Of all the Scottish legends, surely the legend of the Loch Ness monster is best known. And it is that there are already many who have approached the Loch Ness with the intention of sighting Nessie among its dark waters. Admit it. You too would like to be able to see it emerge from the waters of this deep lake in Inverness with its long neck and large dimensions. The truth is that we do not know if on your trip through Scotland you will meet this legendary sea creature, but what we do know is that its history and its surroundings will not leave you indifferent at all. Want to know everything about the legend of the Loch Ness monster? Keep reading! We tell you in depth the story of Nessie.

Does the Loch Ness Monster Exist?

This is the great unknown that still remains today. There are those who define themselves as firm defenders of its existence and those who insist on finding explanations for the multiple sightings that took place over the centuries. Like, for example, that what people claim to be Nessie are actually logs, birds, fish and even waves. See if there is controversy, that there are even skeptics who dare to affirm that the legend of this mysterious creature is only maintained to attract tourism and favor local folklore. Whether it exists or not, the Loch Ness monster has been arousing curiosity for centuries and many have already set out to try to prove its existence. Some do it simply by sitting down to watch the lake, hoping that Nessie will decide to make an appearance at any moment. Others have gone further, such as the cases that we detail below:

• Operation Deepscan: It was carried out in 1987 and the objective was to search the lake for “something big to move.” It lasted three days and two dozen sounding motorboats moved across Loch Ness to finally find no trace of Nessie.
• BBC: In 2003, the BBC made 600 sonar beams traverse the lake with optimum precision, trying to prevent the creature from hiding behind any rock. In this case, they also found nothing extraordinary beyond a hooked buoy a few meters below the surface.
• Analysis of the waters of Loch Ness: recently, in 2018, a team of scientists led by Neil Gemmell announced that they were going to study the waters of Loch Ness in order to study the species that live there and verify the existence of the legendary monster . Will they find it?

Loch Ness monster sightings and photos

The peak of Nessie’s sightings was the 1930s, although there are several much older documents that seem to allude to this legendary creature. Based on them, the first sighting of the Loch Ness monster in the 6th century, at the time of Saint Columba, can be located. According to the life of Saint Columba, when the saint was walking on the lake, he saw how they buried a man who died after being bitten by a monster that was in the lake. Walking through these parts, the creature launched to attack another man who was swimming in the lake. The saint made the sign of the cross, scolded him and ordered him to turn around. The monster obeyed in the moment as if it were being pulled with ropes.

Throughout history, they have given Nessie many forms, the most typical being the classic image of the plesiosaurus. There were those who defined it as a kelpie, a mythological creature in the shape of a horse. In 1868, it was announced in the Inverness Courier newspaper that a fish of strange morphology and large dimensions had been seen in Loch Ness. In 1930, another newspaper, the Northern Chronicle, advertised the sighting of a singular and enormous creature in the lake, followed by the testimony of K. MacDonald, in 1932, who claimed to have seen an unusual crocodile in the Loch. Ness. In 1933, the Inverness Courier first referred to the creature as a “monster,” announcing that a couple had seen it. The following year, Arthur Grant claimed to have crossed paths with the monster. It was here that his image began to be associated with that of a plesiosaurus.

But 1934 was not a key year for Nessie just to start being linked with a plesiosaurus. In that same year, the alleged first photograph of Nessie was published in the Daily Mail. Back then, its authorship was awarded to surgeon R. K. Wilson and spread worldwide as conclusive proof of the existence of the Loch Ness monster. Six decades later its falsehood was unmasked. The photo had been a montage of Marmaduke Wetherell, who, apparently, wanted to take revenge on a joke that had been made in the Daily Mail. The peculiar being that appears in the photo that has gone around the world is nothing more than a submarine toy with a clay figure stuck on top. But then why did you ask the surgeon to post the photo and he didn’t directly? Clearly to gain greater credibility.

But the thing did not stop there. In 1972, an underwater photo of a search engine group led by Robert Rines was intended to make it clear that Nessie existed. For their expedition they used a radar and arrived with their underwater camera with high-power light into the darkness of the deep lake waters. One of the multiple photographs they took, showing a figure resembling a plesiosaurus, revealed what looked like a rhomboid fin, irrefutable proof of the existence of the legendary monster.

The news enjoyed such credibility that three years later, naturalist Sir Peter Scott named Nessie, Nessiteras rhombopteryx, his own scientific name, and included it in the British Register of Protected Wildlife. If you were getting excited about that then it is clearly real, let us tell you that if you change the word order the phrase says monster hoax by Sir Peter S which is something like “prank monster made by Sir Peter S ». But what about the photos? At that time the modification and retouching of photographs was already taking place and this was further proof of what could be done with a computer. 😉

Until 2014, there seemed to be no trace of any more sightings of Nessie. Until Andrew Dixon, with the help of Apple Maps, managed to discover the most legendary monster in history. At a first glance at Loch Ness, he did not see anything unusual, but when he zoomed in, he found a strange silhouette, which seemed to correspond to the figure of the famous creature. Finally, it was discovered that it belonged to the wake of a moving ship, specifically that of the Jacobite Spirit.

Two years later, there was a stir around this legend again, when what appeared to be Nessie was found at the bottom of the lake. And Nessie was … but the huge model they had used in the movie Sherlock Holmes’ Private Life, which had sunk during filming.

Can the Loch Ness monster be real?

Although, at the moment, there is no conclusive evidence of the existence of Nessie, it is also not ruled out that any marine creature existed in its deep waters. In fact, there are several hypotheses about what kind of animal we can find in the deep waters of Loch Ness.

A prehistoric plesiosaurus

Surely the first image that comes to mind when thinking of Nessie is precisely this: that of a prehistoric plesiosaur with a very long neck, a tiny head, a large body and four fins. This is the description that is made of it in most of the sightings, but the truth is that it is not easy to fit it with reality. Apparently, these types of animals came to the surface to breathe, so if they existed, they would be seen more frequently. In addition, for a Nessie to still exist in the waters of Loch Ness, a colony of them would be needed and taking into account that the dimensions of the Scottish lake are not enough to feed a whole colony and that it was totally frozen in the Würm , the thing does not look easy. However, the defenders of its existence emphasize the exit of Loch Ness to the sea, which would allow the animal to come and go whenever it wanted.

A horse, an elephant, a sturgeon …

Some of the sightings described other types of animals, such as kelpie. Other shapes match the description of an elephant. There were those who spoke of a huge fish that could well correspond to a giant sturgeon or even a boreal shark. They also claim that it is all about pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon whereby the mind responds to a visual or auditory stimulus by perceiving something that is not really there.

Loch Ness Monster Series and Movies

Of course, the image of Nessie you have in mind is not the result of chance or that you have read many Scottish legends. In large part it is due to television series, movies and even video games. And is that Nessie had great roles on the screen, like these:

• The Simpsons: In the “Monty Can’t Buy Me Love” chapter, Mr. Burns has Nessie captured, something they do by draining Loch Ness. After a series of events, we see Nessie as an employee in the casino.
• Phineas and Ferb: In the Monster from the Lake of the Noses chapter, the main character meets Nessie.
• Scooby Doo and the Loch Ness Monster: In this movie we see how they try to unravel the mystery of Nessie, who surprises us as a machine.
• Futurama: Bender’s Big Score: in this film we also meet Nessie, who, on this occasion, is made up of a mask and a trunk.
• The private life of Sherlock Holmes: Here we can enjoy the mystery of the monster revealed when Watson and Holmes go to Scotland for the investigation of the death of the husband of a beautiful woman.
• My Monster and Me: The Tender Part of Nessie appears in this film, in which he is raised from a young age by a Scottish boy.
• Panic in the Lake: If you prefer terror, you will like this cinematic option better in which a man seeks revenge on the lake monster that killed his father.
• Lara Croft – The Lost Artifact: This time, you can accompany Lara Croft on her trip to Scotland and get to know the two versions of Nessie, robotics and real life.
• Super Mario 64: In one level of this video game you will find Nessie, although here they will call her Dorrie.

Search for the Loch Ness monster with Google Maps

Do you want to play your cards to find Nessie in Loch Ness too? If you want to do it from the comfort of your home, you can use Google functions, specifically Google Maps. This functionality of the Street View is more than curious and we encourage you to try it. We don’t know if you will find Nessie, but a good time is sure to be spent. 😉

1. Search for the address of Loch Ness on Google Maps.
2. Move the orange doll to the area of the lake you want.
3. Navigate the lake with the help of the doodle they have put on it.

Will you be able to find the legendary creature? If you prefer expeditions in person, remember that you can always go to the lake and enjoy the experience to the fullest with our excursions and tours, such as Loch Ness and Highlands in full, the excursion to the Loch Ness or the tour of 3 days to the Skye Island.

And you? What would you do if you found the Loch Ness monster? Tell us about your plans with Nessie!