Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

—NESSof the river Ness, 3 miles SSW of the town of Inverness.Formerly in the possession of Lord Saltoun, it is now theproperty of Sir John Ramsden, by whom it was boughtfor £90,000 in 1871.— Orrf. Sur., sh. 83, 1881.Ness, a river carrying off the surplus water of thedrainage basin of Loch Ness. As noticed below, itissues from the NE end of Loch Dochfour over a weir,constructed to keep the water of the loch at a properheight for the Caledonian Canal, and has from this acourse of about 7 miles, nearly parallel to the line ofthe Canal, till it reaches the Moray Firth below Inverness.The channel has a regular inclination over agravelly bottom, and the stream is about 180 feet wide,with a mean depth in summer of about 3 feet, and inwinter of often double that amount. The lower part ofits course is noticed in the article on Inverness. It isan excellent salmon river, and the fishing season lastsfrom 10 Feb. to 15 Oct.Ness or Cross. See Barvas.Ness or Whiting Ness, a small precipitous headland(98 feet), pierced with a great cavern, in St Vigeansparish, Forfarshire, 1 mile ENE of Arbroath. Thecavern was laid open by the removal of some rocks inthe course of quarrying stones for the harbour ofArbroath ; and it comprises two compartments, an outerand an inner. The outer compartment measures 300feet in length, 16 in extreme width, and from 6 to 30 inheight ; and, over its roof and its sides, makes a splendiddisplay of stalactites. The inner compartment liesdirectly beyond the outer one ; is neither so high nor sowide ; and measures only 100 feet in length. Ord. Sur.,sh. 49, 1865.Ness Castle. See Ness.Ness Glen, a ravine in Dalmellington parish, Ayrshire,traversed by the river Doon from Loch Doon tonear Dalmellington town. It is one of the finestexamples in Britain of a true rock gorge, the streamhaving worn down a channel little more than its ownwidth, with perpendicular sides, into the rock to adepth of from 100 to 200 feet. The heights along thesides are beautifully wooded, and a walk formed alongsidethe river leads tlirough the hollow.Ness, Loch, a large lake in Inverness-shire, occupyinga considerable portion of the bottom of the Great Glenof Scotland, 6^ miles SW of Inverness. It is a longnarrow sheet of water extending from NE to SW, witha length of 22J miles, from Bona Ferry on the NE tonear Fort Augustus on the SW, and an average breadthof about 1 mile, while the surface is 50 feet above sealevel.The bottom slopes very rapidly, and reaches adepth of 40 to 60 fathoms at no great distance from theshore, while the depth in the centre is from 106 to 130fathoms. The sides are very straight and even, that tothe SE being broken only by the mouths of the inflowingstreams ;while that to the NW has, 6 miles from theNE end of the loch, Urquhart Bay, measuring 1 mileacross the mouth, and -i mile deep at the mouths ofthe Enrick and Coiltie, and, lOJ miles farther to the SW,Invermoriston Bay, at the mouth of the river Moriston.Both sides are formed by lofty heights, which, on theSE, have an average height of 800 to 1000 feet, and onthe NW of from 1200 to 1500 feet, while at many pointsboth rise higher. The principal heights along the formerside,beginning at the N end, are Tom Bailgeann(1514 feet), Carn an Fheadain (1445), both oppositeUrquhart Bay; Meall an Targaid (1016), oppositeInvermoriston Bay ; Beinn a' Bhacaidh (1812), BorlumHill (1000), and Creag Ardochy (1417). On the NWside, beginning at the N end, the principal heights areCarn a Bhodaich (1642 feet), Carn an Leitire (1424),Meall na h-Eilach (1525), Sron Dubh (1436), MeallFuar-mhonaidh (Mealfourvounie, 2284), and Burach, Sof the river Moriston (1986). The loch receives thedrainage of an area of 670 square miles, the principalstreams that flow into it being the Oich and Tarff, oneither side of Fort Augustus at the SW end ; theMoriston, Coiltie, Enrick, and a number of smaller burns,all on the NW side ; and the Doe, Foyers, and Farigaig,with a number of smaller burns, all on the SE side. At80NESTINGthe lower end it communicates by the narrow strait atBona Ferry with Loch Dochfour, which is in realityonly a continuation of it, and from which the surpluswater is carried off by the river Ness. The CaledonianCanal, which links it at the SW end with Loch Oich,and at the NE end with the sea, is separately noticed.At the SW end the loch is in the parish of Boleskineand Abertarff', and the south-eastern half the rest of theway is in the parishes of Dores and Daviot, and thenorth-western half in Urquhart and Glenmoriston andInverness, all those meeting along the centre line.There is an excellent road—originally military roadaformed by the soldiers imder the command of GeneralWade—along each bank. At the NE end there is aferry at Bona, and another 12 miles farther to the SWfrom Foyers to Ruskich Inn. From the great depththe waters never freeze. It is well known that there isa fault along the line of the Great Glen, and this seemsto mark a line of permanent weakness in the crust ofthe earth, for at the time of the great earthquake atLisbon, on 1 Nov. 1755, the waters of Loch Ness became violently agitated, a series of waves rolling alongthe loch towards the upper end, and dashing for 200yards up the course of the Oich, 5 feet above the usuallevel of that stream. The pulsation of the water lastedfor about an hour, and after a huge wave had beendashed against the NW bauk, the surface resumed itswonted calm.Except at a narrow part at the NE end of the loch,where, on the E, there is a fine belt of low ground aboutAldourie, the mountain ranges that flank the glenslope from 1000 feet steeply do^vn to the water's edge,giving the narrow valley an unnaturally contractedappearance, and greatly heightening the effect of itslength. Along considerable stretches these steep banksare finely wooded, and this, with the red colour ofmuch of the rock, makes the scenery, whether fromthe water or from the banks, very beautiful.'Theprofuse admixture,' say the Messrs Anderson, withparticular reference to the tract between Glen Urquhartand Glen Moriston, 'of oak with birch and alder, addsmuch to the richness and tone of colouring. Dark anddense masses of pine are frequently seen crowning thecraggy heights above, while beneath, the rowan andhawthorn trees mingle their snowy blossoms or coralberries with the foliage of the more gigantic natives ofthe forest. The road is overhung by the fantasticbranches of the j'ct youthful oak, while the stately ashrooted in the steep declivities below, shoots up its tall,straight, and perpendicular stem, and with its scatteredterminal foliage slightly screens the glassy lake orpurple ground-colour of the opposite hills ; and the airybirch droops its pensile twigs round its silvery trunk,"like the dishevelled tresses of some regal fair."Fringing rows of hazel bushes line the road ; and inautumn their clustering bunches of nuts invite thereaching arm.' Of the opposite side, between Inverfarigaigand Dores, Dr Macculloch speaks in equallyhigh terms. 'It is,' he says, 'a green road of shaventurf holding its bowery course for miles through closegroves of birch and alder, with occasional glimpses ofLoch Ness and of the open country. I passed it atearly dawn, when the branches were still spangled TOthdrops of dew ; while the sun, shooting its beams throughthe leaves, exhaled the sweet perfume of the birch, andfilled the whole air with fragrance.' The many pointsof interest and beautifully placed mansions around theshores come naturally under the different parishes, andwill be found noticed there. Except with the net, thefishing is poor, though the loch abounds in trout ; and,though salmon pass through on their way to the Oichand other rivers, yet they are never taken with the rod.—Ord. Sur., shs. 73, 83, 1878-81.Nessock. See Poetnessock.Ness Side House, a mansion in Inverness parish, nearthe right bank of the river Ness, 2f miles SSW of thetown.Nesting, a parish of Shetland, whose church standson the NW side of South Nesting Bay, 8 miles N of101.xO^i A/