THE LOCH OF THE SWORD - Lochan a' Chlaidheimh

If you should take a ride on the West Highland Railway, going north, keep a lookout on the left side of the train a short while after leaving Rannoch Station, for you may see a small 'lochan' which is the subject of an incident that happened at the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Ewn Allanson was the Cameron Chief.

A dispute over grazing lands between the Cameron and Rannoch clansmen was intended to be settled by a meeting between Ewen and the Earl of Atholl. The meeting never came to blows, because the Camerons, who had wind of treachery, outnumbered their rivals to such an extent that the grazing rights were settled in their favour. To signal his agreement for all time the Earl threw his sword into the nearby loch, thereby giving it a name - Lochan a' Chlaidheimh - the Loch of the Sword.

A fuller version of this incident is given in A.D.Cunningham's book 'Tales of Rannoch'.

Below are two pictures of the loch, taken in 2000.