Loch Doon
| Loch Doon | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Geographical location | East Ayrshire , Scotland | |
| Tributaries | Eglin Lane from Loch Enoch | |
| Drain | Doon → Firth of Clyde | |
| Location close to the shore | Dalmellington | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 55 ° 15 '20 " N , 4 ° 21' 57" W | |
|
||
Loch Doon ( Scottish Gaelic : Loch Dhùinist ) is a freshwater lake in the Scottish Lowlands. It's about three miles south of Dalmellington just outside the Galloway Forest Park in the East Ayrshire Council Area . The lake can be reached via a junction from the A713 at Mossdale.
Loch Doon is approximately 8.9 km long and up to 1.4 km wide. The lake is the source of the Doon and itself receives water from an approximately ten kilometer long tributary from Loch Enoch . Loch Doon is part of the Galloway Hydro-Electric Power Scheme , which is why it was dammed in the 1930s so that its current water level is about nine meters above natural. However, the water from the lake is not used to drive turbines. The lake serves as a buffer storage tank, from which water can be taken via pipelines during times of low precipitation in order to be able to operate the hydropower plants continuously.
To the south of the lake on the west bank is the ruin of Loch Doon Castle - a fortress with 11 irregular sides that was originally located on an island in the lake. In 1935 the building was demolished and rebuilt in its current location to protect it from flooding in the course of the damming of the lake.
In January 1917, the Royal Flying Corps opened a School of Aerial Gunnery on Loch Doon. The target practice took place with the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c . The school was closed at the end of the First World War. Parts of the facilities were flooded in the 1930s, some are still visible today.
Loch Doon dam
Loch Doon
Loch Doon Castle in its current location
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry on Loch Doon Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- Jump up ↑ Deborah Lake: Tartan Air Force: Scotland and a Century of Military Aviation 1907-2007. Birlinn 2007. ISBN 978-1841585345 .
- ↑ Entry on Gunnery School in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)