Filed Under: Scotland Adventures
This summer in Scotland has been incredibly dry, with many of Scotlands lochs and resivours reaching record low levels. While this is a worrying and increasinlgly common trend, it does present us with the opportunity to explore some of the most fascinating and rarest ruins in Scotland; those normally found under the waters of many of these man-made lochs.
Hydroelectric generation in Scotland started in 1930s and by 1965, 54 power stations and 74 dams had been built around Scotland, primarily in the Highlands. High up in the mountains, teams of workers endured punishing conditions as they tunneled, blasted and built hundreds of miles of pipework, dams and the infrastructure to support it. Dozens of valleys were dammed and filled, turning small lochs or gentle streams into huge reservoirs for the generation of electricity or supplies of fresh drinking water.
It was not only geographical change, either. The sudden availability of electricity in such rural places such as the highlands and islands of Scotland fundamentally changed the culture and accelerated modernisation in what were some of the UK’s most out of reach places, where modern developments such as electricity had scarcely touched before.
I’ve always been quite facinated by these man-made lochs and what once lay beneath them. This September, I was lucky enough to get the chance to visit one of the most noteable, the Glendevon Reservoir. Originally completed in 1955, it lies at the head of the Glendevon river in the hills above Stirling. It’s one of two reservoirs in series that help provide fresh water to the surrounding towns and was also fitted with a hydroelectric plant in during a reconstruction in 1994. What’s even more interesting however, is that the area that was flooded contained everything from medieval mottes and older cairns, to a working farm that was entirely covered by millions of litres of water.
This year, the water level in the loch has dropped so low that I had to take a walk up to see what I could find, and I was not disappointed.
Beautiful layers of colour are starting to spread back down the valley as the water receded, and barely a puddle of brown, muddy water was left at the base of the dam. An old quarry, probably used to provide concrete for the building work, has also emerged from the depths. However, the most most amazing sight was the old farm house in the middle of the loch.
Sitting near the very bottom of what is normally filled with almost 5 million litres of water, is the original farm building, drowned during the consutcion of the dam in the 1950s and now emerging once more, preserved in time and stained white in mud.
Inisde the house, wooden lintels still sit in the wall. Some crockery and stlates are still scattered around. In what looks to be a later extension, a collpased chimney lies half sunk in the mud.
All around, layers of colour are starting to creep back down the hillsides as plants and grass starts to regrow in the mud. From inside the house, the new farm can be seen in the distance, dwarfed by the new windfarm.
From the dam, the house looks beautiful and strangely devoid of colour amid all the fresh greenery around it. You can see here where the tideline once was marking the 5 million litres of water normally held in the loch.
Here’s a video I made where I tour the house, with some additional photos and drone footage!
Few Extra. I like the black & white versions around the house as it highlights a lot more of the details.
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