Monteith, Lake of, a placid sheet of water in the middle of Port of Monteith parish, SW Perthshire. Lying 55 feet above sea-level, it has an utmost length from E to W of 1½ mile, an utmost breadth from N to S of 1 mile, and a depth in places of 80 feet; and it sends off Goodie Water 8¾ miles east-south-eastward to the Forth. Its shores display none of the rnde magnificence and grandeur that is characteristic of Highland scenery; but, on the other hand, they present an aspect of soft pastoral beauty which soothes the soul, and fills the contemplative mind with thoughts calm and quiet as its own transparent waters. The northern sh-ore is beautifully adorned with oak, Spanish chestnut, and plane trees of ancient growth-survivors of those which adorned the park of the Earls of Monteith. On the same side, the manse and church of Port of Monteith, with the elegant mausoleum of the Gartmore family, seated close on the margin of the lake, increase the interest of the scene. The lake contains three islands, two of which, from the noble wood that adorns them, add greatly to the beauty of its expanse; whilst a long, narrow, wooded promontory running far into the water diversifies the southern shore. The largest island, called Inchmahome, has been noticed separately; that immediately to the W bears the name of-Inch Talla or Earl's Isle. Here, from 1427, the Earls of Monteith had their feudal stronghold, the ruins of which still exist, comprising an ancient tower and some domiciliary buildings. The smallest island is called the Dog Isle, where the earls had their dog-kennel. while the stables were situated on the western shore of the lake. Twice in Sept. 1869 Queen Victoria drove here from Invertrossachs. The trout-fishing is ruined by the pike.—Ord. Sur., sh. 38, 1871. See P. Dun's Summer at the Lake of Monteith (Glasg. 1866); chap. xxv. of Thos. Hunter's Woods and Estates of Perthshire (Edinb. 1883); and other works cited under Inchmahome.
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