Loch an Eilein
Encyclopedia
Loch an Eilein is a small loch
on the Rothiemurchus estate about 5 km south of Aviemore
. The name Loch an Eilein comes from the gaelic 'loch of the island'.
In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the loch was used mainly for two things. On the banks of the loch there is a limestone kiln where the lime stone was collected from a rockface looking over the loch. Also loggers used the connecting river to float logs down to the wood treating factories down stream. Rob Roy
and other cattle rustlers used the loch and one side of the loch is called 'Robbers Way'. There are only three remaining houses on the loch side and they are used by forestry officers now.
In the middle of the Loch are ruins of the castle. The castle was once a stronghold of the Wolf of Badenoch who died around the turn of the 15th century. The Jacobites, retreating from Cromdale in 1690, besieged the castle, led by Dame Grizel Mor Grant, widow of the fifth laird Grant. At this time the castle was connected to the shore by a causeway. The causeway was lost when the water level in the loch was raised in the 18th century.
Loch
Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...
on the Rothiemurchus estate about 5 km south of Aviemore
Aviemore
Aviemore is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and other winter sports, and for hill-walking in the Cairngorm...
. The name Loch an Eilein comes from the gaelic 'loch of the island'.
In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the loch was used mainly for two things. On the banks of the loch there is a limestone kiln where the lime stone was collected from a rockface looking over the loch. Also loggers used the connecting river to float logs down to the wood treating factories down stream. Rob Roy
Robert Roy MacGregor
Robert Roy MacGregor , usually known simply as Rob Roy or alternately Red MacGregor, was a famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century, who is sometimes known as the Scottish Robin Hood. Rob Roy is anglicised from the Scottish Gaelic Raibeart Ruadh, or Red Robert...
and other cattle rustlers used the loch and one side of the loch is called 'Robbers Way'. There are only three remaining houses on the loch side and they are used by forestry officers now.
In the middle of the Loch are ruins of the castle. The castle was once a stronghold of the Wolf of Badenoch who died around the turn of the 15th century. The Jacobites, retreating from Cromdale in 1690, besieged the castle, led by Dame Grizel Mor Grant, widow of the fifth laird Grant. At this time the castle was connected to the shore by a causeway. The causeway was lost when the water level in the loch was raised in the 18th century.