Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
Port of Mentieth
Inchmahome Priory

West of Aberfoyle the Menteith Hills look down on the Lake of Menteith, the
only natural lake in Scotland which is not designated as a loch. On
one of the three islands in the lake stand the ruins of Inchmahome Priory,
which was founded in the first half of the thirteenth century for a small
community of the Augustinian order (the Black Canons) by the earl of Menteith,
Walter Comyn. It would seem that his reason for founding the priory was so that
the prayers of the canons would ensure the salvation of his soul. According to
legend, the monks who resided here would slip a leash around the neck of a
swan, tie a baited line to its foot and then sit quietly in their boats,
waiting. When the swan gave some sort of indication that all was not right with
its world, the monks knew that they'd caught a fish.
The Chapter House (recently re-roofed) contains several effigies and
gravestones, including a rather splendid effigy of Walter Stewart who died in
1295.
Some scenes in the title song of the Bollywood movie
Kuch Kuch Hota
Hai were filmed at the Priory.
Port of Menteith is a modest little holiday resort on the north-eastern
shore of the lake. The Menteith Hills are within the area of the Queen
Elizabeth Forest Park which extends from the upper reaches of the River Forth
to Loch Lomond.