Tour Scotland, Loch Lochy

Loch Lochy is ten miles long and is a link in the chain of lochs which were joined up by Telford to form the
Caledonian Canal a hundred and fifty years ago.
At its narrow north-east end the loch is joined up to the small and shallow Loch Oich by means of the Laggan Locks. To the west are the ranges of the Glengarry
Forest. Ben Tee (2,956 feet), Sron a’ Choire Ghairbh (3,066 feet) and Meall Coire Lochain (2,971 feet). Below these towering peaks is Kilfinnan, scene of a desperate Clan battle in 1544 when the Macdonalds and the Camerons almost wiped out the Clan Fraser and at Tobar
nan Ceann, the Well of Heads, is a grim reminder of the vengeance of one of the former Macdonald chiefs.

Equally impressive are the great mountains to the east of the loch, from Cam Dearg (2,677 feet) in the north
down through Beinn Iaruinn (2,636 feet) to Coire Ceirsle Hill overlooking Spean Bridge. This area was a training ground for Commandos during World War II and just outside Spean Bridge is a magnificent memorial to those who died. Further east, in the heart of these hills, is Glen Roy with its curious ‘parallel roads’, shelves left by the
receding glaciers of the Ice Age. More historic connections are to be found to the west of the loch, where the waters of the short river Arkaig flow from the loch of the same name. At Achnacarry once stood the castle of Cameron of Lochiel, known as the Gentle Lochiel and renowned for his support of the Young Pretender during the ‘45. After the Battle of Culloden Cumberland’s vengeance included the burning of the castle to the ground while Lochiel himself went into exile and died
there. The present castle was raised upon the site of the former in 1802 and later became the Commando wartime
headquarters.

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