Crannogs

There are two people fishing today on the loch in a small boat and the ducks are keeping a good distance from them. The wildfowl like people arriving with food and will come very close to the bank, but people in boats waving fishing rods are another matter and they keep well clear. They will spend an hour or two trying to catch trout, although at times the rain showers are so heavy that I believe they will give up unless the fishing is good. In summer the lochs are well visited by fishermen; in fact, a day at the trout in a remote loch, miles from the road, is the very best of sport. People have always been associated with water; in the past it was more often used for transport and further back still people lived in close harmony with Highland lochs. Islands in some lochs have been shown to be artificial and made of wood and rock. They are called ‘crannogs’ and were used for habitation in times when life was far more hazardous and a water barrier was important for safety.

Roy Dennis
“The Loch: A Year In The Life Of A Scottish Loch”