The Lure of Scottish Lakes

We say “lake” and the Scots say “loch”.

It’s a little like “pot-A-to/pot-AH-to, tom-A-to/tom-AH-to, let’s call the whole thing off”.

Whatever you call them, lochs are certainly an iconic part of Scotland. Apparently, there are 30,000 of them. So far, I’ve seen about less than a handful up close, so lots to go.

First, let me say the winter here has been nothing to complain about in comparison with what I’ve heard about back home. Though, while we didn’t have in super cold temperatures or much snow at all, we did have lots of rain days on end and darkness.

Thankfully, the days are getting longer again and it’s great that spring is here. As the weather forecasters called for a weekend of sunshine and a high of 60 degrees, I think the entire country sighed and determinedly ventured out today to replenish their Vitamin D stores in the glorious sunshine.

A colleague of D.’s suggested an outing to Loch Lomond. I’d sort of seen it once from afar when initial plans for a walk with our neighbor and her girls turned into having a tea inside a lakeside inn due to the foggy, wet weather. This time in glorious sun, its beauty was much more evident.

Glasgow is really fortunate to be situated reasonably close to Loch Lomond, the largest lake in Scotland in terms of size and the largest freshwater body in the UK. (Loch Ness wins in terms of volume with its vast deepness, perfect for hiding Nessie.) It is about twenty miles, or a forty-minute train ride, from Glasgow to Balloch, a cute town sitting upon the lake.

It’s a place where the Lowlands of Scotland (like Glasgow) transition into the Highlands of northern Scotland and is part of The Trossachs National Park.

Scots, in spite of the weather, are very outdoorsy people. A popular outdoor pastime is “bagging Munros”, or climbing Scottish peaks higher than 3,000 feet. (The Munro, by the way, comes from the last name of a surveyor who catalogued the mountains in the late 1800’s.)
In the area around Loch Lomond alone, there are 21 Munros and 282 throughout the whole of the country.

Will Munro bagging be in my future? Well, who knows right? Who ever thought I’d be living in Scotland . . .

Wishing you a beautiful start of spring.