The
Lake of Menteith (
Scottish Gaelic "Loch Innis MoCholmaig"), or, until the 20th century, the
Loch of Menteith, is a
loch in
Scotland, located on the
Flanders Moss, the flood plain of the upper reaches of the rivers
Forth and
Teith, upstream of
Stirling. The only settlement of any size on the Lake of Menteith is
Port of Menteith.
The are a number of small islands in the loch. On the largest,
Inchmahome, is
Inchmahome Priory, an ancient
monastery. The
priory served as refuge to
Mary Queen of Scots in 1547. She was only four years old at the time and stayed for three weeks after the disastrous
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in September of that year.
The Loch is not particularly deep and can freeze over completely in exceptionally cold winters. If the ice becomes thick enough (10 inches (25 cm)) an outdoor
curling tournament called The
Bonspiel or the
Grand Match is held on the loch. The event can attract thousands of curlers despite its rarity. The last Grand Match was held in 1979.
The Lake of Menteith is often thought of as the only body of water in
Scotland that is referred to as a
lake. Actually, there are others, including four small artificial bodies:
Pressmennan Lake, the
Lake of the Hirsel, Lake Louise (within the grounds of
Skibo Castle) and Cally Lake (near
Gatehouse of Fleet). There is also a sea bay near
Kirkcudbright known as Manxmans Lake. Nearly all other major bodies of water in Scotland are known as
lochs. This unusual name is believed to be a corruption of the
Lowland Scots Laich o Menteith, where "laich" simply means "low place".