The trees around Nunhead on Tour 10: Scotland: Lake of Menteith

We here at The trees around Nunhead are very keen on Scotland's only lake, the Lake of Menteith.

Or at least, everyone told us that it was the only lake, and that it wasn't called a loch because it was named for Sir John de Menteith, who betrayed William Wallace in 1305; no Scot would name a loch after such a traitor.

In fact, Wikipedia (currently) tells a different story - that there are a few other lakes in Scotland, including Pressmennan lake and the Lake of Hirsel. It suggests that lake in lake of Menteith is a corruption of the lowland Scots dialect word laich meaning "low place".
Whatever the source of the name, after leaving Edinburgh we had a week from the 10th in a rather nice chalet on the lake. The weather was a little damp, but we got out and about a bit and used it as a base.

To my eyes, the lake is shaped rather like a deformed space invader. The chalet is a few feet from the shore in the bottom right hand corner of the space invader's right toe.

So we had fantastic views across the water, particularly at sunset, as you can see.
It was very quiet, and even the nearby Nick Nairn Cook School (!) was almost wholly invisible. There was a small games room and grounds to explore - we were surrounded by the Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) which also hang over the lake:
The chalets were also surrounded by innumerable ducks, which congregated wherever there was food.
Occasionally the team took a boat out on the lake, or ignored it and went indoors to watch the Olympics on widescreen TV. As I said, we went out and explored the surrounding area on several days - and Doug Gray also came over with his family for a supper (and Guardian crossword).
But mostly, I just sat.