Loch Ness

Nessie

Rumour has it that Loch Ness is home to Nessie; a plesiosaur who has allegedly been sighted by a number of people over the years.  Loch Ness may only be the second largest Scottish loch by surface area but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume and contains more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined.  The water visibility in Loch Ness is exceptionally low due to high peat content in the surrounding soil; providing plenty of privacy to any large prehistoric creature who may or may not reside in the loch!

The last land sighting of Nessie occurred in 1933 when George Spicer and his wife who were travelling between Dores and Foyers saw her cross the road in front of their car leaving only a trail of broken undergrowth behind her.

In 1987 a search of Loch Ness took place called Operation Deepscan.  Twenty-four Caley Cruisers boats equipped with sonar were deployed across the whole width of the lake;  simultaneously sending out acoustic waves.  The search lasted for a week and BBC news reported reported that a number of sonar contacts had been picked up indicating an unidentified object of unusual size and strength.   However after further analysis of the SONAR images it was concluded that they pointed to debris at the bottom of the lake, although three of the pictures were of moving debris!  

There are many fans and sceptics of Nessie - but just make sure that you keep a look out for her when cruising across Loch Ness; and keep your camera handy just in case...