The watery landscape that Lochside House has graced since 1900 provides more than just a stunning view: Loch Katrine also supplies the precious elixir of life to the good people of Glasgow and beyond! This feat was made possible by the Victorian engineering triumph that was to bring Queen Victoria herself to the area for its grand opening in 1859, sailing to the new waterworks on the Rob Roy II with her beloved Bertie.
Built to supply fresh water to Glasgow, 35 miles away, the waterworks were designed to deliver the city from the clutches of cholera, which had wreaked havoc during the first half of the century.
The aqueduct system, a marvel of its time, uses the simple yet genius principle of gravity to ferry water from Loch Katrine to the Milngavie and Balmore water treatment works before it is supplied to around 1.3 million people across Greater Glasgow and central Scotland. The cost of £3.2m at the time would be equivalent to about £200-£320m today by some estimates. By way of comparison, the Forth Railway Bridge cost around £3 million when it was built between 1882 and 1890.
It was regarded as one of the world’s greatest feats of engineering of its day and was a Godsend as far as the health of Glasgow citizens was concerned. It currently supplies about 110 million gallons of water per day to the two treatment works and it takes about 14 hours for the water to travel the 26 miles from Loch Katrine.
Thousands of well wishers trekked over the hills to see the Queen, while over three thousand who had worked on the scheme also attended.
The Royal Cottage was built next to the aqueduct to accommodate the Queen but on this occasion, plans were royally scuppered. The 21-gun salute to mark the occasion resulted in all of the windows of the cottage being blown out! However, the windows were not the only ones to be blown away. The Queen described the area as "utterley enchanting", and she returned for a second visit a decade later.
Due to the rapid expansion of Glasgow, a second aqueduct was constructed decades later. The images, courtesy of Scottish Water, include workers boring through rocky hillsides with drills during the construction of the second aqueduct, which began in 1885 and was completed in 1901.
The sluice gates by The Royal Cottage
