Loch Awe

Infobox_lake
lake_name = Loch Awe
image_lake = Loch Awe.jpg
caption_lake = Northern arm from the flanks of Beinn a' Bhuiridh
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Argyll and Bute, Scotland
coords = coord|56|17|52|N|5|14|06|W|region:GB_type:waterbody|display=inline,title
type =
inflow =
outflow = River Awe
catchment =
basin_countries = United Kingdom
length = 35 km
width = 1 km
area = 38.5 km²
depth =
max-depth =
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation =
islands = Innis Chonnell, Inishail, Innis Chonan
islands_category = Islands of Loch Awe
cities = Lochawe

Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Obha) is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe.

The loch

It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with a surface area of 38.5 square kilometres (14.9 square miles). It is the longest freshwater loch in Scotland, measuring 35 kilometres from end to end with an average width of 1 kilometre. [How can this be the longest if the entry for Loch Ness says that it is 37 kilometers long?]

The loch runs approximately south-west to north-east, roughly parallel to the two sea lochs of Loch Etive and Loch Fyne. Via the River Awe and Loch Etive it drains westward from its northern end and thus into the Atlantic Ocean.

Loch Awe is the site of two hydroelectric projects. One is a conventional turbine power station, with water extracted from the River Awe at a barrage, fed through underground pipes, and generating electricity as it flows into Loch Etive. The second is a more unusual pumped storage project, using a man-made loch in the hills above the loch; water is pumped up during times of surplus power, and used to power generators at times of peak demand. The second project, known as Cruachan from the name of the hill above, has a visitor centre, which includes tours into the heart of the mountain.

Loch Awe is renowned for its trout fishing. Salmon pass through the loch, coming past the barrage in the River Awe and continuing into the River Orchy. Loch Awe contains several ruined castles on islands, and at the northern end has one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, Kilchurn Castle, which in summer may be visited by a short boat trip or by a half mile walk from a small car park just after the bridge over the River Orchy. It was from Loch Awe and surrounding area that Clan Campbell established itself as a powerful family.

Innis Chonnell is an island in the loch.

Environs

The A85 road and the West Highland Line run along the northern bank of the loch, and the A819 follows the south-east bank for a short distance up to the village of Cladich. From there the single-track B840 runs for the remaining distance to the head of the loch at Ford and then joining the A816 a short distance north of Kilmartin. Similarly, on the north-west side an unclassified single-track road runs the full length from the A85 in Taynuilt to Ford.

;Lochawe village and Loch Awe railway stationAt the northern tip of the Loch, a railway station was opened in 1880 when the Callander and Oban Railway passed that way, and a large luxury hotel was created (Loch Awe Hotel, 1871). A village has grown up around the hotel, essentially running along the single strip defined by the A85 road. A steamer service used to operate on the loch from the pier just below the hotel, stopping at Portsonachan, Taycreggan, Eredine and Ford. The village now includes St Conan's Kirk, one of the most interesting pieces of Church architecture in Scotland. Confusingly, while the railway station is called Loch Awe, the village is contracted to Lochawe.

ee also

*Cailleach

External links

* [http://www.loch-awe.com/ The Loch Awe community web site]
* [http://www.fishing-argyll.co.uk/ Fishing-Argyll web site]
* [http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=SeeScot%20Places&vxClipId=1380_SMG422&vxBitrate=300 Video tour of St Conan's Kirk, Loch Awe]