The Loch Ness Story | Scotland's History

Loch Ness is Scotland's most famous body of water and the country's second largest loch, with Loch Lomond being its biggest. This large deep freshwater loch in the Highlands, which lies along the Great Glen Falk Line, is around 23 miles long and just over a mile and a half wide at its widest point. Its average depth is just over 430 feet and it holds more water than all the lakes in England and Wales put together. At either end is a lighthouse, one at Loch End and one at Fort Augustus. The story of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, has been going for many years. It was once thought it could have been a submarine being tested secretly, while others swear they've seen a monster. The loch's history too begins with a legend, or at least one version of it. The loch was a deep well, the mouth of which was closed by a stone. The story goes that if a careless housewife forgot to put the stone back after filling her pails with water, it was said the water would rise and cover the valley. A careless housewife did indeed neglect to replace the stone and Loch Ness was born. Few people realise just how deep the loch is. Some have even claimed it's bottomless. In reality it's around 754 feet deep at its deepest point, although some in years gone by said that it was deeper than the North Sea. This deep point was recorded close to the ruins of Urquhart Castle. It's known that in other parts of the loch when an anchor was dropped, the stern of a boat nearly went under the water when the rope suddenly went taut. The anchor, however, hadn't reached the bottom. When winters are harsh, the highlands can be a wild place, but it's believed Loch Ness has never frozen over, or at least not in living memory. This may be because the water is too deep. It's also said that due to its depth, the loch refuses to give up its dead. Once a man's body was found in the loch, but it was pointed out that it was at the mouth of a barn, not actually in the loch itself. According to tradition, bodies of people who've drowned in it are rarely found. There is only one island in Loch Ness, Cherry Island, near the monastery at Fort Augustus. It's circular in shape and very small. It was inhabited by the Iron Age people and is known as a crannog, an artificial island with a dwelling built on stilts. Another island existed, but this was submerged with the coming of the Caledonian Canal. The water moves with the winds. To some, this may appear to show ripples on the surface and the impending sight of the monster. Sea serpents aren't uncommon in Scottish folklore, but the most famous is Nessie. Many have claimed to have seen this monster, but there is little evidence to back up their claims. Most sightings have been during the summer, between June and September. In 1936, a man from Inverness once claimed he'd seen it. He described it vaguely as being long with humps on its back and having a small head like that of a horse. Previous to this, there have been news reports in 1934 that the monster had been seen on two separate occasions, both late at night. A group of campers had pitched their tent for the night near Temple Pier. They claimed to have seen a dark-shaped object about twenty feet long move for thirty seconds along the surface opposite Urquhart Castle about 8.30 that night. They were Mr Hartwell, Mr Adams, Miss Halliday and Mr Thurston. They said it was travelling in the direction of Inverness and left awake a hundred feet long. The other sighting was reported by two motorists who declined to give their names. They'd pulled up at Urquhart Castle and said that about eight o'clock the previous night at Fort Augustus at the far end of the loch, they too had seen a black object, like an upturned boat, moving across the loch for a few seconds, leaving a trail on the surface. That same year, Francis Stewart, a farmer from nearby Drumnadrochit who'd lived by the loch for over fifty years, claimed that he and two of his men, Mr Mackenzie and Mr MacDonald, who were farm workers, had seen the creature. He said he was working with the men on the farm when one of them drew his attention to a black object lying almost motionless in the bay near Urquhart Castle. He saw at once it was a much-discussed monster. On looking out across the loch we saw another black object, about half a mile from Temple Pier, moving in the water. I could clearly see the two monsters. One was making a tremendous commotion in the water. He went on to say they were approximately half a mile apart. A number of years before this, a woman at Fort Augustus said she too had seen two monsters in the bay of Glen Doe. In December 1940, the BBC had a news report from a parish radio station stating that the loch nest monster had struck a mine and its body had been washed up on the west coast of Scotland. However, there was never any confirmation of this. In August 1950 there was a further sighting. A coach party of tourists claimed they'd watched Nessie putting up a great wash and travelling fast on the loch side near Urquhart Castle. Some of the tourists even claimed they'd photographed the creature. The coach driver, David Douglas, said the claims were true. The creature was described as black with a white throat. As early as the 1870s, something had been seen wriggling and churning up the water in the loch, as reported by D Mackenzie. However, this account wasn't published until 1934. The most famous article published on it was in the Inverness Courier of 2 May 1933 when a story was told of a large beast or whale-like fish rolling in the water as seen by Aldie Mackay and her husband John. They'd been travelling down the A82 on 15 April. The article, written by Alex Campbell, reported that the creature was seen rolling and plunging for a full minute, its body resembling that of a whale. It had disappeared into a boiling mass of foam. At the time, she was the manageress of the nearby Drumno-Drochert Hotel. Further sightings took place in the late 1930s, mid-1950s, and in 2007. Video footage was released, claiming to have captured something moving fast in the water, but it's thought it could have been a seal or otter. A photograph taken in November 2011 claimed that Nessie was alive and well, but was later dismissed. And in 2013, video footage of a mysterious wave was filmed, but it's thought to have simply been a gust of wind on the water's surface. The famous photograph of Nessie with her head sticking out of the water has been debunked as a hoax. At Doors, the self-styled Nessie hunter Steve Feltham set himself up on the shore of Loch Ness in 1991 with the intention of solving the mystery. He is still waiting. Among those who've hoped to have a glimpse of her were authors Gavin Maxwell and Sir Compton Mackenzie, but both were disappointed. There have been many excursions along Loch Ness, with people trying to detect whether there is or isn't some kind of creature living in its depths. To date, nothing has been found. But let's raise a glass to Nessie and her enduring mystery, and to those who keep her story alive. Loch Ness remains a popular tourist destination, and has been witnessed to several firsts. John Cobb died in 1952 when he tried to break the water speed record, while in 1974 David Scott Munro was the first person to water ski the full length of it. Brenda Sherratt became the first person to swim the length of the loch in 1966. There is no doubt further record attempts will be made on the loch in the future. Loch Ness is home to eel, pike, salmon and trout, and is used in the local hydroelectric schemes.