Loch Maree (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Ma-ruibhe) is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At 21.7 km (13.46 mi) long and with a maximum width of four kilometres (2+1⁄2 mi), it is the fourth-largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is 28.7 km2 (11.08 mi2). Loch Maree contains five large wooded islands and over 60 smaller ones, many of which have their own lochans. The largest island, Eilean Sùbhainn, contains a loch that itself contains an island, a situation that occurs nowhere else in Great Britain. Isle Maree holds the remains of a Pre-Reformation chapel and Christian pilgrimage shrine believed to be the 8th century hermitage of Saint Máel Ruba (d. 722), a Celtic Church missionary from Bangor Abbey in Gaelic Ireland who also founded the monastery of Applecross in 672. It is after him that Loch Maree is named; prior to the saint's arrival in the area the loch is believed to have been named Loch Ewe, as evidenced by the name of the village of Kinlochewe (Scottish Gaelic: Ceann Loch Iù, meaning "Head of Loch Ewe") which is located at the eastern end of Loch Maree. The loch is important for wildlife. It is the site of one of the largest breeding concentrations of black-throated diver in Great Britain, and also holds an important population of Eurasian otter. The islands of Loch Maree are the location of some of the best native Caledonian pinewood in Scotland, and are particularly noted for their dragonflies, with 12 species having been recorded. The waters, islands and shoreline of Loch Maree are protected by several overlapping conservation designations.
Geography
Loch Maree is much longer than it is wide, stretching along a northwest-southeast axis. The outflow is via the short River Ewe, through which water enters the sea loch of Loch Ewe, close to the village of Poolewe; the village of Kinlochewe lies at the head of the loch at the southeastern end. The A832 road between the two runs along much of the southwestern shore of the loch, but diverges from it in the north to run via Gairloch, along the coast from Poolewe. It is 10 metres (33 ft) above mean sea level (winter water level). Loch Maree It is divided into three main basins, and has many islands: the ratio of the area of the islands to the area of the surface water is greater than any other large loch in Scotland. The deepest of the basins, at 112 m (367 ft), is known as the Grudie Basin, and lies between Isle Maree and the head of the loch. To the northwest of this basin lies the Slattadale Basin, which contains the majority of the islands. North of the islands lies a shallower area, separating the Slattadale Basin from the Ardlair Basin, the most irregularly shaped of the three. The most prominent mountain on the northern side of Loch Maree is Slioch, one of Scotland's Munros (a mountain over 3,000 ft (910 m) high), which dominates the eastern end of the loch above Kinlochewe. It is composed mainly of Torridonian sandstone of Precambrian age, lying on a bedrock of Lewisian gneiss. It is popular for hill walking, scrambling and climbing. Other peaks on the northern side include Beinn Àirigh Charr and Beinn Làir, both of which are classified as Corbetts. The entire length of the northeastern shore of Loch Maree forms part of the 35,072 ha (86,664 acres) Letterewe, Heights of Kinlochewe & Tournaig Estate, which extends north over an area known as the Fisherfield Forest. The southwestern side of Loch Maree is also very mountainous, comprising the Torridon Forest. The most prominent peak is Beinn Eighe, which is capped with white quartzite. Three main landowners occupy the southwestern shore: from south to north these are NatureScot (the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve), the 5,154 ha (12,737 acres) Grudie & Talladale Estate, and the 21,701 ha (53,625 acres) Gairloch (Flowerdale & Shieldaig) & Conon Estate.
History
Between 671 and 722, Celtic Church missionary St Máel Ruba arrived at Loch Maree, and founded a chapel and Christian pilgrimage shrine on Eilean Maolruibhe. Remains of this chapel were reportedly still visible in 1861 but no traces now remain, although the burial ground associated with the chapel is still extant. A small covered holy well on the island is said to have been consecrated by the saint. During the middle ages the island of Eilean Ghrùididh on Loch Maree was a centre for the MacBeaths; in or shortly after 1430 the MacBeaths were displaced by Clan MacLeod. Investigation of the island in 1965 found a fortified area measuring 44 by 36 metres with walls 1 m thick and 2 m high, with a 1.8 m deep dungeon in the southeast corner. No buildings were found within the fortifications. Due to its remote location there is now little industry surrounding Loch Maree, however the area was formerly a centre for ironworking. During the seventeenth century up to 8 hectares of oak woodlands a day were turned into charcoal to fuel the smelting of bog iron at Letterewe on the northeast shore. Workmen from these iron furnaces are said to have been buried on Isle Maree. Remains of one iron furnace can be seen at a site known as the Red Smiddy on the northeast bank of the River Ewe between the outflow from the loch and Poolewe. Pieces of ore, slag and iron have been found at this site.
The loch became a popular spot for trout fishing after Queen Victoria visited the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale in 1877, a visit which led to the naming of Victoria Falls, an attractive waterfall in the vicinity of the hotel. In 1883 the proprietor of the Loch Maree Hotel inaugurated a steamboat service on the loch, with a connecting carriage service to Achnasheen railway station, linking Poolewe with Kinlochewe. The service was withdrawn in about 1911. In 1893, there was a proposal to build a branch railway from Achnasheen to Aultbea along the south shore of Loch Maree. The railway would have increased Victorian tourist traffic, as well as providing a service for fisheries and the mail and a connection to Stornoway, however the plan was later abandoned.
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