Kinlochleven, like its name suggests, is a town that lies right beside Loch Leven. This gorgeous sea like winds majestically into the highlands and breathes a bounty of life and livelihood into the residents of the towns that lay alongside of it. Glencoe is perhaps the most popular and best known town that is fortunate enough to be treated to a constant view of Loch Leven but the village of Kinlochleven just may top its larger neighbor in terms of sheer beauty.
The reason for Kinlochleven's massive store of visceral awe is because, in addition to the stunningly beautiful Loch, the town offers an incredible view of the Mamores Ridge. These rocky crags create a majestic accessory to the depth and breadth of Leven and the mountains that flank Glen Coe to the south But amid all this natural beauty, there is an air of the man made arts floating around. This is because Kinlochleven is, for all its photogenic perfection, is actually something of a constructed town. In the early 1900s, a group of forward-thinking engineers concocted a plan of epic proportions: They would build the largest hydroelectric dam in all of the Highlands. Two brothers by the name of Charles and Patrick Meik led the charge at the behest of the British Aluminum Company. It was a dangerous and risky job but the Meik brothers and their trusty crew knew that they would be breathing new life into Scotland if they pulled off this magnificent feat. In the end the dam reached a staggering nine hundred and fourteen meters in length and was nearly thirty meters tall. This was one of the last major canal projects of this magnitude ever to be undertaken in Britain and it is a testament to the superior engineering skills of the Meik brothers that the dam still stands proudly as the lifeblood of the Blackwater Reservoir.
At any rate, much of the town aspect of Kinlochleven was formed because of workers on the dam project and employees of the Aluminum Company needing a place to live. To be sure, nearly a thousand people in Kinlochleven were once employed by the company but it has since been shut down. Thankfully, by the time that happened Kinlochleven had grown into a fully self-sustaining town with all the amenities necessary for suburban or city life. Only a little over a thousand people call Kinlochleven home and it is estimated that there are under five hundred households. All the same, there are plenty of hotels and bed and breakfasts for the many tourists who come to visit the town each year. The Highlands are a popular vacation destination and any town near Loch Leven is sure to garner quite a bit of tourism. In addition the dam at Kinlochleven is itself rather popular. As such, Kinlochleven never quite seems like a quiet and quaint town and rather like a town always on the go and filled to the brim with that delightful spark that is a hallmark of all the lovely towns in the Scottish Highlands.
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