Balmaha

Balmaha
Scottish Gaelic: Baile MoThatha

The Main Street in Balmaha
Balmaha
 Balmaha shown within the Stirling council area
OS grid referenceNS420909
Civil parishBuchanan
Council areaStirling
Lieutenancy areaStirling and Falkirk
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Glasgow
Postcode district G63
Dialling code 01360
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentStirling
Scottish ParliamentStirling
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 56°05′02″N 4°32′24″W / 56.084°N 4.540°W / 56.084; -4.540

The harbor and boat yard on Loch Lomond at Balmaha

Balmaha (Gaelic: Baile MoThatha) is a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in the council area of Stirling, Scotland.

The village is a popular tourist destination for picnickers and day trippers from Glasgow as well as walkers on the West Highland Way. Boat trips leave from Balmaha for the town of Balloch and the village of Luss as well as nearby Inchcailloch Island.[1]

Balmaha sits at the westerly foot of Conic Hill, and is roughly 30 kilometres (20 miles) along the West Highland Way.

Etymology

The name Balmaha derives from the Gaelic Bealach Mo-Cha, 'the pass of Saint Mo-Cha'. The pass referred to is now named The Pass of Balmaha, a narrow route between hills at the north end of the village, carrying the road north along Loch Lomond. The saint referred to is Kentigerna, patron saint of the parish who was culted especially on the nearby island of Inchcailloch ('Island of Nuns'). Mo-Cha is a 'hypocoristic' form of her name, a sort of devotional nickname, common in medieval Gaelic and Welsh use. She is also commemorated in a well in the hills above the village, St Maha's Well.

Facilities

The village has a visitor centre for the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.[2] It also has a restaurant and Bed and Breakfast, the Oak Tree Inn, a bar and a shop. It is also the home of St Mocha coffee shop and ice cream parlour selling homemade ice cream, loose leaf teas and locally roasted coffee all perfectly crafted by none other than the famous 'Begonna'. Further along the road is Milarrochy Bay.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balmaha.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Balmaha.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.