Loch Ness

Loch Ness has long fascinated visitors and for more reasons than the strange creature who is reported to live in the lake. Located southwest of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, it's been set in a picturesque location for ages. We took the backroads to get there, and the scenery was spectacular. The loch also boasts of several records, including the first person to swim its entire length. Brenda Sherratt accomplished this in 1966 in thirty-one hours and twenty-seven minutes.

Loch Ness is the second largest lake in Scotland in surface area, but it is the largest one in volume because of its depth. It contains more water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined. It originally contained nine species of fish, and two more have been introduced. It's also home to a Royal Navy Lifeboat Station manned by volunteers. 

The Loch Ness Monster, commonly known as "Nessie," is a cryptid, a large, unknown animal. Guides say that sonar has proven something is there but just not exactly what. Nessie first came to the world's notice in 1933, but photos from that first publicized sighting of Nessie were proven to be a hoax. Some of the other lakes in Scotland have similar stories of creatures. The earliest known sighting of such a monster came in the 6th century by an Irish monk, so most of them have been around through Medieval times.

On the day I visited Loch Ness, a damp, misty fog covered the area. This made it a typical day for Nessie sightings, but not such a good day for photography. Of course, I didn't see Nessie either. However, I did see the shack of the resident Nessie expert. He has made studying the lake and its "monster" his life's work. He sells souvenirs to tourist and takes donations to support his endeavor. He's nearly as interesting as the lake itself. A trip to Loch Ness is certainly worth the time. 

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