Describing Loch Leven, the 19th century Admiralty Sailing Directions strayed into purple prose: "Probably in no part of the world, certainly not throughout the Western Highlands, is Loch Leven surpassed in magnificence of natural scenery, containing, as it does, all that tends to charm the eye or inspire the mind. Mountains of surpassing grandeur, with wooded base and sterile summits, surround its shores, their deep shadows increasing in intensity the naturally sombre waters of the loch, whilst Glencoe, ever dark and gloomy, seems still more so as one recalls the frightful tragedy enacted within its recesses". Glencoe is indeed a magical name for anyone in to mountains. One might then imagine that Loch Leven, at the bottom of the glen, has a lot to offer the yachtsman. But it doesn't really, apart from the pleasure of sailing amongst well-remembered and magnificent mountains, and admiring them from a different angle. The views and the scenery are grand indeed, and although there are rather few anchorages to explore, one is spectacular, at least in what there is to see and do — Eilean Munde.
