Inch or Insh, a lake, an ancient parish, and a quoad sacra parish, in Badenoch district, E Inverness-shire. The lake lies on the mutual border of Alvie and Kingussie parishes, ½ mile S of Kincraig or Boat of Inch station on the Highland railway, this being 18½ miles SSW of Grantown and 5¾ NE of the post-town Kingussie. Formed by expansion of the river Spey, it lies 721 feet above sea-level, and has an utmost length and breadth of 7½ and 4¾ furlongs. The rod-fishing is poor, but salmon and char are netted in great numbers. The Queen, under date 4 Sept. 1860, describes Loch Inch as 'lovely, not a wild lake, quite the contrary: no high rocks, but woods and blue hills as a background.' On 3 April 1881 the lake was completely frozen over with ice ¼ inch thick. The ancient parish is united to Kingussie parish, and forms its north-eastern district. The quoad sacra parish, mainly identical with the ancient parish, and lying around the upper part of Loch Inch, was originally constituted in 1828, and is in the presbytery of Abernethy and synod of Moray. The stipend is £120, with a glebe worth £9 a year. The church, an old building, stands near the NE shore of Loch Inch, and contains 300 sittings. Pop. (1871) 359, (1881) 455, of whom 58 were in Alvie and 397 in Kingussie.—Ord. Sur., sh. 74, 1877.
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