Lochnagar

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Lochnagar, a finely-shaped mountain of Braemar district, SW Aberdeenshire, 65/8 miles SE of Castletown and 9¾ SW of Ballater as the crow flies, but 10½ and 13 to walk. One of the frontier Grampians, it flanks the W side of the upper part of Glenmuick, and blocks the heads of Glengelder and Glengarrawalt; and it rises so steeply and fitfully as to be scaleable on foot only with extreme fatigue, yet can be conveniently ascended on Highland ponies, as by the Queen and Prince Albert on 16 Sept. 1848. Far up its north-eastern side lies triangular Lochnagar or the `Lake of the Hare' (2½ x 2 furl.; 2575 feet), a gloomy tarn, overhung by precipices 1200 feet high; and it is gashed on other sides and on its shoulders by frightful corries. Some of its higher hollows retain deep snow-drifts throughout the summer months; and the whole of it was white with snow all day on 4 June 1880. The predominant rock is granite, and topazes, beryls, and rock crystals are found. Rising to an altitude of 3786 feet above sea-level, Lochnagar commands, from its summit a very extensive and most magnificent view. Lord Byron pronounced it `the most sublime and picturesque of the Caledonian Alps,' and celebrated it, as `dark Lochnagar,' in one of his best known and most beautiful minor poems.—Ord. Sur., sh. 65, 1870.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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