The Legendary Loch Ness Monster

Much like Bigfoot in America, there is a lot of conspiracy about the Loch Ness monster. The first sighting of Nessie was the year 565 when Saint Columba saved a swimmer from being attacked from the water beast. The story goes, that when Columba made the sign of the Cross and ordered the beast to “Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once”, the beast backed away immediately. Columba and his men saw this as a miracle from God. In the years that followed, the Loch Ness Monster appeared in many other stories from all over the globe whereby people were reporting sightings of Nessie. The trouble in this lies in whether these stories are accountable or just made up fabrications as there has never been 100% proof to any of the stories.

The creature’s popularity reached an all-time peak in 1933 when a new road was constructed right along the banks of Loch Ness and many more sightings of the monster began to be reported. It was also in 1933 that the famous Surgeons Photo was released showing a serpentine head and neck taken by a London surgeon named Kenneth Wilson. For years, this photo was known as the best photo evidence ever taken of Nessie but on his deathbed, Wilson admitted that the photo was a hoax.

After the release of the surgeon’s photo, interest in Nessie was at an all-time high so the Daily Mail hired a famous game hunter, called Marmaduke Wetherell, to track down the monster. He never found the monster, but what he did find was its ‘supposed’ tracks on the shore of the Loch. Wetherell ended up being humiliated when the National History Museum did some research and found out that the tracks were in fact from an umbrella stand.

One of the most popular tours at Timberbush Tours is the 1 day ‘Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Highlands’ tour which departs daily from Edinburgh and Glasgow. This tour is perfect for anyone looking to get a real taste of the beautiful Highlands but also for anyone who wants to try and catch a wee glimpse of Ness for themselves. Whilst out on this tour, we offer an award winning Jacobite Loch Ness cruise across the Loch which is the perfect opportunity to do all the Nessie hunting you want.

10 Interesting Facts about the Loch Ness Monster: 

1. There is more fresh water in Loch Ness (where Nessie is believed to be) than in all the other lakes in England, Scotland & Wales. 
2. Loch Ness is believed to have never frozen over in Winter
3. The Loch Ness Monster has the nickname of Nessie which is a Scottish name meaning 'pure' 
4. 1933 was the year when the biggest Nessie craze began after the Surgeon Photo was released
5. The first big organised search for the monster was in 1934
6. A local circus owner promised a sum of 20,000 to anyone who could find the monster and bring him to his circus alive. This created a huge hype and was a very cleaver move from the man as it brought a lot of business to the circus
7. In 1934, 20 men were paid £2 a day to be monster watchers but found nothing
8. Nessie is possibly the most famous cryptid (a creature whose existence has been suggested but not yet proven) in the world
9. There are an average of 20 sightings reported every year
10. In 2009, a man claimed he had spotted Nessie in Loch Ness on Google Earth 
     

Book yourself on to a Timberbush Highland tour and try catch a glimpse of Nessie for yourself!