Loch Lomond
Huge, attractive, but touristy in places
The beauty of Loch Lomond, Scotland's largest fresh-water Loch (35 km/22 miles long and 8 km/5 miles wide) is celebrated in literature, song and legend and since 2002 as part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park – a real haven for hikers.
The loch is something of a tapestry of some 30 pretty islands, some with ancient ruins, lying beneath the hulking form of Ben Lomond (974m/3,196-ft). It's skirted by the West Highland Way on the quieter eastern shore, while the west is known for its busy lakeside – upmarket shopping at Loch Lomond Shores; a Sealife aquarium; golf; boat trips and water sports – all of which draw Glaswegians here in numbers. Their city is just 30km (19miles) away.
Text © Christian Williams
Images by Eilis Garvey on Unsplash, Ian Dick