The Loch Ness Monster – Fact Or Fiction?

Loch Ness is probably not the most spectacular loch (Scots for lake) in Scotland, but it certainly is the most famous, thanks to Nessie, its world famous inhabitant! Its waters are deep (over 700 feet in places) and murky with peat, making underwater visibility very poor and creating the sort of place where legends abound! The Scots are very proud of their loch, and love to boast that it has more water than all of Britain's lakes combined. That may or may not be true, but given its size (twenty two and a half miles long and over a mile wide in places) and depth, I have no doubt that it is true. It is definitely the largest loch (lake) in all of Great Britain.

But is the story of Nessie just a legend? There are tales of a monster in the loch that date back to the days of St. Columba in the 6th century.

Who was St. Columba? St. Columba came from Ireland and founded a monastery on the tiny island of Iona on Scotland's west coast, from where Christianity spread throughout the area of Great Britain which is now Scotland.

There are many different accounts of the legend about St. Columba and how he encountered the monster while traveling across Scotland to preach Christianity. But all of the stories agree on one thing; when the monster was about to devour a man (one of the heathen Picts,) St. Columba called out, "Stop go thou no further nor touch the man," while holding up a cross. At his command, legend says that the monster immediately left the man alone and returned to its lair in the loch! What's more, the Picts were so much in awe at what the Christian God had done, that they left their heathen ways and were converted to Christianity!

This was the first written account of a monster in the loch, but it was written about a hundred years after the events supposedly took place, by someone called Adamnan. Still, the Scots love their legends as if they were fact, and this one is especially beloved!

From that time on, there have been many tales about sightings of the monster in the loch, the most famous one being in 1934 when The Daily Mail published the most well known photograph of Nessie by a London doctor (copyrighted material, so not shown here.) Forty years later, the photo was declared a hoax.

Fast forward to 1980! On a trip back to Scotland with my children, we encountered Nessie while taking a boat trip on Loch Ness. One of my sons excitedly yelled out, “Mom, there's Nessie! Get a picture before she disappears!” So, thanks to the keen eye of my son, I have this rather grainy old photograph taken on 35mm film, and rephotographed with my Iphone 6S plus of Nessie! Can you spot her just disappearing into the shadows of the loch? You should be able to clearly see her back and tail. Her neck and head are in the shadow.

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

Well, the story is true up to a point! My son had noticed that someone had stuck three pieces of paper on the window of the boat, and suggested that I take a picture of the loch with Nessie on it! I put Nessie out of focus, and there you go!

Whether there really is something in the loch (a prehistoric monster, huge sturgeon, seals or whatever), the legend has certainly put Loch Ness on the world's map, and it has brought thousands of tourists to Scotland every year hoping to get a small glimpse of the elusive Nessie!

These images were photographed with my old Canon EOS 5D and tEF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens back in 2006 and manipulated to give a vintage look in Adobe Photoshop® CC 2017 and Nik Silver Efex Pro.

The castle on the loch is Urquhart Castle. (pronounced Uchart – the ch having the same sound as ch in loch.)

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it.

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