Loch Treig is a deep freshwater loch situated in a steep-sided glen 20km east of Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.[1] While there are no roads alongside the loch, the West Highland Line follows its eastern bank.
| Loch Treig | |
|---|---|
 with Glen Spean | |
  Loch Treig | |
| Location | NN3473 |
| Coordinates | 56°48′50″N 4°43′37″W / 56.81399°N 4.72704°W |
| Type | freshwater loch, natural, reservoir |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Max. length | 8.43 km (5.24 mi) |
| Max. width | 0.63 km (0.39 mi) |
| Surface area | 743 ha (1,840 acres)[1] |
| Average depth | 207.34 ft (63.20 m)[1] |
| Max. depth | 436 ft (133 m)[1] |
| Water volume | 16,378,332,894.3 cu ft (463,782,740.00 m3)[1] |
| Shore length1 | 22 km (14 mi) [1] |
| Surface elevation | 251 m (823 ft)[1] |
| Max. temperature | 50.4 °F (10.2 °C) |
| Min. temperature | 50.3 °F (10.2 °C) |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Loch Treig was originally a natural freshwater loch over 400 feet deep.[1] In 1929, Loch Treig was made into a reservoir, retained behind the Treig Dam, forming part of the Lochaber hydro-electric scheme, which required diversion of the West Highland Railway.[2] The increase in water level following the construction of the dam submerged the hamlets of Kinlochtreig and Creaguaineach at the loch's southern end, which were stopping points on a cattle drovers' road along the Road to the Isles, which linked up Lochaber and the Inner Hebrides to markets in Perthshire in the south.
Ken Smith (b. 1947), a self-described hermit, has lived alone in a rough cabin on the shore of Loch Treig for forty years.[3] He was profiled in the documentary The Hermit of Treig (2022), and wrote the memoir The Way of the Hermit (2023).[3][4] Laura Miller opined in 2024, he "may be the most famous living hermit in Great Britain".[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Loch Treig". Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ "Loch Treig, Dam". Canmore. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ a b Kelly, Stuart (14 June 2023). "Book review: The Way Of The Hermit, by Ken Smith with Will Millard". The Scotsman. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Ide, Wendy (27 March 2022). "The Hermit of Treig – splendid isolation in the wilds of Scotland". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Miller, Laura (1 June 2024). "Alone and Unafraid". Slate. Retrieved 1 June 2024.