View source for Loch Lochy

[[File:Loch Lochy.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Loch Lochy from the A82]]
{{county|Inverness-shire}}
'''Loch Lochy''' is a large freshwater loch in the [[Great Glen]] which slices though the midst of [[Inverness-shire]]. With a mean depth of {{convert|70|m|0|x}}, it is the third-deepest loch of Scotland.

The loch is known in Gaelic as ''Loch Lochaidh''.

==Geography==
Lying in the [[Great Glen]], 10 miles southwest of [[Loch Ness]], Loch Lochy is over {{convert|15|km|0|x}} long with an average width of about three-quarters of a mile. The River Lochy flows from its southwestern end while the [[Caledonian Canal]] links its northeastern extent to [[Loch Oich]].

==History==
The Battle of the Shirts was fought at its northern end near [[Laggan, Great Glen|Laggan]] in July 1544, between Clan Donald and Clan Fraser.<ref name=Appleton>Appleton's European guide book for English-speaking travellers, Volume 1 page 92 (1886)</ref>

The Stand-off at the Fords of Arkaig in September 1665 ended a 360-year feud between the Camerons and the Chattan Confederation. It took place at [[Achnacarry]], on the isthmus between Loch Lochy and [[Loch Arkaig]].

Folklore tales mention 'a supernatural being' called the River Horse which was said to emerge from the lake and assume a horse's shape before feeding on the loch's banks.<ref name="rivhorse">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25098203 |title=Peculiar Superstitions. |newspaper=The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939) |location=Brisbane, Qld. |date=3 January 1925 |accessdate=16 September 2013 |page=36 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The River Horse was also known as the Lord Of The Lake and the Water King and would overturn boats and 'entice mares from their pastures'.<ref name="rivhorse"/> Another tradition was that of the River Bull, 'a gentle, harmless creature', who would 'emerge from the lake into the pasture of cows'.<ref name="rivhorse"/>

[[File:Loch Lochy to Kilfinnan.jpg|right|250px|View over Loch Lochy towards Kilfinnan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*[http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst2182.html The Gazetteer for Scotland] Loch Lochy
*[http://www.nls.uk/maps/bathymetric/view/?sid=74400573 Map of Loch Lochy] Bathymetrical Survey of the Freshwater Lochs of Scotland 1897&ndash;1900 (National Library of Scotland)

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[[Category:Lochs of Inverness-shire]]
[[Category:Great Glen]]