly of the Scottish Munro peaks.
The loch contains a large number of islands, several of them quite large by the standards of British lochs/lakes, including Inchmurrin, the largest island in a loch/lake in the British Isles.
External links
There is also a Loch Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in California, USA.
