Loch Ness

Loch Ness is part of the Great Glen or Glen Mor in Gaelic, a scar-like fault line that runs over 60 miles from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south. It is made up of three lochs - Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness - with Loch Ness being by far the largest with a surface area of 56.4 square km (21.8 square miles).

Although Nessie was sighted as far back as the 6th century AD it is the modern day sightings that have captured the public imagination. In the early part of the 1930s a new road was built around Loch Ness that in turn brought in a spate of new sightings from drivers and sightseers.

Spotting Nessie
The first recorded sighting of Nessie on land was made by Mr Spicer and his wife, on July 22nd 1933, while driving down the road between the Loch Ness side-villages of Dores and Inverfarigaig. They caught sight of a large cumbersome animal crossing the road ahead, which was some 20 yards from the water. They first saw a long neck, forming a number of arches, a little thicker than an elephant's trunk and a huge lumbering body heading towards the Loch. It disappeared into the bushes out of sight. After this sighting, reports flooded in and interest grew on an international scale. Speculators offered huge prizes for the animal - dead or alive. Circus owner Bertram Mills promised a sum of £20,000 to any man who could bring the creature alive to his circus.  Take this opportunity while in Loch Ness to spend a little of your time "monster-spotting".