The Volkhov, discharging into Lake Ladoga, and forming part of the Vyshniy-Volochok system of canals, is an important channel for navigation; it flows from Lake Ilmen, which receives the Msta, connected with the Volga, and the Lovat.
At the Reformation the buildings (except the church, now a ruin) passed into the possession of Lord Lovat.
On the right bank of the river is the site of Lovat Castle, which once belonged to the Bissets, but was presented by James VI.
This was replaced by several castles in succession, of which one - Castle Dounie - was taken by Cromwell and burned by the duke of Cumberland in 1746, the conflagration being witnessed from a neighbouring hill by Simon, Lord Lovat, before his capture on Loch Morar.
In 1847 he wrote his biographies of Simon, Lord Lovat, and of Duncan Forbes, and in 1849 prepared for Chambers's Series manuals of political and social economy and of emigration.