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Loch is a Scottish Gaelic word for lake and has been borrowed by the Scots to refer to any body of water in Scotland. It is estimated that there are over 31,000 lochs in Scotland. Here we will take a look at 15 random facts about Scottish Lochs.

1. Scotland’s only natural lake is the Lake of Menteith, in Perthshire.

2. The largest loch by surface area is Loch Lomond.

3. The largest loch by volume of water is Loch Ness

4. The deepest loch is Loch Morar which is 328m deep at its deepest.

5. The Caledonian canal links Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Lochy and Loch Oich.

6. The longest sea loch is Loch Fyne, in Argyll. Loch Fyne is famed as being a good source for seafood.

7. The longest inland loch is Loch Awe, in Argyll.

8. The Nor’ Loch was situated in Edinburgh, created in the 15th century as part of the town’s defence, it was drained in the 18th century because it had become a health hazard.

9. On the subject of drained Loch’s. Gogarloch was a marshland that existed in South Gyle until it was drained in the 19th century to make way for a new railway.

10. The second World War wasn’t all doom and gloom – on one sunny day, the crew of a German U-boat landed on the shores of Loch Eriboll and had a picnic.

11. Loch Leven is associated with the number eleven. It is 11 miles in the round, has eleven islands and has eleven streams flowing into it.

12. On the subject of Loch Leven, one of its isle castles was home to Mary Queen of Scots when she was imprisoned. She once tried to escape by dressing as a laundress but a fisherman spotted that her hands looked too well kept to be a laundress and she was soon caught and re-imprisoned.

13. Loch Lomond has a total of 30 islands, ranging from mere outcrops to the two-mile-square Inchmurrin. Some locals actually claim that there is a 31st but that it appears and disappear over night!

14. An Italian newspaper ran a report in March 1941 which stated that the German bombing raids had been so bad that the Loch Ness monster had been killed after a direct hit!

15. Loch Ness is world famous for being home to the Loch Ness Monster – or Nessie, as she is affectionately known – despite no concrete proof of the monster’s existence, just the thought that it may has boosted the Scottish tourism industry for many years as people flock to Loch Ness to try and catch a glimpse. Most go home without a glimpse but many do go home with a stuffed toy souvenir of Nessie.