Loch Muick (;

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: Uisge Muice ()) is an upland, freshwater

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

lying approximately south of

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the head of Glen Muick and within the boundary of the

Balmoral estate Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a List of British royal residences, residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, Aberdeenshire, Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Abe ...

Geography

Loch Muick trends in a southwest and northeast direction and is approximately in length. It is surrounded on both sides by steep hills. The loch is fed by many small streams, the largest being Allt an dubh Loch in the west which flows down from Dubh Loch. The outflow is the source of the River Muick. The name of loch, glen and river is pronounced "mick". The loch was surveyed on 8 July 1905 by T.N. Johnston and L.W. Collet and later charted as part of the Sir John Murray's ''Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909''.

Flora and fauna

A wide variety of bird and animal life can be found in and around the loch including

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

Eurasian oystercatcher The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It has striking black and white plumage, a long st ...

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

trees can be found around the edge of the loch.

Glas-allt Shiel

Glas-allt Shiel, the hunting lodge originally built for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and completed in 1868, lies at the western end of the north shore of the loch. The queen had previously used the lodge further north in the glen at Allt-na-giubhsaich but after the death of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

could no longer bear to stay there, with its associations. The cottage at Glas-allt Shiel was extended and became her new retreat. It is also known as the Widow's House or the Widow's Hut.

Recreation

The loch is popular with walkers as it is picturesque, has a fairly flat path around its perimeter and is accessible by road. The

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

behind Glas-allt Shiel is now maintained by ''Dundee University Rucksack Club''. Fishing on the loch is restricted and not available to the public. The ''Ballater Angling Association'' has permission from the Balmoral Estate to fish and it maintains a boathouse and slip at the north end of the loch.

went on numerous fishing excursions on the loch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muick Lochs of Aberdeenshire Freshwater lochs of Scotland Dee Basin