It lies 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of Kirkwall on a cultivated land between two hills.

There is a small turf-covered islet known as the Groundwater of Holm just off the eastern shore of the loch.

[2] The loch is a popular spot for trout fishing.

Located on the lodge of the loch is the Orkney Trout Fishing Association which operates a hatchery at the Kirbister pumphouse [3].

Marshall and later charted [5] as part of Sir John Murray's The Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909.